Posted May 31, 201510 yr Far be it for me to put a dampener on Arsenal’s historic FA Cup final win, but the margin of victory does give conspiracy theorists like myself great cause for concern. I’m referring, of course, to the announcement, on the very day of the final, that the FA Cup is to be rebranded as The Emirates FA Cup, the Football Association agreeing a three-year sponsorship deal with Emirates Airline. At first I thought some confusion must have arisen between this event and the equally prestigious Emirates Cup, a pre-season association football invitational competition hosted by English club Arsenal at their home ground Emirates Stadium, in Holloway, London. But no, it seems that these sponsorships will be run concurrently, with thoughts of conflict of interest put swiftly to the back of FA delegates minds, along with their penchant to use balance of probability theory, no doubt. In fact, confusion raised its enquiring head above every possible parapet at Wembley yesterday, epitomised by Prince William’s pre-match statement, which included this little snippet:~ “As a football fan and the impartial President of the FA, I always look forward to the Cup Final with huge enthusiasm and this year has been no exception. I sincerely believe that the FA Cup represents all that is good in this beautiful game and the Cup Final is always a fitting celebration of the joy, passion and unity that the game can bring. I don't wish to bring down the tone of this party too much, but if I may I would like to say some words about events this week in Switzerland. There seems to be a huge disconnect between the sense of fair play that guides those playing and supporting the game, and the allegations of corruption that have long lingered around the management of the sport internationally.” Thereafter the Prince, President, future King, self-confessed Villa fan, call Will what you will, was left to sit with Randy in the posh seats, in sullen supplication, being all impartial and all things to all men, watching his team getting royally stuffed as they tried to outplay the Arse at their own beautiful game. Wasn’t going to happen, was it? Although, in truth, the real reason for this had nothing to do with future Emirates foot-in-both-camps sponsorship whatsoever, it’s just that it could, conceivably, have had something to do with it. After all, are we not applying the same fair play, support for game principles when belittling Blatter and his [still only alleged] fostering of a bribery and corruption culture within FIFA? Greg Dyke, when tackled on this very point [regarding Emirates sponsorship] said the following:~ “Let me try and allay fears by saying all the money will be going back into the game at all levels. The vast majority of the funds raised will be going to the parts of the game that need it most. Grassroots, youth coaching and especially the development of all-weather pitches in communities around the country. That is an area where we are miles behind the Dutch and the Germans.” Much in the same way, I guess, as African countries were way behind the Dutch and the Germans when they benefited from FIFA lobbing loads of dosh in their direction, yet that level of generosity doesn’t stop Sepp getting his daily dose of septic, vote-buying fallout, nor should it if the payments are eventually and incontrovertibly linked to the buying of votes or the topping up of any individual’s bank account. Nevertheless, if post-election pre-judgement of Blatter and his cronies is construed as fair game in the British press, how come this particular ’Emirates anomaly’ escapes scrutiny of any kind? I suppose these are not just any old all-weather pitches, they’re OUR all-weather pitches, and that’s important, isn’t it? But, in stark contrast, can you envisage the media protestation if this particular news story was to break anytime soon … “The Premier League is delighted to announce a three-year sponsorship deal with The Yokohama Rubber Company Ltd in what will be our largest-ever commercial deal. As announced previously, our sponsors Barclays will not be renewing their £40million-a-year deal when the current agreement expires at the end of the 2015-16 season, however, the League is proud to confirm the three-fold increase reflected in this new sponsorship figure, and with Sky and BT Sport providing a record £5.1billion for TV rights from the start of the 2016 season, our latest partnership will only serve to help with our continued investment into the game at all levels.” Imagine the outcry, the clamour to call a halt Chelsea’s ever-increasing influence in Premiership affairs, before It’s too late and another title is unfairly won with inferior football. And think what Arsene Wenger would have to say on the matter - Quelle horreur! Such indignation, the shrugging of shoulders, “Mon dieu! Eeez there no depths to which Chelsea and Mourinho will sink to win a football match? Sacre bleu! Another example of financial doping!!” And so you can see why, in view of the ease with which double-standard duplicity can enter this debate, I hesitate to go all conspiratorial once again, but merely throw the argument out there for what it‘s worth, in the hope that some Shed Enders will enlighten me on a subject that gets more confusing by the day, almost by the hour. In short, and with due respect to the Duke of Cambridge, is it hypocrisy that reigns in English football these days? .
May 31, 201510 yr Villa just didn't turn up, worst FA Cup final I have ever seen. Tim Sherwood is an Arsenal fan, he probably made them fail miserably on purpose. But who cares. We are Champions ha haaaaa!
May 31, 201510 yr Villa just didn't turn up, worst FA Cup final I have ever seen. Tim Sherwood is an Arsenal fan, he probably made them fail miserably on purpose. But who cares. We are Champions ha haaaaa! Arsenal played well, but a competent ref might have made the game a bit more interesting - for the last 10 minutes at least.
May 31, 201510 yr To be fair had it been us we'd have enjoyed it but those finals are only ever good if it's your team that dominates.
May 31, 201510 yr To be fair had it been us we'd have enjoyed it but those finals are only ever good if it's your team that dominates. Fair enough. However, I'd still be a bit pissed if our opposition in a cup final just played dead for us. We all want to see our team win of course but we also want to see a good game of football no matter what happens.
May 31, 201510 yr Fair enough. However, I'd still be a bit pissed if our opposition in a cup final just played dead for us. We all want to see our team win of course but we also want to see a good game of football no matter what happens. I really don't think we'd be pissed off at all. Point been though yesterday's final was sh*t for the neutral but good if you are an Arsenal fan
May 31, 201510 yr They win the FA cup and act as if it was the champions league embarressing One of them actually said that it was better than the Champions League
May 31, 201510 yr One of them actually said that it was better than the Champions League Christ this is Liverpool scale delusion.
June 1, 201510 yr One of them actually said that it was better than the Champions League How would they know?
June 1, 201510 yr we improved our trophy haul compared with 13/14 by 2, Goons have stood still, say's it all..................
June 2, 201510 yr It was the most boring FA Cup Final for years, if not decades. Tell this to Arsenal supporters;)
June 3, 201510 yr Tell this to Arsenal supporters;) A lot of them think it was the best performance ever in an F.A cup final. Edited June 3, 201510 yr by Scott Harris
