FA Cup

SO you probably think that the FA Cup has lost its magic.
You probably think that professional footballers, managers and their clubs no longer care too much about the world’s oldest knockout competition.

SunSport columnist Troy Deeney recalls his experience of playing in an FA Cup final – and says it’s one of his proudest days despite a thrashingCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Arsenal players, either from home or abroad, showed what it meant to win the trophy last seasonCredit: PA:Press Association

That we see it as an unwelcome distraction or an afterthought — nowhere near as important as the league.
Well, personally, I don’t think you could be more wrong.
Even with the threats posed by Covid and even without fans the FA Cup remains a unique competition, bringing opportunities and creating memories for players at all levels.
To tell you what the Cup means to me, I’ll take you back to Watford’s run all the way to the final in 2019.

It started with a non-league captain calling me out on a radio phone-in and it ended with me getting banter from our future king — and what else in football can give you that?
When Watford were drawn at National League Woking in the third round our manager, Javi Gracia, gave me the option of having a weekend off.
We had just come off a busy Christmas period, so I was tempted to take him up on it.
But then a few days before the tie, I went on a radio phone-in and the Woking skipper came on and said something along the lines of “I’m looking forward to smashing you, Deeney”.

I can remember chatting to a couple of Woking fans and I thought how nice it was to have that interaction at a non-league ground.

He said it in a humorous way but once he’d said it, I told the gaffer that I wanted to be part of the squad.
I ended up coming off the bench and scoring the second in a 2-0 win to kill the tie and it was a thoroughly good day out.
I can remember chatting to a couple of Woking fans, while one of their players received treatment, and I thought how nice it was to have that interaction at a non-league ground as it wasn’t something you’d get in the Premier League bubble.
That Woking match was the start of something special.
When we came from two down to beat Wolves 3-2 in the semi-final at Wembley, it was absolutely one of my career highlights.
To be part of such a great Cup match and to score the equalising penalty in injury-time was unforgettable.
Now you may recall that the final against Manchester City didn’t go too well for us — a 6-0 defeat, which was the worst thrashing ever suffered in a major Wembley final.
But that doesn’t stop me remembering the whole day — the occasion rather than the result — as probably the proudest of my career.
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Manchester City demolished Watford in the 2019 finalCredit: AFP – Getty

Deeney remembers the day fondly, if not the resultCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
My old nan was in the stands and she loves the Royal Family. So, as Watford captain, to get to introduce Prince William — the FA president — to the team before kick-off was a massive thrill for me. And for my nan.
I’ve been lucky enough to meet William since, as part of his mental health charity work, and he is a proper Aston Villa fan and a genuinely good, down-to-earth bloke.
He knew full well that I am a Birmingham City supporter because when I shook his hand and prepared to introduce him to our team, William said: “I can’t believe I’m having to do this with a Bluenose!”
We’d stayed in a hotel right next to Wembley on the eve of the final, so a couple of hours before kick-off, I asked a security guard if he could take me out on to Wembley Way to soak up the atmosphere and see Watford and City fans mingling.
It was an experience I’ll never forget. I grew up wanting to play in an FA Cup final, and there I was properly feeling the sense of occasion, the anticipation among the fans.
Like I said, I enjoyed the day right up until the match started.
Although, weirdly enough, we had a great chance to score when it was still 0-0 — we’d identified that City might be vulnerable to counter-attacks from their own corners and we almost scored from one such break, Roberto Pereyra having a shot saved by Ederson.
I’m not going to say we’d have won if Pereyra had scored but it would have been a very different game — though in hindsight, I’d rather we lost 6-0 than 1-0 or 2-0 as there aren’t any real regrets.

When you play at lower levels, like I did at Walsall, you are well aware that a Cup run can make all the difference to your club’s finances.
Like Tranmere, who beat Watford last season, then played Manchester United — they may have lost 6-0 but the TV money will have funded their wage bill for months.
As a player in the lower leagues, you know a big performance in the Cup can earn you a move or simply provide the highlight of your career.
You may think foreign players don’t understand the meaning of the Cup like the British lads do — but believe me, they soon realise and they soon get into it.
They will be watching Sky Sports News this week and hearing about Marine, from the eighth tier of English football, playing Tottenham and they will go, ‘Wow, how does that happen? This is amazing’.
This isn’t an easy year for the Cup, it isn’t an easy year for anyone or anything.
But the Cup is a tradition worth fighting for, a tradition worth preserving, and please don’t imagine that us players don’t value it.
OD TO JOY
When Watford visit Old Trafford in the FA Cup on Saturday, there is one name I’m hoping to see on the Manchester United team-sheet — Odion Ighalo.
I have never enjoyed such chemistry with a strike partner as I did with Ighalo at Watford — we just complemented each other perfectly.
When he went on loan last January, there was surprise and a few sneers but not from Watford fans, who loved him during his two-and-a-half years at Vicarage Road, and certainly not from me.

Odion Ighalo is set for a reunion with Watford on Saturday nightCredit: AP:Associated Press

I was delighted for Odion. He was a United supporter as a kid in Nigeria and this was a dream move for him.
He did a great job for them last season — scoring five goals and proving a really valuable squad player.
Now it looks as though he may be moving on this January, back to China or to the Middle East, so it would be great if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could give him a United swansong against us.
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STEVE BRUCE said it is “morally wrong” to keep playing football while the country is gripped by coronavirus. 
And the Newcastle boss insists the decision to play tonight’s clash between Aston Villa and Liverpool “devalues the FA Cup”. 

Steve Bruce claims the FA Cup is being devaluedCredit: Reuters

The Magpies were the first Premier League club to be hit by a Covid outbreak, leading to their training ground being shut down for 10 days. 
Villa will play their kids against Liverpool tonight with their entire first-team squad self-isolating.
And Bruce said: “Financially it is right to play, but morally it is wrong. 
“I’m no doctor but there are so many symptoms. Even after it’s left you it can cause big problems. 

“I see other clubs are struggling with it as well. The whole country is, and we are no different to anyone else. There are wonderful protocols put in place but when we leave the training ground you have to go to the big outside world. 
“We are the lucky ones, providing entertainment that people can tune into and watch. But there will come a stage though when we have to make a decision. 
“Let’s be fair, when you are going into football you are socialising. 
“Two or three weeks ago we didn’t think we would be like we are today having record numbers and record deaths – and we are carrying on.

“There will come a time when I’m sure the big question will be asked.
“Even though all the protocols have been fantastic, we are not immune to this disease because we are footballers.” 
Jamaal Lascelles and Allan Saint-Maximin were the two Toon players worst-affected. 
While skipper Lascelles is closing in on a return, Saint-Maximin is still a couple of weeks away having been recovering from the long-term effects of Covid.
And Bruce pointed to the Manchester City players celebrating together after knocking out Manchester United in the Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday. 
He added: “How do you stop the City players celebrating the way they did? How great it was to see them, but if you stop that you’re stopping the whole enjoyment of sport. 
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“They were all together in a huddle, seating, exhaling badly. That’s the difficult side of it and I don’t think that’s going to stop.
“There might need to be new protocols where players can only fist bump.”
And asked if tonight’s FA Cup game should be postponed, Bruce said: “Yes. I think it devalues the FA Cup.”

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SHREWSBURY could be handed an FA Cup reprieve despite being unable to play their third round tie with Southampton.
But it will need them to avoid a path through the Big Six or Leicester in Monday’s unprecedented double draw.

Shrewsbury could avoid forfeiting their FA Cup third-round clash with Southampton thanks to the ‘double-draw’Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Wembley’s Professional Game Board will make a final decision on the League One Shrews’ fate ‘early next week’.
Initially, it seemed likely the Shropshire club would be booted out of the competition with the fourth round scheduled for a fortnight away and fifth stage two-and-a-half weeks later.
But FA chiefs are desperate to avoid such a hardline response to a situation effectively out of Shrewsbury’s control as the mutant wave of the virus rages up and down the country.
And it means there is still a chance Shrewsbury will be given a second chance to put on the game – although that will be determined on Monday evening.

The FA announced earlier this week the next two rounds would be both drawn, one after the other, on Monday, during the BT Sport broadcast of Stockport’s clash with West Ham.
That ensures the FA will know the path the winners of the postponed tie face to get to the last eight of the cup.
And should the winners be drawn against none of the seven Premier League sides still in European competition in the next round, and also avoid a potential clash in the last 16, there could to be enough ‘wriggle room’ for rescheduling.   
If Shrewsbury and Saints do come out of the hat with one of Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool, the two Manchester giants or Tottenham, then Southampton seem certain to be handed a walkover.

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If Shrewsbury-Southampton avoid any of the PL sides still in Europe in the fourth-round draw there could be enough time to squeeze in their gameCredit: Getty – Contributor

That scenario will allow future rounds to be played as planned.
However, if the draw does keep them apart from those sides, the third round tie could be rescheduled for fourth round weekend.
The winners would then meet their fourth round opponents next month.
The subsequent game would then be pushed back until the end of February, also played midweek.

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MANCHESTER CITY have got their hands on another trophy – after owner Sheikh Mansour paid almost £760,000 to buy the oldest surviving FA Cup.
The silverware that was used for the world-famous competition between 1896 and 1910 was sold for the huge sum to a ‘mystery buyer’ back in September.

Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour has bought the oldest surviving FA Cup trophy

Sheikh Mansour spent almost £760,000 to keep the trophy – used between 1896 and 1910 – on English soilCredit: Getty Images – Getty

It was put up for auction by West Ham supremo David Gold, who had owned it since 2005 and viewed it as a ‘unique piece of football history’.
He had talked of ‘safeguarding it for the nation’ – but the fear was it had been bought privately and would be taken away from these shores.
However, it has now emerged that City’s Abu Dhabi owner swooped to land the cup – and he will send it straight out on loan back to National Football Museum, based in Manchester.
The lot – which was described by the auctioneer as a ‘national treasure’ – went under the hammer at Bonhams in London on September 29.

And after some spirited bidding by various parties, it went to the Sheikh for a whopping £759,052.
Etihad chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak said: “This Cup is a visible reminder of the rich and long history of English football to which Manchester City is inextricably entwined.
“Winning this actual trophy in 1904 was a turning point for the club and for the city of Manchester in that it firmly cemented football in the heart of its community.
“Sheikh Mansour’s view is that a trophy of such cultural significance must be shared with the people of Manchester, the English football family, and all of those who love the English game.

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“The National Football Museum is in a unique position to do that.”
The museum’s chief executive Tim Desmond said: “When it left us in September 2019 to be auctioned by its then-owner, we feared we may never see it again and that Britain would be losing the FA Cup for good.
“We are blessed to have many wonderful items on display but, as the oldest surviving FA Cup, this particular trophy was amongst the ‘crown jewels’ of our artefacts.
“The fact that it has been bought by His Highness Sheikh Mansour and offered back to us is simply wonderful news both for the museum – but also for the preservation of our sporting heritage in this country.”
The trophy is particularly significant to City as it was the first trophy they won – 116 years ago – when they beat Bolton 1-0.
It replaced the original FA Cup which went missing from a shop window in Birmingham – where holders Aston Villa had put it on display in 1896.
Since taking over the club back in 2008, Sheikh Mansour’s backing has helped City win 11 major trophies, including the current FA Cup in 2011 and 2019.

David Gold bought the historic trophy in 2005 before putting it up for auction in 2020Credit: Doug Seeburg – The Sun

Manchester City have won the FA Cup six times, most recently in 2019Credit: Getty Images – Getty

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