So, tomorrow will see Liverpool and Chelsea facing off
against each other in the 131st FA Cup Final – the premier showpiece
occasion at the end of the English football season. Or rather, not. You see,
The FA Cup Final ain’t what it used to be. Let me take you back....
The time was when the FA Cup Final was the only club match
that you could be guaranteed of seeing live on TV. You might also get to see
the finals of the European Cup or UEFA Cup if a British team were involved, but
that was about it. Even England international games weren’t shown live as a
matter of course, as was gloriously illustrated in the famous episode of “Whatever
Happened to The Likely Lads”, where they spent the whole day trying to avoid an
England result before they watch the highlights in the evening. So the fact
that a game was being shown live was an occasion of itself.
Cup Final day was one of the most exciting days of the year
in a young boy’s life. It was just about the only Saturday of the year when you
would willingly get out of bed early. The TV would go on at about 9:00 a.m., and
there you would sit for the next 9 hours. First off would be such treats as “Cup
Final It’s A Knockout”, “Cup Final A Question of Sport”, “Cup Final Mastermind”
or ...well, you get the idea. There would be regular reports from the two
hotels where the teams were staying, and about
late morning Frank Bough or Dickie Davies (depending on whether you were
watching BBC or ITV) would interview a couple of the players and the managers. This
was mind-blowing stuff back then. Further interviews at Wembley with the likes
of Tarby or Brucie or some other 70’s comedian would follow.
Early afternoon and we would have the joy of watching live
as the two team coaches left their respective hotels on their way to Wembley.
More discussion with the likes of Saint & Greavsie, Bob Wilson, Jack
Charlton, etc would precede the arrival of the teams at the stadium amidst much
talk of “going down Wembley Way” or “remember the White Horse Final” or “the
Matthews Final”. Then Tony Gubba or Tony
Francis would buttonhole the players as they took a look at the Cup Final
playing surface. Excitement on the sofa was pretty much at fever pitch by this
point. The living room would be steadily increasing its population as kick-off
time now approached. And then the moment would arrive – the Cup Final itself.
What a way to end the season, and to bid farewell to all things football for another
three months. Those matches are seared onto my mind, as they are to every
football fan who lived through that time. True spectacle, and a real feel of
occasion permeated the whole day. The FA Cup truly was the greatest cup competition
in the world, and the final was the biggest day in the football calendar.
But now? Well, now the Cup Final isn’t even the last match
of the season. The Premier League carries on for another week afterwards and
there are even league matches being played on the same day as the final. The
match has now been elbowed to a tea-time kick-off with the TV coverage starting
a mere two hours before kick-off. The teams competing during the season have
often fielded weakened teams for their FA cup matches as the priority now is
very much the Premiership or the Champions League. There is even a possibility
that Chelsea won’t be putting out their very strongest team tomorrow as they
rest players ahead of their Champions League Final appearance in a couple of
weeks time.
The Final is now just one of dozens (if not hundreds) of
matches shown live each season and fans are wearily familiar with every team
and every player. The competition no longer holds the place in the football
season that it used to – both literally and figuratively. The world has moved
on I guess, but progress doesn’t always mean improvement.
