Cup Draw!

      

I thought it might happen. Two Premiership teams getting put together was highly probable and is great news to lower level teams in their hopes to progress to the quarter-finals. But, Manchester United vs. Arsenal…this one’s going to be good. Yet another opportunity for the top two teams of this season to get another shot at each other. And neither of these teams is going to play their B squad for this match! Old Trafford should be raucous with the recent history between these two. There is a lot of respect for each other, but the competitiveness between them is razor sharp.

Middlesbrough will go to Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United. I don’t think the Boro supporters will be bringing balloons to the match, do you? If the Blades come out as fired up as they did against Manchester City they’ll take another Premiership scalp.

Liverpool host Barnsley which should be easy for the Reds, but the Tykes could catch them just right and add to the Anfield woes this season.

Huddersfield will make the pilgrimage to Stamford Bridge to take their shot at Chelsea. Good luck! Drogba will be back and Anelka will be even more comfortable. I’d like to see the Terriers knock off the Blues, I just think they’ll need a miracle to do it.

Deepdale will be host to Portsmouth when they head to Lancashire to face Preston North End. The Lilywhites are struggling to stay in the Championship next season. So they have something to prove to themselves and their supporters. Milan Baros will be available for Portsmouth, their African contingent will be back and Pompey are still in the running for a UEFA Cup slot. So PNE will face a monumental task to move on.

The Saints should have a new manager when they head to Bristol so there’s no telling how they might play. I would love to see Southampton in the finals. They haven’t been the same since Matt Le Tissier graced the Dell. Sorry Rovers, but the Saints will go marching through.

Coventry City and West Bromwich Albion may be at opposite ends of the Championship, the Cup is a different game though.

Finally, Cardiff City will play host to Wolverhampton. The Bluebirds and Wolves are as evenly matched as the Red Devils and Gunners so this match should be quite good.

Why the FA Cup is so great.

Imagine what it would be like to walk into work on Monday and have your co-workers asking you “So what was it like to stand on the pitch and look around at the Anfield stands?”. Very few of us average Joe’s will ever get the opportunity to play on one of the biggest stages in football. I know that some people think that having the weekend warriors in this most prestigious of domestic competitions is not necessarily a good idea (see http://daverossfootball.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/fa-cup-giantkillers-heroes-or-zeros/ for thoughts on this). While others enjoy the idea of part timers getting their day in the spotlight (http://ianheath653.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/go-havant-waterlooville/). And both sides have their good points.

But, let’s remember just what it is that makes this tournament so magical. It’s not just about the Cup Final that caps off the end of the domestic season, it’s about the possibility that a Hereford United can knock out a Newcastle United or a Wrexham can end the dreams of an Arsenal. When clubs like Chasetown FC and Havant & Waterlooville make it far enough to get their shot at the upper level clubs they remind us of the storied games of the past. When Yeovil Town, Peterborough United, Blyth Spartans, Sutton United and many others took their opportunity and put their stamp not only on the record books, but in the lore of their loyal supporters.

        

The FA Cup isn’t about how you’re doing in your league table. It’s about whether you can be better than your opponent on a given day no matter who they are or where they play. The League Cup can lay claim to a higher level of competition from start to finish and that’s great, but it will never reach the heights that the FA Cup has.

There are some possibly intriguing match-ups for round five as it could pit two giants together, paving the way for clubs like Cardiff City, Barnsley, Preston North End or Southampton to make it to the quarter finals.

                             

Fairytale over

                              

The final score was Liverpool 5-2 Havant and Waterlooville. However, for 45 minutes the Hawks were in the greatest game of their club’s history. They were level at the half, but they had lead the Reds (a team 122 places above them in the tables) twice at Anfield forcing boos from the home crowd at the halftime whistle. Former QPR striker Richard Pacquette put the part-timers up after only 8 minutes with a header from a Mo Harkin corner. The Reds squndered some early chances until Leiva Lucas curled in a 25 yarder to knot the score in the 27th minute.

      

Alfie Potter restored the advantage 4 minutes later with at deflected goal off of Martin Skrtel and into the net. Cue Yossi Benayoun. The Isreali international scored just before the half then came out firing in the second half with two more goals and the Premier Leaguers never looked back. Peter Crouch found the twine late to make the final score look lopsided, but this was not a typical walkover by the big boys. Havant and Waterlooville came to play and their 6,000 travelling supporters will have plenty of great memories to take back to Hampshire.

            

Part time players to full time heros?

They have real jobs during the week and they play six divisions below the Premier League in the Blue Square South. Havant and Waterlooville will take on Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday and win, lose or draw they will leave happy. This match between the Hawks and the Reds is the ideal FA Cup tie. It’s what the world’s oldest cup competition is all about. The final will have two Premiership teams, it always does. But, to see a team like Havant and Waterlooville get an opportunity to walk out onto one of the biggest stages in football…I’m excited!

Will Rafa Benitez take this match seriously? Or will he send out a reserve side looking forward to their trip to West Ham? If the Reds draw this match I can’t imagine what the reaction from the Kop would be. If they lose I think I know what the Kop’s reaction will be. And it won’t be good. Liverpool has drawn five out of their last six matches. Matches they really should have won.

I’ll be pulling for Havant and Waterlooville to shock everyone. I like the underdog and I want to see the Hawks get to round five. After that who knows how far they might go?