DANNY MURPHY ON THE FA CUP

DANNY MURPHY grew up with the FA Cup, following his team Liverpool all the way to Wembley in the late Eighties before lifting the trophy as a player in 2001. He still involved in the competition as a BBC TV pundit and will be at today’s fourth-round tie between Manchester City and Fulham.

IS THE FA CUP STILL GREAT?

I can only say yes, though I do understand why it has gone the other way to some people. The FA Cup has great personal meaning to me. Cup final day started at nine in the morning and, after my parents separated, it was a day that I always spent with my dad. He would come to ours and watch the whole build-up culminating with the game itself at Wembley.

The match that stuck out for me was the 1987 final between Coventry and Tottenham, the drama, Keith Houchen’s diving header, everything.

Later, I went to Wembley with my dad to watch Liverpool in the 1988 and 1989 finals. I still feel immensely proud of winning the FA Cup in 2001 when Liverpool beat Arsenal in Cardiff.

DOES IT MEAN AS MUCH TODAY?

Not to the Premier League clubs because their priority is finishing as high as possible for financial reasons.

But I’m saddened by managers who don’t think about the glory. Ask fans of Portsmouth and Wigan about the day they won the FA Cup. And it doesn’t do the winning managers any harm. Harry Redknapp got the Spurs job on the back of winning the FA Cup, Roberto Martinez went to Everton and then Belgium.

Fans still believe in the FA Cup. I covered Arsenal-Leeds in the third round and eight thousand came down from Yorkshire. The travelling support you get in cup games creates a better atmosphere than you get for regular league matches. Think about the Tranmere fans who went to Watford and saw them come back from 3-0 down. Their reward is seeing Manchester United come to Prenton Park.

CL PLACE TO FA CUP WINNERS?

It would persuade teams to put out stronger line-ups but I don’t think it would be fair for the wider game. You can get lucky in the FA Cup draw and reach a final that way. That’s part of the jeopardy but is it right the cup winners should then qualify for the Champions League instead of a team that has worked hard all season to finish fourth? I don’t believe so.

SCRAP REPLAYS?

I don’t see it being a problem but only if both managers agree before the first tie that they don’t want a replay. If Plymouth played Carlisle, they could decide not to have a replay and avoid an expensive trip.

But don’t deny Wycombe a trip to Anfield if they get a home draw against Liverpool. Tranmere have just beaten Watford in a replay. To have deprived them of the opportunity would’ve killed the competition’s romance.

MOVE SEMIS FROM WEMBLEY?

Definitely. Playing at Wembley has become too easy and having the semifinals there means the final loses some of the wow factor. And we have great stadia in this country that could be used as a neutral semi-final venue; Anfield, Old Trafford, the Spurs stadium, the Emirates, to name a few.

HOW BOOST ATTENDANCES?

There was a time when season-ticket holders were able to attend cup games. That’s not the case now so if you’ve already spent hundreds of pounds to watch league games, you might not want to spend even more to watch an extra cup tie.

There has to be some kind of arrangement where season-ticket holders are entitled to watch cup games, maybe if they paid a small premium at the start of the season.

SHOULD LEAGUE CUP BE AXED?

Not at all. Squads are big enough these days to cope with three domestic competitions. The only clubs who are really squeezed are the ones in Europe and they have the strength of squad to rotate and still win. As for the other clubs, they shouldn’t whinge about congestion, many of them don’t play enough games let alone too many. A Premier League team knocked out early of both cups could play only 40 matches in the entire season.

The only caveat I’d mention is reducing the Christmas programme by one fixture. I know from experience by the time the fourth game comes around, your legs are hanging on and then there is the cup third round afterwards. Other than that, I am sick to death hearing about too many games. The FA Cup should be seen as a fantastic opportunity. I know explosive players like Marcus Rashford have to be aware of over-working, but in general there is too much negativity about players doing too much. Perhaps the League Cup semi-final could be reduced to one game at a neutral venue rather than two legs.

OUTSTANDING CUP MEMORY?

Going to Wembley for the 1989 Liverpool-Everton final was immense. I’d been twice before to watch Liverpool there and they’d lost both, so I wondered if I should stay at home! I’m glad I didn’t. Liverpool won 3-2 and the emotions were overwhelming. It was in the aftermath of Hillsborough and there was something extraordinary about the whole city coming together.

As a player, winning the final in 2001 is my stand-out memory (below). Some Liverpool fans came on to the pitch at the end and I remember linking arms and singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ with them. For someone who’d been a supporter at the cup final just 12 years before, it was amazing.

THE BEST FINAL?

If I take my Liverpool hat off, a Manchester City-Tottenham final would be box office. Jose Mourinho versus Pep Guardiola. Mourinho has built his reputation as a serial trophy winner. Imagine the fun in the build-up if Pep Guardiola was standing in his way at Wembley.