Keown On Why The FA Cup Is As Strong As Ever

This weekend marks the return of the FA Cup, with the third round seeing the country’s so-called ‘big boys’ entering the competition. Despite the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City squaring off, and Arsenal taking on Leeds United, question marks remain as to whether this is a tournament in decline.

Once the shining beacon of English football, the FA Cup has had to take a back seat in recent years, as the meteoric rise of the Premier League and a clamour for European football dominate clubs’ agendas. However, former Arsenal legend Martin Keown, a proud winner of three FA Cups and member of the Gunners unforgettable ‘Invincibles’ of the 2003/04 season, believes the famous competition is still as strong as ever.

“I think this competition is part of the fabric of this country and we’re not going to suddenly say that we’re not going to take it seriously,” he says.

“No one is thinking that in the dressing room and they’re not thinking that on the terraces. People might mention it in the media, but we should be supporting it because it says everything about our game.”

The FA Cup holds a very dear place in Keown’s heart. Having lifted the trophy in 1998, 2002 and 2003, he philosophically describes what the cup means to a professional player.

“There’s a romance about football and the FA Cup that is almost dream like,” Keown ponders. “I suppose when you’re younger, you dream about becoming a professional footballer. You dream about going on to achieve that and very few do go on to do it.”

And that is exactly what he did. Born in Oxford in 1966 to Irish parents, Keown regales the story about his introduction to the famous tournament.

“I came into the game primarily because of the 1974 Cup. At the time my parents ran a cornershop and everyone was coming in and buying Newcastle Brown [Ale] and I thought ‘what’s all this about?’

“Later on I watched the game. It was FA Cup fever and from then on I wanted to play football.”

It’s been almost seven years since his retirement from the game, but Keown still speaks as fondly of victories in the competition, nearly as much as he clings onto the antagonizing defeats.

One fixture that still springs to mind is the 2001 final defeat to Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium. It was an incredible game which saw Gerard Houllier’s side fight back from 1-0 down as two late Michael Owen goals snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

“When we lost to Liverpool in the FA Cup, it’s the first thing that springs to mind. I still find it hard to understand how we lost that match,” continues a reflective Keown.

“There were two or three hand balls by [Stephane] Henchoz, and then Michael Owen goes down the other end and scores. It was a remarkable game.

“It’s funny, you think of the things you didn’t achieve, rather than the things you did. They are already in the bag, but it’s the one’s that slipped away which are more painful.”

In some respects, as Keown admits, that is the beauty of the FA Cup; a tournament which transcends the whole of the English football ladder. It continues to offer the unique occasion of pitting English’s football’s elite against teams that are sometimes semi-professional outfits, a characteristic which he believes resonates with fans and players alike.

“I was with a group of Tamworth players. They’re buzzing because they’re playing Everton at the weekend,” Keown, now an ESPN football analyst, adds.

"They thought, because Everton were playing on [Wednesday night] it might be a weakness, and they might have a chance because they’ll play a weakened team. That‘s their opportunity, that’s their cup final.

“You see all these mini cup finals taking place everywhere and that’s unique with the FA Cup. That’s special and doesn’t happen anywhere else.”

However, when asked whether the bigger clubs respect the competition in terms of the sides they select, Keown is defiant in his opinion.

“It’s become fashionable to say they don’t respect the FA Cup. I don’t think it’s that at all, I think it’s respecting their players. You can’t keep using the same players game after game.

“I remember a semi-final, Arsenal v Tottenham at Old Trafford [in 2001]. There were incredible scenes before the game and the two foreign players in the Arsenal team, Wiltord and Pires said: ‘I can’t believe it. It’s like a carnival out there, an incredible atmosphere. I can’t wait to play, I’ve never seen anything like it.’ We do have something that is unique here and when you hear that from other people it hits home.”

For Keown’s beloved Arsenal, the FA Cup could be their only realistic shot at silverware this season, a point which underlines Keown’s belief in clubs’ approach to football’s oldest tournament.

“A true winner isn’t coming fourth is it? I know the club wins financially, but you can’t separate the two.

“At the start of the season you set your goals, you want to win the Premier League, you want to win the Champions League or at least qualify again, and you want to win the FA Cup. You don’t prioritize one over the other. When they come up, you take part in them.

“You look at the FA Cup and he [Arsene Wenger] has always respected it, his record is second to none. He’s had that special feeling of winning the cup and once you’ve been bitten by that you want to taste it again. That will be the driving force this time around.”

ESPN football analyst Martin Keown was speaking ahead of the sports media company’s live and exclusive coverage of three FA Cup third round matches this weekend (Birmingham City v Wolves (12pm Saturday 7th January), Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa (4.30pm Saturday 7th January) and Arsenal v Leeds United (7pm Monday 9th January).

Read more blogs and articles by Simon Knights here. Follow Simon Knights on Twitter @SimonKnights