Crippling rail strikes fail to keep fans from attending first all-Manchester FA Cup final
FOOTIE fans were jubilant yesterday after crippling rail strikes failed to stop them attending the first all-Manchester FA Cup final.
Supporters crammed into cars and piled on to coaches as trains were axed due to drivers walking out on the biggest day of the season.
Many got up at the crack of dawn to embark on the 200-mile pilgrimage from the North West to Wembley to beat the traffic.
The six-hour drive proved worthwhile for Man City fans who kept treble dreams alive by claiming a 2-1 victory over United in the first Manchester derby final in the competition’s 151-year history.
The Red Devils, who secured their own trophy trio in 1999, were chasing their second silverware of the year.
United fan Marty Harris, 46, woke at 4am for a £300 flight from Edinburgh to Birmingham before car-sharing to Watford and then getting the Tube to Wembley with his young son.
He said: “I’m here now so that’s the main thing. It’s been torture, absolute torture. I think people watching will be tired because they’ve got up so early to be here.”
Sharon and Mark Ralph, drove for seven hours from Cheshire on Friday night to avoid the strikes — staying in a hotel for two nights before watching their beloved United yesterday.
Sharon, 44, said: “We don’t mind the extra cost. It was definitely worth it.”
FA Cup expert Phil Annets, who wrote in the official matchday programme, needed a lift back to Oxfordshire after being driven to the match by a friend.
The 58-year-old said: “I think it’s vindictive by the strikers to try to impact as many people as possible.”
Hundreds of coaches and cars set off from the North West in the early hours for the usual four-hour trip down the M6 and M40 motorways towards North West London.
But the journey took more than six hours for many who got stuck in two huge tailbacks on the M1.
Manchester United fan Ralph Cooper, 56, said: “Even if it would have taken me two days to get there and two days to get back, it wouldn’t have made any difference. I wouldn’t have missed this.”
Police patrolled service stations along the route despite fans being allocated separate stop-offs depending on whether their loyalties were red or sky blue.
Both Manchester clubs provided return coaches at a subsidised price of £50 a seat to meet the exceptional demand.
The FA also put on 120 special bus services — 60 for each club leaving from different locations — at £60 per fan.
Extra car parking was also made available 25 minutes’ walk away from the stadium in Fryent Park.
Event day parking at the 90,000-capacity stadium had sold out two weeks ago.
Tom Legg, head of external operations at the FA, had said of the two-day travel carnage: “This additional strike action will severely impact fans who might have been considering travelling to London from Manchester the night before the final.”
Fans battled for parking spaces in sleepy, suburban Stanmore in North West London — at the very northern end of the Jubilee line — after the Metropolitan line was temporarily suspended due to signal failure.
Hundreds of motorists from Manchester had come off the M1 to park up in Stanmore, filling up side streets normally used by residents and shoppers.
Others made deals with enterprising locals to park their cars on their driveways.
Mary, 60, travelling with godson Oliver, 21, said: “There’s no choice really.”
James, who travelled to Bushey, Herts, on Thursday to avoid the rush, said: “I’ve got a friend from Manchester who left at half past six in the morning and five hours later he’s still stuck in traffic on the motorway.”
Strikes coincided with other huge events like the Epsom Derby, England’s test match at Lord’s and Beyonce’s concert at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Usually busy railway stations across the capital have been left looking like ghost towns as around 12,000 Aslef and RMT members walked out in industrial action for the second day in a row.
After helping to cripple around 40 per cent of train services, Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We are determined to get a resolution and remain in this for the long haul.”
The Department for Transport claimed the action had been deliberately coordinated to target major events for maximum disruption.
A spokesman added: “Not content with impacting the hundreds of thousands of people who have looked forward to these events all year round, unions are also targeting their own members’ pockets by forcing them to miss out on pay every time they strike.
“The Government has facilitated a fair and reasonable pay offer.
“Now union leaders must do the right thing and put this to their members.”
Stars are in crowd
STARS from both sides of Manchester were spotted in the crowd at Wembley.
Ex-Red Devils favourite David Beckham, 48, looked glum as he watched his beloved side lose with sons Brooklyn, 24, and Cruz, 18.
But ex-Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, 50, pumped his arms in the air watching City’s win with his kids.
Prince William, president of the FA, presented the medals and trophy after the game, tweeting: “A derby like no other today.”