Manchester City’s FA Cup final demolition of Watford may have been boring for some but research shows TV audiences want high-quality entertainment rather than unpredictabilityThere was a moment late in Saturday’s FA Cup final when Manchester City turned the Wembley pitch into the world’s biggest rondo. Ping. Tap. Dink. Tap. Ping. Donk. Watford did not touch the ball for almost three minutes as City strung together 76 passes. It brought to mind Leeds United’s 39-pass move against Southampton in 1972 during a 7-0 win, a rare voyage into the ethereal by Don Revie’s side, which was described by the giddy BBC commentator Barry Davies as “almost cruel”. Yet for City this was merely a routine act in an almost routine 6-0 victory.It was both brutal and boring, the footballing equivalent of watching a matador slowly drawing blood from a calf. If ever a game illustrated the vast financial chasm between the rich and the rest, this was it. Much of football’s charm lies in its unpredictability: the notion that one team can not only buck the odds on any given Saturday, but that it happens more often than in other sports. Increasingly at the top level that seems like a tall tale told to the gullible. Related: FA Cup victory shows Manchester City are a team to love, admire and fear | Barney Ronay Related: David Lacey: Mismatch of the Day can be a real turn-off Continue readingreadfullarticle
