Appeasement it is, but that’s what two massive clubs in English football need to perform to keep their fans calm. As of now, the FA Cup appears the biggest opportunity to that end. The last few years have been extremely tough for both Manchester United and Chelsea. In the noughties and quite a few years afterwards, they were the biggest clubs in English football. Manchester United had already been a massive club and Chelsea became one in a matter of few years after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovic took over the club in 2003. In the Premier League era, United have won the most top-flight titles (13) and in 2016-17 Chelsea won their fifth Premier League.
Manchester United saw massive deterioration post the Alex Ferguson era in 2013 and Chelsea post the Abramovic era in 2022. Since the 2012-13 season, United have not won a single Premier League title. Meanwhile, Chelsea have not won since 2016-17. The worrying thing is not so much that they are not winning trophies; it’s that more often than not they are not in the title race, particularly in recent years. There have been good stretches now and then but they haven’t been long enough.
Since their downfall, Manchester City have become the best club in England with a bucketful of trophies, having won seven titles starting from 2011-12. Liverpool and Arsenal are the new title contenders. Liverpool won the league in 2019-20 and thrice in the last 10 years they have finished second behind City.
The year before the Abramovic departure, Chelsea had won the Champions League. Ever since, they have not won anything that’s worth mentioning.
Last season for the first time in this century Chelsea finished in the bottom half of the table. This season at present they are again in the
bottom half of the table, believe it or not. United finished third last season to qualify for the Champions League but couldn’t go beyond the group stage in what was their worst performance in the European club competition to date. Last season they managed to win the League Cup – their first notable triumph since 2016-17. This season there were great expectations, but so far there has been nothing to cheer about. They are sixth in the points table and in all honestly don’t look in a great position to break into the top four by the end of the season.
One can understand now why the FA Cup becomes the focal point for both the clubs. It cannot satisfy but can certainly pacify their fans. The existential crisis they are facing at the moment can be mitigated with an FA Cup success. Both clubs on Sunday celebrated their wins in the quarterfinals like there was no tomorrow — understandably so. Chelsea beat Leicester 4-2 while United stunned Liverpool 4-3 to advance to the last four of the competition.
If their semifinal matches on April 20 go as per their plans, they could very well be competing in the winner-take-all showdown. United are playing second-division team Coventry and should back themselves to get the better of them. Chelsea, on the other hand, are facing an extremely tough test in City. Mauricio Pochettino’s men are now more under pressure having lost to Liverpool in the League Cup final last month. While City go into the contest as an overwhelming favourite, Chelsea will take a lot of heart from the fact that Pep Guardiola’s men couldn’t beat them in both of their Premier League ties this season.
The importance of an FA Cup success can’t be overstated enough for both clubs. Additionally, they have not won the Cup for a long time. United last won in 2015-16 and Chelsea in 2017-18. Erik ten Hag and Pochettino are fighting a battle for survival, make no mistake. Both have been given enough time to turn the club’s fortunes around, but there is no real improvement to speak of. One can safely say the FA Cup is their last opportunity to save their jobs.
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