John Aldridge has criticised the FA for ‘devaluing’ the FA Cup competition by forcing the semi-final clash between Liverpool and Manchester City to be played at Wembley.
The tie in question is set to be pencilled in either on 16th or 17th April whilst engineering works will deny fans of both clubs a train route to the English capital.
“To be honest we’re not stupid, we know they want the semis at Wembley to pay for Wembley, it was always the case,” the former Red was quoted as saying by the PA Agency (via the Independent).
“But logic is logic, come on. Manchester and Liverpool clubs – just play it at Manchester United. It is what it is.
“In our day the FA Cup was so great as it was about getting to the final at Wembley.
“Alex Ferguson used to get accused of devaluing the competition by putting different teams out but what they are doing is devaluing the competition in many ways to get the money to pay for Wembley.”
The Merseysiders are set to face Pep Guardiola’s outfit potentially only six or seven days after a pivotal title clash at the Etihad.
It’s yet another example of how far football moved away from the fans, prioritising corporate interests.
Whilst we can absolutely appreciate the need to finance the upkeep of Wembley Stadium, the FA is simply doing itself no favours by overlooking the lack of travel options for supporters hoping to see their respective teams in London.
If logic were to prevail, we’d sooner see the tie be played at Villa Park or Old Trafford, though there remains little in the way of hope for such an eventuality with the governing body sticking to its guns.
#Ep42 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Is Jota underappreciated? FA failing fans… and more! 🎙️