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Ian Wright says he would never do ‘nerve-wracking’ FA Cup draw again
Published 12:54 21 Mar 2024 GMT
Updated 12:55 21 Mar 2024 GMT
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Wright was the brunt of many jokes after the draw
Ian Wright said that he never wants to do the FA Cup draw again after finding it too "nerve-wracking".
Wright was trusted with conducting the draw for the semi final after Manchester United's win against Liverpool live on ITV.
He did it in his own style, preferring to look away from the bag as he drew teams out of the hat. The former Arsenal man even managed to get a laugh out of Roy Keane.
However looking back on the draw, which saw many compare his style to a Stevie Wonder impression, the 60-year-old said it wouldn't be something he'd want to do again.
"I can’t believe how many people went crazy over that," he said on the Stick to Football podcast.
"There were only four balls in and I think people were a bit upset that we didn’t know who was one, two, three, and four. But the main thing is, they’re so stringent on making sure we don’t look in the bag, making sure the bag is tight before you open it so you’re not looking in.
"In the end, people were saying 'what’s he doing the Stevie Wonder for?!' I wasn’t doing Stevie Wonder; I was just making sure I wasn’t looking in [the bag]. It looked like Stevie Wonder, but I didn’t want people to say that the draw was wrong – people still slaughtered me but I thought it was a great draw."
He added: "Don’t ask me to do it [the FA Cup draw] again! It’s nerve-wracking and if they ask me to do it again [I won’t]. He [Roy Keane] had skin in the game.
"Could you imagine if he’d done it and Manchester United came out against Coventry?! I was being neutral. I thought I was a very good neutral as well.
"I didn’t even realise at the time. I’d done Coventry and Man United, so we know what’s next and I was so close to going 'well we know what’s next, what’s the point of drawing them!'".
Wright close to iconic cup draw
Of course, when we think of cup draws, there's only one that springs to mind.
That is obviously Rod Stewart's incredible Scottish Cup draw.
Watching him swoop in and reveal the numbers so passionately has now become a widespread meme.
Reflecting on his antics, the singer did admit that he "p****d about a bit" and had "drank a couple of bevvies" before going on live TV.
Neville names player of the season
Elsewhere on the podcast the crew looked back on that incredible FA Cup game that saw United beat Liverpool with a last minute winner.
As well as praising Amad Diallo and questioning why he hasn't been given more game time, Neville pin-pointed one player who he felt has had an excellent campaign.
After Wright mentioned he had bumped into Amad Diallo, Neville initially thought he meant Diogo Dalot and replied: "He's done well hasn't he? He's been the [Man United] best player this season.
It comes after United fans recently admitted that Jose Mourinho's prediction on Dalot was finally proving to be true.
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