There’s a dangerous tendency amongst football fans – of every club, to put the cart before the horse and the Manchester United ones are no different. If it’s been heard once it’s been heard a thousand times. “The FA Cup Semi Final derby on Saturday is the Final with the winner certain to lift the Cup at the end of May” REALLY? Is that not being a little presumptuous? Cup Finals have been riddled with underdogs coming out on top for over a century. Remember Sunderland beating Leeds United, Wimbledon doing the same against Liverpool and indeed, Southampton denying Manchester United? Every one of those winners were complete outsiders before causing their boilovers.
Yet we keep hearing people who should know better declaring that Bolton or Stoke will only be turning up at Wembley for a nice day out! Rest assured that whoever makes the trip will have a lot to say about that sort of thinking, just like Birmingham did against Arsenal in the Carling Cup a few weeks ago.
Of course, my money will be on United if they get there, especially if they’re still in the mix for a universally unexpected treble because the incentive will be almost irresistible. Yet that same pressure can prove to be their downfall. Should City make the Final however, have a little wager on the outsiders as the outcome will certainly not be a foregone conclusion. The Blues will face a different type of pressure to United, that of winning a trophy for the first time in 36 years.
My less than totally confident prediction is for a repeat of the 1958 United v Bolton Final. Why? Because I BELIEVE
Who’s your pick for the Final between Bolton and Stoke?
