Stoke City manager Tony Pulis is upset that tomorrow’s FA Cup Final with Manchester City may be overshadowed by what could be a title deciding match for Manchester United. This year’s date was affected by the fact that Uefa insisted that no matches should be played at Wembley for 14 days before the Champions League final on May 28th.
Stoke City manager Tony Pulis is upset that tomorrow’s FA Cup Final with Manchester City may be overshadowed by what could be a title deciding match for Manchester United. This year’s date was affected by the fact that Uefa insisted that no matches should be played at Wembley for 14 days before the Champions League final on May 28th.
However, a similar problem will arise next year because of the need for a gap before the European Championship finals start on June 8th. The final round of Premiership matches will be the weekend after the final as the league insists that they must take place simultaneously.
What will also upset traditionalists is that the final will be played at 5.15 p.m., the slot reserved for broadcasting an often not very exciting Premier League match. This is the result of the FA’s review of how the competition will be reinvigorated, although it was decided not to get rid of replays.
In the 1950s the FA Cup final was perhaps the most important event on the sporting calendar. Winning it attracted more attention than securing the legal title, given that the Cup final was broadcast live. Yet when Manchester United were knocked out of this year’s competition, one of their players remarked that it was the least important competition they were in.
And who is to say he was wrong? Cup competitions have long been seen as being of secondary importance on the continent with top clubs even playing reserve teams. This led to the abandonment of the Cup Winners’ Cup. Attendances at FA Cup matches have been in decline. The focus is on the Premier League and the Champions League.