And the FA wanted a Man U-Chelsea FA Cup Final...and got it.
IT'S NO SECRET. The Football Association clearly had it's favourite during this year's FA Cup. As the teams dwindled down to the final four earlier this month, it was apparent which two teams would get the support of the FA. Although I personally would have enjoyed to see Watford and/or Blackburn Rovers in the final, just the possibility of those two teams making the final would have caused the FA enough heartburn to bother them all summer.
And it's easy to see why. This season's final will be the inaugural Cup Final to be held at the brand new New Wembley Stadium, and to have one or both of the English Premiership's marquee clubs to miss out on the party would have surely spoiled the FA's parade. Imagine this scenario playing out: Watford vs Blackburn Rovers for the FA Cup, a duel between a mid-table, regional Blackburn club and a Watford club that performed so poorly in the Premiership this year that they'll be relegated to League football next season.
Which is exactly why the Football Association sighed a sigh of great relief when the results of the semifinal round had Manchester United and Chelsea coming out on top. By having the first big match at New Wembley feature the two biggest clubs in English football, the many parties with a stake in this match will come out happy. Just consider how many people, companies and organizations has a marked interest in this match, financial and otherwise: the various television networks broadcasting the match, the sponsors on the jersey, the advertisers on the sidelines, the management at New Wembley, the clubs involved and the Football Association themselves all stand to gain from a high profile final. Additionally, with such popular clubs in the final, interest in the match is high from within the United Kingdom and especially outside it's frontiers. The fan clubs of both Chelsea and Man U. outside the UK are numerous, especially in the lucrative East Asian market, and this match will surely have television sets from Boston to Bangkok tuned in, something that neither Watford nor Blackburn could promise.
But although this might delight the movers and shakers at the Football Association, as well as Chelski and United fans alike, this is not necessarily the best result the FA Cup could have provided, when football is concerned. Surely, the money made and media exposure will be at its greatest with these two facing off, but it will be at the expense of English football and for that matter, world football in general. It's no secret that money has a tremendous influence in contemporary football, and has been for a long time, but the way the pursuit of the pound, euro and dollar (or yen, won and yuan for that matter) has basically overtaken any other factor means that football is becoming increasingly less competitive, that the large clubs will have even more influence and that the results of competitions will become more predictable. (Question: Who won the English Premiership this season? Answer: Manchester United...) The days of when Provincial Town FC from the Division Three Regional League had a chance to make it far in the FA Cup are long gone; those who support underdogs now root for mid-table clubs from the top league (e.g. Blackburn, 10th this season). Now the FA and its financial backers support the top clubs, because that's where the real money is at. Not to mention the FA's desire to reach middle class fans(read: more money), while alienating (abandoning?) the traditional working class fan base. And the result will be that the European football leagues will follow in English football's transformation into an "American style league," following the footsteps of the mega-rich pro sports leagues of the United States, especially the National Football League. What will that mean to Joe Public, football fan? Only time will tell if the FA's gambit will pay off or if there will be a backlash from the regular folk...
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