Four-time Emirates FA Cup winner Ray Parlour says it is crazy to scrap replays from next season.
The former Arsenal star considers his goal in the 2002 final as the best moment of his career. And ahead of Saturday’s final between Manchester City and United, Parlour insists the competition has rediscovered some of its magic in recent years.
But that has not stopped the FA from making its unpopular decision to scrap replays in an attempt to ease congestion on top clubs who must also play in Europe.
And following on from the Mirror's campaign for the governing body to reverse their plan, Parlour said: “There should be replays because it’s all about the lower divisions getting that right draw and that revenue.
“Financially it’s really important for smaller clubs. I agree with having replays but that’s the way it’s gone. It’s still a massive trophy to win.”
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Interest in the Cup has dipped during the Premier League era and final day might no longer be the centrepiece of a season but Parlour is adamant its popularity is on the rise once more. “There was a stage where an outsider could get to the final but now the bigger teams are taking it seriously again,” he said.
“For me it’s a massive trophy. I was lucky to win four. Whenever people ask me about the Premier League, yes it’s so important, but the FA Cup is such a big day for everyone involved in the club. It’s such a special day out.”
Only four players have lifted the trophy more than Parlour in the post-war era and his love of the competition was established, like so many, at a young age.
Manchester City enter Saturday's FA Cup final as the holders. (Getty Images)By remaining on free to air TV it is still, by some distance, the most-watched club fixture of the season. And Parlour insists: “It’s the best trophy in the world to win. Growing up as a kid it was the only game live on TV. My mum and dad made a big thing of it with my brothers.
“We’d sit down at 11 o'clock and watch the coaches going to the game, a helicopter following it along. It was a big day for our family.”
Recalling his goal when Arsenal defeated Chelsea 2-0 in Cardiff 22 years ago, he added: “My dad is a West Ham fan and he was in the stand with my brothers. He cried. ‘My boy has scored in an FA Cup final.’ It was a big, big deal for my family.”
Parlour was speaking on behalf of an Emirates promotion in the style of a Race Across The World. "We got four pairs of fans from London, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle," he said. "And they had loads of little challenges to complete in the fastest time they could. It was a really fantastic idea, a really nice thing to do."
Emirates has challenged fans to travel from their favourite team’s stadium to the Emirates airport check-in desk in the quickest time. Along the way they met footballing legends, answered fan-focused quizzes and harnessed the need for speed. Find out which fans completed the challenge in the quickest time, winning tickets to the Emirates FA Cup Final and a trip to Dubai.
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