UP FOR THE CUP
Football Daily didn’t get where it is today wittering on like Ron Manager about the magic of the FA Cup. However, we are old enough to remember the glory days when the final was a day-long showpiece TV event. Interviews on the team bus to Wembley … yes, please. Ossie’s knees all trembly, eh? Helicopters overhead, isn’t it? Saint & Greavsie. Trevor Brooking scores with a header despite famously not scoring many headers, you know. Eh? The Crazy Gang v The Culture Club. Sweaty shirts and muddy boots. Buttonhole carnations, Steve Foster’s headband and Smith must score. The Anfield Rap. Brian Moore’s “another look at referee Hackett’s watch”. Kevin Moran’s red card. Mick Channon and “the boy Line-acre”, innit? Gary Mabbutt’s knee. Halcyon days. Marvellous.
In recent decades, the famous old competition has undeniably lost of some of its allure, with the subject of it losing its magic becoming so hackneyed that not only have radio phone-ins about the FA Cup losing its magic lost their magic, but even this email’s flogged-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life riff on radio phone-ins about the FA Cup losing its magic losing their magic has long since lost its magic. Mercifully, help is finally at hand in the form of a quarter-final draw for this year’s competition that is, if not Harry Potter-esque, at least far more open than the top of the double-decker bus on which the eventual winners will hopefully parade along the streets of – with all due respect to serial FA Cup-hogger Pep – Fulham, Birmingham, Croydon, Preston, Bournemouth, Brighton, Nottingham or Ipswich.
Having failed to achieve a single thing of note throughout Football Daily’s 40+ years of taking an interest in football, the mighty Preston North End have happily taken on what Rio Ferdinand would describe as the mantelpiece of this year’s fairytale side, the anti-yoyo, never-go-up never-go-down Championship staples becoming the lowest ranked team left in the competition after becoming the first team to score against Burnley since every team and their dog were banging them in for fun during the Vincent Kompany b@ntz era. Having secured a home draw against Aston Villa, who are no great shakes on the road, who is to say that Paul Heckingbottom’s side cannot go on to add to their tally of two FA Cup wins, the last of which came in 1938.
Without wins to their name at all, Fulham, Palace, Bournemouth and Brighton will also fancy their chances while, Manchester City aside, the most recent skipper of the remaining trio of Nottingham Forest, Ipswich and Aston Villa to receive the Cup from the gloved hands of female royalty was Portman Road legend Mick Mills in 1978. It was Princess Alexandra, the Honorable Lady Ogilvy who did the honours over 40 years ago but she has since been replaced on Wembley duty by Prince William. While the heir to the throne would almost certainly like nothing better than to present this season’s trophy to John McGinn, he’s been in the game long enough to be able to plaster on a fake smile when Aston Villa or whichever other side of plucky pre-tournament outsiders are inevitably steamrollered by Manchester City.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Michael Butler at 7.30pm GMT for updates on Nottingham Forest 2-0 Ipswich in the FA Cup fifth round.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
You know how many shots went over? Look at other games. Normally the ball goes inside from these shots” – Pep Guardiola blames the FA Cup ball for his Manchester City players peppering shots into the Etihad stands with alarming regularity in their FA Cup win over Plymouth. The FA said his complaints were a load of balls.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
What percentage of people in the man v beast survey (Friday’s Football Daily) thought they could beat a lion? Just wondering, as the chap in the Road to Wembley photo looks pretty confident” – Jim Hearson.
As a teenager of the 1980s, I was delighted to see Football Daily quote Echo & The Bunnymen’s The Cutter in Friday’s last line. As singer Ian McCulloch is famously a Liverpool fan, he may now with some Pride be expecting Silver in May whilst reminding us In Bluer Skies down the East Lancs Road that, in The Game we love, Nothing Lasts Forever” – Nick Howarth Pulleyn (and no other 80s indie fans).
I look forward to Big Sir Jim’s latest menu at the cut-price Old Trafford restaurant offering Feeble Wings, saucy headlines, Nevilled eggs and, of course, a proper stuffing – but nothing from the Glazer gravy train” – Mark McFadden.
When Millwall manager Alex Neil said of this kamikaze challenge, by his goalkeeper on Jean-Philippe Mateta, that ‘he’s tried to get the ball, he’s mistimed it and caught the lad’ – presumably he means ‘mistimed’ in the sense that a better time would have been at the World Karate Championships in August” – Noble Francis.
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Mark McFadden, who gets our last copy of David Squires’ latest book Chaos in The Box. We’ll be in touch. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Join Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning and the Football Weekly podcast crew as they chew over the FA Cup fifth-round action and more.
ROAD TO WEMBLEY
And when you play, we follow, we follow, we follow … ‘cause we support the Palace, the Palace, the Palace. Well, not really but we are following The Eagles in our FA Cup exercise now after their tasty 3-1 win over Millwall in the fifth round. It was a match most notable for an horrific head-high challenge by Lions goalkeeper Liam Roberts that sent Jean-Philippe Mateta to hospital with a cut that required 25 stitches behind his ear. And it could have been much worse. It brought to mind Toni Schumacher’s cleaning out of France’s Patrick Battiston at the 1982 World Cup. Palace chief suit Steve Parish had this to say. “In all the time I’ve watched football, I’ve never seen a challenge like it,” he said. “It is the most reckless challenge on a football pitch I think I’ve ever seen.” Yikes. Thankfully Mateta is recovering well after a trip to hospital. He may even be fit for the quarter-final tie at Fulham, which we’ll be following avidly.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Big Sir Jim is still putting the pennies, pounds and postal orders in a vice at Manchester United. Now the club is exploring cutting short a 10-year lease agreement for their London offices in Kensington. Last May, the majority shareholder banned working from home, to the bemusement of staff who noted that there’s not enough space at either their Manchester or London offices to accommodate everybody … with some corporate boxes at Old Trafford being repurposed as temporary workspaces on non-match days. Good luck everyone.
In related news, Manchester United won’t be earning any further revenue from the FA Cup this season.
Rangers are close to being taken over by the owners of noted Big In The 80s And 90s USA USA USA concern the San Francisco 49ers, with a 51% stake in the club nearing the ink- and wax-sealed point.
Kick it Out and Her Game Too are to work together on a new reporting system for reporting sexism and misogyny at matches, in response to the growth in abuse of female fans – “an important step to ensuring that those who experience discrimination are listened to and have the support they need”, says Kick it Out chief Hollie Varney.
Fifa’s new 16-team Women’s Club World Cup could be delayed beyond its previously-proposed 2026 launch, Big Website has learned.
A vote on scrapping WSL relegation is on the way at the end of the season, Matt Hughes and Suzanne Wrack have the scoop.
French football’s relationship with officials is under scrutiny again after Lyon head coach Paulo Fonseca placed himself nose-to-nose with referee Benoît Millot after being shown a red card during his side’s victory over Brest. The “intimidating” confrontation could land the Portuguese a seven-month ban.
Rodri’s ACL-knack … might not be “season-ending” after all, according to Pep Guardiola. His return “may be before the end of the season in the Premier League” after his recovery has exceeded expectations.
Eddie Howe reckons Anthony Gordon’s red card for shoving Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke was “harsh” and hinted Newcastle may appeal. As things stand, the auto-ban would mean his forward will miss the Fizzy Cup final.
Manchester United forward Geyse has opened up on an “agonising and lonely feeling” at the WSL club and is closing on a loan move to Gotham FC. The Brazilian was recently granted compassionate leave following the death of her brother in January.
Dele Alli was named in a matchday squad for the first time in two years as Roma narrowly beat 10-man Como in Serie A. He didn’t play but, hey, he’s getting closer.
Gary Caldwell has been linked with the Wigan job after fan-favourite Shaun Maloney was bundled through the door marked Do One over the weekend.
And who would have thought a year ago that an effigy of an apparent money-grabbing Jürgen Klopp would be joining satirical takes on some of the world’s worst people at the Rose Monday carnival in Dusseldorf? Well, here it is.
STILL WANT MORE?
From bits at Bournemouth to starring in a Serie A title tilt? Philip Billing emerged from the bench to earn Napoli a point that keeps the race alive, toots Nicky Bandini.
The biggest threat to “young” Ronaldo’s hopes of breaking his major trophy duck with Al-Nassr in the troubled AFC Champions League Elite? Other big-name Saudi Pro League imports at rival clubs, reckons John Duerden.
Stuttgart keeper Alexander Nübel belongs to Bayern, though he didn’t mean to give his parent club such a helping hand in their 150th birthday celebration.
As Fulham’s FA victory over a fading Old Trafford institution showed, Marco Silva could teach Ruben Amorim a thing or two about forming a workable plan, sniffs John Brewin.
Jacob Steinberg talks hamstrings, as a new, often missed brand of twang is badly hitting today’s players.
Washington Spirit’s Jonatan Giráldez gets his chat on with Tom Garry about coaching in a country where entertainment is king.
Paul MacInnes attended the Business of Football Summit to spare you all from it … and found the relentless pursuit of money butting against any hope of competitive balance.
And flying feet? Mitre ball moans? The weekend’s FA Cup action sprouted a fair few talking points. Here are 10 for starters. And here are the key takeaways from the latest round of WSL matches, too.
MEMORY LANE
Fulham fans are dreaming of Wembley again, which reminded us of this epic photograph of Harry Fowler, Honor Blackman, Alan Price and David Hamilton getting in the mood for the FA Cup final in 1975.
