So this is 99.99% theoretical. But Man City have been punished for financial reasons and I caught the end of a conversation on Sky about if they should have to forfeit their premier league trophies if they won them unfairly. Were that to happen I guess we’d have a right to claim the FA Cup from last year. Personally I’d absolutely hate that. I’d happily take some financial compensation, but imagine our first major trophy being won having lost the game 6-0 and not getting to have had the raw emotion of winning on the day.
One to tell the future generations. "We won the FA cup back in 2019 you know, son" "Wow, really Dad? What was the score?" "... We lost 6-0" *son defecates on Watford shirt*
It could never happen - because Brighton (who they beat in the SF) and every team they beat from the 3rd round on would have a percentage of claim the same as ours. Going backwards it would get tenuous so I would say that promoting Brighton to the final and then replaying it against us would be at the boundaries of acceptability - but it’s pushing it very very far. Take the title of FA Cup winners from them and have Watford reimbursed to the tune of every penny due, including an average base rate of being in the Europa League and have it noted in the history books that Watford weren’t runners up that season. But have us as winners? No chance.
Hopefully not, I want us to remember that day for what it was, a cowardly gutless performance by a bunch of blokes being paid in excess of £40 k a week.
I'd take it for sure. It's the only way we'd only ever win anything and about time we got something given to us, after all the shaftings over the years. We are owed an FA Cup final win. The Andy Gray foul and the Ian Rush dive robbed us of TWO FA Cup trophies IMO. But we know how it will go. The FA will not want to tarnish their flagship competition, so it will all be swept under the carpet. "Nothing to see here. Move on."
......or Newcastle, because they have good fans who have not won anything for a long time. But on a more serious note, I think the furthest the FA would go would be to expunge the record books. It will be the final that never happened. This would also suit me fine as we'd no longer have the joint record FA Cup final defeat.
Woking. The smallest club we beat, and they would hand it down back to the third round. I would personally hate it, and would rather have the enjoyment of beating the woolies in the Semi That was our final.
Would we have to take back our smug moral victory from having waved our flags? Because that is a red line for me.
Bye,walkover,scratch! My favourite ways to win a tournament and as someone who won a national title when my opponent retired at 4-0 down,yes I'd take the cup. Won't happen of course.
I can’t believe you’re even debating it. Stevie Gerrard is digging out his full 2014 kit to lift the premier league trophy. If it’s good enough for him...
If the record books were changed to award the 2019 cup to us - I would hope the club would do the decent thing and not acknowledge it - until we have been granted an open top bus parade around Manchester (or at least Newton Heath)!
Best thing is for the FA/Premier League to pass down a decision to relegate Man City into the Championship for 2020/21, resulting in us having to finish ahead of only Norwich and West Ham to survive. Wouldn't have any joy in us winning the FA cup in that way, in fact it would piss me off if we were awarded it.
Wouldn't say no to it, but since we wouldn't be getting a place in Europe for it, it will be very very hollow, in every way
Man city weren't punished for financial reasons. They have been fully compliant with FFP for years as they make so much money. They were punished for deceiving UEFA. No premier league or fa cup impact.
Well they were also punished for artificially inflating their income by disguising additional owner investment as sponsorship income. And then lying about it. That also impacts Premier League / FA FFP rules I would have thought.
We deserve a trophy for twice achieving the feat of getting absolutely demolished by them twice in four months, in 2017 and 2019, if nothing else.
