Geoff Thomas' reason for missing cup final

Palace and United staged the 1990 show-piece at Wembley, with Thomas skippering the Eagles to an unsuccessful effort having taken the Red Devils to a replay.

Both games took place at the home of English football - the first finishing 3-3 before a Lee Martin goal led United to a 1-0 victory and the trophy in the second match.

Now a third clash comes for the cup, where Thomas would have been among the guests of honour. He cannot attend, though, as he's taking part in a bike ride for charity.

He's cycling from London to Paris for Cure Leukaemia, the charity that saved his life. He made a full recovery from the disease after, at one stage, being given three months to live.

The 51-year-old has raised over £700,000 for the cause and will join over 200 cyclists taking part in the race, which gets under-way from 8am tomorrow from the starting point in Greenwich Park.

Messages of support are already flooding in for Thomas and his fellow competitors including those from West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster, broadcaster Adrian Chiles and cricket star Jonathan Trott.

Foster, 33, completed the four-day 500km ride himself last year as he recovered from a serious knee injury and ended up making a soon-than-expected return to football action.