Just at the point when Crystal Palace’s FA Cup run was about to take off, manager Oliver Glasner offered a little insight into one of the reasons why. The Austrian was settling into the dugout before the 3-0 evisceration of Fulham at Craven Cottage, and had a moment to appreciate the atmosphere.
“This is why I love football,” Glasner enthused. Pep Guardiola would no doubt agree as he steps out onto the Wembley pitch before Saturday’s final between Palace and his Manchester City, having this week described the FA Cup as the most “beautiful domestic cup competition in the world”.
Glasner certainly paid due respect to that status throughout Palace’s run, never once displaying any kind of modern attitude towards the cup. Glasner has played full teams in every round, and every game has been treated like the final itself. Palace would value victory in the actual final more than arguably anyone in the English game, given the club has never won a major trophy. The closest they came was two previous FA Cup finals, both lost to Manchester United, of which we’re likely to see a lot of highlights in the build-up.
That nostalgia might fit.
A theme of Palace’s season has been Glasner telling the players to listen to the joy in the schoolyard near their training ground, and that is never going to be more apt than before a fixture where childhood dreams can be fulfilled. The deeper point is to remind his players why they first played football, and to use that energy.
This 144th final is actually something of a throwback in that sense – this particular pairing offer some of the elements you would prefer for the fixture. On one hand, there’s an upwardly mobile mid-table side who really want this, who savour the trip to Wembley. On the other, there’s one of England’s best teams, albeit at a vulnerable moment in their history, which means they would value the trophy for very different reasons.
There is at least a high possibility of a pulsating match. Palace tend to perform well against City, although so much of this is still dependent on the readiness of Guardiola’s side.
Erling Haaland described this as a “catastrophic” and “horrific” season on the eve of the final, but added that it speaks to his team’s inherent qualities that they “still managed to do this”.
“This” is becoming just the 10th club to reach three consecutive finals, as City seek to go level with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur as the joint third most successful in competition history, with eight wins. Dubai sponsor Emirates might literally have their name on the cup’s branding but it is their neighbour Abu Dhabi who have their prize sporting asset all over the cup itself.
Haaland made sure to point out that his comments were in the context of “the standards” set by City over this era, but there’s still just a sense of adding some glory to an otherwise forgettable campaign. For Palace, victory would be something they remember forever.
That’s why it’s difficult not to make Glasner’s side the focus. For City, after all, this is routine. For Palace, it’s something genuinely special.
The south London club, and particularly the effervescent Eberechi Eze, have almost been the faces of an FA Cup resurgence this season. It’s like we’ve been reminded of what it is supposed to be about.
Some changes have helped. Despite going against tradition, the abolition of replays have actually fed into the true spirit of the cup, and the need to do it on the day.
For the most part, though, this season’s nature has been an unintended consequence of the ongoing “financialisation” of football. The FA Cup has arguably suffered more than any other competition as part of this paradigm, at least in terms of what it used to be. You only have to look at how Wednesday’s Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur feels like a much bigger game. That’s because it is being put into the context of Champions League qualification and potential future earnings of £100m. It isn’t necessarily about the trophy.
This is the underlying truth of the modern FA Cup. It is not just that it seemingly has less meaning. It means less money.
The winners will receive just under £4m. That works out as a few hundred thousand less than what clubs receive for individual Premier League games and less than half of what they receive for individual Champions League games. All of this has assumed even more importance in a world of profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
And yet it is precisely because of such regulations and wealth that we have now seen this unexpected effect. The squeeze has created an overspill. The Premier League this season had a very strong middle class of teams brimming with real talent. Palace have been a prominent example of that, given how many clubs want Eze, Adam Wharton, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix. Steve Parish has just been able to set prices others can’t afford with PSR, because Palace themselves are now bolstered by over a decade of Premier League money.
While most of that middle class can’t ultimately sustain challenges for Champions League places, they are good enough for FA Cup runs. Once you’re there, too, something else takes over; something more emotional. You get that bit closer, and players generally forget all talk about money. They see the glory, the great images from the past, and the chance to write their names into history.
Palace are feeling this right now. They are at that point with a good team where everything under the manager is so tightly honed. Club insiders say that the squad look to Glasner as a leader at the top of his game. There is great tactical understanding between the various parts of the team, with Daniel Munoz representing a superb linking signing. Rivals describe Guehi, Lacroix and Chris Richards as one of the best back threes in the league. Palace can play ugly, or they can play nice. So many of their forward players can do something special: above all, Eze. He could yet make this FA Cup his own. He already made the semi-final his own, helping to dismantle Aston Villa 3-0 in a way few have done, albeit with Wharton supreme in behind. Some even believe that Palace could have been in the top eight had Wharton been fit all season.
Above all, the team itself believe they can beat anyone.
And yet… that’s where the financialisation has a more direct effect on the pitch.
City have looked much more like their old selves, especially in the cup. Some would point out that’s after spending close to a quarter of a billion in January. Omar Marmoush has been supreme. Either way, if both teams play to their best, Guardiola’s side will probably win by two goals. That’s just the reality. You could see it when they recently beat Palace 5-2 in the league, having been 2-0 down.
It’s why Palace have to change that reality. They have to get amongst City. Guardiola’s side still have issues, as witnessed in the 0-0 draw away to Southampton.
At the very least, this final isn’t a formality. It is finely balanced, as much as anything between a sense of history and just more of the same, between the romance of football and the strength of resources.
There’s a real game here, with proper stakes. It’s why we love football. It’s why the FA Cup remains so great.
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