Football Daily | Manchester City v Chelsea: get ready for a Wembley FFP derby showpiece

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THE ROAD, ER, BACK TO WEMBLEY

Given that the two teams contesting this season’s FA Cup final face more than 200 outstanding counts of financial chicanery between them, the atmosphere at Wembley will – as several Social Media Disgrace wags quickly pointed out – definitely be highly charged. In the blue corner, Chelsea still face 74 FA counts of financial misconduct, having already had their wrist lightly slapped by the Premier League. In the lighter blue corner, Manchester City continue to go about their business, apparently impervious to the outcome of the inquiry into the 130 or so charges of money-related shenanigans that may or may not be released before the next sighting of Halley’s Comet in 35 years. While this season’s renewal of the oldest cup competition in the world had more than its fair share of magic in the form of muddy pitches and giantkillings, it’s not unreasonable to think that some fans will go to Wembley on 16 May more preoccupied by the outcome of forensic audits and arbitration hearings than by the actual final being played.

While Football Daily is not one to relish pointing the finger, we blame Ally McCoist. Called upon to conduct the draw for this season’s semis, the former Scotland striker had the proverbial “just one job” of pitting Leeds against Southampton so that one was guaranteed a place in the final, but he met his match in an FA tombola that was inured to his legendary charm. The outcome? A Wembley FFP derby showpiece that is likely to be greeted with a collective shoulder-shrug from everyone without affiliations to either team and may suffer the indignity of not even selling out. “The reality of football is that you get some praise for a performance but by tomorrow no one cares,” sighed Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert, following his side’s spirited showing against a Manchester City team that was able to call on the likes of Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku and Bernardo Silva from the bench. “We wanted to go to the final and we didn’t make it,” he added, before his side’s crucial league match against comparative church mice and promotion rivals Ipswich on Tuesday evening.

While Leeds will be disappointed not to have given a decent account of themselves in Sunday’s drab semi-final defeat against Chelsea, it was telling that Robert Sánchez was the only goalkeeper forced into making some impressive saves in between running down the clock. Having helped see off Liam Rosenior by downing tools in recent appearances, a rejuvenated Enzo Fernández helped win the game with a performance that spoke volumes about his character, albeit in an uncomplimentary way. “We come away disappointed,” parped Leeds boss Daniel Farke. “You could tell the players were a bit nervous, so much was made of this game. It’s also not that the players are used to playing in front of 90,000 on [Bigger Cup] level once a week. They were a bit nervous to be at their best level.” Now we await the final between two English footballing behemoths – may the best legal team win.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“You wouldn’t perform an operation with a Stanley knife. It wouldn’t heal. It’s like a surgeon’s scalpel – we need our blades to be as sharp as possible” – Karl Standley, Wembley groundsman, gives us a first-hand look behind the scenes at how they keep the 7,140 sq metres of grass in top order on a busy weekend of FA Cup semi-finals.

The Wembley playing surface before Manchester City v Southampton

The latest Chelsea exit raises the intriguing question of who will be the next manager lucky enough to secure a contract there well into the 2030s, only to be back on the market shortly after. Logic suggests Claudio Ranieri may yet return to Chelsea, if only because an anagram of Liam Rosenior is ‘Ranieri looms’. With Leicester preparing to parade their recent silverware in front of the directors of Bromley and Burton Albion next season, memories may yet stir in the Chelsea boardroom and prompt a nostalgic reappointment of the Tinkerman” – Phil Hearn.

Spurs fans: worried about relegation? Console yourselves with the trivia possibilities it will bring! For example, the last time Tottenham played Lincoln City in the league was 1 January 1949. That was also the day that Celestia was registered in Illinois, a micro-nation that claimed ownership of all outer space and chased that claim for decades. There’s a metaphor in there for having the loftiest of dreams that somehow always remain out of reach” – Jon Gregory.

If you have any, please send letters to [email protected]. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Jon Gregory, who gets a copy of Classic Football Shirts, courtesy of Penguin. It’s out on Thursday and you can order a copy here if you’re not successful. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.

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And Michael Butler has been to visit the Classic Football Shirts shop in Manchester, where he got to pore over some of the loveliest retro polyester you will ever see. Put your feet up and give your eyeballs a treat.