THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FA CUP FOR MANCHESTER UNITED

         

       The FA Cup is one of Englands most prestigious competitions. A competition which allows both the clubs from the Premier League and clubs from England’s second division sides to come together and battle on equal level for the simple chance of calling themselves Champions of both the lower league sides and the top division side in England. English football fans have always had a history of enjoying the thrill of the FA Cup because the competition is always packed with so much excitement, surprises and suspense that the fans always seem to head into the games with so much anticipation and end up enjoying the entire event on the night.

       Arsenal football club are currently the competitions highest holders with 13 victories over all. This should not come as a surprise because Arsenal has clearly dominated the competition with the help of their influencial captain Tony Adam and Thiery Henry, Arsenal has dominated the FA Cup competition since the competition was created 1871 and for the past 147 seasons Arsenal continues to hold the record for the competitions most succesfull teams. The truth is that as much clubs like Arsenal and Totenham have all been deserved Champions in the competition for such a long time, twelve time FA Cup holders Manchester United in contrast have lacked less success behind Arsenal in the FA competition for such a long time simply because Manchester United's history has shown that the Red Devils are a club that does not prioritize the FA Cup because Manchester United major success have been achieved in much more major competitions such as the Premier League, Champions League and the Europa League. The theory of putting the FA Cup in the back burner of Manchester United's success targets is not a system that kicked into action at Manchester United in recent times. The truth of the matter is that ever since the time of Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United always had an act of not taking the FA Cup serious. In-fact history has shown that Manchester United would sometimes use the FA Cup to test out a number of young player in the club and help accelerate the development of the clubs younger starlets. So how important is the FA to Manchester United's fan base? Not a lot of importance to be totally honest with you. Frankly, with a little research, results have shown that Manchester United fans are far more likely to splash out about £43 - £53 for a great seat to watch the Manchester United team play in the Premier League or Europes best competitions than spend but find it a little uncomfortable to pay £37( a mere pitons compared to the price it cost to watch from the Sir Alex stand) and watch the team on any other match day.

     But the bigger question to be asked of Manchester United fan base is Why has the FA Cup turned into such an Inferio trophy in the eyes of Manchester United? And I will answer my own question in the form of an idiom ” a starving wolf stops feeding on scavenged food when the wolve has found a new taste from constant supply of fresh meat”. Meaning Manchester United simply quenched their taste for the FA Cup with an even greater hunger for the Premier League glory and UEFA Champions League glory and now Prefers to go for thev bigger glory season after season at the moment. Sir Alex Ferguson was one of the first few Manchester united managers to bring the spotlight to a trophy that is fading into the dark part of the trophy cabinet at Old Trafford. The legendary Manchester United won the FA Cup competition at least twelve times during the Sir Ferguson era but eva since the departure of “Fergie”, as sir Ferguson is referred to in some parts of Manchester, the Red Devils has become so complacent on the importance of FA cup competition  in recent times and would much rather focus their thoughts on claiming other top football prizes such as Premier League Title of England and Champions League Title of Europe. Sundays showdown against fierce rival Totenham in the FA Cup holds a diffent tune to the usual song . Manchester United and Spurs are both without any sought of major silver wear for the past two seasons at least and in the wake of Mourinho with his Manchester United squad final admitance to Manchester City's championship claim Manchester United and Totenhan has been left with no other choice but to channel all the teams quality and all the teams energy into winning Sundays FA Cup show down where the winner takes one more step forward to earning the FA Cup crown.

        
         Finally, what is the news if there is any from Manchester United you ask? Well the big news is that Manchester United are showing impressive signs of serious interest in the FA Cup this season and with one massive reason to do so which I will get to at the end of this article. But first I wanted to shine nThe Red devils entered this past Wednesday Premier League match against with a strong side but the team were noticeably lacking some big players such as Matić, Lukaku, Sanchez e.t.c whom were all seen sitting on the Manchester United bench presumably to be started in started for Saturdays evening kick off and if the exclusion of the previously mentioned players from this past Wednesday nights game is any indication that the left out players are destined for a starting place in Saturdays FA Cup showdown then Mourinho is clearly intent on making the FA Cup significant in Manchester England once again. But the increased attention to the FA Cup competition is very interesting to me because the attention raises one question for me : Is this a road Manchester United has chosen to take to give the fans a sense of accomplishment this season which will undoubtably retain the interest of fans in the club? The answer is a massive yes! For the past two seasons Manchester United have failed to deliver any sought of silver ware to Old Trafford and my little research I have conducted by diving into the mainstream of Manchester United fan base with the help of football chat rooms, with the help of social media and with the help of one on one live chats through live cameras on football such as Premier League goal zone, the results seems to be pointing towards minor frustration' and minnor agitation directed towards Mourinho and the players. The current status of Manchester United simply put is a little fraustration' mixed with a sustainable satisfaction but work still needs to be done for silver ware to be had and winning the FA Cup this season must be used as a sign of successess heading Manchester United's way next season or in the very near future. Financial stabiliity has not been a problem for Manchester United, last season the club saw an increase in their stock market  at a high rate of %18.5. That would mean that if the football clubs gross net was worth 18 billion around april 20 of last year, the current estimate margin for the club might be around £18.185 Billion give or take £19 Billion. The fact of the matter is that as far as Manchester United is concerned, the problem standing between the team and success has never been based on finances, the problem is simply spending the money on areas where Manchester United needs improving, which is on the defensive area as we channel our thoughts to next season.

         So, here is Manchester Uniteds agenda from now to the end of next season, finish strong in the current seasons remaining Premier League games, beat Tottenham' in todays FA Cup game and go on in the competition to win the FA cup. Then, release the budget for this upcoming summer transfer window and spend the money on buying players that will strenghten' the teams defence. Then prepare to claim the Premier League Trophy from Manchester City’s grasp next season and, finally, battle furioususly the Uefa Chaampions League Crown when the competition kicks off again in September.