With Saturday’s FA Cup between Crystal Palace and Manchester United looming, we caught up with Sportsnet commentator James Sharman for his thoughts.
The age old question: Does the FA Cup still matter in the modern era of football?
For me it is still important, although I understand why it’s not as important to others. Sadly, I am still living on the memories of a distant past when it was THE big sporting occasion of the year in England. The fact is that once you remove the emotion it is no longer what it once was. Sure, there is prestige attached to it, but it is well down the pecking order of importance for the big clubs. For example, an FA Cup win will have no bearing on Luis Van Gaal’s future at Manchester United. Having said that, for a club such as Crystal Palace it means a lot, so any neutral should be rooting for Palace, as for them, it still has importance.
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Does it need to be revamped in any way? Or is the format good as it is?
It is still the greatest knock-out tournament in sports, so the format is perfect. I would be open to the idea of doing away with replays, and instead solving any stalemate by extra-time and penalties. It isn’t that I dislike replays. In fact some of the great FA Cup moments have come during a replay, but there are just so many games these days, it can genuinely hurt a club. If you want to keep replays, then sure, but let’s do away with the League Cup, which is pointless.
What were some of your favourite FA Cup memories growing up in England?
The FA Cup is probably the reason why I’m a Liverpool fan. As a young kid the final was always such a big deal with wall to wall coverage on the TV, you couldn’t escape it, and Liverpool won it twice in the 80s. Ian Rush’s brace in ’86 was a thing of beauty, especially against Everton. Back in those days Liverpool and Everton also battled it out in the league; it was just a great rivalry. Liverpool beat Everton again in 1989, only this time the match symbolized so much more, as it was only a few weeks since the Hillsborough disaster. That was such an emotional time in English sports, and the two clubs united the city of Liverpool. Even for fans like me who lived many miles away in the south of England, it was just a special occasion.
What would a win on Saturday mean for Crystal Palace?
For Palace it would mean everything, most notably some rare silverware and a place in Europe for next season. Palace is ambitious, and that would mean a lot, but for the fan base they enter most seasons hoping for two things: survival in the Premier League, and a decent cup run. Mission accomplished then for this season. I also quite like Alan Pardew—he gets a lot of grief due to his self-confidence and image, but he is also a pretty decent manager and I’d like to see him rewarded with a trophy at the club where he played.
Would a win on Saturday salvage a disappointing season for Manchester United?
No. Regardless of what happens on Saturday, it has been a poor season. Failure to finish top four, and a plodding, dreadful style of play has created such a negative feeling at Old Trafford, that only the arrival of a new manager with bravado can change the narrative. I suspect Van Gaal is gone with or without an FA Cup, so this really just acts as a nice short trip and a nice day out for many of the club’s fans.
Sportsnet’s Soccer Central podcast (featuring Thomas Dobby, Brendan Dunlop, John Molinaro and James Sharman) takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues.
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