John Aldridge believes Liverpool’s semi-final clash against should be played at Old Trafford given the travel problems for fans.
The Premier League’s top two are set to battle it out at Wembley on the weekend of April 16 and 17 but supporters have voiced their concerns that there are no direct trains to the north-west due to engineering works.
Former Red Aldridge, who won the FA Cup with Liverpool in 1989, believes having the semi-finals at Wembley already devalues the competition and in this instance a switch to the home of would be a good solution to the problem.
‘To be honest we’re not stupid, we know they want the semis at Wembley to pay for Wembley, it was always the case,’ he said.
‘But logic is logic, come on. Manchester and Liverpool clubs – just play it at Manchester United. It is what it is.
‘In our day the FA Cup was so great as it was about getting to the final at Wembley.
‘Alex Ferguson used to get accused of devaluing the competition by putting different teams out, but what they are doing is devaluing the competition in many ways to get the money to pay for Wembley.
‘For the sake of Manchester City and Liverpool fans there’s not much difference (playing) at Manchester United, which can hold 80,000.’
While the mayors of both Manchester and Liverpool have also called for the semi-final to moved away from Wembley, there has so far been no indication from the FA that these requests will be met.
In the latest nod to the match going ahead in the capital, City confirmed on Thursday they would be putting on extra coaches for fans travelling to Wembley with coach tickets priced at £40.
‘Manchester City has secured an initial 50 coaches to operate a day-trip travel package for the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium over the weekend of 16/17 April,’ the club said.
‘This follows Network Rail’s announcement that there will be nationwide rail disruptions during the Easter Weekend, which means that direct train travel from Manchester to London Euston is unavailable.’
Chelsea and Crystal Palace will contest the other FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Easter Weekend.
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