Man United have held a joint press conference with the FA at which they confirmed that they would accept the FA's offer of an opt-out from the 1999-2000 FA Cup.

But David Davies, former BBC West Midlands newsreader, now big nob at the FA, revealed that they had been 'thinking the unthinkable', including giving 'league match' status to the Charity Shield, treating this as Arsenal's home game - in a bid to ease Man U's fixture congestion. Like you said David, unthinkable.

No matter what happens now, the FA Cup is a devalued competition, and we'll all have to face claims from ManU fans that 'it won't count this season'. But on the bright side, there is now no chance whatsoever that they can repeat their double!