So Man Utd won the match against the non leaguers, but Alex Ferguson certainly wasn't overjoyed by his teams performance - "Credit to them" said the Scotsman, "they deserved a draw for their commitment in the second half, when we weren't at the races and never had a shot at goal". He went on to say "We were second to every ball then, which was disappointing. Maybe some players don't understand what the FA Cup's about".
I assume that by "some players" he means the foreign players? But increasingly, if the FA Cup is becoming that lame duck that all the pundits speak about, English players will begin to view it similarly. Indeed I wouldn't be surprised if the younger players - Jack Wilshere for example - may already see it in this manner.
These kids have grown up watching the best of the best; not for them Hereford v Newcastle, but Arsenal v Barcelona! All the kudos in football - European based football at least - now lies with the Champions League closely followed by ones own domestic league. The cup competitions are merely a consolation prize. This has long been the case on the continent, and it is now very much the case here. The tradition and romance of the FA Cup has been usurped by the glitz and £££££ of the Champions League. It's meat pies versus prawn sandwiches and the prawns have won the day!
No comments:
Post a Comment