Blue is the Colour - But the Wrong Shade
And so the trail is complete. Nine months after it begin at Abbey Rangers it ended at Wembley with Manchester City’s 1 - 0 victory over Chelsea. With the support of the ‘Fellowship’ I had travelled over 3000 miles to attend all fourteen rounds of the 2025/26 FA Cup competition and completed a challenge that I had first attempted over 20 years ago when living in Wales. Once again Charlie was able to secure us four tickets which allowed Joe and Steve (Smithy) to join me. Then earlier this week Charlie received an invitation to join the Chelsea pre-match celebrations and so we found ourselves with a spare ticket. After careful consideration we decided to offer it to my brother-in-law, Jonathan - a Spurs supporter who we thought could do with a break from the tension of potential relegation. Our only concern was that as a Spurs fan he might have forgotten where Wembley is! We began our day with a few pints and some food at the Box Park amongst the Chelsea fans before heading off to the stadium.
I began the trail back in August with the Abbey Rangers Chairman, Nick Riley, inviting me and some of the fellowship to come onto the pitch.
Little did I know that nine months later Charlie would arrange for us to go pitch side at Wembley and complete a tour behind the scenes of this fabulous stadium. A once in a lifetime experience for all of us.
As to the game we technically arrived as Manchester City fans, but as I sat amongst the Chelsea faithful, not surprisingly, I hoped for a Chelsea victory. And it was reassuring (if surprising) to see both Reece James and Levi Colwill back in royal blue and I wondered how Chelsea would have fared in the league if they had both been available all season.
Football at this level is a bit like watching chess and with James and Caicedo cancelling out Rhodri and Bernado Silva the first half ended in stalemate with barely a shot on target. This was a chance for us to sit down because, although those around us had paid £175 for a seat they (and many thousands more) preferred to stand through the entire match. City brought on Rayan Cherki after the break and he immediately added new energy and the game picked up pace. Chelsea responded well and began to find space down the right, but unfortunately Gusto’s crossing let him down and no real chances emerged. As we approached the last quarter we wondered whether we were heading for extra time and penalties, but then with 18 minutes remaining Haaland found some space on the right and his cross was turned in by Semenyo for what was to be the winner.
It wasn’t quite the fairytale ending I might have hoped for, but the right team won. As the big screen showed the presentation it focussed on John Stones and Bernardo Silva lifting the trophy. Neither player will be at City next season and I wonder whether the same will be true of Pep Guardiola - much may depend I guess on whether they win the league next weekend. I hope not.
As we returned to the Box Park to let the crowds clear we discussed what managerial changes we might see before the next season. Little did I expect that by the time I got home it would be announced that (apparently) Xabi Alonso will be taking up the role at Chelsea. They need him after the chaos of this season. Charlie rejoined us with bag full of goodies for me, including the new Chelsea shirt and a programme signed by Eden Hazard.
This will be my last report (at least until next season) and I thought I should say a few words about the journey as a whole. It is stating the obvious that Manchester City have been the FA Cup team of the trail - they were the only team we saw win three games - and it follows that Pep should also be the manager of the trail. Although he was pushed for style by Wealdstone Manager, Sam Cox (who has since lost his job).
My favourite ground had to be Wembley, but perhaps I was swayed by the hospitality I received at the two semi-finals and yesterday’s tour.
However, my favourite atmosphere was at Molineux for the Wolves v Liverpool game when both sets of supporters joined in to pay tribute to Diego Jota in the 20th minute.
I have thought long and hard about my player of the trail and went to Wembley expecting Bernardo Silva to collect that crown, but Reece James and Moses Caicedo denied him the space to have a significant impact on the game.
And so my mind went back to games one and two and Andre Coker who lit up both matches with his skill, pace and energy. He also remains the only player who has celebrated his goal but downing a beer, courtesy of a nearby fan!
But this was all about the ‘Magic of the Cup’ and the game of the season has to be game two - Corinthian Casuals v Sevenoaks Town - when sadly only Joe, Robert and I enjoyed an eight-goal thriller that will stay with me for a long time. The game also included the goal of trail as left-back George Bond collected the ball 30 yards out, unleashing an arrow into the top-right corner to reduce the deficit to 3-2. It remains one of the few goals from the whole campaign that Joe didn’t manage the capture on video.
While we were having a pre-match pint yesterday, we were joined by a guy handing out wrist bands on behalf of a mental health charity and he asked us to ask at least one of our acquaintances “how are you feeling today?” and to listen to their answer. As I reflected on this later, I realised that the trail had never been about the football - it had been about the fellowship. You don’t make a 16-hour round trip to Grimsby for the quality of the football - you do it for the experience, the stories and the laughs. This adventure has allowed me to spend quality time with my sons Joe, Charlie and Dan; son -in-law James and good friends Robert and Steve (respectively 60+ and 40+ years as mates). And along the way we have been joined by Trudy, Lola, Jonathan, James (Taylor) and little grandson, Theo.
And so it’s over, but maybe I need to start thinking of next season…… the FA Vase or the FA Trophy? Maybe some of my readers would like to join the Fellowship next time.
Risky’s Ratings
Hospitality: 9 Ground: 10 (Fabulous Tour) Pitch: 10 Game: 7 Fans: 8 Magic of the Cup: 7.5 (I genuinely enjoyed belting out the National Anthem) Quote of the day Chelsea fan to his son in the urinals before the game “Blue Moon - what sort of song is Blue Moon? Who the f**k wants to sing Blue Moon, Son?” Sadly by the end of the game at least 20,000 people did.