The FA Cup has helped define Alan Pardew. Three times, first as player, then twice as a manager, he has been dramatically denied in the final after extraordinary campaigns to get there.
Two of those finals – and an iconic semi-final when he scored the extra-time winning goal against Liverpool – are considered among the greatest ties in the competition’s illustrious 153-year history.
Now 63, Pardew is running his own consultancy to work with club owners, technical directors and managers. “Will I go back into football management? I don’t know,” he says. “I quite like this role.