No clear favourite for Cup final

Press, 12 May 1979, Page 60

No clear favourite for Cup final

INZPA London' i • . . . I The Wembley “willies” I which so often conspire to ..upset the favourites and: frustrate the form guides in I F.A. Cup finals will have II little chance this year. :i ns the pride and joy of I London and Manchester go ] J through their final preparations in country hideaways, ; commentators and bookies ■ are unanimous in one thing — the clash between 11 Arsenal and Manchester! ; :United will be close. i Major bookmakers are j : giving identical prices (varying between B's and 10/11) Jon the chances of both ’ teams and commentators say th? match should produce ’ on- of the toughest finals!: : for years, with almost noth- ’ : ing to choose between the two arch-rivals. Both teams are old hands t at Wembley. “The Gunners” will be travelling the few miles from their North Lon- ’ don base to the Wembley'i

stadium for their fourth cup final appearance in the past I eight years — their tenth in all. United, supported by , their “Red Army” of fans, is I playing in the final for the Third time in four years — I their eighth over all. i Even the experienced players which abound in both teams can react unpredictably to the tension and emotion of a Cup final and the roar of the 100.000 fans packed into the cavernous islands around the carefully manicured green of the pitch. But if the Cup ends up in the hands cf the luckiest team, it could well be Arsenal’s captain. Pat Rice, waving it ot he fans lateBtn Saturday afternnon (British 'time). “The Gunners” have a reputation for luck over many years and their passage to this year's final has. if anything, enhanced that aura. Arsenal came out 1 after a massive four replays

against Sheffield in the mid-; winter third round, and beat-' ing everybody’s favourite, 1 Nottingham Forest, in the fifth round. On top of that, it has thdj

knowledge that history is on its side. It lost last year’s final 1-0, to the underdog. Ipswich, but of all the teams that have played in consecutive finals since the war only one has ever lost twice in a row before. That was Manchester United against Aston

: Villa, in 1957, and against ’ Bolton Wanderers, in 1958, I after the team of “Busby’s babes” had been decimated in the Munich air disaster. Manchester will draw strength from their own history, however. The rebuilding of the team after the Munich crash is regarded as a virtual footballing miracle, and Saturday’s side still includes nine of the players who won Cup winner’s medals in the 1977 -final when they beat Liverpool, 2-1. In the race for the coveted medals, Arsenal’s Brian Talbot has the chance to make footballing history. Talbot, who played a kev role in helping Ipswich Town beat Arsenal last year, will already be the first player to play in two consecutive finals with different clubs, and a second medal would set the seal on his January transfer to the London club. Arsenal has promised its

ifans an all-out effort to take ithe Cup back to the tatty ' streets surrounding their iHighbury headquarters. The coach, Don Howe, who masterminded the famous F.A, Cup-League championship double won by Arsenal, in 1971, said; “United present a formidable challenge in what I’m convinced will be a much better final than last year’s. “And I can promise that we will put on a much better show . .

Fans unlucky enough not to have a ticket for the final are reportedly paying up to SNZS97 for top seats — and the Football Association believes that is good news. The sky-high black market prices prove that the battle against ticket touting is being won, said the Football Association secretary, Ted Croker. “I consider that good news, the higher the price goes, the fewer tickets must be an the black market.** I

It is a common belief that players provide the touts with a proportion of the tickets, but the Arsenal captain, Pat Rice, insisted: “People who say players make a fortune out of the final are talking rubbish. We get 30 tickets each — and that is not enough. We are eveh trying to buy tickets off each other.” The teams are.— Arsenal: Pat Jennings; Pat Rice (captain), David O’Leary, Willie Young. Sammy Nelson; Brian Talbot, Liam Brady, David Price; Alan Sunderland, Graham Rix, Frank Stapleton. Substitute; Steve Walford. Manchester United: Gary Bailey; Jimmy Nicholl, Gordon McQueen, Martin Buchan (captain), Arthur Albiston; Sammy Mcllroy, Brian Greenlioff, Mike Thomas; Steve Coppell, Jimmy Greenhoff, Joe Jordan. Substitute: Lou Macari.

The referee is Mr Ron