Whether it was by innocent coincidence or mischievous
design, Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement as manager of Manchester United last
week deflected attention from last Saturday’s FA Cup final involving United’s “noisy
neighbours” from the Blue half of Manchester. In fact the FA Cup final had been
so little on my mind that it was only on the morning of the game that I
realised that it was taking place that day. In years gone by there would have
been no chance of my not realising that it was cup final day, but these days a
combination of factors have made what was once such a significant date in the
football calendar now little more than a footnote in the season.
Traditionally, and we football fans love our traditions, the
FA Cup final took place after the conclusion of the league season. Moving the
date so that a full Premier League programme was scheduled for the same weekend
and moving the kick-off to 5.15 has marginalised the final and while in days of
yore the fact that the final was one of a very limited number of games that
were televised live, the fact that there are now just so many live games on
television means it simply doesn’t have the impact that it once did for the
neutral.
The first FA Cup final that I watched was in 1968 when West
Bromwich Albion beat Everton. In the following years FA Cup final day had a particular
routine. Television coverage began at ten o’clock, a full five hours of build
up on both the BBC and ITV, who both showed the game. Pre-match analysis
interspersed with cup final themed editions of It’s A Knockout, Mastermind and the like, I watched it all. The
teams leaving their hotels, highlights of their games en route to Wembley, the
cameras on the coach, flicking from one channel to another to catch the best
bits, football fans of a certain age will all have their memories of it. Then
the game itself, which I habitually watched on the BBC because then as now ITV
really don’t do sport as well as the Beeb, no matter how hard they try, with the match programme (purchased in WH Smith) on my lap. Often
the game itself didn’t match the build up; I saw a number of somewhat tame
matches, but the novelty of live football on TV meant that that didn’t really
matter.
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| The programme for the first FA Cup final that I watched. |
As I got older, cup final day routine changed to meeting
friends in a pub before watching the game itself at someone’s house, those
being the days when the pubs closed at half past two so no chance of watching
the game there.
Nowadays I rarely watch the cup final. The fact that the
game itself is often disappointing and the fact that I have other things I ought
to be doing mean that I’m more likely to content myself with the highlights
later in the evening.
So, has the FA Cup lost its magic? Certainly the final has
(for me at least), although despite the best efforts of the FA and some Premier
League clubs, the earlier rounds still retain the qualities that make it the
best domestic club competition in the world. Although the requirement to finish
ties at the end of the first replay at the latest is understandable, the old
days when two or three, or more replays were required to decide a winner were
part of the romance of the competition which I for one miss. Memorably,
Alvechurch and Oxford City needed six replays in 1971 and five were needed by
Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday in 1979. Imagine the consternation that number
of extra games would cause among Premier League managers today!
Danny Blanchflower memorably said, "The great fallacy
is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind.
The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish,
about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of
boredom." If there is one competition that epitomises glory it is the
FA Cup (or should that be “The FA Cup with Budweiser” as it is now almost an
offence not to include the sponsor’s name when talking about the FA Cup,
another example of the way the game has changed that may be pragmatic but is nonetheless
saddening).
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| The FA Cup |
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| A bottle of beer |
The history of the FA Cup is littered with glorious giantkillings;
the names of clubs like Yeovil Town, Hereford United and Altrincham are as synonymous
with competition as those of Manchester United or Arsenal. Sutton United beating
cup holders Coventry City, Colchester United beating Leeds United, Wrexham
beating Arsenal, the glory of those victories for those clubs outweighed anything
else; the fact that we remember them so many years later shows how significant
they were.
If Blanchflower were alive today, he might more cynically
say that the fallacy is that the game is about winning; rather the game is
about money. Winning the Premier League is worth £15 million; just staying in
the division is worth £3 million. Manchester City’s cup run was worth £2.4
million, not an insignificant sum, but to put it in perspective that just about
covers the gross pay of someone like Carlos Tevez for three and a half months.
Little wonder then that some Premier League sides are happy to field under
strength sides in the FA Cup and shed few tears on elimination when the riches
of the Premier League, particularly if Champions League qualification can be
gained, are so great.
There is still magic in the FA Cup in the early rounds. When
the competition begins the cricket season is still in full swing and while the
clubs who start in the Extra Preliminary Round know that they have no chance of
ever getting to Wembley, there is still glory to be had in any win in the competition,
particularly against a club from a higher standard. And then, as the
competition progresses the dream for all non-League sides is the opportunity to
play Football League, or better yet, Premier League opposition. For supporters
of clubs in Leagues One and Two, there is the dream of a draw against Chelsea,
or Arsenal, or Manchester United. The day that those dreams lose their lustre
will be the day that the FA Cup dies.
If for no other reason than the fact that it maintained the
FA Cup’s allure, it was wonderful to see Wigan Athletic beat Manchester City
last Saturday. A non-League club as recently as 1978 and a Premier League side
only since 2005[1],
The Latics did their bit to ensure that Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement was not
the only headline in the papers last weekend, despite the best efforts of
Manchester United and the media, AF still could not quite upstage the FA (Cup)!
[1] Wigan’s
tenure in the Premier League came to an end three days after the cup final when
they lost 4-1 at Arsenal and were relegated to the Championship.
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