The FA Cup remains the greatest cup competition in the world and the third round remains a special weekend on the football calendar, but from a manager’s perspective it has become more complex than before over the years.
The Premier League now takes precedence over the fixture list and I’m afraid the FA Cup’s importance is diminished as a result, especially when your club’s top-flight status and entire financial base is at stake.
advertise
As with most things in life these days, money talks and there is no doubt that the Premier League is the most important right now.
The FA Cup falls further down the pecking order due to the three remaining European leagues, as well as the number of games and teams involved.
As the number of games increases, something has to give, usually the FA Cup. As a manager I understand why – even though I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s when everyone thought it was something very special – this year will be no different.
After a busy festive period and another round of games mid-week, Premier League teams will look at this weekend’s games as an opportunity to rest some, and sometimes all, of their players!
advertise
It’s a shame, even though it might give smaller clubs the chance to join the giant-killing ranks that the competition has become known for over the years.
I have experienced both sides of the coin. In 2008, when we were promoted to the Premier League, Stoke City struggled at first and by the start of the year, when we played League One side Hartlepool in the third round, I had almost changed the whole team.
FA Cup low point, at Victoria Park. In 2009, Pulis showed his frustration when his Stoke City team lost in the third round to Hartlepool, a League One team 41 places below them. [Getty Images]
The team needed a break and I’m sure the players who left the team had a point to prove – but we lost 2-0 and I received some criticism from the media for the changes.
advertise
I still feel like what I did was justified. My first aim was to stay at a Premier League club as that was vital for our long-term future and luckily we did manage that year.
Is that cup game and my team selection crucial to our survival? I’m not sure, but when you’re a leader you have to make decisions and only in hindsight can you evaluate whether they were the right choices.
I always chuckle when I hear some pundit put the world right after a game – if I were always picking my team after every game, even if I thought I could pick some of them right.
How cup runs come together
Winning the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. Pulis celebrates his fourth goal in the 5-0 semi-final win over Bolton Wanderers in 2011 [Getty Images]
My view as a manager is that you can never honestly “target” the cup if you’re in charge of a team outside the top six.
advertise
When things suit you, they will come – like when we reached the FA Cup final with Stoke City in 2011.
You need good luck on the court, you need favorable draws in various ways, and you need a team and lineup that can go deep into the tournament. I’ve always felt that Stoke would need to be in the Premier League for around three years to achieve that goal, and I’m not far off from that.
I had been a manager for 20 years at that point and that cup tie will always be one of my fondest memories – Cardiff twice, Wolves away, Brighton home, then West Ham, Bolton and then Manchester City. Each game has its own story.
In the third round, Cardiff City played very well at our stadium but we beat them in a game that was more comfortable for us. After that, away games against Wolves are always difficult, but Thomas Sørensen saved the penalty and Hooty (Robert Huth) scored our winning goal.
advertise
We beat Brighton 3-0 in the fifth round, which looked easy, but Gus Poyet’s side gave us a very good game. Next up is West Ham United who just beat us 3-0 in the league at Upton Park so I just want to say it was a tough week for the lads but they were rewarded with a 2-1 win.
We went to Wembley where we faced Bolton in the semi-finals. My captain, Ryan Shawcross, came to see me and asked if the lads were wearing suits, knowing full well it wasn’t a final and they had a game to play before that.
Stoke fans will never forget what happened that day. Bolton showed up in a suit with flowers on his jacket, and that was my team talk. After an incredible performance as we won 5-0, I mentioned afterwards that these sets must be worth having!
The final against Manchester City didn’t go the way we were hoping for but the lads were still great. They are a great team but ultimately they are just one point away from a team that will dominate the Premier League for the next decade.
advertise
I just want to add one thing about that time because it really pisses me off when I see players not performing well on the bench – it pisses me off even now.
Sørensen was my goalkeeper in that great cup game, but Asmir Begovic was definitely my number one and started our league game.
When we reached the finals, there were reports that I traded Sorensen for Begovic, but I never did – and Asmir never knocked on my door and asked if Thomas had been selected for all those connections I listed above.
He backed Thomas up throughout that game and showed what a great team player he is. It embodies the spirit of Stoke City and that unity is another element any team will need heading into Wembley this year.
advertise
History still matters – the FA Cup gave us big moments
When I was a kid, and when I was a player, the FA Cup was considered something special. Most coaches I’ve worked for would change the cup week routine, but it didn’t involve resting the first team at that time.
Instead, at Bristol Rovers we would take salt water baths and walk on the beach at Weston Super Mare. We were told you can’t buy bottled ocean air!
My best result was at Rangers in 1978 when we reached the fifth round as a club from what is now the Championship and drew with Ipswich Town, who had finished third in the top flight the previous season.
advertise
They had a great team at the time and Sir Bobby Robson was a great manager. At home, on a hard, cold pitch in Eastville, we led all the way and almost beat them. Bobby Gould’s late winner was disallowed for offside, but it turned out not to be.
Ipswich were too good for us in the replay and ended up winning the FA Cup. That was the closest I came to winning a title as a player, but I always think about Gould’s goal and how it would have changed the course of history.
I said from the beginning that I believe the FA Cup is the greatest cup competition in the world and definitely the most famous.
It has created so many legends over the years that you don’t need to lift a trophy to become one of them.
advertise
Take Colin Addison, for example. Earlier this spring, I was invited to be one of the speakers at his memorial service.
Colin played more than 400 league games and coached many more, but his defining moment in nearly 60 years in the domestic and international professional game came as player-coach of non-league Hereford United when they beat top-flight side Newcastle United in the third round of the 1972 FA Cup.
Ronnie Radford was cheered on by hundreds of fans as he celebrated Hereford’s iconic FA Cup goal against Newcastle in 1972 [PA Media]
More than 50 years later, when you watch live action or highlights from this weekend’s game, you will still see footage of the build-up to the game or one of the most iconic moments – Ronny Redford’s iconic shot from that game, which traveled a full 30 yards before falling into the top corner of Newcastle’s net.
advertise
The goal sent shockwaves all the way back to the North East and remains one of the greatest stories in the incredible history of this special game.
I hope there are more moments like this this weekend and that new heroes emerge.
Tony Pulis is speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
