FOUR years after lifting the League Cup, Blues knocked out Nottingham Forest, Ipswich, Grimsby and Sheffield United to find themselves one step from another final in 1967.

But then they ran into one of the country’s brightest emerging teams – and one of the most dynamic players around.

Queens Park Rangers were storming towards the Division Three title with fast, skilful football which was to bring them more than 100 goals in the league alone that season.

And the leader of their orchestra was Rodney Marsh.

While George Best was lighting up the north with his ineffable skills at Manchester United, down in west London the flamboyant Marsh matched him. Poor Blues were swept away in the semi-final.

Wary of a tough-looking second-leg assignment at Loftus Road, Blues manager Stan Cullis insisted that “nothing less than a two-goal advantage would be good enough” for his team from the first game at St Andrew’s. Blues 1 QPR 4 was not quite what he had in mind.

For 45 minutes, Blues were in command. They took a fourth-minute lead through Barry Bridges and kept the visitors’ roving midfielders reined in to lead 1-0 at the break. Then Rangers ran riot.