Looking back on my years as a professional footballer I can honestly say I have very few regrets.I had 16 wonderful seasons getting paid to play the game I love for distinguished, historic clubs such as my beloved West Ham and Feyenoord in Holland.But if I could change one thing about my playing days, it would be to have appeared in an FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.I came pretty close in 1975 when I helped the Hammers reach the final.Unfortunately I was dropped for the ‘big day’ against Fulham and missed out on facing my old chum, and former team-mate, Bobby Moore who skippered the Cottagers that day.Back then, you see, each side was only allowed one substitute and our manager John Lyall opted to have fellow striker Bobby Gould on the bench.Having to watch the game from the stands was disappointing; I was desperate to play but life goes on and there’s no point crying over spilt milk.So unlike my compatriots Shaun Goater and Kyle Lightbourne, I never played at Wembley although I remember the ‘75 final like it was yesterday.I was in the squad so I still got a nice new suit and walked out on Wembley’s hallowed turf before kick-off. Despite not playing it was still a day to remember; we won 2-0.The FA Cup final was always special in those days when I lived in England; all the shops would shut down and most people would go to the pub for a few pints before heading home to watch the game.These days people say the FA Cup is in decline and lost some of it’s magic, although I don’t imagine Stoke City’s players would agree, nor Manchester City’s for that matter.Both teams will contest what should be an intriguing final today.City boss Roberto Mancini desperately needs a trophy to silence his critics but Stoke have gathered some pre-final momentum and look to have the bit between their teeth.People say Stoke are just a long ball team but those people are stupid. To me you play to your strengths and Stoke’s manager Tony Pulis has been incredibly successful at extracting every last ounce of talent from his players.They have got some big boys up front, some big boys at the back and from set pieces they’re going to be extremely dangerous.My money’s still on City, though. They have some supremely gifted attackers and I like the way they knock the ball around and try to play.Having said that, I’m not going to critcise any manager who sets his team up differently in order to eke out results.Sure, Stoke like to look for their big strikers and tend to go a bit longer with their passing but that’s okay by me. They’ve had a great season and qualified for the Europa League, so obviously it’s a ploy that’s working well for Pulis.The one thing I would say to both sets of players is to make the most of the Wembley experience. You never know, you may not get another chance.