Are the stars perfectly aligned for FA Cup glory?

In football, we talk a lot about narrative and the drama that drives this wonderful sport. Anyone who watched our penalty shootout win at Old Trafford on Sunday will know it is exactly 50 years since our first and only FA Cup final appearance – our central narrative thread. Beating Manchester United on their patch was sweet revenge for our quarter-final tie in 2023, when we were 20 minutes away from a Wembley semi-final before three minutes of madness that started with Willian handling on the line and ended with Alexander Mitrovic seeing red for laying his hands on referee Chris Kavanagh and Marco Silva banished to the sidelines in protest.