Alan Pardew admits he REGRETS his infamous FA Cup final dance after his Crystal Palace side went on to lose late on against Manchester United in 2016 as former boss reveals ‘people remember it, unfortunately!’
- Alan Pardew has finally spoken out about his infamous 2016 FA Cup Final dance
- The former Crystal Palace boss performed iconic dance after his side took lead
- Embarrassingly, Manchester United equalised two minutes later before winning
- Pardew admitted he wish he hadn’t done it and that people haven’t forgotten it
Alan Pardew has confessed that he regrets his infamous ‘dad dance’ during Crystal Palace’s 2016 FA Cup Final defeat.
After substitute Jason Puncheon put the Eagles 1-0 up against Manchester United in 78th minute, the former manager’s first instinct was to turn out to the nearest camera and throw his best shapes in celebration.
It should have gone down as iconic FA Cup-crowning moment but, embarrassingly, it proved to be premature as Juan Mata equalised just two minutes later for United before Jesse Lingard won it for the Red Devils in extra-time.
Alan Pardew has admitted he regrets his premature 2016 FA Cup final ‘dad dance’
The former Eagles boss admitted he regrets the celebration and that people haven’t forgotten
Speaking about Palace’s journey to Wembley in the latest edition of FourFourTwo magazine, Pardew said: ‘That run to the cup final was fantastic. But then I had to make the awful decision to put Jason Puncheon on the bench.
‘He was so disappointed, but I don’t think he realised I was too. I love him as a person, but we wanted to counteract something in Manchester United’s team.
‘I said, like all managers would, ‘You’ll come on – go and show me when you get on.’ When he put us 1-0 up, that was the moment.’
When pressed on the moment everyone wants to know about, Pardew admitted it was a spontaneous reaction and admitted people he speaks to still don’t seem to forget it.
Pardew threw shapes as Jason Puncheon put Palace 1-0 up but the Eagles would go on to lose
Manchester United equalised two minutes later before going on to beat Palace to lift trophy
‘I regret the dance,’ he added. ‘My daughter had said, ‘There’s this new dance’, and that must have been in my head!
‘I should never have done it – people remember it, unfortunately – but it was a brilliant moment for Punch, and I’d felt for him.’
That showpiece was only Palace’s second ever final appearance, with their other also a defeat by Manchester United in 1990, when Pardew was an Eagles player.
Much like in 2016, Palace failed to Step Up.
The former Crystal Palace spoke about the infamous moment in latest edition of FourFourTwo
