I can’t help feeling excited about Saturday.
As I type I have my ticket in front of me and I can’t wait until gates open at 15:30.
Little old Palace are up against might Manchester United.
Except that can’t be the right approach. We don’t want to be the underdogs.
It might only be our second ever FA Cup final but we have been to Wembley in pressure games – normally Championship play-off finals – plenty of times now, so we have a pretty good idea about what we need to do.
To the outside world, who see this game as a nice finale at the end of the season, this game pitches a plucky underdog (that word again) against strong favourites.
As committed Palace fans, this time around though, we are not simply happy to be there. We are there to win the thing, and while United are the bookies favourites, no-one thinks of us as no-hopers.
This is not a great United side, far from it. They have some good players for sure, and Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford all have potential to create and score goals from nothing.
But United are far from their peak. When they won the League/FA Cup/Champions League, not only did they have David Beckham, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs across midfield, they had two pairs of forwards – Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham to start, then Ole Gunnar Solskaer and Dwight Yorke on the bench.
It was the same in 1990. The side United put out was eminently beatable.
The best known players – like Bryan Robson, Neil Webb and Jim Leighton were past their best. Others, like Paul Ince, Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister, had yet to reach their peak. They only had one real class player – the accursed Mark Hughes, scorer of the extra-time equaliser.
So, while we were the underdogs back in 1990, that was based more on history, perception and one broken limb than true form.
And being underdogs in an FA Cup final didn’t mean you were without hope back in those days.
Watford had reached the club’s first final back in 1984. Coventry City not only reached the final in 1987 but also beat a Tottenham side, who had had a great season before fading badly in the final weeks … who knew?
And above all that, the fantastically strong 1988 Liverpool side were beaten to the silverware by a pub team from south-west London.
In that 1990 final , that broken limb I mentioned meant Ian Wright started the game on the bench, and made United stronger favourites.
But United lacked pace and a passer of quality in midfield, and Palace knew that they had ways to beat them. The main two ways were from set pieces and by using pace on the break, especially with John Salako on the left wing.
It was set pieces that had seen Palace overcome Liverpool in the semi-final. In Andy Thorn, we had signed one of the key members of the 1988 pub team, and Thorn’s presence must have contributed to the fearless attitude the side showed on that Saturday.
Palace’s first goal did come from a set piece, from the unlikely goal machine that was Gary O’Reilly.
A fully fit Ian Wright playing the whole 90 or 120 minutes would have scared the living daylights out of United. As it was, Wright’s arrival transformed the game.
The key to the Wright-Bright partnership was that it offered both pace and height. Bruce and Pallister were happy dealing with long balls aimed at Bright. Once they were forced out of the their comfort zone by Wright’s pace, the game was transformed.
Wright’s arrival meant that Palace had an extra option for speed on the break, and that freed up more of the pitch for John Salako.
Wembley is a big pitch and rewards the smart use of pace, and the ability to cross well. While Palace’s first goal in the semi-final this year seemed a carbon copy of Pardew’s semi-final winner 26 years ago, take a look at Pape Souare’s run and far post cross for Connor Wickham’s goal and compare it to John Salako’s cross to Ian Wright for the goal that put us 3-2 up in the 1990 final.
It is just one of many comparisons between 1990 and 2016.
In 1990, Palace has the last all English born side to play in the cup final. That must have given them a brothers-in-arms strength. This year’s side are far more cosmopolitan but still there is clearly a strong team spirit there.
The threat from set pieces will always be there. Which of these two bets is the better value in terms of scoring the first goal – Marcus Rashford at 9/2 or Scott Dann 22/1? Bet sensibly of course but put your 50p on Scott Dann to do an O’Reilly.
The threat of pace from the wings saw Palace overcome Watford, but it was the duel threat that was key. If Wilfried Zaha is fit enough, even for an hour, and can rise to the occasion alongside Yannick Bolasie, Palace will scare the you know what’s out of United.
I can’t wait for Saturday.
But I’m not just there for the experience. I want to see Jedi lift the Cup.
We’re the big dogs now.
