Do do do do do do do. Cars by going.
Hair in my car. You just cannot write scripts
like this. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen,
to the Final Countdown, the podcast looking back at great
finals within the game of football.
I'm Lewis here, my Co host Adam, hello there.
And we are continuing our run of FA Cup finals, the the oldest
and possibly the greatest cup competition in the world.
Well, definitely the oldest. Yeah, definitely factual.
Come on mate, what other domestic cup are you saying is?
Bad. Well, we're English.
We're not gonna say, oh, you know, I really like the Spanish
Cup. The Copa del Rey.
I knew you can resist, I know, but that is inaccurate.
Haven't. Let's let's move past the
Spanish Cup because that's not what we're covering.
No. And we, you know, spoiler alert,
probably never. I can't imagine we'll do that.
Although we could pick the top three, which will ultimately
just be Barcelona, Real Madrid. Cup 5 We suddenly get a massive
Spanish listening burrito caliente.
And we've lost all our Spanish listeners.
It's Spanish. It's just hot dogs.
Yeah, sure. Yeah, we speak nonsense in
Spanish and we speak nonsense in English.
And with that, let's talk about what turns out to be a bit of a
nonsense final only because of people's reactions to it.
So there's there's one very specific moment of utter
nonsense, utter woke nonsense that we want to talk about.
But let's talk about the 2016 FA Cup final, hotly contested
between Manchester United and Crystal Palace.
Yes, yes. Yes, yes, comes flooding back
exactly. So quite a bit of nonsense, but
Crystal Palace will give a bit of context as to where both
clubs were at this time because it's a funny time for both of
them. Palace obviously have had a
resurgence in the last year or 18 months where they have become
kind of a lot of people's favorite second club.
Think a lot of really well. I just think a lot of people
admire their style of football. I think they admire the fact
that they. Mean now or then.
Yeah. No, no.
No, now, now, yeah, OK. I'll give you that.
I think under. Yeah, sorry.
I thought I meant under Pardue like well.
Absolutely not. No, nobody liked.
Nobody likes to party, and that includes the Crystal Palace.
Spoiler Lewis really doesn't like party.
I don't. Know why we'll get into it maybe
but anyway, so we're talking about the 2016 FA Cup final.
Manchester United were making their first FA Cup final
appearance since 2007. So we've obviously spoken a lot
over the last two episodes of Wenger and Arsenal and their
state of things. And it's funny really that we
haven't once really spoken about, you know, being pushed
or, or having a rival in the cup like Manchester United.
So they haven't been there. So been.
No, but in a way they had a manager history that proved
that. Yeah, yeah, the opposite of the
Wenger kind of stick. Stick by the guy.
You know, I just kept trucking managers out and bringing the
managers. In yeah, exactly.
Hoping some would stick. So despite the poor season,
United entered as clear favourites in the most media
predictions. As you'd kind of imagine, even
though United weren't anywhere in the cups, they'd been doing
OK in the league. So who was manager of United?
So it was Louis Van Hire. Louis Van Hire's Red Army
Queen's Park Raisins. I just love doing lady
saxophone. Big applause.
Every human being who is. Crept with the hair only with
with sex. Muscle casement then it is
allowed but not in other. Situations.
I just love my Louis Van Hal quote impressions.
But the key storyline here is that United, under manager Louis
Van Hal, had sought silverware amid league struggles.
So in the League Cup they've been knocked out by middle.
So this is this season, 2016, they've been knocked out by
Middlesbrough on penalties in the fourth round.
In the League Cup they had been knocked down in Champions League
Group State each. They were in the Champions.
League they were in the Champions League, they got
knocked down the group stage. They were then demoted to the
Europa League, as was the way back then and they now they then
lost two rivals, Liverpool in the Europa League.
So it hadn't been very successful at all in the round
of 16. They finished fifth at the end
of the season outside the Champions League.
So it's kind of. Yeah, nowadays a successful in
it. Which is a crazy thing to say,
but yeah, you're not quite yeah. But.
Back then, this was seen as really kind of well, we're
still. It's the post Ferguson era,
isn't it? We're talking about three
seasons since he left after this.
So yeah. And it's there was more turmoil
to come, which obviously history tells us, but they were only on
their second post, folks and manager, weren't they?
It was more he's then. More he's stand on hall, yeah.
Then they get Jose Marina we'll talk a little bit about and then
Solshar and then run it just. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Absolutely ridiculous. But yeah, United, despite having
huge history and it being in recent memory, that's the
difference between now and then, is United are faltering as they
are now. But this was, like you say, it
was so soon after Ferguson. It was like, at some point it
will click and United will become a giant again.
They will become a team. Certainly their fans expected
that, yeah. I think most people that have
grown up with United being the top team kind of assumed at some
point they would because they always.
Did. Yeah, exactly.
Obviously the main difference was Ferguson was no longer
there. Yeah, I mean, having grown up in
the 90s as a Liverpool fan, it was just you just got sick of
United being that kind of boogeyman.
And you just always thought like, it's like Freddy Krueger,
man, United were Freddy Krueger. It's like I'd shut my eyes, I'd
go to dream and actually it turned into a nightmare.
So we're like, oh, great, United have won again.
United have taken the lead again.
And I just, yeah, I still have those flashbacks where I'm just
like, it will happen. United will just come back,
dominate. I think that relentlessness, the
ability we've talked about before on the podcast, that
relentlessness for Ferguson to recreate.
So, you know, Arsenal came along and he came back.
Chelsea came along and he came back.
It, you know, it was a bit kind of like how many times can the
guy reinvent the team? And I think because of that, it
didn't feel like, you know, when, you know, Chelsea had a
couple of good seasons, you didn't think of Chelsea as
they'll. Always be good.
Whereas United, it's taken a while for a non United fan to
accept the fact that they aren't a top team.
Yeah. Yeah, no, you're right.
And I still, I still consider them a top team because of the
emotional scarring of being back.
Yeah, maybe. Yeah, yeah.
I still can't accept that and it was proved right this season
already, but when Liverpool played them I was like United
will beat us because even though we've had an incredible record.
But then none of us. But I doubt and we'd go back.
But I doubt the predictions any of us thought United were
finished top 4. No, no, I'm certain which.
Is a good indicator of this is actually what you think of the
team now, Yeah. And back in 2016, there was a
lot of disgruntled United supporters, mainly for the style
of football that Van Hal was doing.
A lot of crosses, a lot of fairly stodgy defensive play and
there was still that sense of no, there's a United Way of
playing and this and the other to highlight that they had 49
league goals, which was the clubs lowest in Premier League
history up until that point and anti Martial was their top
scorer in the league with 11 goals.
So kind of tells you where they're at end of the season,
their top striker, 11 goals. Palace, on the other hand,
managed by Alan Pardew. He's spoken about and he has
history in this competition. So I wanted he does.
Yeah. I wanted to be unbiased and give
a, a, a fair appraisal of where Alan Pardew was at.
So obviously a player in 1990 when Palace reached that first
over final which ironically they lost to Manchester United.
He scored in the semi don't. He did.
Scored the famous swimming goal against Liverpool.
He was manager for West Ham in the Gerrard final so he'd
managed to get to obviously 2 finals, 1 as a player, 1 as a
manager. Lost both.
Palace hoped to land their first major trophy in the club's
history, which they've now gone and done happens.
Well, not with Padre though. Nice.
Thank God we'd never hear the end of it would be.
But Palace started the league brilliantly at the start of this
2016 season, so they were fifth at Christmas.
But unfortunately things kind of went down from there.
Their form collapsed in the second-half of the season.
They went 14 games without a win between December and April.
So that's why despite United's kind of faltering position in
the league, that's why United were favourites, because the
momentum, well, I wouldn't say it was with United, but it
certainly wasn't with Palace anymore. 14 games without a win.
He did well to hang on, didn't he?
That's quite right, Agree. Yeah, I completely agree.
But yeah, maybe because they achieved in the first half first
kind of like, oh, maybe we've been unlucky etcetera, etcetera.
But yeah, 14 league games without a win is relegation form
really. But nevertheless they they kind
of managed to rally and just finished low to mid table.
But that's why Man United were favourites despite not being in
impeccable form. So in the ethic up itself,
Crystal Palace's path, just to kind of highlight who they've
beaten on route. They beat Southampton, they've
beaten Stoke, they've beaten Tottenham, Reading and then
Watford. So a mixed A.
Mixed No massive win there. Is no.
I mean, Tottenham has a cup team, not that that's really
been true in the 20 tenth. Yeah, it's not actually.
Yeah. No.
So there's nobody. I suppose you could argue they
would have had Kane, wouldn't they?
At that point, yes, they would have done That's that's a bit of
a win. Yeah, they managed to to scrape
past Tottenham one nil. United's path, however, was
arguably even easier. So they had Sheffield United,
Derby County, Shrewsbury Town and they had to beat West Ham
United in a replay. So they managed to win 21 away
after A1 all draw at home and then they be Everton 21 in the
semifinals. Giant killing, that is.
Well, some might say that not many.
In fact, you. I think the person opposite me
is the only person. I'm mocking my own team there.
It's a healthy thing to have if you're in everything.
So I just think it's interesting looking at the types of teams
that have made the finals in the last few episodes that we've
seen. So we've seen Wigan make a
final, we've seen the whole make a final, we've seen Aston Villa
make a final, we've seen Palace make a finals.
So there's kind of four or five years in a row where an
unfavoured Top 14, yeah, yeah, not Top 14 has managed to play
off against a traditional. Do you think that's about
Europe? Interesting.
There was a lot more English teams involved in European
competition. They would have prioritize
those, or at least not necessarily prioritize.
But by the time the FA Cup came around.
They just got wasn't the priorities.
Well, if they were still in it and they're gonna you know, they
if you get through the pre Christmas Europe, you're in the
competition really, aren't you? You would be round 16, possibly
quarter finals. So when the FA Cup comes along,
you're like, well, we're in the quarter finals of this thing as
in the European competition, you might prioritize that.
And English teams typically do go quite far in European
competition. Yeah, certainly.
Yeah, No, that's a really good point.
Maybe that's what contributes to it.
I just thought it was interesting that we go through
this little phase of having this unfavoured team against a kind
of traditional giant. But with that, let's let's stop
talking about the context and get into the match itself.
Or added minutes and Gerard stunning.
I'll take a bow, son. I mean that take a bow, you have
been immense. So as the game kicked off,
United started far more assertively.
They were controlling possession and tempo with, and I don't know
if you'll remember this, but Wayne Rooney started central
midfield from Man United. I was just going to say this is
near the end of Rooney but he is still there, isn't he?
Is yeah, and he, I think he even capped into the side on this
occasion, he. Yeah.
Yeah, very true. But he's starting center mid 31
years of age, which compared to the likes of Hurricane or
whatever like seems relatively young nowadays.
But I think it's fair to say Rooney, he wasn't the most
gifted physical footballer in terms of his.
He had to fight his body to yeah.
Definitely, it seems that way. Yeah, exactly.
To to get to the way, but also the way he played football,
health, leather, thrown his body into everything from the age of
16, playing men's football. I just think it took its toll,
saw kind of Rooney burn out a bit quicker than some of the
other players that maybe. I think it was generation, yeah,
he was 120% when he was, he was relentless to the way he played.
Whereas someone like a cane, I'm not saying he isn't physical,
but you know, it's probably easier for him to drift in and
out of games and make impact. Yeah, I guess you could argue
the same with people like Gerard and you know Lampard, people
that keen even that people that were the engine room of their
teams probably didn't last as. Long, I mean, Lampard wasn't too
bad. I think Lampard got.
But again, it's fair to say that the last three years of his
career were not like the 15 that have gone.
But yeah, Gerard's legs kind of started to go and no, I think
you're right when you are the the core of your team.
But nevertheless, Rooney would play an important role in this
game. So he started to dictate the the
pace. However, Crystal Palace a little
bit like they do now we're known for their counter attacking.
So they had Wilfred Zaha, who back in this era of Crystal
Palace was their shining star. And then you had the hold up
play of a young colour Wickham, who was their kind of target man
striker, didn't really ever go on to achieve.
Much because they're not thought about that name.
No exactly. During the 1st 15 minutes United
dominated but they couldn't get any clear cut opportunities.
Can I, can I just check is this Pogba United?
Not quite yet. He would be signed from Juventus
the start of the next season. Yeah.
So Pogba isn't quite there yet. It's a very thin on the ground
United team. When you look at the kind of the
lineup, it's not particularly spectacular.
So it's Wilfred Zaha who led the counter attacks of Palace,
obviously with a massive point to prove.
He had signed for United a couple of seasons beforehand,
hadn't established himself at all there despite being a
mainstay in the Crystal Palace side.
So kind of his he had a point to prove and you can see he's very,
very busy in this final. Doesn't influence it as much as
maybe you'd hope for. Nevertheless, it's Zaha who is
the main creative outlook. And then a major flashpoint
happens. Wickham, Connor Wickham burst
through about 15-16 minutes in, shrugs off Chris Smalling, who
we will talk about a little bit later on, but nevertheless the
referee Klattenberg, So Mark Klattenberg.
Gladys does. Really.
Well, The thing is, he doesn't like the physical game back
then, I can tell you that now. So as Wickham shrugs off Chris
Smalling, he manages to cut inside and he scores a really
good goal. However, he blown his whistle a
second earlier. People had stopped play in order
to give Crystal Palace the advantage, as in to give them
the free kick, when if he just allowed advantage, Palace would
have gone one nil up. Klattenberg at the end of the
game. Upon review, does upon review,
it has been a judge that he kind of said, look, you won't go on
my. First whistle.
Chris Smallick, you will go on my second whistle.
A man. A man who loves himself.
He does. Yeah.
Yeah, he does. But nevertheless, he kind of
admitted that he made a few mistakes at the end of this
final, Which part of me is like, well, well done for fronting up,
but the other part of me is like, just stay quiet.
Like, does it make Palace feel any better?
Referees can't win though, can they?
They can't win like when they when they come out and say treat
us like humans, they're like, you know how many mistakes you
making? It's like, well then don't ask.
Yeah, it's just a bit. They can't win.
It is literally a human being making a judgement in split
second time. Like I, I got a some refs annoy
me but I actually got quite a lot of sympathy for refs.
I it's thankless. I got to say, are you head of
the like refs? Thankless mate, it really is,
especially with the way that football's attitude is.
I think it's telling that no former football has ever become
refs ever, because that's the ultimate.
Like, why on earth would I ever put myself in the position of
what I've given to the refs over the years?
But nevertheless, it's a really poor piece of refereeing from
Klanberg, you've got to say. And if you watch the footage
back? He's an idiot mate.
I mean, so unsurprisingly, Alan Padre kicks off.
But again, he's justified. I feel like this is my
reclamation project with Padre. I'm trying to give him credit
where credit's due. He does kick off because,
rightly, he can feel aggrieved. For the next kind of 10 minutes,
United start to find their rhythm.
So Anthony Martial, their top scorers.
We spoke about tests. Wayne Hennessy with a curling
effort. Fellaini starts to win his
aerial duty. Yeah, this is a strange Man
United squad. Starts to win his Aeroj.
What was that number 4? The guy is 7.
Foot 5 foot that his hair to be fair but nevertheless Fellaini
starts to throw his weight around a little bit Palace start
to sit back and look to counter attack.
As you'd expect the best chance of united half though comes not
long before the first end of the first half.
It's Juan matter. His low cross reaches Fellaini 6
yards out but unfortunately he's got the worst first touch in the
world and it bubbles over to Wayne Hennessy and it's like
this golden opportunity that you're like Matt has done the
hard work. Fellaini just a little bit of
quality, but it evades him with David Hayer, he'd barely been
troubled in the United goal. A Palace had kind of countered
through Jason Punch and Wilfred Zaha, but again, no clear cut
chances and the half finishes nil nil.
Quite drab, fairly kind of scripted in terms of you'd
expect United to dominate palace to counter attack, but at this
point it doesn't look like anyone really wants to to go
and. Win it.
That's interesting as well because we talked last week
about FA Cup finals that get to nil, nil and it was.
It was 4 wasn't for. The last 20 years or something
like that. So it's the fifth.
Yeah. Yeah, a bit strange.
Yeah, it's a bit unusual, but I guess the state of where these
both these teams were out. But it's different when it's
like, oh Arsenal, you know, you were a swaggering attacking
team, be less. It'd be more unusual for them to
be nil. Nil and probably incredibly
important for both teams to win. Yeah, as in the you know, not to
say Arsenal tournament didn't give a monkeys, but the the the
emphasis on these two teams to win this final was enormous.
Yeah, absolutely. From their, you know, from their
viewpoint. Yeah, of course.
So as the second-half begins, Palace start to press higher up,
they start to be a lot more aggressive and a bit more on the
front foot. Rooney however, starts to be
more aggressive from midfield and I don't just mean throwing
elbows, Phil Bosley knocking out style, but he does.
He just starts to be a lot more aggressive and you start to see
the the kind of big game player that Rooney could be even in his
advancing years and in a a deeper position.
He starts to control the tempo of the game, starts to drive
United forward. So Marcus Rashford who had kind
of emerged under Van Hal, a very, very young Marcus
Rashford. He was the great hope of United.
He had kind of emerged. And to be fair to Van Hal, there
are a few youngsters that got their starts with him and he
kind of trusted the youth quite a bit.
And Rashford is one of the few kind of bright sparks that you
look back on Van Hal's time and go, OK, he looked after
Rashford, promoted him. He brought him in, however, as
Flashford. Flashford Hey.
Marcus Marcus Flashford great player.
Yeah, he's not, not as consistent as we like, but I
tell you what, he's got a lovely bit of skill in him when he
wants it. Marcus Flashford.
Marcus Rashford flashes across the across, across goal.
I can't do this or something. I've only recently recovered
from a bug. We'll blame it on that.
You won't see them or hear them, but they might.
Mistakes Lewis is making today. Isn't so It's great editing.
It's great editing, right? Let's see if I can get this out
in one go. Marcus Rashford flashed a cross
across goal. I mean, you've written.
Yeah, you've written a really difficult sentence.
There we go. The arsonist had oddly shaped
feet. The Human Torch was denied a
bank loan. Marcus Rashford flashed across
across goal where Marshall's header hit the inside of the
post. So United go very close to
breaking the deadlock. Unfortunately denied by the
woodwork. United start to increase the
pressure, though, starting to get past the hour mark.
Fellaini's chest control sets him up for a really good volley
that smashes off the crossbar. So United to start over him.
Yeah. And they're starting to think,
you know, is this going to be our day or not?
Is this one of these cursed games where you've got all the
pressure, you're not taking your chances, are you?
Kind of going to suffer. And the answer is yes, albeit
briefly. So 72 minutes in against the run
play, Palace end up striking first so Jason Puncher of.
Course. Just on for Yoan Kabai latches
onto Delaney loop pass on the back post.
He controls it really well on his chest, smashes a shot high
and pretty venomously past David to hair and goal, gives Palace
the lead. The crowd go mental.
The players go mental. Alan Pardew turns directly to
the camera. He makes eye contact.
Is he the camera? He looks at the middle-aged
married women looking at home. He's beams into their lounge and
he does the cringes dad dance in the world and it is just
horrendous. And what's terrible, part of why
I hate Pardue so much is what an incredible historic moment for
this club. Yeah, they've got one up against
you like they've never won a trophy in their life.
It's latish in the game and you think there's a real chance they
go on and win this. What does Pardue do?
Make it about himself? I can't stand the blow.
Do you think the Palace players through the game because they're
alive? We win this.
Yeah. That's all you'll see.
Yeah, For the rest of time. They they are fans of football
first and foremost, fans of Palace second.
They thought, lads, we've got to do this for the sake of
football. It's just not good enough.
It's just outrageous. It'd be a crime against humanity
if pardon was in the Hall of Fame for forgiven that dance.
But nevertheless, because there's the thing, surely, I
know I'm going to rant, but surely you would get lost in the
passion of the moment like. It just seems a bit like as he
arranged to do that. Yeah, as he thought that laugh.
We go on and off. I'm going to like rub it in
their face or something like that.
But despite the fact that I am very clearly a Liverpool fan, I
have no desire to see Man United happy.
I was a little bit happy that only three minutes later United
would equalise. So United end up hitting back.
It's Wayne Rooney, picks up the ball in the halfway line, surges
past 3 Crystal Palace players, does really, really well.
Just rides at them. Yeah, absolutely.
And it even at 31, you're like what?
A player he starts drive past and he gets driven just to the
kind of right hand side of the six yard box and chips a really
delightful cross to the back post.
Who's there? Marian Fellaini, who chests the
ball and do you think he's going to set him up for a volley?
But as the ball rolls off his chest, Juan Matter comes in on
the left hand side, strikes a shot that gets slightly
deflected. But nevertheless, Juan Matter
scores from A really well worked.
Rooney, he's a good player. Yeah, yeah, me too.
And he gets he gets united back in the game only three minutes
later. Palace and Pardews.
Joy I. Do not dance in that.
Well, he can only last three minutes.
That's what I've heard, but I won't tell you what source I've
heard that from. I don't wanna know where you
read that from. Yeah, the less we talk about
party and his 3 minutes the better.
The less we talk about party, half this podcast has been to
right party. How's he taking up the airwaves
still? I'm just part of his game.
He's pulling the strings. He's the puppet master.
But the last five minutes of normal time are fairly
uneventful. Michael Carrick gets brought on
for Man United again towards the end of his career.
To try and say brought on, why was he on there?
Yeah, he's coming up towards the end of his career, but it means
that extra time beckoned so Rashford would go off injured
earlier. I mean, Flashford, Flashford,
Flashford was not doing any more step overs this game.
No more of honors. He's been taking off and it's a
young again, a young Jesse Lingard.
People. Absolutely.
Yeah, Jesse Lingard. So United started to show their
tenacity and they started to kind of turn the screw a little
bit in the second, in the extra time.
Sorry. Fellaini continued to dominate,
as you'd expect. He's really quite focal in this,
which is strange because. He was that kind of player,
though. Weren't he, let's say.
I think him and someone like Scott Mctominay were really good
players in the United squad that was really suffering.
And I think that that's so Macdominy.
But certainly Fellaini, because the way he looked and he'd come
from Everton as a Moy signing, yeah, was kind of ridiculed.
But Fellaini and Macdominy were actually really important for
United and. They were.
Rather, they weren't the problem.
No, absolutely. Yeah.
And yet they were easily kind of pinpointed when actually it's
like, hold on, we've seen now they definitely weren't.
They were kind of play as you needed, maybe not the ones that
you associate with United, but what they needed at the time.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. However, 105 minutes in, so
right at the end of the first half of extra time, Chris
Smallink had already been booked.
Halls down, Yannick Bellassi to stop a counter attack and gets
his second yellow card. So a red card, so we're
covering. Loads of them in there.
Yeah, it's like London buses. You don't get one for ages and
then all of a sudden they come along at the same time.
It must have been one in the 1st 90 years of this competition and
now that's up to 5 or 6. Nice.
Crazy. Yeah, absolutely ridiculous.
So United down to 10 men with the second-half of extra time
left. However, with Palace pushing
forward because they knew they they kind of had the advantage.
Now everyone's knackered, you've literally got 10 minutes to win
the game. Palace With the younger squad,
Palace were the kind of relying on their speed and were trying
to use their energy to their advantage.
The ball broke loose inside the box after it was cleared.
However, Jesse Lingard reacts quickest.
He meets it first time on the half volley, A thunderous
strike. It's a really good goal, it's
worthy of winning an FA Cup. Ten men are striving for a good
breakthrough here. They've got it, Jesse Lingard,
with a dumping goal. History before your very eyes.
Jesse Lingard, who again, through happenstance happens to
be there because Flashford got injured.
You do wonder, like, yeah, I don't know.
I think This is why we love looking back at these finals
because there's so many like domino moments of butterfly
effects, like if Russia doesn't get injured, do.
Does Lingard get this moment? Exactly.
Or actually, do Palace end up kind of nipping, nicking it and
then things change and Padre stays on as Palace manager and
becomes England manager and England in the World Cup?
It's a funny one with Jesselyn Garden because he was, he was
like of such a mainstage, certainly of that early.
Southgate era, massively so. And then he just, I guess he
screwed it up. I can only I don't know.
I think there's a lot of off the pitch issues, not like scandal
necessarily, but I think he he just.
Just wasn't focused. Yeah, that's what exactly.
Yeah, that's what seems. Come along.
He kind of is interested in his fashion, interested in other
avenues outside of football. And I think he just kind of fell
out of love with the game. By all accounts, he seems to be
enjoying himself in South Korea now.
But but yeah, nevertheless, it's it's a bit sad to see where
Lingard's ended up. He's of that generation of Deli
Alli. And I know there were much
different reasons for that, but he's kind of before Eric Dyer
joined Monaco, he looked like he was going the same way.
But actually there's kind of yeah, Ross Barkley like that era
where there was a lot of players in the similar England sports
Fabian Delphi spoke about last episode that didn't quite kick
on and and achieve their full potential.
But nevertheless, he'll always have this moment to look back on
it. So scores an incredible goal,
pure instinct, the technique. Wembley was stunned.
United's bench explodes and United go on to lift the FA Cup
trophy. Well, you have.
Just witnessed 90 of the most. Gripping minutes of European
football you'll ever. I've ever seen the good.
News is there's more to come, so an extra time is worth noting.
Just a few talking that extra time of our podcast, not the
game. Of course, it's worth knowing
Wayne Rooney, Man United captain, was given man of the
match. Does he lift the cup?
Yeah. Well, is him and Carrick a
joint? Obviously Carrick came on as a
sub. I think like you said earlier or
mentioned earlier, it's difficult to think of who else
would have been Man United captain at the time, because
those two are really the kind of the veterans and the people that
were withholding. Well, holding the changing room
together. Really.
Yeah, exactly. What you read about now?
But yeah man, the match at that age is pretty decent.
Yeah, absolutely. And he was kind of just, yeah,
still proving that he had it. That winning the FA Cup,
however, wasn't good enough to save Louis Van Hal his job.
Oh, another manager. Another manager post final.
Absolutely. So yeah, like Mancini, who we
spoke about previously for Man City, Van Hal was sacked 2 days
later, with Jose Mourinho being appointed shortly afterwards.
So it seems as though, yeah. I remember that.
I felt like that was a lot to do with the fact Mourinho was
available. Yeah, rather than they.
I think if Mourinho hadn't been available, I think Van Hal maybe
would have stayed I. Think you're right in terms of
they, man, I'd still wanted the big name manager.
They needed somebody that had kind of a heavyweight
reputation. Yeah.
The only thing was the fans were really unhappy with Van Hal and
I think, I wonder if that would have broken the camel's back
regardless, because the lack of attacking football, the lack of
goals, but nevertheless, they've still got silverware to show for
it. Yeah.
But yeah, the rumours are that Van Hall was told immediately
after lifting the cup that he was told that he wouldn't have
his. Cup What is wrong with the
people that run these football clubs?
It's crazy but it was announced publicly 2 days later with Jose
Mourinho being pointed. So Chris Malling we mentioned
this became only the 4th player ever to be sent off in an FA Cup
final. So United had a record they
probably weren't that proud of, which is their only club to ever
have two players sent off in an FA Cup final.
Yeah, Man City had had one. Different FA Cup final, it's not
the second. One.
Yeah, yeah, I didn't get that. 40 years apart.
It's a really long final, the replays and the replays and the
replays. But referee Mark Klanberg, as I
said, admitted that he made a couple of errors in the match
regarding some of the advantage decisions, meaning one, it was
the Conor Wickham early goal. Yeah.
And here's an interesting tidbit of information.
Just to finish. So 24 people have managed and
played in an FA Cup final. Managed and played in an FA Cup
final. Do you want to guess some of
them? I'm not going to ask you to get.
Yeah, I'll be impressed if you can get 5.
Yeah, Glenn Hoddle. Correct.
Don't forget that moment, do you mate?
Absolutely not. Glenn Hoddle Are they quite old
school or? Some of them, they're big names,
there's very few here that you wouldn't recognise.
Padju. Correct you.
Must love that Padju is Lampard. Correct.
Has he? Yes.
It's in there. You've done very well.
Three from three so far. There's an Everton link.
The Royal. Yes, there's another Everton
link that wasn't the one I was. Thinking oh, OK, Ferguson.
No, no, no, I don't know it. Is maybe, maybe I'm
misremembering Howard Kendall. Howard Kendall.
You, oh, you must have played as.
Yeah, yeah, fair enough. Yeah, yeah.
Just trying to think of a couple more.
One is an England England legend and featured for Man United.
What's the say, Steve Bruce? He would have managed
Middlesbrough half in, a suit, half in.
Oh, Brian Robson. Brian Robson?
Yeah, that's the most obvious 1, isn't it?
Absolutely. So a few more to add to this
list. So Gianluca Viale, Roberto De
Matteo, Mikhail Arteta, Barry, Bobby Gould.
Sorry, Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Don Revi, Kenny Dalglish, Terry
Venables and that there are some others that aren't kind of
recognisable. Yeah.
I just thought that's a really interesting list of managers
that is. And so many of them are actually
like fairly modern day. I just thought I was interesting
seeing the likes of Michael Arteta, Frank Lampard, Di Mateo.
If you were a player manager, do you instantly get that record
that? I guess you, yeah, I guess you
would can. You turn up once.
Yeah, exactly. He was always efficient.
That's why he was such a successful manager.
He. Got the record done in one day.
He gained the system. He knew what he was doing, so
yeah, United ended up lifting the FA Cup trophy to try and
take their record back from Arsenal for the most wins, yes,
and we will see whether that trend continues in the 2017 FA
Cup final.