Crystal Palace Manager Avoids FA Cup Final to Spare Team Embarrassment
In a surprising move, former Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has declined an invitation from chairman Steve Parish to attend the FA Cup final. The decision comes as Pardew seeks to avoid drawing attention to his infamous ‘dad dancing’ celebration during the 2016 FA Cup final against Manchester United.
According to The Sun, Pardew, 63, has chosen to stay home and watch the match from his living room, rather than risking another awkward conversation about his touchline jig. As reported by The Sun, Pardew’s impromptu dance in celebration of Jason Puncheon’s 78th-minute goal against Manchester United in the 2016 final has become an enduring meme.
The Sun reports that Pardew said: “I told Steve that this team deserves so much credit. The problem with 2016 is that the team didn’t get enough. Every time it comes up in conversation, my dance comes up with it. And I don’t want there to be even the slightest chance of that happening this time.”
As quoted by The Sun, Pardew added: “I don’t mind talking about it. It was just an off-the-cuff reaction to a goal. No shame. But this Cup final should be about this Palace team. I’ve told Steve that if they win, I will celebrate with him at the Wolves game next Tuesday instead. But I’ll be watching from home for sure.”
As The Sun notes, current Palace gaffer Oliver Glasner is determined to make it third-time lucky for The Eagles at FA Cup finals with a shock win over City. In comments reported by The Sun, Glasner said: “It feels like more than a normal game. There’s much more attention and much more interviews to do during the week. But our preparation was more or less the same as in the Premier League games and before the semi-final or the quarter-final and all the other games.”
The Sun reports that Glasner continued: “We focused on what we want to do tomorrow at Wembley. We analysed Manchester City, but 90% of the time we were talking about us. Because this is what we can influence, we can influence our performance, we can influence what we want to do in and out of possession and so the focus was on our game.”
Further comments from Glasner, as reported by The Sun, read: “Also we just made one or two small adjustments, because the players especially did very well in the last couple of weeks and so we’re up with a lot of confidence and looking forward to the final.”
In related news, fans can stay up-to-date with all the latest developments from Wembley via The Sun‘s live blog.
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