In another era, Calum McFarlane's appearance at Wembley would be viewed as a vintage piece of FA Cup lore. Here he is on English football's national day, with the chance to be the first English manager to actually win the competition since Harry Redknapp in 2008, and in just his sixth game as a coach. Donning the suit for the final was an image that so many managers long dreamed of. Brian Clough famously only got to do it two years from retirement, and never won the FA Cup. A novice like McFarlane now stands 90 minutes from glory, with the challenge of having to out-coach a great like Pep Guardiola only adding to the story. The luck of a cup, you might say, but there's more to it than that.
A Product of Modern Distortions
Again, in previous decades, it would be one of those great FA Cup curios, like Sunderland's Malcolm Crosby in 1992, or how West Brom's 1968 victory was the only major success of Alan Ashman's career. Except, people don't really look on FA Cup lore in that way any more, and McFarlane's temporary elevation certainly isn't really a quirk comparable to those or any in this great competition's history. It is instead very much a product of the distortions of the modern game, of which Chelsea's ownership are one of the more extreme examples. The questionable financial experiment has already resulted in one strange outcome, where the relationship with Kinetic has seen a coach like McFarlane elevated.
As regards what next, though, there's a fair question over whether many will even care outside Chelsea and Manchester City. This already felt like an FA Cup final that was struggling for a place in the news cycle. Even with these two clubs alone, there's City involvement in an intense Premier League title race, the uncertainty over Guardiola's future and Chelsea's own search for a permanent coach - currently expected to be Xabi Alonso. The question of whether Tottenham Hotspur will go down is meanwhile one of the biggest recent stories in football, as local rivals Arsenal look to stave off the immense pressure of that title race while also preparing for a Champions League final. In the slightly longer term, there's the most politicised World Cup in years, albeit one that England have a good chance of winning.
Contrast with Scottish Title Race
Even on the day, there's the Scottish title race, as Hearts hope to win their first title in 66 years and end 41 years of Old Firm dominance. That prospect alone offers such a contrast to this year's FA Cup final, which gets its own special day in this packed schedule - the only English match taking place - out of a sense of history rather than present intrigue. As Hearts toil for this rare moment of history, there hasn't been an FA Cup final without City or Chelsea in a decade. Both have meanwhile rattled out trophies even in bad seasons over that time - as may well be the case this season.
Man City could yet complete a domestic treble. Chelsea have endured mayhem and calamity but may well add this FA Cup to last season's Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup. Pep Guardiola could go two consecutive seasons without a league title for the first time in his career, or he could yet win another domestic treble. Such opportunity merely reflects the financial size of these clubs, rather than anything about the cup.
Lost Magic and Unresolved Controversies
The shame is that it has so quickly gone from one extreme to the other. Last season reminded everyone what the FA Cup is supposed to feel like, as it meant everything to Crystal Palace. Fans were openly weeping in the stands. Is anyone going to be weeping with joy at Wembley? Even one of them against either Leeds United or Southampton would have offered something different, as well as the vintage possibility of an upset - a story. A Leeds-Southampton final in itself would have been something else entirely, given both clubs would have been going for their first trophy in decades. There would have, yes, been a magic about it.
Except, this very week might have changed that. What might the build-up have been like had Southampton been in the final but also been embroiled in an alleged rule-breaking controversy? Which of course raises a fairly weighty element around this final: only rarely acknowledged in all the broadcasting but always there. If we're long past the point where English football's national day is any kind of barometer for the national game, this one does say something else about it. It is a meeting between one club who have recently faced punishment for breaching Premier League rules in a wide-ranging case, against another club still awaiting the outcome of an even wider-ranging case, which amounts to the biggest ongoing controversy in the English game. Manchester City of course insist on their innocence.
Chelsea's new ownership did admit the club's guilt from the Roman Abramovich era, in a concession many felt brought an unduly lenient punishment. The club are still the subject of a related investigation from the very organisers of this competition: the FA. It is, put bluntly, a remarkable setting for this historic fixture. To go with how it's private equity against state ownership, England's showpiece is this year a showcase of many of its issues, even as regards regulation. No matter the actual outcome of the City case, it remains a humiliation for the game that it hasn't been resolved. It fosters so much uncertainty and doubt. And even if it won't actually be mentioned all that much on Saturday, it's hard not to feel it has played into an apathy about this final.
What Remains at Stake
This obviously isn't to say there isn't much on it. McFarlane will have one of the days of his life. The football traditionalist in Guardiola meanwhile does value his record in this competition - especially as City make history by becoming the first club to reach the final four years in a row. The club can still win that domestic treble. Even two domestic cups would be a return other clubs can only dream about, while potentially carrying a greater weight if this is to be Guardiola's last season. The widespread expectation that would be the case has started to change over the past two weeks. Guardiola clearly has a fine team again, and one that will tempt him to keep going. They will be the clear favourites on Saturday, but that's also where there's genuine football intrigue.
Chelsea's modern incarnation has made them one of those clubs who can suddenly raise it. McFarlane himself secured a 1-1 draw away to City in his very first game as a manager, back in January. There's even the subplot about this squad, and what it would say about them if they were to win a trophy after a season of so much controversy. Will anyone really be talking about it, though? It would be just another trophy for these clubs, in a season of so many other stories.
