Crystal Palace’s FA Cup Triumph
Thursday 22 May 2025 7:00 am | Updated: Wednesday 21 May 2025 12:28 pm
Crystal Palace lifted the FA Cup for the first time last weekend
Long-suffering Crystal Palace fan Ed Warner savours his team’s moment in the sun, praises the FA for retaining the cup’s essential magic, and hopes his team don’t get too used to it…
The Magic of the FA Cup
Toss a coin six times. The odds of it coming up heads every time is 1:64. Enter the FA Cup in the third round and you’ve a 1:64 chance of lifting the trophy. Just need to win six matches. Straightforward, yes, but far from simple.
Tougher still for those entering the competition at earlier stages, and they never (to date) go all the way to the final, let alone triumph there. Explains why so many fans, like me, end up believing their team’s time will never come. Ah, the magic of the cup!
I was 26 by the time Crystal Palace reached our first FA Cup final. It was another 26 years until the second. I never knew whether a third would ever arrive in my lifetime, or anyone else’s for that matter.
It’s why you do your best to master Abide With Me, belt out the national anthem and vow, if you lose, that you won’t leave Wembley until the opposition captain brandishes the trophy. Graceless to be complicit in an emptying end at the final whistle.
Memo to the youngsters who’ve come with you to the final, who are too young to have experienced our club’s Dark Ages: you’re not beseeching God to save your monarch because you’re suddenly a patriotic zealot, or insisting on being in the ground over an hour before kick-off because you’ve lost faith in London’s transport system. It’s because you’re still pinching yourself that in a few hours’ time you might witness your team’s first major trophy. Maybe its only one.
Drinking in Every Moment
Vital, then, to drink in every moment; to succumb to the FA Cup’s time-honoured rituals; not to worry about whether your vantage point is a good or a bad one. The point is simply to be there. There are no bad seats – simply your seat, and you won’t be sitting in it much anyway.
Your view of the match is your own personal, definitive one. Later rewatching on screens big and small might alter perspectives on what actually happened during the 90 minutes, but that won’t change the result or your memories.
A Historic Win
Crystal Palace’s vanquishing of Manchester City on Saturday was that 1:64 shot coming home. Was it the best time I’ve had supporting the club for 53 years? There are other occasions right up there alongside it.
Making the semi-final way back in 1976 as a third division side. Reaching our first final with a famous 4-3 extra-time victory over the Liverpool team who’d humiliated us 9-0 earlier in the season. Promotions gained. Relegations avoided. Bitter rivals beaten.
This, though, was the game with the greatest outcome. And I suspect it can never be bettered on that measure, because it is a first (and could be the only).
The FA Cup’s Enduring Format
Whenever the FA tinkers with its flagship competition in any way there are howls of protest. Scrapping replays, semis at Wembley, broadcasters dictating schedules, sponsors being given undue visibility – all have provoked the ire of traditionalists in recent years, but to the governing body’s credit it has stuck steadfastly to the cup’s basic format. Anyone can win it, whether entering at the Extra Preliminary Round stage in August or the Third Round Proper in January.
A Lesson from Literature
The year before Crystal Palace’s 1976 run to the semi-final, JL Carr’s How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup was published. In it a village team defeats a string of first division clubs to win the trophy. Surreal, comedic and fantastical (Wanderers beat Glasgow Rangers in the final, evoking a footballing union of nations that will surely never occur), it nevertheless has strands which thread through today’s football reality.
The team’s success is masterminded by the village doctor – a Hungarian, no less. Where are the English managers? And the chairman, a local farmer, becomes a media personality with strong views on politics way beyond football.
European Adventure Awaits
Crystal Palace’s cup triumph opens Europe’s borders. A place in the 36-team stage of the Europa League awaits. Another first for the club.
Eight matches guaranteed, half of them in south London. The prospect of a trip overseas to support my team is enticing, but knowing there will be at least four opportunities somewhat dilutes the excitement.
Uefa’s Club Tournaments
Uefa’s club tournaments are neither fish nor fowl; part league, part knockout. As I argued in last week’s column, teams need only target a top 24 finish in the league stages. Excelling carries little reward bar removing one of the knockout rounds.
Consequences of Success
Winning the FA Cup could have many consequences beyond European travel, not all of them necessarily positive, and certainly not predictable. Playing staff and manager; club ownership; stadium infrastructure: all subject to heightened expectations and accompanying risk.
My one wish, wherever these cards all fall, is that no sense of entitlement creeps into the club and our fans. Nothing would be more charmless. And after all, this first time might indeed be the last. For now, though, I can officially die happy.
Poptastic!
The Dave Clark Five’s Glad All Over was released on 15 November 1963 when I was just shy of three months old. It was first played at Selhurst Park two months later and has been the soundtrack of the highs and lows of my entire Crystal Palace-watching lifetime.
Sofa or Ryanair?
The FA has established its cup rounds as long weekend affairs dictated by terrestrial TV broadcast contracts. In spite of supporter grumbles, to date it has got away with it.
Levelling up Agenda
Katherine Grainger from UK Sport to the BOA. Now Nick Webborn from the BPA to UK Sport. The chair shuffling at the heart of British Olympic and Paralympic sport is now complete.
Webborn, long a distinguished servant of para sport in various roles, now has the chance to correct the baffling imbalance in funding between Team GB and ParalympicsGB sports and athletes that has long rankled.
Conclusion
Crystal Palace’s FA Cup win is a historic moment for the club and its fans. The team’s success is a testament to the magic of the FA Cup, which continues to captivate audiences with its unique format and unpredictable outcomes. As the team looks to the future, they will face new challenges and opportunities, including European competition and potential changes to the club’s ownership and infrastructure. One thing is certain, however: this moment will be remembered for a long time to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the FA Cup?
A: The FA Cup is an annual association football competition in which the top teams in England compete to win the coveted trophy.
Q: How did Crystal Palace win the FA Cup?
A: Crystal Palace won the FA Cup by defeating Manchester City in the final, marking a historic moment for the club.
Q: What is the Europa League?
A: The Europa League is an annual club football competition organized by UEFA, in which the top teams from Europe compete to win the trophy.
Q: How will Crystal Palace’s FA Cup win affect the club?
A: Crystal Palace’s FA Cup win could have a significant impact on the club, including increased expectations, potential changes to the ownership and infrastructure, and a new level of competition in European tournaments.
