The Long, Long Road To Wembley

We now know the four teams that will contest the FA Cup semi-finals. Manchester United, Manchester City, Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers will all take the long road to Wembley. And, make no mistake, it is a long road. Between them the four sets of fans will cover around 1,500 miles in schlepping their way to North-West London. Train company bosses will already be rubbing their hands and awarding themselves big bonuses at the prospect of over 100,000 people potentially using their services over the weekend of April 16/17. The Metropolitan Police, however, will be pulling their hair out at the thought of handling Sunday's semi on the same day as the London Marathon. The reason for the mass transit down to the capital is, of course, that the FA has all FA Cup semi-finals staged at the national stadium as well as the final in order to help pay off the huge overspend in constructing it as soon as possible. So, rather than the red and blue of Mancunia making the short trip to, say, Elland Road, or Trotters and Potters fans making the far less taxing journey to Villa Park, there could be thousands of fans stranded at Milton Keynes waiting for a replacement bus service this weekend. If the loss of the neutral venue has eroded yet more of 'The Magic Of The Cup' (official broadcasters at the time), at least it was evident in the weekend's quarter-final match-ups.

No, Early Doors is not talking about United's win over Arsenal, enabled by the revolutionary deployment of seven defenders in the starting line-up. Nor is it referring to Stoke's typically muscular performance which did for West Ham. And there is certainly no praise for the excruciatingly dull 1-0 win over Reading which saw City through to their first FA Cup semi since 1981. This weekend Bolton were the only show in town following theit thrilling 3-2 win over League Cup holders Birmingham City courtesy of Lee Chung-yong's late header after Kevin Phillips, 50, looked to have forced a replay with his instinctive finish which gave his ageing legs cramp. It is a mark of how far Bolton have come under Owen Coyle that their semi-final against Stoke promises to be more than the arduous test of patience it would have been seen as otherwise. Stoke are well within their rights to play how they want - their continued Premier League status is all the justification Tony Pulis needs - but the transformation of Bolton under Coyle shows that attractive football and relative success are not mutually exclusive for the more unfashionable clubs in the top flight. Coyle's cup pedigree has led him to semi-finals before - in the League Cup with Burnley and both Scottish cup competitions with St Johnstone - but his only final appearance as a manager to date was the Championship play-off decider which took Burnley up to the Premier League.

Now he is in charge of a top-tier side that will be going into a semi-final as slight favourites - unfamiliar but well-earned territory for a boss whose career continues on its upward trajectory. Sam Allardyce must have felt he was in with a shout of winning Manager of the Year after guiding Bolton to the League Cup final and an eighth-place finish in 2004, only for Arsenal's title-winning Invincibles to somewhat steal his thunder. This season's eventual champions will come nowhere near that standard, so an FA Cup final appearance and a European spot would have Coyle high in the reckoning. And who could begrudge Coyle's main man on the pitch, Kevin Davies, a shot at Wembley glory too? After coming so close to Wembley while with Chesterfield, and then not making the squad for Southampton's final against Arsenal in 2003, a second trip to Wembley would cap off a great season which has already seen him make a belated England debut. In fact, this season's semi-final line-up - seasoned campaigners Man United aside - is riddled with special significance for all concerned. Stoke are enjoying their best form for 40 years, since their early 1970s vintage claimed the League Cup and reached two FA Cup semis. Reaching the final would be a great piece of vindication for ever-embattled manager Tony Pulis.

With the much-prized Champions League qualification still far from assured, a long-craved piece of silverware would see man City lay down a marker in their new era and perhaps even stop Roberto Mancini's greying quite so rapidly. City are yet to beat United in the league or knock them out of a cup since Sheikh Mansour took over and the one-off nature of a Wembley semi-final will surely spur them into an attacking performance against their local rivals, something they have stubbornly resisted in their previous two meetings this season. And there would be a genuinely emotional edge to proceedings if City and Bolton were to meet in the final, with both clubs spurred on to win in tribute to respective Cup heroes Neil Young and Nat Lofthouse, who both died earlier this year. All in all, the long, long road to Wembley will be worth taking.