Manchester United have not won the FA Cup since 2004. Think about that for just a moment. Manchester United, the most successful club in the history of English football, the side who have won this tournament a joint record 11 times, haven't won the famous trophy in over 10 years.
Since the 3-0 victory over Millwall at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff back in 2004, United have won the Premier League five times, the League Cup three times, the UEFA Champions League once and the FIFA Club World Cup once. But while they have twice more found themselves in the final in addition to a semifinal birth and several other deep runs, United have not been able to win a record setting 12th FA Cup. And as the FA Cup has been missing its greatest champion, it has fallen into decline.
Indirectly, United caused the decline of the FA Cup. Since the turn of the millenium, the oldest tournament in world football has been in a steady decline. And it all started in the season of 1999/2000. United entered the year fresh off winning the Treble, that glorious triumvirate of Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and FA Cup. They looked like they might be able to defend all three crowns, and in the end did win the Premier League for a second year in a row.
But they were never given an opportunity to defend their FA Cup title. Due to their position as holders of the Champions League, United had qualified to take part in the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup. It has long been rumored that United did not want to take part, and only did so because pressure was put on them by the FA, who were working to earn goodwill from FIFA in their misguided hopes of hosting the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Whatever the reasons, United went to the tournament and went out after the group stages on goal difference. While the opportunity to take part in the first edition of this tournament was a decent one, it cost them the chance to defend their FA Cup crown. The Club World Cup took place during the third round of the FA Cup, and United were not allowed to reschedule a tie for later in their schedule. This was the first noteable time, in this writer's opinion, that continental football was viewed as more important than a domestic cup by one of the world's biggest teams.
As time has worn on, and more money has come into the game, the domestic cup has only grown less important. Premier League sides are so much stronger than their lower league counterparts that they can sometimes play second or third choice sides and coast into the fifth round. The payout is massively larger in both the Premier League and both European club competitions, so they are viewed as more important for the bottom line by executives.
That view might just be altered a bit this year. United have already suffered the embarrassment in Milton Keynes in the second round of the league cup, and now face trophy fights on only two fronts. In the last few years, while United have made cup runs, the concurrent Champions League knockout stages were always given a higher priority.
But this season, United will only play a maximum of 40 more games. They will end up playing a maximum of 10 fewer games than last year's squad, with hardly any midweek fixtures.
All of these points lead to my conclusion: that the FA Cup can provide salvation this year for United. Louis van Gaal himself has stated that his side will not win the Premier League this year. But there is no reason they can't win the FA Cup. The knockout format will favor United, especially since a soft draw could see them into the fifth or sixth round fairly easily.
Next comes the importance of playing so many fewer games. Having a full week between league and cup games will mean that Louis van Gaal can play a full strength side in every FA Cup tie. As this season has started, Arsenal have shown that an FA Cup win can carry over to the next season and lend itself to a fast start in the Premier League. There is no reason that cannot happen for United. And if the most popular and successful club in English football treat this tournament the way it is meant to be treated, other sides may go back to doing so as well. With new markets opening every day in North America and Asia, the FA Cup might be able to captivate their attention in the way the Champions and domestic leagues do now.
While this midweek may be a sad one for United fans, missing out on European football for the first time in 23 years they can take heart from looking forward to the FA Cup. The trophy that proved the salvation for Sir Alex Ferguson and the kickstart to the glory years could prove the start to a new set of good times under Louis van Gaal.