Fairytales are few and far between in football. They are moments of unbelievable achievements, a conquering of the odds and a story that will live long in the memory. We witnessed one of those moments in the FA Cup final, where underdogs Wigan lifted the trophy against Manchester City.
Wigan made it to the cup final against the backdrop of a relegation scrap; a scrap they are odds on to lose. Yet the cup has provided joy to a club who operate on a limited budget and one of the smallest clubs ever to grace the Premier League. Having overcome Huddersfield, Everton and Millwall to reach the FA Cup final, the odds were stacked against Roberto Martinez’s Wigan Athletic again against Manchester City.
In truth however, they played like the fancied team at Wembley and dominated proceedings from start to finish. Martinez sprung a surprise playing three central defenders and the formation allowed them to gain the upper hand against Mancini’s Manchester City stars. It was a fascinating occasion but lacked clear chances throughout. When Pablo Zabaleta was sent off after 83 minutes, Wigan went for the jugular and it paid off when subsitute Ben Watson headed home a 91st minute corner to secure Wigan’s place in FA Cup history.
Chairman Dave Whelan, who has been owner of Wigan since 1995 was a massive part of this fairytale. Under his ownership the club had gone from Division 3 club to the Premier League and this was his crowning moment. The Wembley showpiece also has extra resonance for Whelan. While playing in the FA Cup Final in 1960 for Blackburn Rovers, Whelan broke his leg. 53 years on and through Wigan Athletic he has put his Wembley heartache behind him, turning a nightmare into a fairytale.
It is the kind of fairytale that the FA Cup really needed. It is a competition that has lost its spark. It has been said so often in recent years and has been demonstrated again this year. While it used to be the superior competition to the League Cup, the balance has shifted, with the League Cup gaining extra significance for the bigger clubs. Certainly the FA Cup is a bigger deal for the football league sides that it is for the Premier League clubs. Perhaps the FA Cup needs to do away with replays, which seem to take the gloss off tight matches and also play into the hands of bigger clubs, reducing the chance of upsets. The League Cup is able to provide winners on the night, through extra time and penalties, a format, which allowed League 2 Bradford to knock out Arsenal and Aston Villa en route to the final. Also, having the semi-finals of the FA Cup at Wembley does not work. It takes away the magic of reaching a Wembley final and the FA have to change that setup for the good of the competition. The FA Cup still has an important role to play in English football but needs adjustments to bring back the glory days of the competition.
Ultimate congratulations have to go to Wigan Athletic. They have showed that you can go toe to toe with the top clubs and play football the right way and still come out on top. The stock of Roberto Martinez continues to rise and his links to the Everton job will grow even stronger now. They are a side who look destined to drop into the Championship but will go with huge respect and a wonderful swansong. This was a victory for football, for all of us who believe in footballing miracles and for a Wigan Athletic who richly deserve this success for their fans, their manager and their fairytale capturing chairman.
