Tony Pulis has said Stoke City supporters feel they were denied their moment with the FA Cup after Manchester City were found guilty of breaching most of the 115 financial rules brought against them, with an appeal still to be heard. The retired Stoke manager was in charge when his side lost the 2011 final 1-0 to City, and believes that day now looks rather different.
Key takeaways
- Stoke lost the 2011 FA Cup final to Manchester City after Yaya Touré scored the only goal.
- Pulis said fans have repeatedly asked when Stoke will receive the cup instead.
- Manchester City’s case relates to alleged financial-rule breaches across the period from 2009 to 2018.
- The former Stoke manager expects a points deduction and a substantial fine rather than trophies being reassigned.
- Pulis said neither he nor Stoke can recover the chance to celebrate a cup win in Stoke-on-Trent.
A final seen through a different lens
For Pulis, the defeat at Wembley was once easier to accept. Stoke had reached their first FA Cup final and faced a City side assembled at a level far beyond the means of a club such as theirs. Roberto Mancini was in the City dugout, with a squad full of leading names, and Pulis had initially taken pride from competing with them.
City had not won a major trophy for 35 years before that afternoon, yet were already on their way towards becoming English football’s dominant force. Pulis pointed to the financial gap between the clubs, saying Stoke could never have matched City’s transfer spending or wage bill.
Touré, who struck the winner, was highlighted as an example. Pulis said the midfielder was reportedly earning around 10 times more than any Stoke player, while his 2010 move from Barcelona had cost more than the entire Stoke starting XI.
That imbalance now leaves a sharper taste. Pulis said Stoke had lost to a team subsequently found to have broken Premier League financial regulations, rather than simply to a superior collection of players on the day. He also believes those connected to other clubs affected by City’s achievements between 2009 and 2018 will be considering their position.
No easy route back to Wembley
Pulis expects Stoke followers to call for the 2011 trophy to be handed over, and accepts that clubs affected by the case may examine legal options. But he does not anticipate a call from Manchester City offering to return the cup or the winners’ medals.
Nor does he expect titles and trophies from the period to be redistributed. In his view, the likelier sporting punishment would be a points deduction alongside a heavy financial penalty.
Even so, Pulis said that outcome would not repair what was lost. Stoke cannot replay the occasion, nor can their supporters reclaim the celebration that might have followed an FA Cup triumph. His feeling, plainly, is that City’s rule-breaking allowed them to take the place Stoke had earned the right to contest.
