City’s shocking FA Youth Cup final call vs. Man United backfires dramatically

City’s shocking FA Youth Cup final call vs. Man United backfires dramatically

As the FA Youth Cup final approaches, it’s become increasingly clear why Manchester City opted to stage the contest at the much smaller Joie Stadium rather than take up Manchester United’s offer to have it at Old Trafford or another larger venue.

Frustrating decision

After weeks of talks and speculation over where the showpiece FA Youth Cup final between City and United would be held, City – drawn as the home side – opted to have it at the Joie Stadium.

The expectation was that the game would be played at the Etihad but a date and time could not be agreed.

City therefore decided to have it at Joie Stadium, which is used by their academy and women’s teams. A subsequent report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that Darren Fletcher and his young charges were left extremely frustrated by the decision.

City insisted that using the Etihad was out of the question as a section of the 53,400-seater was undergoing construction.

It’s understood that United offered to make Old Trafford available but City outrightly rejected this, insisting they were not willing to give up home advantage. This is despite the fact that the FA Youth Cup final would rank as the biggest career highlight for most of the young players so far.

Now, the Daily Mail reveal that City’s difficulty selling out their allocation at the Joie Stadium likely explains their reluctance to have the Etihad used.