Romance is dead, says Gary Andrews, as he surveys the match-ups for the third round of the FA Cup and sees plenty of entertaining games but little chance of a David versus Goliath-style giant killing.
They say the best thing that new managers can do is to learn the history of their new surroundings, and if that’s the case one would hope that Gary Mills has been delving into York City’s previous FA Cup results. The Minstermen take part in the only non-league - Premier League match-up when they travel to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon.
It is, perhaps, slightly fanciful to suppose the Conference side could pull off an upset, especially away from home, but this isn’t unfamiliar territory for City. Last season York acquitted themselves well in their 3-1 defeat to Stoke in the third round and there may be less of a sense of awe amongst the squad this time out.
Mills, who took over the reigns from Martin Foyle earlier in the season, is slowly turning York’s season around and if it’s inspiration he’s after then he could do worse than go back to 1985, when the Minstermen defeated Arsenal before drawing 1-1 with Liverpool. You suspect, after Northampton’s heroics on Merseyside in the Carling Cup, Mills would rather be visiting Anfield than the Reebok.
At this stage, it’s obligatory to make reference to Crawley Town, who have already seen off one league side in Swindon and have their sights set on Nigel Clough’s Derby County.
Yet it’s quite hard to love or root for Steve Evans’ team, who are reveling in their role of being the Conference equivalent of Manchester City and Chelsea combined, splashing cash like it’s going out of fashion and assembling an expensive squad that could easily hold its own in the top half of League Two.
With Matt Tubbs, Richard Brodie and Craig McAllister available up front and Dannie Bulman and Sergio Torres in midfield, the Red Devils have an abundance of attacking riches and if they catch Derby on an off-day, there’s a serious chance of an upset. Not that cash-rich Crawley need the cash from this cup run, mind. Providing ‘Project Promotion’ doesn’t come crashing down, you suspect the Sussex club will have plenty more opportunities to shine in front of the cameras.
No, if it’s proper romance-of-the-cup stuff that you want, you’ll have to travel to the corner of Kent. And then hop on the bus with them all the way to Yorkshire, where Dover Athletic travel to Huddersfield Town.
The Whites have already captured the imagination by settling a grudge match against their more illustrious neighbours Gillingham to get revenge for a double manager-poaching, before comfortably seeing off Aldershot in round two. And if you’re going to warm up for a cup match, then a 7-2 thrashing of Thurrock is as good a way as any to go about it.
Goal-machine Adam Birchall netted five in Monday’s victory, and has scored in every round he’s played in for Dover. The former Arsenal trainee has rediscovered his love for the game after dropping down the leagues and can’t stop scoring at the moment.
Huddersfield, if they’ve done their homework, will know that keeping Birchall quiet on Saturday will be half the battle in seeing off a Dover side that’s not to be underestimated. Lee Clark’s side is one of the most talented in League One and former Gateshead striker Lee Novak will understand perfectly what a game like this is all about.
If Dover get a result in Yorkshire, theirs will be the cup story of the year. It is an incredibly tough draw for the Blue Square South side though, and taking the Terriers back to Kent for a replay might be the best result for them, both on and off the pitch.
All that takes us to the end of non-league involvement in this round of the FA Cup, but there are still several interesting fixtures worth looking at. We’ll skip over Manchester United’s tie against Liverpool on the grounds that it will already have been previewed tediously to death elsewhere.
Instead, to Hertfordshire and a match-up that evokes memories of one of the great cup ties of the 90s, and the chance, however unlikely, for revenge from the home side, Stevenage.
In 1998, the then non-league team were drawn against Newcastle United in the FA Cup in a tie that started with a sour undercurrent after Toon boss Kenny Dalglish asked the FA for the game to be moved to St James Park from Broadhall Wall due to safety concerns, which the authorities refused.
In the end, Boro got to play in the North East after Guiliano Grazioli wrote himself into the history books by cancelling out Alan Shearer’s equaliser. In the replay, Stevenage went down 2-1 despite a very dubious Shearer opener that probably didn’t cross the line.
Boro are now, of course, a league team and there are no such worries over their stadium, but Newcastle can expect a loud and hostile welcome from the locals, many of whom will have been in the crowd twelve years ago.
Stevenage manager Graham Westley has got his side comfortable in League Two, even if they have a reputation as draw specialists, and having already spoilt two parties this season by seeing off MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon, this could be one of the best ties of the round.
Another of the more interesting lower-league and Premier League match-ups is Southampton against Blackpool, a tie that still feels like the positions are reversed. Ian Holloway’s men find themselves in the unusual position of being the bigger team and it’ll be interesting to see how the Tangerines cope with this.
Saints, for their part, are in scintillating form having scored 11 goals in three games, with Brazilian loanee Guly Do Prado a fast, physical threat and impressing since joining from Cesena. At the moment, Saints have a strong squad that wouldn’t look out of place in the Championship, although their defence is a little shaky. There could be goals aplenty at St Mary’s.
Keeping with the fascinating games that are likely to feature attractive football, Doncaster Rovers against Wolverhampton Wanderers is a potential upset and one that could be easy on the eye.
Wolves, despite their lowly position in the Premier League, can play some fluid football when the mood takes them, while Sean O’Driscoll’s Donny have won a lot of fans with their neat, passing football and the softly-spoken manager has moulded a team with plenty of creativity, usually with James Coppinger at the heart of it, while Billy Sharp provides the goals up front.
It’s also somewhat obvious to focus on Leeds United’s trip to Arsenal, but it’s an interesting tie nonetheless. At the start of the 1990s, matches between these two felt like a fixture in the Cup (ITV Football has the nostalgia on the classic games between these two) and this will be a tough test for a Leeds team aiming to finally return to the Premier League.
As James Appell has explained on here, Leeds like to attack but they will need to tighten things up in defence and the middle if they’re to avoid Arsenal teaching them a footballing lesson. The Gunners are a very different proposition from Manchester United, but having knocked Sir Alex Ferguson’s team out of the FA Cup last year, Leeds will fear no-one.
QPR sit above Leeds at the top of the Championship and, like their fellow promotion hopefuls, their FA cup tie away at Blackburn Rovers will provide an interesting guide as to how ready Neil Warnock’s talented squad are for the Premier League.
Blackburn, who are slowly finding their feet under Steve Kean, will be a good test for a side that, on their day, have swatted aside good teams with organised and attractive attacking football. The obvious focal point is Adel Taarabt, who has lit up some many games with a moment of brilliance and is easily good enough for the top division.
Will the Moroccan, along with Jamie Mackie and Rob Hulse up front, be able to pick their way through a solid Rovers side? It would be tempting to label this has an upset waiting to happen but Blackburn’s players seem to have recovered from the shock dismissal of Sam Allardyce and are a tough proposition at home, making for an intriguing contest.
Finally in this in-no-way-complete hop around the third round, a word for Hereford and Lincoln, who are doing this year’s level best to evoke memories of yesteryear with ongoing replays. The two side have yet to complete their second round replay after three postponements due to a frozen pitch at Sincil Bank.
Only goal difference separates Lincoln, who hover one place above the League Two relegation zone, from Hereford and the Imps are winless in four in all competitions, although did beat Hereford at home in November. They’ll play their replay on Saturday afternoon with the excitement of a Tuesday night trip to Wycombe Wanderers awaiting the victor.
Tags: Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Concaster Rovers, Crawley Town, Derby County, Dover Athletic, Hereford United, Leeds United, Lincoln City, Newcastle United, QPR, Queen's Park Rangers, Southampton, Stevenage, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wolves, York City