I must admit, I was walking around London on Saturday night thinking that the parade was ill-timed, was unwanted and would be a damp squib. I decided I'd go to see it because I felt I'd be behaving in a spoilt and entitled way if I didn’t.
How wrong I was about the whole thing. The mood was buoyant, the excitement was palpable and there were so many people there (I suspect a lot who don't get to go to many matches). My mood has been lifted and I'm glad I went. It was a blessing to have the parade because it has helped everyone to move on.
The FA Cup has been a great and traditional competition but we are ultimately judged on PLs and CLs. To that end, we have delivered great success and the greatest feat in English football - four in a row. United won the battle but we won the war. As was the case with Van Gaal, Ten Hag is about to lose his job after winning the FA Cup, so it tells me exactly how little it means to them.
Would I have swapped either league win against them for a win on Saturday? No, because that would be swapping the biggest prize of all for the FA Cup. Would I swap last year's FA Cup for this year's? No, because that would mean no Treble. When you are as successful as City, you put yourself in a position to regularly win trophies, but you also put yourself in a position where you will have to deal with disappointment on occasion. Losing finals is something you have to deal with when you regularly feature in them. Life might be less stressful if I start to support Fulham, but life as a City fan really is as good as it gets for anyone.
