Insult: Despite the grand surroundings, Wembley
could be playing second fiddle to events at Ewood Park
Harry
Redknapp led the protests as he voiced his sadness that Saturday's
FA Cup final would be overshadowed if Manchester United win the
title moments before the teams walk out at
Wembley.
Other FA Cup
legends also spoke of their regret that the grandeur of the
occasion was suffering in the face of a decision to switch the
final to a day when there are also four Barclays Premier League
fixtures.
United kick off
at 12.45pm at Blackburn needing only a point to clinch their record
19th title, a game screened live on Sky which will hold the
nation's attention as Manchester City and Stoke prepare for their
biggest day for decades.
'It's a shame,'
said Redknapp, Portsmouth's FA Cup-winning manager two years ago.
'Cup final day used to be the day of the year when I was growing
up. The streets were empty, everybody was watching, it was the
thing.
It should be a
massive one-off day that everyone is looking forward to watching.
It's not got the importance it did have, that's for
sure.'
Stoke are seeking
only the second major trophy of their 148-year history, 39 years
after winning the League Cup, and City are trying to claim their
first silverware since a 1976 League Cup success.
Fans who might
normally follow the progress of the finalists from their hotels on
the journey to the national stadium and a pre-match walk on the
Wembley turf will instead be engrossed in the exploits of Sir Alex
Ferguson's team and three other Premier League games, all scheduled
to kick off at 12.45pm.
It is yet another
kick in the guts for the FA Cup, a competition which has suffered a
series of blows this century since United were encouraged to
withdraw in order to take part in FIFA's World Club Championship in
Brazil in 2000.
Tottenham manager
Redknapp's comments were echoed by Stoke boss Tony Pulis, who said:
'I was brought up in the Sixties. The live games then were few and
far between and the FA Cup was such a special day in the English
football calendar. Although I'm Welsh, I'd rush to that telly. It
was a special occasion for everybody in my
family.'
The FA Cup final
has been moved from its traditional slot on the last day of the
domestic season to accommodate the Champions League final at
Wembley on May 28.
UEFA insist the
host stadium is not used for two weeks before their own showpiece
event, which this year will be contested by United and
Barcelona.
Jim Montgomery,
Sunderland's goalkeeping hero of the 1973 final victory over Leeds,
said: 'I find it scandalous the final isn't going to have the stage
to itself. The whole nation should be tuning in at 10am, savouring
the build-up and watching Wembley Way getting busier by the
minute.
'Instead,
thousands will be heading for their own games and will miss it.
That saddens me.'
Lawrie Sanchez,
scorer of Wimbledon's winner against Liverpool in 1988, echoed
those sentiments, saying: 'The final should have a day of its own.
I'm concerned that the world's oldest cup competition is in danger
of becoming second rate. Its status needs
protecting.'
The FA admit the
competition needs revitalising and ordered an internal review last
year to suggest possible changes to the format, which will go
before a board meeting a week on Thursday.
Among some of the
suggestions have been more midweek rounds, fewer replays,
regionalising the draw, seeding the draw and moving the final to a
5.30pm kick-off to maximise the television audience and make it
more attractive to sponsors.
The Premier
League insist they have done all they can to help the FA Cup final
by either moving their games to lunchtime kick-offs or to Sunday
and that it is an unfortunate coincidence that United's title quest
might reach its climax on the same day.
