- Published
When do we get our FA Cup?
asserted
we → publish → Cup
That is what all Stoke City fans have been asking me since the news broke on Friday that Manchester City had been found guilty of breaking the majority of the 115 financial rules they have been accused of breaching.
asserted
they → ask → rules
I thought exactly the same.
asserted
I → think → ?
While the process is far from over because Manchester City are expected to appeal, I have to say this verdict and the whole situation has left a very sour taste in my mouth.
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situation → expect → mouth
Taking my Stoke side to the 2011 FA Cup final was one of the highlights - if not THE highlight - of my 50 years in football as a player and manager.
asserted
Taking → take → player
That day in May will also live long in the memory of all Stoke fans who followed their team to Wembley dreaming that they would win the greatest club cup competition in world football for the first time in their long history.
uncertain
they → live → history
The club we were playing, Manchester City, were on their way to dominating English football.
asserted
we → play → football
At that time they had not won a major trophy for 35 years but they were a team that, in transfer fees and wages, cost well above anything Stoke City could ever aspire to.
uncertain
City → win → anything
Think back now, and I can still picture walking out before kick-off to see our end of the ground decked in red and white and hear the amazing rendition of Delilah from our supporters.
asserted
I → think → supporters
Many of those fans had come from all corners of the world, and had spent or borrowed fortunes to make it, just to say: "I was there."
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I → come → it
For me, experiencing that game and occasion with Stoke City's owners, the Coates family, was really touching too.
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experiencing → experience → owners
Continuously, over many decades, they have helped to finance their own community's local professional team.
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they → help → team
For Peter, Denise, John and all the family and friends who in good times and bad found the money and spirit to back the club, it was their one day in the sun.
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it → find → sun
It was the same for all of us connected with Stoke.
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It → connect → Stoke
This was our day, that day that many smaller clubs and their fans pray for.
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clubs → pray → that
Although we lost 1-0, our players were fantastic and gave, as always, a fully committed performance against the odds.
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players → lose → odds
Yaya Toure, who scored the winning goal, was reportedly earning 10 times what we were paying any of our players and, on his own, had cost more than our entire starting 11 when they had signed him from Barcelona in 2010.
uncertain
they → score → 2010
After the game, my disappointment was buried in the fact we had played a team full of superstars, and faced an elite coach in Roberto Mancini, and had just fallen short.
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we → bury → Mancini
Today, I feel very differently, as I am sure people connected with the other clubs affected by City's successes in the same period, between 2009 and 2018, do too.
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people → feel → 2009
We lost, but to a team that have been found guilty of breaking the financial rules set out by the Premier League.
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that → lose → League
In doing so, they did not just beat Stoke in an FA Cup final, they collected a stack of titles and went on to completely dominate English football for more than a decade.
So, with those rules having been broken, what will the punishment be?
Well, I know all Stoke supporters will be demanding that City pass the trophy over and every club that has been affected by their actions will be considering their legal options.
I don't expect Manchester City to phone me or the club up and offer back the 2011 FA Cup and the winners' medals their players received.
I don't seriously believe any other trophies and titles will be handed back over either.
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trophies → do → Cup
A points deduction and a massive fine feels far more likely.
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deduction → feel → ?
But I still feel cheated.
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I → feel → ?
Whatever happens next, we won't ever get that day back and the chance to celebrate around Stoke-on-Trent with the cup and medals we so honestly fought for.
asserted
we → happen → cup
After breaking the rules, Manchester City got to do that instead.
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City → break → that
Tony Pulis was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
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Pulis → speak → Bevan
The Aporia
