Everyone knows the 2008 FA Cup was full of upsets and excitement throughout the various rounds. Who would have thought Barnsley could have knocked out not just Liverpool but Chelsea as well?

And what about eventual champions Portsmouth's victory against Premier League and Champions League winners Manchester United? Fairytales are made of lesser things!

But we all know as footballing fans that these upsets and shocks are what make the FA Cup - the longest-running footballing trophy in the world - so special.

'As a neutral it was great to see two teams really wanting to win as you knew just how much the FA Cup would mean to both of them - and even more so to their managers'


I love watching the draws for each round to see who has avoided who and which non-league clubs are going to receive a big pay day by drawing a big Premier League club and making a fortune in TV rights and media attention. This year it was Havant and Waterlooville - and didn't they do well against Liverpool?

So in the final, Portsmouth ended up playing against Welsh side Cardiff City. None of the Big Four made it through and many in the media had marked out the FA Cup final as a low-key event this year, simply because it wasn't yet another Manchester Utd v Chelsea battle. Aren't we sick of them anyway? Except for last Wednesday's penalty shoot-out of course!

As a neutral it was great to see two teams really wanting to win as you knew just how much the FA Cup would mean to both of them - and even more so to their managers.

Harry Redknapp has done so well at Portsmouth and you always felt that his side would be victorious just for him. Portsmouth ran out 1-0 victors over Cardiff and the match, although not spectacular, was gritty enough to be good viewing on a Saturday afternoon.

I enjoyed the build-up also on BBC1. It was good to see different players who you may not see usually talking about life in the Championship, their aspirations for the final, going behind the scenes at different grounds rather than the usual ones.

It was most interesting to see just how much FA Cup glory means to not only them, but also to the fans who travelled to Wembley to see their team play.

The only problem I found with the FA Cup was that it lost a lot of media attention on the TV and in the papers due to the Champions League final taking place only a few days later.

Of course, if no English clubs would have been playing in final of the European tournament then the FA Cup would have got all the limelight, but because Wednesday's match involved both Manchester United and Chelsea then the build-up to this match seemed more important to some newspapers than the domestic match between Portsmouth and Cardiff - their loss and not ours as fans.

All we want to do as neutrals is to watch a football game that both sides want to win and will do anything to do so - and with this year's FA Cup, that's exactly what we got. Let's just hope Blackburn can cause the upsets next season!