Nothing is quite as exciting for fans or as an experience for players as the FA Cup Final. Historically deemed as the greatest club competition in the world, each round the press, fans and even players talk of the ‘glamour of the cup’ and we all watch the draw for every round with anticipation of that giant-killing potential tie.
I try and watch as many FA Cup games on television as i possibly can, regardless of who is playing, as the FA Cup has always provided some kind of excitement and romanticism that league games cannot always give, the tension building towards the end of a game if the underdogs are drawing or even in the lead.
The excitement, however, usually only lasts until about the Semi-Final stage. By this point we are usually only left with Premier League teams, unless the draw has been kind, and then its not always teams people are fond of. The FA are doing their best to help us lose interest in the cup.
Wembley Sacrifices Honour
Firstly, due to the unique way in which Wembley was funded and cost more than the Royal Bank of Scotland, they insist the semi finals take place there instead of the traditional neutral venue scenario. Now this is both good and bad, one team still gets a trip down Wembley Way despite not making the final, but for the other team and the fans it loses some of the grandeur of the actual final and the right to be there by winning all your other games.
Secondly, the match is being played in the early evening, moving again away from the tradition of a 3pm Saturday kick off. This is for television and also so it doesn’t clash with play off games or other sport. But this then provides difficult travelling situations for the 30,000 plus Liverpool fans who will find it hard to get home following the final whistle. They could always stay in one of the many hotels in North London, there are some good ones from Hilton available.
As for the final itself, I am thinking it will be a close fought game, with full strength sides from both clubs due to them both resting big name players in the week at the sacrifice of Premier League points. Both clubs looking for at least one trophy this year, hoping for possibly two. Red or Blue, it will still be watched by millions around the world, hoping for the glimmer of that so call romantic glamour of the FA Cup
Now that the semi-finals are over, we can all start preparing for a Champions League final showdown in Munich.
Chelsea, following their amazing heroics in Barcelona, will make the short trip across to Germany to meet Bayern Munich who will be trying to be only the third team in history to win the Champions League in their home ground, after Real Madrid and Inter Milan.
In my opinion, and that of many others surely, this is an unexpected final pairing. That Chelsea could overcome the mighty Barcelona, who some would argue are the greatest side ever, was one surprise, but for Bayern to also best their Spanish opposition was as big a shock. But they both now surely deserve the chance to battle it out on 19th May and be crowned the best team in Europe.
The grand occasion of a Champions League final is in itself amazing, but the extra spice of it being a ‘home game’ for one of the clubs lifts the excitement level even higher. We 
all saw how well Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup Finals and should expect the same extravagant, colourful and vibrant spectacle in and around the Fussball Arena München in a couple of weeks.
Thousands of Chelsea fans, and fans from across the whole of Europe will descend upon the city to take in the day and nights events. They can stay in one of the many hotels in Munich, which are wide in variety both of style and price. Munich is a great sightseeing city, but I doubt many football fans will be thinking of that on the day! Depending on the result, they may hang around and take in some sights.
As for the game itself, I can’t call it. Both these teams have attacking prowess and defensive strength, but both have their faults. There will also be 7 big names missing due to suspensions, least of all Chelsea captain John Terry, along with Badstuber for the Germans, and 5 other strong players. It is the time for squad players to stand up and make their mark. This is a final not to be missed, and a great match to mark the 20th Final of the Champions League era.
With UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations reshuffling the Premier League deck, it has left many of its club owners looking at whether they will be able to cash in on the hand they have been dealt. But for Roman Abramovich, the prize pot looks to diminish, as he looks to raise Chelsea’s stakes in a bid to outplay their rival clubs.
The Russian billionaire wants to move Chelsea away from Stamford Bridge in order to help them gain extra leverage against the new UEFA regulations. Finding a new home will not only help the club expand its fan base, but it will also accrue the club valuable extra revenue and thus, extra money to spend when the transfer market dawns.
Though the current capacity of Stamford Bridge is a fairly healthy 42,000, the home they have loved for the past 106 years is fairly small by European standards. The Bridge is actually ranked the 60th for largest stadium in the Europe.
A Move away from Stamford Bridge…
So a move for a club like Chelsea with an owner like Abramovich is easy then, right? Wrong. As well as the usually headaches that go hand in hand with moving home, Chelsea board do not actually own free hold of the stadium. That was bought by the fans in the late ‘90s, as thousands of Chelsea supporters clubbed together to form Chelsea Pitch Owners Ltd and protect the club against property developers. It would mean that Abramovich would have to make an offer to each member of the owners club for them to move to another location.
And the problems don’t stop there. The feasibility for Chelsea finding another home will prove difficult. London is already a cramped space and cost may well outweigh the plus sides of the venture. The Russian billionaire has already spent £1m trying to find a solution to remedy this posing problem.
So why not revamp Stanford Bridge? The answer is simple. Even if they persuaded Chelsea Pitch Owners Ltd that it was the right move, the location where they would play their games would need to be decided upon. Even with Twickenham down the road, the schedule of the stadium is already crammed and the likelihood of Chelsea’s fixture list fitting within that is implausible. Craven Cottage could also offer its services as a potential temporary home. But regardless of the issues that would arise in any ground share, Craven Cottage is too small for Chelsea and their fans.
A solution to alleviate the pressures that have been exerted on the Premier League’s top dogs is critical. Ensuring that they can cope with the financial demands of the world’s elite players and maintain their levels of performance, hinges on their generated income. Failure to find a solution means they will lose their transfer market edge, and with it, the prosperity of European football success.
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