(I started writing this yesterday)
You don’t know the grief I’m going through trying to post this. I’ve been trying to get Openreach to do an internet install since early January. The latest news is that they’re going to do it on Thursday. After it constantly being put back, I’m not holding my breath and the best I can say is that I’m hopeful it might actually happen this time. Certainly they’re leaving it late if they want to cancel again.
Basically posting involves retry after retry and it’s frankly tedious. Still, it’s proper footy time again and I really feel I should make the effort.
I think the title pretty much says everything I feel. We’re in this season’s quarters and we face the only championship club left in the tournament. The other seven sides are all Premier league teams.
We’re apparently second favourites to win the cup, after Man City, assumedly because of this particular tie which means we’re strong favourites to get to the semis, but I’m not sure our second place is really justified. Forest and Bournemouth are bigger threats than City to my mind, but no doubt it’s more about the Mancs recent history.
Whatever, the way I see it is this is our best chance to actually win the FA cup for 10 years, since that disastrously bad gane that was the Arsenal final; the awful anti climax of the 2000 Chelsea final and okay, I have to say it. Our last win in 1957.
I’ve commented previously about how I find it almost impossibly difficult to understand why our record, for a club of our size is so bad and nothing has changed.
The point is, if we don’t win it this season, given our current position, you have to wonder how long it will be before we get another equally good chance. We have (on paper) the easiest draw and we have a cup grand master in Unai Emery at the helm. It’s hard to see how things could be better.
Moving on to today, I see that Forest have beaten Brighton on penalties and Palace tonked Fulham on their own patch. Today’s other game is Man City and Bournemouth, where I suspect the cherries will win.
Our interest is of course the Villa though and squad news is that we’re in very good shape. Ross Barkley is our only player who’s not fit and even he is close to returning. Disasi is cup-tied, which is a loss, as I think he’s been excellent. Still, a conversation yesterday about what the starting line-up might be led us to conclude that when we have all the players fit, we actually have a very good pool of players to pick from. The issue we have is the lack of depth in the squad. Unai and Monchi are doing good work to improve this though, as we’ve seen since they’ve been at the club. Thinking about it, the way they’ve improved us has been nothing short of superb when you consider the way they’ve had to wheel and deal because of PSR.
As for Preston, Milutin Osmajic (hip), Alistair McCann (leg), Brad Potts (hamstring), and Jack Whatmough (calf) are all out and Sam Greenwood is suspended after picking up a yellow last time out.
The only thing I know about Preston is that they’ve got a very good record at Deepdale, having gone unbeaten for a mid teens amount of games. Having said that, Swansea managed to get a point there very recently, so they’re by no means invincible. History is on our side if you consider it matters and Preston have only beaten us once in our last 15 meetings. We’ve also won our last four quarter finals. Not that figures like that do much for me. The here and now is all that matters.
What to think then and I expect Preston to play a canny game where we have to take it to them, something that we’re not great at, in my opinion, as we struggle to break teams down. An early first goal in our favour would see us have too much for the Lilywhites and if they then had to attack us, I’d expect to beat them soundly. So knowing me, I’ve got it totally wrong and we scrape it to penalties.
Frankly, I don’t care how we do it, but I cannot see past a Villa win, which would see us face City, Forest or Bournemouth in a semi at Wembley. All tough games, but all very winnable, particularly with the cup grandmaster in charge.
I’ll go for 1-0, which will leave me itching for the draw later this evening.
UTV!
Yep, city for me too.
Wembley bound!
😁
Palace. Shit.
Shit. That’s our bogey team.
They have to learn the lessons from the last 3 games against them. Unai needs to surprise them with a tweak of tactics. Something different. Otherwise forget it. Glasner seems to have our number. Unless something changes…
Nooo not Palace 🤦♂️
We will beat palace I’m confident
Hope you’re right, mate. I can’t be so sure. Not after the 3 games Glasner has played against us.
4 games. I forgot they knocked us out of the League Cup as well.
Better 2nd half although we were up against a Preston team with lots of first team players out.
Palace in the semi final is going to be tough and they usually smash us at their place. I think it will be different at Wembley and will suit our style with our possession based approach.
Let’s hope we can avoid injuries for the rest of the season.
Aghhhhh – Noah was a lad when we last beat Palace and they’ve thwacked us twice and bounced us out of the LC at VP.
Glasner appears to have the voodoo over Emery.
The one draw I didn’t want.
Over to you Unai.
We beat them early last season at VP with Duran emerging with 2 late goals to salvage what was looking like defeat.
Unai will have the Palace videos stacked up on his VHS already.
Brighton Wednesday!!!!
A very professional job today.
The way I look at it is that we’ve avoided City and Forest who are stronger teams. In the semis you’ve got to beat whoever you’re drawn against and we can beat Palace.
Great chance for silverware.
COYL
“Win the ball then a simple pass.” If there is a black or white board at BMH Kamara will be given 100 lines before heading for Wembley. So long as we have our best back 4 on parade and Martinez does not go off at half time – Villa will be a very different team to that thumped on the last 2 visits to Selhurst Park. UTV
Badger, quick one on Openreach. Last I checked they were being discussed in the same breath as Robin Hood and unicorns…
Two HUGE league games coming up this week! I hope the Villa give me the birthday present I want on Saturday against, coincidentally, my birth town!
First thing’s first. Brighton will be wounded by, again coincidentally, Forest. Will they bounce back like the last time Forest hurt them with that 7-0 spanking? They went on an impressive wining run after that showing great ‘bouncebackability’. This time, I wonder if they’ll find it harder to pick themselves up. We have to assume they’ll be up for it as they now have only European qualification to play for and are still in contention for top 5. Have to go there all guns blazing! We owe them for 2 points dropped over Christmas at VP…
My birthday Wednesday BFR – so two birthday presents in a week, one each, would be absolutely brilliant.
UTMV
We will beat Palace soundly.
Well done the U18s! In the final of the cup after beating Man Utd on pens.
I don’t believe it! Chelsea have announced a record profit after selling their women’s team to themselves. They might have just as well sent a message to the FA saying ‘Go f**k yourselves’. They rate their women’s team at £200 million, I’d say ours are worth the same so no more PSR problems then.
It’s absolutely bonkers.
It is taking the piss, isn’t it.
WTF? What’s the source? Are we sure it’s not an April fool?
Sounds like an April fool, lads…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn91dg34pzqo
It’s actually not. Sad.
Wow. Anything stopping every other PL club doing the same, including Villa?
And it makes a mockery (again) of the current PSR rules.
Costs associated with women’s football are not included in PSR calculations to encourage its development so why should income of this nature be admitted?
Have to give it them Hitch, it’s clever, even if a touch unethical?
Tomorrow really is a must win. Literally. If we don’t, assuming Bournemouth dispatch Ipswich, they will go above us and Brighton will have a 5 point gap on us with 8 games to play, leaving us languishing in 10th with time running out. The first of many ‘finals’ starts tomorrow…
MUST WIN!
Slabhead missing 2 clear chances for ManU to equalise (which would have meant Forest dropping 2 points) in the dying minutes from 2 yards out. Bloody useless. ManU can’t even do us a favour even when it benefits them!!!
We’re not catching Forest, Bum Bum. Nobody is…
Not now anyway…It’s one of those fantasy maths plans, if we beat Brighton (48) then beat Forest (51) we’d have only been 4 points behind them if Slabhead woukd have hit the target last night. Maybe Spuds can do better in their uocoming fames?
Oh well.
Anyone looking forward to tonights game?????
Yes, but it will be nervy and tense. We have to keep it tight and not concede for as long as possible, if at all. A defeat will really f*** things up. It really looks like a ‘must win’…
Ollie back up front and Rashford left? Leroy right? The beauty of Rashford is he doesn’t need resting as he hasn’t played much footy. His match-fitness should peak sometime during the run-in, at the ideal time (in theory)…
After ollie’s scuffing of two absolute sitters last weekend, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if he’s keeping the bench warm.
Good point. But rotation n all thar…
Mate I like Ollie but given the form he’s in when it comes to sticking it in the onion bag there’s no way he’d be in my starting 11.
Interesting line up with just one pre Jan player on the pitch, no Ollie either.
E. Martínez
L. Digne
Pau Torres
E. Konsa
M. Cash
Y. Tielemans
B. Kamara
J. Ramsey
J. McGinn (c), Captain
M. Rogers
M. Rashford
Subs
Marco Asensio
A. Disasi
Andrés García
I. Maatsen
D. Malen
T. Mings
A. Onana
R. Olsen
O. Watkins
I hate to say I told you so but I…
😂
Watkins out. Good call, imo too.
Some good news, some bad.
The civil install work for my internet connection was done today, after I threatened them with the Ombudsman yesterday. A 3 month wait for an hour’s work. Unbelieveable.
Still looking like an end of month second stage connection though and I doubt I’ll be able to watch it tonight 🙁
Just look at that bench!
Happy Birthday Hitch 🍺😁
No Pen????
This ref’s taking the piss!