It was only seven years ago that Manchester City were knocked out at this stage of the FA Cup two seasons running and the future was looking tremendously bleak for the club. In 2007, the deed had been done thanks to a 2-0 loss at Ewood Park, where the fans' chants of "you’re not fit to wear the shirt" echoed around Blackburn following a lacklustre display by the away side. The year before, West Ham had the honour of breaking blue hearts.
It felt at the time that that was as good as it was ever going to get –- scraping Premier League survival and then having a decent cup run that ended in the quarterfinals, just when the hopes of winning the competition might have been creeping into the supporters' minds.
Things have changed at City, though, thanks to investment both on and off the pitch and the whole infrastructure of the club from top to bottom is completely different. Since losing to Blackburn and the future looking like a never-ending cycle of mediocrity, City fans have been lucky enough to witness six trips to Wembley (four of which ended in victories) and three trophies banked in the cabinet, with wins in the FA Cup and Premier League followed up by last Sunday's League Cup.
The hopes of winning a cup competition back then rested on City's best XI being fit and available for each and every tie. This was tricky for then-manager Stuart Pearce, whose main priority had to be Premier League survival. Often, this meant the squad was stretched to breaking point.
When West Ham visited Eastlands in March 2006, City had faced a fixture pile-up that wasn't helping their cause. Having beaten Aston Villa in the previous round's replay four days earlier, Pearce made eight changes for the league visit of Wigan--- this year's quarterfinal opponents. Still riding the wave of having joined a new club, Georgios Samaras was the Blues' chief hope of progression in the FA Cup and was one of those rested to face the Latics.
That Saturday afternoon was a disaster -- the team went down with no fighting spirit, while Samaras was forced to come on to replace the injured Antoine Sibierski. The worst happened; the Greek striker lasted just 34 minutes before injury also forced him off to be replaced by Ishmael Miller.
It started a slump that saw City win just one more game all season -- losing the other eight. In fact, Pearce was to win just 15 more matches in all competitions after that defeat to Wigan -- playing 52.
However, putting the history books away for a moment, both the City and the Wigan sides that will face off at the Etihad on Sunday are worlds apart from where they were seven years ago.
Wigan, rejuvenated under ex-City striker Uwe Rosler’s stewardship, have won five on the spin (and lost just two in their past 18 games) and are pushing for the playoffs in the Championship, having been languishing in mid-table at the start of January. As a little tidbit of information, too -- Rosler is the highest-placed manager in the football pyramid who has played for Manchester City, beating Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich, currently four points behind the Latics.
The Blues have faced Wigan in the FA Cup thrice previously. All of their previous meetings in the competition have finished 1-0, with City winning two (1971 and 2006), with their opponents rather more famously winning the other (2013).
And this brings us on to last season’s final; a day that will live long in the memories of both sets of fans for very different reasons. Wigan earned their first-ever trophy, while City performed as though they already had won -- a lacklustre display being punished by a hard-working, high-pressing Latics team.
News reports leading up to the game were all about Roberto Mancini and how information had leaked from the club that the Blues were to approach Malaga’s Manuel Pellegrini to replace him. The fans, in a show of support for their boss who had won their first trophy in three and a half decades and first top-flight league title in 44 years, chanted his name. The club, however, said nothing -- virtually confirming the rumours were true.
They did indeed turn out to be and a fresh start was made with the Chilean last summer. Pellegrini bagged his first piece of silverware in his first attempt with the Blues and will be looking to achieve the club's second Double-winning season, following on from 1970 -- when Joe Mercer added the European Cup Winners Cup to the League Cup. The way the team are currently performing and the way the FA Cup draw has fallen, Pellegrini probably won’t get a better chance to join the City legend in the history books.
The draw for the cup has been kind for City -- they've been handed a tie with lower league opposition (whom they already have beaten comprehensively in a different competition this season) and at home, while all of the other Premier League teams left in have been pitted against each other. Should the Blues progress to the semifinals, they'll know one of Arsenal and Everton and one of Hull and Sunderland won't be joining them.
Pellegrini and City will be wary of an upset, as happened in last year's final and as might have happened last Sunday. But the Chilean is a man on a mission and a reunion with an old fans' favourite in the visiting dugout should do little to change his ruthless streak. With a domestic double a real possibility this season, he'll go for the jugular.