All Things Footie | Monday, January 6 | Jordan
Magic
There is simply no other word to describe the Football Association Challenge Cup. After listening to a despairingly average Wolves side bore me to death on the radio, in a match in which they (fortuitously) ran out 3–2 winners, I was ready to give up on the FA Cup. Dull, Dull, Dull.
But the joys of the giant killers; Shrewsbury, Farnborough and (potentially) Dagenham and Redbridge, coupled with West Bromwich Albion's breathtaking victory over Bradford, inevitably meant that the soccer scrooge within me was beaten down. And the draw for the fourth round is even better.
Oh to be a Farnborough fan. Or player for that matter. I'd like to bet that when they embarked on their FA Cup Odyssey back in October against Molesey they wouldn't dare dream of meeting the Premiership and FA Cup holders in the Fourth round. I doubt it was little more than hope that they'd get this far. It'll surely be moved to Highbury and probably pay all the players wages for the next year. I'm absolutely delighted for them.
That's not to say there aren't some other crackers on the cards though. Chelsea meet Shrewsbury, there's the prospect of Blackburn – Bolton and Sheff Wed – Leeds derbys and Manchester United get to play the team that knocked them out of this very competition, in this round, two seasons ago.
Here's the draw in full, is anyone else looking forward to the last week in January as much as me?
- Norwich/Brighton v Plymouth/Dagenham & Redbridge
- Southampton v Cambridge/Millwall
- Walsall/Reading v Wimbledon
- Blackburn v Bolton/Sunderland
- Rochdale v Cardiff/Coventry
- Fulham v Charlton
- Sheffield United v Ipswich
- Shrewsbury v Chelsea
- Stoke v Bournemouth/Crewe
- Brentford v Grimsby/Burnley
- Farnborough v Arsenal
- Manchester United v West Ham
- Gillingham/Sheff Wed v Leeds
- Wolves v Leicester
- Watford v West Brom
- Crystal Palace v Liverpool