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There’s an old saying that the more you watch the clock the slower time passes. I seem to have been waiting an age for Saturday’s FA Cup Final; six weeks will have elapsed between my last trip to Wembley and my next, but it feels much longer than that. When I was a kid, the six week summer holiday seemed like an eternity. This, by comparison, seems much longer. And the slow passing of the minutes, hours and days is all the more painful with the knowledge I have one more game to take in. Only one more, the ultimate game. One final hurdle left before I can complete this gallop through the fourteen ties that has whittled 731 teams down to just two and, at its climax, to one eventual winner.
Should I worry that I might not complete this journey? I have surpassed all my own expectations. I envisaged getting as far as maybe the fourth or fifth round before coming up against any number of insurmountable obstacles. I have already had one trip to Wembley. I now have a ticket for the final on May 17th, it is up there on the shelf above my desk as I write. It rarely leaves my sight. And I know that finally owning a golden ticket is a massive hurdle negotiated. I owe a friend so much.
I know I shouldn't watch time tick by, life is far too short, but there are still so many things that could go wrong in these final few days. I have had some near misses so far; my wife’s volleyball injury (Dartford v Camberley Town) and my chest infection (Wolves v Cambridge United) being the most notable. Although I have that valuable ticket in my sweaty handed possession, other factors may yet prevent me from taking those last steps up Olympic Way.
Fire, pestilence, flood? Hardly. But one cannot rule out anything. I consider myself to have been extremely lucky so far the way this season’s FA Cup has shaped up. No incredibly long journeys for me, no sight nor sound of a Premiership club until the Sixth Round Proper, no replays that clash with any “no you cannot get out of this” type of family occasion. Maybe it is time for my luck to run out?
A car breakdown? A tube strike? A blow to the head? A family crisis? A “dog eats ticket” shock? I know I must put all those things to the back of my mind. But a kind of paranoia has started to take hold and once it starts it can only get worse.
Here's how my week looks.
Tomorrow I'm at the dentist. The possibilities for disaster are endless. A slipped drill creates a new cavity where there shouldn't be one. A malfunctioning chair rockets me up through the ceiling into the tanning salon above. I could be gassed by an incompetent anaesthetist. Patient records are mixed up at reception and I end up with full jaw brace and have to take on food through a straw for the foreseeable future. I could become another NHS blunder headline "man has leg amputated in teeth cleaning fiasco". Gulp.
On Thursday I have a golf society day. A veritable minefield. A lightening strike on the first tee? A golf ball embedded in my temple or a stray tee embedded in my scrotum? I could step on a bunker rake and get smashed in the mush, cartoon style. I could shatter a kneecap as I attempt to break my clubs out of frustration. Not a safe environment.
And then on Friday I take my son swimming. Where to start? A slip on a wet changing room floor to break a few bones? A momentary lapse in concentration as I forget to come up for air? A stumble off the diving board and a fall from a great height to wipe out the "Aquarobics for Geriatrics" class. Or even a frenzied blood curdling shark attack? Perhaps not.
Good grief. The final countdown to the culmination of several months of effort should be a pleasurable period. But as the clock slowly ticks and tocks and tocks and ticks, I am working myself up into a state something close to hysteria. If I'm this bad, just think what it must be like for the fans of, and everyone involved with, Cardiff City and Portsmouth. A hundred times worse I suggest.
If you are off to Wembley next Saturday, and I make it there in one piece, please do come over and say hello. You won't be able to miss me. I'll be the lummox wrapped in cotton wool.
Whilst Cardiff City and Portsmouth play out their league campaigns, with one eye on their sojourn to Wembley in two and a half weeks, many teams across the country have reached their season end. Some of the leagues lower down the pyramid played out the final games at the weekend; for other clubs with league games to complete the season is effectively over anyway.
My visit to Chertsey Town on Saturday, back to the source so to speak, prompted me to look at how the teams I have encountered in this FA Cup have faired this season. And as one would expect, there has been a mix of fortunes.
Mid-table respectability (or mid-table obscurity, depending on the ambitions or expectations at the start of the season) was the final resting place for a few of the clubs. In my last post I mentioned Chertsey Town’s campaign. Their 1-0 win over Wembley lifted them into the upper half of the table. They ended up playing three games in the FA Cup and in the FA Vase they were out by September after a 5-1 reverse against Deal Town. Another club that I visited for an FA Cup tie from the same league (Combined Counties Premier Division) were Camberley Town who had an arguably more successful season with a 3rd place league finish, six games in the FA Cup and a successful run in the FA Vase, reaching the Fifth Round before succumbing to Concord Rangers.
The middle reaches of the table were also final resting places for Sittingbourne and Bromley. Sittingbourne, who eliminated Chertsey Town in early September, finished 9th in Ryman Division One South, a league won by fellow Kent outfit, Dover Athletic. The FA Trophy wasn’t any kinder for them, losing in October in the First Qualifying Round to Northwood. Bromley had a tense culmination to their Blue Square South season. For a long time just outside the promotion chasing pack (aiming for the Blue Square Premier) they still had a mathematical chance of sneaking into the play-offs. However a last day home defeat quashed any dreams and Bromley ended up down in 11th, missing out by only five points in what was a very tight top half of the table.
For Weymouth, their run-in to the end of the season was equally tense, but not in the way they would have hoped. For a long time embroiled in a Blue Square Premier relegation battle with the likes of Farsley Celtic, Altrincham, Halifax and Northwich Victoria they escaped with an 18th place finish, five points above the drop zone. Their defeat at Cambridge United in December was their fourth FA Cup game. In the FA Trophy they lost in the Third Round to eventual finalists Ebbsfleet United.
For a few other teams that I have taken in this season, an exciting climax beckons.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have been typically inconsistent this season, but with the final set of games this coming Sunday they can still reach the Championship play-offs. In an incredibly tight league, West Bromwich Albion virtually assured promotion with their 1-1 draw with Southampton on Monday evening. Then it is likely to be Stoke City or Hull City joining them, with those two and Bristol City guaranteed a play-off slot. After that, anyone of five clubs can claim the last play-off slots, including Wolves. It will be a nail biting final day. Mick McCarthy’s side finish at home to Plymouth Argyle but their fans will have radios tuned in for results elsewhere.
For Eastbourne Borough the season continues. The Blue Square South league fixtures are complete and the Sussex side finished runners-up to local rivals Lewes. The lottery of the play-offs now awaits the men from Priory Lane. Eastbourne Borough led the league for a large chunk of the season, but could not hold on to their position in the final stretch, winning only one of the last six games. They now battle out a two-legged semi-final with Braintree Town. Should they be successful, the club, who recorded the league’s second highest average attendance of 872, would have a play-off final date at Stevenage’s Broadhall Way ground on May 8th.
Another of our FA Cup teams with a play-off extension to the season is Cambridge United. They also finished 2nd in their league, behind Blue Square Premier runaway leaders Aldershot Town. The club enjoyed five FA Cup games but lost in the FA Trophy in January to local rivals Histon. Burton Albion are their opponents in the play-off semi-final. Who knows? Cambridge United may still get to Wembley this season.
But out of all the teams I've seen the most successful club has to be Dartford who were crowned league champions a few weeks before the end of the season. They won the Ryman Division One North by nine points, losing only seven games. The team I have seen most in this season’s FA Cup, they scored an impressive 107 league goals, 31 one them coming from the division’s leading scorer Brendan Cass. Dartford have swept most teams aside with apparent ease this season, chalking up some impressive score lines; 7-2 v Witham Town, 6-1 v Enfield Town, 6-1 v Canvey Island and three separate 5-0 wins. And their supporters have turned out in force, averaging 1,135 at Princes Park. To put that figure in context, the next best average was Canvey Island’s 325. The league’s lowest average attendance was 73 for Waltham Forest. Congratulations to Dartford.
So a mix of fortunes indeed. Cardiff City and Portsmouth complete their league campaigns this weekend and next respectively. The team from Wales cannot reach the Championship play-offs whilst Pompey can theoretically still finish as high as fifth in the Premiership. But with an FA Cup Final appearance looming on the horizon, both clubs will quite rightly claim that it has already been a successful season.
And for one of them, on May 17th, it could get even better.
Wembley is so close you can almost smell it. Not that the new national stadium gives off an unpleasant odour, but it really is only around the corner. Are we there yet? Actually, not far now. The quarter-finals will be held on the weekend of 8th and 9th of March and for all clubs concerned a little matter of two ties away from the final. The excitement amongst the fans of the remaining clubs is palpable.
On a run that has seen me start at Chertsey Town and visit Camberley Town and Cambridge United, I now move onto Cardiff City. Spot another trend? The Ws and the Cs certainly have it so far.
So the Bluebirds will be team number nine for me:
1. Chertsey Town
2. Sittingbourne
3. Dartford
4. Bromley
5. Eastbourne Borough
6. Weymouth
7. Cambridge United
8. Wolverhampton Wanderers
9. Cardiff City
I have now had more time for the draw to sink in. And I'm still happy with the outcome. The distance to travel is the biggest negative, although Sheffield and Middlesbrough are not exactly the other side of the planet. Chertsey to Sheffield is only 169 miles whilst to Middlesbrough it is 261 miles. Whatever happens a week tonight in the replay between those two teams, I will be spending a good part of the Sixth Round day on the M1.
With the travelling in mind a bit of good news yesterday. All four quarter-final games will be shown live on TV; BBC will cover our game which means that it will move to a 1310 kick-off on Sunday 9th March. In the middle of the day, it will call for an early start but will ensure a reasonable return time. It could have been much worse. The two other BBC games have kick-off times of 1730 (Saturday) and 1800 (Sunday).
Game number fourteen next but I am still to be convinced that I will make it all the way to the final in May. Although as each day, each game and each round passes, I am enjoying this adventure more and more. In the same way that my mouth starts to water whenever I get a whiff of Marmite, the smell of Wembley is having the same effect.
5th Round Proper
Saturday February 16th 2008
Kick Off 3:00pm
Attendance: 15,339
Weather: Cold and very sunny
Distance travelled: 308 miles
Two quick-fire goals in the first eleven minutes of this game settled the tie for the team from Wales against a very poor Wolves side. Any club that belts out Stone Roses in the build up to kick-off gets my nod of approval and with the appropriate "This Is The One" still hanging on the cold Cardiff air as the game started, one could sense from the home team and home support that this was indeed the one they had waited for.
On a gloriously bright day, Cardiff effectively killed off the Wolves bright and early and the men from the Midlands failed to recover.
My day had started a little frantically. I once again travelled with my good mates PB and Mackem (and to later meet at the ground Captain Beaky and Fenlander, the latter returning to the FA Cup fray after a short absence). I went on air on talkSPORT radio just before departure for the 150 mile trip to South Wales. I don't know how many of you heard my three minutes of fame, and I haven't heard the piece yet myself, but I think I failed in my shameless attempt to lay claim to Mike Parry's FA Cup final ticket. I don't think he was too impressed.
The journey down to Cardiff went without hitch. I even managed to lob the £5.30 in loose change into the coin bin at the Severn Bridge without embarrassingly missing. I wonder how many drivers have failed to hit the target and realised that, rolling off down towards the Severn with their last pound coin, was their only chance of getting into Wales? Probably quite funny to watch as well. They should erect spectator galleries.
The ground itself was easy to find and parking was quite straightforward. There is an awful lot of construction work south and west of Ninian Park; this is where the old Cardiff Athletics Stadium is making way for the new Cardiff ground and work is well underway. As you drop down off the M4 at junction 33 and drive towards the ground on Leckwith Road you get a great view of Ninian Park with the Millenium Stadium as a backdrop. The old and the new.
And without being too critical of Ninian Park, it has an old feel to it, which isn't a bad thing. We sat in the Grandstand which sits astride one length of the pitch, with the Spar Family Stand to the left ("So near, so Spar") and the Bob Bank opposite. Our seats were of the dated wooden variety and the place had a whiff of olden days feel to it. This is what gives Ninian Park it's character.
That and the great atmosphere generated by the passionate home fans. It is no exaggeration to say that this was the noisiest game I have been to on this cup run, the atmospheres at Wolves and Watford in previous rounds were tame in comparison. The home fans were vocal from all four sides of the pitch and the great start to the game resulted in the old Ninian Park roof being almost lifted from the stands. The Wolves fans, before the game started, also played their part in raising the volume level.
Wolves were poor. Mick McCarthy summed up his team's display with a single word. "Hopeless". Wolves arrived in South Wales with four cup-tied players, their influential Michael Kightly injured and another key player, Darren Ward, awaiting the arrival of his child. Michael Gray, who had played so poorly in the 3rd Round game with Cambridge United and was absent in the marvellous Wolves performance at Watford, was back in the team. A coincidence that Wolves played poorly yet again with Gray in the team? Perhaps. To be brutally honest, the whole of the Wolves rearguard failed to play well, with Gary Breen looking especially out of his depth.
As for Cardiff, they started like a runaway train and simply could not be caught. The first goal came after only two minutes. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink slid the ball through a wandering Wolves defence into the path of Peter Whittingham. As Hasselbaink made the pass he was taken out with a late challenge; all credit to referee Rob Styles who played the advantage when many would have blown up.
Whittingham had acres of time and space to calmly slot home beyond the advancing Wayne Hennessey. The place erupted. 1-0 to Cardiff City.
The old ground was positively rocking after eleven minutes. Hasselbaink began and finished off a move that resulted in a goal to grace any game. This was a quality goal, and is certainly a contender for my own goal of this Road to Wembley journey. Hasselbaink once again found the ball at his feet in the centre circle. With the Wolves back four all over the place, Hasselbaink was able to pick out Paul Parry on the left wing. The subsequent cross over the back-peddling Wolves defence was a bit too heavy but the ball eventually made it's way back to Hasselbaink on the edge of the box. With one shoulder drop and a touch inside his marker, Hasselbaink unleashed a dipping left footed shot into the top corner. Fantastic. To a man, the Cardiff crowd rose to salute a great goal. This really was gripping stuff and Cardiff were on their way.
After that, Wolves struggled to produce anything really meaningful for the remainder of the half even though they did manage to regain some of the possession. The introduction of Freddy Eastwood before the half-time oranges failed to spark Wolves into life. The Wolves support were subdued and the "we want our money back" chants summed up their mood.
In the second half the away team emerged with a little more purpose. Not long after the restart, Kevin Kyle found himself with only the Cardiff stopper Peter Enckelman to beat. Kyle froze and then fluffed and any remaining danger was averted when the Cardiff defender Loovens cleared off the line. With that chance one could sense the life drain from the Wolves team and heads once again went down throughout the side.
Cardiff continued to apply pressure of their own and on two separate occasions Paul Parry had head-to-head contests with the Wolves keeper but on both occasions Hennessey came out on top. The Cardiff midfield then shut up shop for the rest of the game and two excellent performances from Stephen McPhail and Gavin Rae prevented any more opportunities for the away side.
The game drifted to the expected conclusion and Cardiff were through, eighty one years after their last appearance in the quarter finals. In a week when the appeal of the FA Cup has once again been questioned, a Cardiff fan seated behind me commented that he would take mid-table obscurity (rather than promotion to the Premier League) in exchange for an FA Cup final appearance anytime. Believe me, this competition still appeals.
This was a very good game and one that the majority of the 15,339 crowd were happy with. It must have been a long journey back for the travelling support - I wish Wolves well for the rest of the season, I have enjoyed the short cup run with them. To see Wolves exit the competition without much of a fight was a disappointment for me, but I dare say all those associated with the Black and Gold must be feeling ten times worse.
And so the baton passes to Cardiff City. Based on yesterday's tidy performance Cardiff deserve their place in the next round. As we walked away from the ground engulfed in the cacophony of celebration from the Cardiff fans, I found myself still humming along to the Stone Roses. This Is The One. This is the one the fans had been waiting for. And boy, I bet it was well worth the wait.
And I bet they can't wait for Monday's draw.
So it is goodbye to Cambridge United. What's more, for me, it is goodbye to non-league football in this season's competition, short of a miracle involving Havant & Waterlooville getting into the next round at the expense of first Swansea City and then either Luton Town or Liverpool. The chord to the non-league scene, born on that cool summer's evening back in August down at the end of my lane, has finally been severed. After 11 games and 138 days and 1350 miles of tarmacadam.
731 clubs registered to take part in this season's FA Cup, and come the weekend of the 25th and 26th January for the Fourth Round Proper this number will have been whittled down to just thirty two. Looking at that list of original entries, it starts with Abbey Hey and ends with Yorkshire Amateur. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Watford are snugly positioned toward the end of the list amongst teams such as Wick and Weymouth (seen them), Whitehawk and Wootton Blue Cross (wish I had seen them) and Wembley (hoping to see it).
We are now down to the last sixteen ties.
Wolverhampton Wanders, after their 2-1 victory on Saturday, now take up the torch in my FA Cup marathon. Out of those 731 teams, Wolverhampton Wanderers will be my eighth team. The chain of teams that has guided me through the competition so far looks like this:
1. Chertsey Town
2. Sittingbourne
3. Dartford
4. Bromley
5. Eastbourne Borough
6. Weymouth
7. Cambridge United
8. Wolverhampton Wanderers
The jump from Blue Square Conference to Championship was quite a significant one, in all senses of the word. Bigger ground, larger fan base, bigger expectations. And a different view of the FA Cup.
A sojourn to Watford next then in the Fourth Round. More about Watford later...
The reaction to this draw? On a personal note, not bad. On the one hand, I would have liked to dwell a while in the lower reaches of the league. This may yet be possible, with Leagues One and Two still represented; the likes of Mansfield, Barnet, Bristol Rovers, Bury or Swindon offer glimmers of possibility. But in terms of distance to travel (a mere thirty one miles from my front door) and chances of getting a ticket (high) the draw has done me no harm.
As for the fans of Wolves and Watford? Disappointment is the (polite) word that best sums up their reaction. The two sides meet one week after the cup game, same venue, in a Championship game and the feeling I get from both sets of fans is that the league game is the more important. Sure, some would like to advance to the Fifth Round Proper and go on a decent cup run or cash in on a windfall promised by a Premier league team. But many would prefer the three points that the league game offers in the quest to reach the promised land of top-flight football in England. The greedy want both.
In the meantime, the likes of Chertsey Town, Dartford and Eastbourne Borough play out their seasons with the bread and butter games in front of small, but loyal, followings. If any of those clubs were still in this season's FA Cup, I wouldn't need to question their reaction to the draw.
3rd Round Proper
Saturday January 5th 2008
Kick Off 2:00pm
Attendance: 15,340
Weather: Cold and dank
Distance travelled: 272 miles
In the end I could not let a bout of illness prevent me from going to this game, although my body was trying it's hardest to tell me otherwise. My wife could not understand my desire to leave the warmth of the house and it was futile to even attempt to explain.
On this, we agreed to disagree.
I doubt if I would have made it to the game if it hadn't been for the support of my mates. As determined as I that I should continue this venture, they offered to share the driving - I was certainly in no fit (nor legal) state to drive - and for that I am most appreciative. I was joined once again by Mackem and PB (who did most of the driving) and a "Road to Wembley" virgin, Captain Beaky (who did some of the driving early on but mysteriously succumbed to some kind of nasal virus halfway up the M40). PB and Mackem have shared a good portion of this venture with me and fully understood that non-attendance at the game was simply not an option.
Attending a game of football drugged to the eyeballs is a rather peculiar experience, something I don't recall ever having done before. It was almost like watching the match from inside a bubble. An almost total detachment from reality. All my senses were numbed. My taste buds were shot to an extent that the pre-match Meat and Potato pie could have contained Pedigree Chum for all I knew, although I must say my friends approved of the Chicken Balti offerings. My hearing was muffled which wasn't such a bad thing as we were sat in front of a small group of "kids for a quid" spectators who were keen to make the most of their free miniature horns. I was thankfully quite immune to their high pitch tooting.
Although at times I wondered if I was the only one on the medication. As the Wolves mascots left the pitch just prior to kick off, I was drawn into a bizarre conversation between PB and Captain Beaky who were sat either side of me. One of the mascots was evidently male (outfitted in trousers) whilst the other was female (skirt). PB and Beaky quickly agreed that they were the strangest looking bears they had ever seen. Bears??!! We were about to watch Wolves and these mascots had big pointy ears (all the better to hear with), big pointy noses (all the better to smell with) and big pointy teeth (all the better to eat you up with). Good grief. It was at that moment I realised that there was an advantage in being totally desensitised.
And for the first time in this FA Cup run, I felt a real detachment from the actual game and from the host club, Wolves. Prior to the match, I had had no contact with club officials. There was no mention in the match day programme. No tannoy announcing my presence. I was simply one of 15,340 at the game. This was also the first time that we had no choice as to how we watched the game. We had to sit and stay in the same seat for the duration. Our seats, although offering a good view of proceedings, were physically quite removed from the pitch. The close involvement with club and game that I had become accustomed to on this run had suddenly, and quite abruptly, come to an end. I had anticipated this happening at some stage, but I was still not prepared for it. I'm now not sure if that feeling of involvement will ever return in this season's FA Cup.
As for the game, it was an enjoyable ninety minutes of cup action, and for a not insignificant time it looked as if we were going to witness an FA Cup shock.
Cambridge brought with them an excellent following and, if anyone still questions the beauty of the FA Cup and what it means to fans, I would simply point doubters in the direction of the travelling support from Cambridgeshire yesterday. Over 4000 United supporters occupied the whole of the Steve Bull lower stand and part of the Jack Harris stand and their vocal support for their team was one of the highlights of the day and a credit to non-league football. As the team emerged onto the pitch, a barrage of tiny pieces of yellow paper were cast into the air for a magnificent paper storm reception. The Cambridge fans had actually spent hours shredding numerous copies of the "Yellow Pages" prior to the game. Well worth the effort. Boca Juniors eat your heart out.
By contrast, the Wolves fans were rather muted. The attendance was well below average. They are having a tough time at the moment, and for long periods of the match Mick McCarthy did a very passable impression of an awfully lonely man in his technical area.
The hosts almost scored within the first minute of the game when Jay Boothroyd found space only for his weak effort to be blocked by Albrighton. Within minutes Cambridge had their first chance when Convery forced a save out of Wayne Hennessey in the Wolves goal. These two early exchanges set the pattern for the remainder of an entertaining first half. Both sides had a number of reasonable chances only for poor finishing to stifle any chance of reward. Gibson and Ward for Wolves should have scored openers but tame shots straight at the United keeper quickly became the the order of the day.
Then just before half time, a breakthrough came for Cambridge United with a soft penalty decision. The ball appeared to strike the arm of Wolves defender Neill Collins but the referee wasted no time in pointing to the spot. Scott Rendell, as he had done in the previous round of this competition, comfortably converted to send the travelling support into mass frenzy. 1-0 to the visitors after forty two minutes and a cup shock appeared to be taking shape.
Into the second half and one could sense the agitation and frustration amongst the home support. McCarthy continued to prowl from his controlled zone, but his Wolves, in all honesty, did not have any bite. Michael Gray (three England caps) was awful with his distribution. Boothroyd was both greedy and wasteful in equal measure. Things only really began to turn in the home team's favour with a couple of substitutions. Freddie Eastwood's arrival lifted the crowd and possession swung in favour of the men in black and gold. But this merely led to more wasted chances with Ward (again) and Eastwood guilty of missing the target.
On the hour McCarthy brought on local favourite Michael Kightly; within nine minutes of his arrival he had scored to level the game, sweetly turning in a cross by Matt Jarvis. And then in the dying minutes of the game Kightly provided the centre which was headed into the back of the net by a (no doubt) relieved Neill Collins. Wolves sneak into the next round.
To sum up the game I think Cambridge were a tad unlucky not to get another bite at the cherry. Wolves were simply very poor at times and there were spells in the game when one would have been excused for thinking that both teams played their league football at comparable levels. McCarthy's substitutions appeared to have worked but will this cut any slack with an increasingly unhappy home support? Would a draw have been a fairer result? Perhaps, but that may well be my FA Cup heart ruling my head.
And talking of my head, it still feels as thick and as heavy as a bucket of mushy peas. My wife thinks I have more than a simple cold and I'm off to the docs tomorrow to get checked out. And as all married men know, but rarely admit, the missus is always right.
I won't be surprised if the diagnosis is cup fever.
Pounding head. Tight chest. Aching limbs. Sore throat. Bunged up nose. I thought I had avoided this winter's bout of lurgy. Both my nieces were full of it over Christmas, my wife brought it back home with us for New Year and now it's my turn.
I feel as rough as anything and have been in bed with nothing more than a high temperature and the odd shot of Night Nurse for two days now.
My trip up to the Midlands for the Wolves v Cambridge United game is now in jeopardy. This could be, to date, the greatest risk to the whole venture. You may recall that I almost missed a trip to Dartford in an early qualifying round when my wife badly damaged her ankle. I made that journey, laden with guilt.
Tonight I will need a good, restful sleep. And a miraculous recovery. If I do make the trip, it won't be guilt I'll be full of but something far less pleasant.
My "Road to Wembley" could all end, here and now, amongst a flurry of tissues.
n. ŭp'sět' a game or contest in which the favourite is defeated.
The favourite ahead of my cup clash in January has to be Wolverhampton Wanderers, who (as I write this) sit sixty seven league places above Cambridge United. But the FA Cup, now and again, has a surprise up its sleeve. Some of my fondest memories of the FA Cup are of the upsets. I don't mean the sort of upset that makes you burst into tears as your team concedes in the last minute of the Semi Final. I mean the shocks, the surprises, the victories against all the odds.
Here are ten upsets that stick in my mind, for a variety of reasons. In date order:
Colchester United 3, Leeds United 2
1971, 5th Round
Arguably one of the most famous cup upsets of all time. Leeds were riding high at the top of Division One, the Essex club were battling for promotion from Division Four. Colchester fielded a number of players coming to the end of their careers and were known as "Grandads Army". The Colchester manager had promised his players and wife a two week holiday if they won, and he also promised to scale the walls of Colchester castle. It did the trick.
Hereford United 2, Newcastle United 1
1972, 3rd Round (replay)
This game is dug out of the archives at this stage of the competition every season. It remains a classic. It was a shock and a half - eighty three league places separated the sides. The first time a top flight team was knocked out by non-league opposition in front of TV cameras. Ronnie Radford's goal (which subsequently won "Goal of the Season") has to be one of the most well known cup goals of all time. The mud, that thumping drive, and that pitch invasion by loads of kids in Parkas. And it wasn't even the winning goal.
Sunderland 1, Leeds United 0
1973, FA Cup FinalLeeds United again. Ian Porterfield's goal. Jim Montgomery's save. Bob Stokoe's hat. The first team outside of the top flight to win the FA Cup in over forty years. Need I say more?
Burnley 0, Wimbledon 1
1975, 3rd Round Burnley, seventh in the top division, hosted the Wombles from the Southern League. Fifty five years had passed since a non-league club had won on a First Division ground. Burnley unbeaten at home in eight league games. The Lancashire club's boss (Jimmy Adamson) joked that his team would have no problems against a Tennis club. Only one outcome? 1-0 to Wimbledon, actually. The bearded stopper Dickie Guy shot to fame and went on to even greater things in the next round when he saved a late, late penalty from Peter Lorimer (Leeds United. Again.)
Harlow Town 1, Leicester City 0
1980, 3rd Round (replay).
In the 1979/1980 season Harlow Town of the Isthmian League reached the First Round Proper for the first time in their history. After seeing off Leytonstone & Illford (one team) and Southend United, Harlow found themselves at Filbert Street in the Third Round. An 89th minute goal from Neil Prosser earned the non-league outfit a replay. MacKenzie scored a famous goal in the rematch to spark scenes of wild celebration. The bookmakers reacted immediately by cutting Harlow's odds of winning the cup to 5,000-1.
Birmingham City 1, Altrincham 2
1986, 3rd Round
I watched a lot of Altrincham in my youth, as I went to school in the area. I have many happy (and vivid) memories of Altrincham's giant-killing efforts in the 80s but this has to be the pick of the bunch. In those days, the Conference was known as the Alliance Premier and "Alty" were challenging for promotion. Birmingham were facing relegation from the First Division. Perhaps a shock was on the cards? Altrincham obliged. This is the last time that a non-league team won away at a top flight club in the FA Cup.
Sutton United 2, Coventry City 1
1989, 3rd Round
The last occasion that a top flight team were dumped out by non-league opposition. Coventry City fielded virtually the same team that had so memorably lifted the famous trophy two seasons previously. On a typically heavy pitch, the part timers matched their opponents for stamina and grabbed a famous victory with goals from Rains and Hanlan. All 2,000 Coventry fans stayed in the small ground after the game to give Sutton a standing ovation.
West Bromwich Albion 2, Woking 4
1991, 3rd Round
Woking weren't even in the equivalent of the Conference when they won in the Third Round at The Hawthorns. They were one league lower down, sitting fourth in the Isthmian League. The Baggies led 1-0 at half time and an easy home win seemed inevitable. But then the spotlight was turned on for a certain Tim Buzaglo. Remember him? A second half hat-trick thrust him into FA Cup folklore and surpassed his previous sporting achievement - playing cricket for Gibraltar.
Wrexham 2, Arsenal 1
1992, 3rd Round
I remember this game as if it were only yesterday. Yet another muddy pitch, this time at The Racecourse. A scorching free kick equaliser from the diminutive Micky Thomas with ten minutes to go. And then a winner four minutes later from Steve Watkin. Cue the ecstatic crowd celebrations, mostly on the pitch. And George Graham lost for words afterwards.
Shrewsbury Town 2, Everton 1
2003, 3rd Round
An upset down at Gay Meadow. The Shrews were bottom of Division Three. Everton were seventh in the Premiership. Eighty five league places separated the teams. The Toffees came unstuck when a last minute header from Nigel Jemson sealed victory for the home team. Gay Meadow went wild. But not for long, as Shrewsbury lost their league status that season.
All but two of those matches were Third Round ties. I wonder if the Third Round games in early January next year will give us an upset to remember?
The team that currently has the misfortune of my company in this season's FA Cup is Cambridge United. I say misfortune, as I'm not sure if I bring much luck. I have only seen one team (Dartford) progress further than two rounds. The law of averages suggests that my trip to Wolverhampton in January may witness Cambridge United's exit from the competition. If this proves to be the case, then I apologise now to the supporters from Cambridgeshire.
As for Cambridgeshire, things are looking rather rosy for the county as far as football is concerned. United are riding high in the Blue Square Premier. They have also been joined in that league this season by Histon, for the first time in their history; the highest level that Histon have ever played football at. Cambridge City are one level lower, holding their own in the Blue Square South. Before United's new year trip to the Black Country they have a very important league double header against Histon over the Christmas period. It is going to be an exciting festive period for football fans in the city and bragging rights for the remainder of the season will be there for the taking.
However, Cambridge United's biggest rivals are county neighbours Peterborough United. "The Posh" are also having a good season; they are challenging for automatic promotion from League Two. Along with Cambridge United, they are also through to the Third Round of the FA Cup and face an away game against Championship opposition (Colchester United). To say that Cambridge United and Peterborough United are rivals is like saying that Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson don't get on much. The word "intense" springs to mind.
So on Saturday I took another trip to Cambridgeshire, this time to see the rivals across the fens. Having been to Arsenal midweek, I knew that this was going to be an experience of our beautiful game from yet another, quite different, perspective.
The Posh were hosting Milton Keynes Dons.
At the start of the day the visitors were top of the league with Peterborough four points behind in second. The game had been greatly anticipated for a number of weeks, and the Peterborough club had pulled out all stops to promote the clash. This paid off; an impressive 10,351 turned out for the game, more than double their season's average. And with it, they brought an absolutely cracking, almost electric, atmosphere. Outside the ground long before kick-off, one could sense that the atmosphere had been charged and cranked up over a number of days to the point that it was starting to crackle before turnstiles began to turn. Expectations in the city were high.
The game itself was a very good advert for football in League Two. For the neutral, it had just about everything; three good goals, two teams at the top of their game, numerous chances for both sides, plenty of goalmouth action, some bizarre referring decisions, a sending off, and a partridge in a pear tree (not really).
The home side just about edged the first half, with a glorious effort from Charlie Lee striking the bar after fifteen minutes. The three goals arrived in the second half. In a bizarre ten minute period the Peterborough defence went totally absent, conceding two goals which could quite easily have been five or six; Gallen (47) and Andrews (57) making the most of gaping holes at the back. The home team should have been dead and buried.
But in an almost cup-like contest, Peterborough threw everything at the visitors in an attempt to purloin something from the game. Mclean pulled one back with a quarter of an hour remaining and an unlikely comeback looked feasible when Diallo was dismissed for the Dons on 78 minutes. In a barn-storming finish, MK Dons did just about enough to hang on for a deserved 2-1 victory. A delighted Paul Ince (Dons) and a dejected Darren Ferguson (Posh).
What a great game. And without any hesitation I can say that this was a much better game than the one at the Emirates on Wednesday. But even more notably, the atmosphere at London Road eclipsed that I experienced at the impressive new stadium in North London.
Here were two teams that had everything to play for. Here were two teams whose levels of expectations (compared to Arsenal) are relatively lower. The battle for League Two supremacy for these two teams means just as much as Champion's League success means for Arsenal. And here were two teams that ran themselves into the ground and in doing so served up a highly entertaining game for a crowd who had been wound up to the point of bursting.
But the best bit? I witnessed all of this from the steps of a terrace. Grand.
The Internet. What a marvellous thing, the "invention" of our time. The power of instant communication, information available at the click of a mouse, making a mockery of physical distance at the touch of a button.
My FA Cup journey owes much to the Internet; it has basically made my life so much easier. Finding information about the competition format, the dates of games (and replays), about tickets, ground locations, travel. It allows for immediate and rapid communication with the clubs and their fans. In fact everything connected with my road towards the final. All this has been done from the comfort of the spare room.
Not to mention this blog. In equal measure I have enjoyed going to the games, meeting new people and writing about it all. As I have alluded to a few times already, the response I have had to this blog, since my first post on 24th August, has shocked me. And it continues to do so, daily. As I write this post this evening, there have so far been 13,071 page views in 7,027 different visits to the blog. This is from 3,087 unique visitors in 53 different countries. For 200 visitors to vote on my latest frivolous poll is, on it's own, pretty good going.
Now, in Internet terms, not huge figures, but for something that started out as a stroll down the lane to watch Chertsey Town on a cool August summer evening, these stats never cease to surprise.
Of course, without the accessibility that the Internet creates, none of this would have been possible. The clubs along my journey have assisted with the access. Links on the home pages of the websites of Sittingboure, Dartford, Eastbourne Borough and (most recently) Cambridge United have helped. Add to that mention of the site in a number of match day programmes, non-league football publications and over match tannoys, and the fingers of the web are encouraged to spread further and wider and deeper.
But the Internet can also be a perilous place, especially when the information you find is of dubious quality or questionable caliber.
On the way into work today I was amazed to hear a radio newsreader declare that there had been "a mistake" with the FA Cup draw on Sunday. The draw for the Third Round Proper. The one that paired Cambridge United with Wolverhampton Wanderers. This "news" even made some of today's newspapers. You could probably understand my reaction. What on earth is going on? Would the draw have to be done again? Maybe I'm not off to Wolves after all? Probably Trevor Brooking's fault (again).
As it turned out, this was the story that never was. There was no mistake, no error, no blunder. A conspiracy theory of sorts, that had broken on the world wide web early on Tuesday and had spread like wildfire across the ether to make big news within a matter of hours. The "mistake" reported was that the number 25 ball had been drawn out of the bowl but the number 24 read aloud instead. If this indeed had happened, it would have meant that Manchester United should be playing Bristol City instead of Aston Villa.
But photographs and video stills of the draw proved that there had been no mistake. The number 24 ball had been pulled out and read out. End of.
But it just goes to show how powerful the Internet can be, something that the conspiracy theorists can use to great effect. And often do. Many things are written on the Internet that people believe and over time are perceived as fact or, at best, written into folklore. The 9/11 conspiracy theory is probably the most notable example. Of course, this is nothing new; the Internet alone is not to blame. Storytelling as a form of communication has been in existence since man could stand unaided on two legs, and stories have always been passed from generation to generation. The mere passing of time allows for the real facts to be diluted and the (usually more interesting or newsworthy) fiction to be elaborated. The difference with the Internet is that the time element is condensed - for thousands of years read days, for hundreds of years, read minutes. And the fact that we can view something "in print" on a screen fools us into thinking that what we are reading is true.
We can all be easily fooled. Personally, I blame the bloggers. Especially the idiots who blog about football...
The draw for the 3rd Round Proper of this season's FA Cup was made yesterday at Soho Square. By the time Cambridge United's number was pulled out of the hat, there weren't that many teams left. But tie number twenty seven (out of thirty two) shaped up as:
05 Jan 2008 15:00 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Cambridge United
Off to Molineux for me in January, a ground I last visited in the early 1980s. Lots of amber and black to look forward to.
Now for the planning part. I doubt if it will be all ticket, but the Cambridge allocation may well be ticket only. This will be the first occasion in this run that I will need to keep an eye open for advance ticket news and make some decisions about which part of the ground to sit in.
Best get my brain into gear. Excuse the creaking noise, the cogs may be a bit rusty.
2nd Round Proper
Saturday December 1st 2007
Kick Off 3:00pm
Attendance: 4552
Weather: Cold and windy
Distance travelled: 171 miles
They say that football is a universal language. It is the ice breaker at parties. It is the one thing most strangers have in common. And in the corner of a small bar in Cambridgeshire yesterday, this was more than evident.
I travelled to the game with two good friends, Mackem and PB (surely you remember them from earlier games; how could you forget?). I arranged to meet another friend who lives in Cambridge; she has known me longer than I care to recall and therefore knows me far too well. Arrangements had also been made for me to be interviewed (about this mad venture) and we were to meet some budding young journalists, Dave, Dan and Gemma, who had travelled down from Lincoln for the game (see the happy group below). What is the collective noun for a group of journalists - a scribe? Anyway, we all met in the Cambridge Supporters Club bar before the game and not one of us present knew everyone else. Not an uncommon event and not especially newsworthy. But within minutes we were all happily chatting as if we had known each other for some time.
This is one of the things that I enjoy about football. We all had one single thing in common - the love of this beautiful game. The clubs supported around the table ranged from Cambridge United to QPR to Blackburn and to Liverpool. But we all had footy experiences to share, the same (old) jokes about other teams, fond memories of games gone by, expectations of games to come. This was more than me being interviewed. It was a group of strangers having a good old chin-wag about blokes who kick balls.
If I were to be brutally honest, that hour or so in the bar before the game was probably the highlight of the day. Dave, Dan and Gemma were excellent hosts. The game itself was pretty poor. In defence of both sets of players, the windy conditions prevented any sort of decent, flowing football. This was more like a bun fight in a gale. Not pretty.
The kick off was delayed for fifteen minutes as the crowds struggled into the Abbey Stadium. The official attendance was 4552, the biggest gate on my journey so far. My last visit to this ground must have been around ten years ago, and there has been some development since then. 
The majority of the ground still had a bit of a run down feel to it; ageing stands and rusting metalwork. But the stand that housed the Weymouth fans was rather impressive; this South Stand positively gleamed in comparison to the rest of the ground, bright amber with bold black "CUFC" lettering. Weymouth support seemed quite low, and the stand dwarfed the away contingent. It was, however, nice to see a fair proportion of the ground still terraced, something which is sadly disappearing from our game.
As for the match itself, I'm afraid there is not an awful lot to report. The wind had the upper hand. The most entertaining aspect of the first half was the inability of the Weymouth goalkeeper, Jason Matthews, to kick anywhere other than into touch to his left. It became increasingly comical to watch his failed attempts, his clearances regularly hoisted upon the wind and blown into the Main Stand. The poor guy was struggling and the Cambridge fans behind his goal were less than sympathetic. On one occasion he contrived to slice a dead ball in to touch on the opposite side which reduced the home support to fits of laughter.
Cambridge started the strongest and had a few decent chances in the first few minutes. Ea
rly doors Cambridge won a free kick and Gavin Hoyte forced a fantastic save from the Weymouth keeper. The home team had three reasonable chances in the first fifteen minutes all of which were turned away by the visiting goalie. Along with his battle with the wind, Matthews was fast becoming the centre of attention in the first half. The Cambridge fans began to chant "we want eight" in reference to their 7-0 drubbing of Weymouth earlier this year.
Then, rather fortuitously, Cambridge United scored from a penalty on twenty six minutes. Scott Rendell broke into the area on the angle and cut across his marker. There was the slightest of contact and Rendell went down. A bit too easily for me, but from where the referee was standing there was little choice for the man in the middle. Rendell brushed himself down to tuck the penalty away with aplomb. 1-0 to the hosts at half time.
In the second half, it was Cambridge's turn to battle with the elements and to be fair, as the game progressed, Weymouth looked the more likely to score. The second half was ever so scrappy and became totally, and painfully, bogged down in midfield. The Cambridge drummer (yet another game with a percussionist!) tried his hardest to drum up some sort of atmosphere. The rhythmic beat seemed to animate the crowd, but this was more likley a desperate attempt to combat the falling temperature. It was now so cold that body parts were starting to numb. I had by now lost all feeling below my waist and any my efforts to move in time with the beat were simply pathetic; think of a pissed Pinocchio and you will get the picture.
One of my friends commented on how little happened in the second half yet without the usual associated feeling that the game was dragging. I put it down to the body shutting down the brain. Hypothermia in a nutshell. I even thought I saw Santa Claus in amongst the Weymouth fans.
But then, with quarter of an hour to go, Weymouth realised they had to commit more men forward if they were to stay in the competition and it was in this final period that they created most of their chances. Their pressure culminated with a corner in the dying minutes from Anton Robinson which floated onto the bar, and bounced out for a goal kick. And with this last chance, Weymouth were blown out of the FA Cup.
A poor performance from Cambridge United, and they stumbled through to the Third Round. But a win is a win, one that their manager Jimmy Quinn described as "ugly". I'm afraid I can't disagree.
So my tenth game ended with a single goal separating the teams, and Cambridge United take over as the team to follow. Even though the game was far from a classic - the bacon rolls had even failed to live up to expectations - it had been another enjoyable day out.
For me, the chance to meet new acquaintances was the high point of the day. With hindsight, maybe we should have stayed in the bar. As always though, this is much easier said than done.
Of course, the FA Cup is not only about the romance, the giant killings, the glory, the fans or the myriad of hopes and dreams up and down the country. There is also the money. The hard cash, the lolly, readies, greens, dough, moolah, bread, rhino, spondoolicks, motsa, beer tokens, boodle, dosh, poppy, wonga... whatever your name for it is, money will always play it's part.
For the smaller clubs, this can be a pretty important part. Actually, a hugely significant part. For many clubs, a decent FA Cup run can be a saviour. For others, it can be the foundation for greater things.
On the eve of the FA Cup Second Round Proper both Cambridge United and Weymouth will, without any shadow of doubt, have one eye on a potential money spinning game in the Third Round, the stage at which the big clubs enter the fray. Without either team underestimating their opponents on Saturday, both clubs and fans will have that thought lurking somewhere in their minds.
It is one of the ingredients that makes the FA Cup such an exciting dish.
The Second Round begins this evening when Horsham take on Swansea City, live on Sky TV. The Sussex club have had a fantastic cup run already, disposing of Arundel, Bury Town, AFC Wimbledon, Chippenham and Maidenhead United. The run has netted them £37,000 from the FA Prize Fund. They will receive an additional £75,000 from the FA Broadcast Fund for tonight's Sky coverage. With Horsham planning to leave their Atspeed Stadium in the near future, some of this extra income will go towards the funding of their new ground.
This kind of FA Cup income swelling the coffers can make a real difference. Back in 2004, Exeter City of the Conference were in financial ruin, several million pounds in debt. They were managing to stay alive through the considerable efforts of the Exeter City Supporters Trust yet the future looked bleak. But then, Exeter City were pulled out of the velvet bag to play Manchester United in the Third Round of the FA Cup. The game at Old Trafford (in January 2005) finished 0-0 in front of over 67,000. This single match alone was worth £653,511 to Exeter. The replay at Exeter was televised which netted the Devon outfit a further £150,000. Their debts were settled in December 2005.
It is not only non-league clubs, or clubs facing an uncertain future, that can benefit. In February 2006 Colchester United, at the time in the upper reaches of League One, were drawn away at Chelsea for a Fifth Round game. They had already seen off Sheffield United and Derby County. Their reward for reaching the last sixteen was £60,000 but with the Chelsea tie, they hit the jackpot. With TV coverage, gate receipts and merchandise sales, Colchester United netted close to £1 million from the competition. This income paid the wages for the squad for the remainder of the season which meant they were able to keep their squad together. They won promotion to the Championship and went on to have a successful first season (2006-2007) at that level.
The money associated with a decent FA Cup run can, and will, make a difference to many clubs. For some, it may be the difference between survival or extinction. So good luck to all clubs this weekend, the Third Round awaits. Plus at least another £24,000 for getting there.
I do like my salt. On chips. Crisps. Anchovies. Bovril. Bacon...crispy, salty bacon. Superb.
The bacon rolls at Cambridge United are famous. I'm looking forward to trying them out on Saturday, I've heard so much about them. I wonder if they sell Bovril as well? That would be too much too ask for...
One of my earliest memories as a child was of Bovril served with salt under the main stand at Maine Road, the then home of Manchester City. My father used to take me to the games, and although I always looked forward to the football, the big crowds and the great atmosphere, the thing I remember most about those visits in my youth was the cup of Bovril before the match.
It was almost a ritual.
I would squeeze under the turnstiles hanging on to my dad's coat tails, the turnstiles that were right there on the street opposite the two-up, two-down, terraced houses. Turnstiles that the locals could almost touch from their front doors. Once inside, I would follow down into the half-light of the voids below the stands, all concrete, metal supports and stairs leading off and up and to somewhere else. Down into a totally different world, a cavernous world that would be packed with expectant, excited supporters. For a six year old boy, it was a world of wonder and excitement. Through gaps in the stand you could glimpse a little of the pitch bathed in sunlight and the noise of the building crowd would roll in on the cold air and bounce off the walls. A promise of the excitement awaiting to unfold.
But first there was the pre-match ritual. A mass of blue and white scarves, flat caps and buttoned up overcoats, I remember it as always being cold on match days. But down here, the warmth was comforting. The warmth generated by the bodies. The steam from chattering breaths. And the heat from the small food hatches. We, like everyone else down here, would be drawn to the the light and the hot smells tumbling out of these rectangular holes. We would immediately head for one of them and huddle round, a sea of legs. I would watch as my dad ordered cups of boiling hot Bovril for him and his friends and then sip on them carefully as they flicked through the programme or discussed the skills of Summerbee, Bell or Tuart. I was in awe.
And I remember the first time my dad bought a Bovril for me as if it was only yesterday. It tasted disgusting. But this was a seminal moment for me. It meant that I belonged. More than that, I had arrived. I was one of the crowd. I was a real football fan. The serving hatch would have a number of glass salt pots on the counter, and part of the Bovril ritual would be to sprinkle some salt into the black stuff. Barely tall enough to see the top of the counter, my dad did this for me that first time. No question whether I wanted it or not. It came with the territory. I drank it all.
Now, I love the stuff. Bovril and salt. You can't beat it. I'm convinced that my taste for salt began there, in the bowels of Maine Road, as an awe-struck six year old boy. I know it's bad for you, but it is one of life's pleasures I refuse to give up on. Probably the only one, come to think of it.
But back to Cambridge United. I have been reminded by several people about Cambridge United and their bacon rolls. I recall that Colman's (of mustard fame) did a survey of the food served up at all ninety two football league grounds, and Cambridge United came out top of the pile. Their bacon rolls received special mention. What surprises me most was that this survey was done back in 1998, almost ten years ago. And the Cambridge club are still proud of this recognition; their bread with pork offerings even warrant a mention on their website.
So on Saturday, it would be remiss of me not to sample the bacon rolls. I'm licking my lips already. Pass the salt please...
After the diversions of England and Staines Town, time now to get back to the matter in hand; Cambridge United v Weymouth, which is now less than a week away. Planning for the trip is underway; a couple of friends are gearing themselves up for the journey with me (poor things), another friend (a Cambridge local) will be meeting us there and I have an interview with a journalist (the second in three weeks). And, lest I forget, a game of football to watch to top it all off.
As my regular readers know (good grief, how pretentious does that sound?), Weymouth took over the mantle when they disposed of Eastbourne Borough in the First Round Proper. They will travel to Cambridge on Saturday and, as a consequence, I will be travelling there too.
Cambridge United FC play at The Abbey Stadium and have done so since 1932; they share their ground with Cambridge Regional College FC who only formed in 2006 as a feeder club and youth academy to their hosts. The current capacity at The Abbey is 9,617; the game on Saturday is not all ticket, but a reasonable crowd of 4,000+ is being predicted in some quarters. The club are giving out vouchers at the game which will give holders priority for tickets in the Third Round Proper, should they advance. This shrewd move alone will swell the gate.
The game on Saturday will be an all Conference tie, but I still think of Cambridge United as a league team. They spent thirty five years playing league football before their demotion in 2005, which brought with it a brief flirtation with administration. The sale of their ground and a last minute deal with the HM Revenue and Customs saw the club survive.
Cambridge United, known as Abbey United until 1951, have fond memories of the FA Cup, none more so than in 1990 and 1991 when great cup runs saw them reach the last eight of the competition in consecutive seasons. The 1990 cup run ended at Highbury with a 2-1 reverse against Arsenal in front of 43,000 spectators. And I sense that many Cambridge fans would relish the prospect of another captivating cup run this season.
And talking of the Cambridge fans...
In the build up to the FA Cup game on Saturday, I have had some rather bizarre correspondence from a few Cambridge fans. I have been asked whether I like ducks (?), whether I knew about the club's "Magic Pond" (??) and whether I knew about the moose that was found grazing on the pitch at the Abbey Stadium (???). If anyone can throw any light on this, please contact me. Or just call me gullible.
Oh, and here's one last interesting fact. Cambridge United's record victory (in March of this year) was 7-0.
Against Weymouth.
Staines Town 1, Stockport County 1 (aet, Staines Town win 4-3 on penalties).
Stockport County may well be writing to the FA today to suggest that, in the FA Cup, the goals are just a tad bigger. The difference between success and failure (as my wife far too often reminds me) is just a matter of inches. Stockport had so many shots, so many near misses, that they really should now be contemplating a Second Round Proper date with Peterborough United.
But the beauty of the FA Cup was there for all to see at Wheatsheaf Park last night. As Dave Sargent, an Estate Agent, tucked away the winning penalty, the record crowd erupted with joy and spilled onto the pitch. This was another shock in a competition that continues to deliver.
On a bitterly cold night (I now have frostbite to go with the trench foot I acquired Monday) I returned to Staines Town to witness the third attempt to complete this tie. Just to clarify, this was an "extra curricular" FA Cup game for me, and not part of my Road to Wembley journey. With Staines a mere stones throw away, I simply had to see this one.
And I'm glad I did.
It was a typical cup tie, the type I enjoy so much. A small ground packed to the rafters; non-league part-timers versus League Two opposition; precarious TV camera gantries constructed especially for the game; a few non-paying customers scrambling over the wooden perimeter fence at half-time; young children watching the game from bedroom windows of adajacent houses. And a shock result to go with it.
The game finished 1-1 after Staines had led at half-time, with a powerful header from Adrian Toppin following a corner. Stockport deservedly levelled on 78 minutes when Matty McNeil arrived unmarked at the far post to poke home. Against all expectations, Staines, who were visibly tiring and cramping up, held on through extra time to take the game to penalties.
My "man of the match" was the Staines keeper Shaun Allaway who put on a near faultless display to deny Stockport, and going into the shoot-out you felt that Allaway might make the difference. And he certainly did, with two wonderful penalty saves.
Cue Dave Sargent, cue the ecstatic scenes.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening.
So whilst I am up at Cambridge United on December 1st for the Weymouth tie, Staines Town of the Ryman Premier League will be hosting Cambridge rivals Peterborough United. Stockport County will have the Saturday off. Time to practice shooting on target perhaps?
Take a look here to see some great photos from Andy Nunn
It started with Chertsey Town. Then Sittingbourne. Followed by Dartford and Bromley. Plus Eastbourne Borough for a while.
And now it's club number 6 - Weymouth - who have hold of my baton (so to speak).
Other clubs have played their part along the way - Wick and Camberley Town - but as opposition to two of the above. Nine games in total so far, including two replays. Nine hundred and seven miles and twenty four goals (not including penalties).
I must confess, I know little about Weymouth FC and up until last Saturday, I had never seen them in action. I mentioned in an earlier post that they are nicknamed The Terras; a nickname they acquired in the 1890s when they wore terracotta and blue quartered shirts. They play their home games at the Wessex Stadium having left their old Recreation Ground in 1987. An odd fact about the club is that, because of the proximity of the ground to the coast, they rarely have any postponements
Weymouth are currently 17th in the Blue Square Premier having won six, drawn four, of their eighteen games. Cambridge United occupy 4th slot. The teams have met once in the league this season, the game at Weymouth ending 2-2.
For a non-league team, Weymouth have enjoyed reasonable success in the FA Cup. Having first entered the competition in 1893, they reached the "national" stages in season 1905-06. Unfortunately, they lost that match 12-1 against Gainsborough Trinity. Weymouth met Manchester United in the Third Round Proper in 1949 (a 4-0 reverse at Old Trafford) and they went one round further in 1962, losing 2-0 away at Preston North End.
More recently (2005) they held Nottingham Forest to a famous 1-1 draw in front of the TV cameras, before going out 2-0 in the replay. The following season they held league side Bury to a 2-2 draw.
Famous Weymouth players over the years include Graham Roberts, Andy Townsend, Shaun Teale, Tony Agana. And Tom Jones (not the Welsh singer - that would be unusual). The athlete Darren Campbell briefly donned the Claret and Blue shirt for the Dorset club, making twenty seven appearances and scoring four goals. You learn something new every day...
Famous managers include Trevor Senior, Neil Webb and Steve Claridge.
And one last thing (for now); a Weymouth player may be off to the FA Cup Final in May 2008. Stuart Beavon was nominated (by the Daily Star) as the FA Cup "Player of the Round" after his hat-trick against Eastbourne Borough. If he wins (based on a public vote) he will enjoy a VIP visit to the new Wembley.
Good luck Stuart. I hope to see you there...
I must point out that I am looking forward to my trip to Cambridge United...
Doing this FA Cup run has meant that the draws take on a whole new meaning. If nothing else, they now (for me) pose a serious health risk. I was tired, drained and emotional after watching the live draw on Sunday. The home teams drawn out of the hat before the tie involving Weymouth were Oldham Athletic/Doncaster Rovers and Darlington/Northampton Town. The thought of long trips up North affected my ability to breath.
By the time Cambridge United v Weymouth had come out of the hat, I was barely conscious. It was a struggle to crawl to my PC, let alone write anything meaningful or incisive.
I have now slept on it. And I tell you what, it's a pretty good draw really. Just over eighty miles (each way) for me to travel; nearer than Eastbourne. Another non-league club and an all Conference tie, so the guarantee of a non-league club in the Third Round Proper. I'll get to meet up at the game with a friend I haven't seen in ages. The Cambridge United fans have already been good value. The Weymouth fans likewise...a pretty good draw all round.
After Saturday's game at Priory Lane, Weymouth take over where Eastbourne Borough left off. With three weeks to go before the game, I plan to take a closer look at both Weymouth and Cambridge United.
In the meantime, I have added another interactive poll just below the FA Cup picture in the main menu. What do you think the result will be on December 1st? Please cast your vote now.
You won't win anything but I can guarantee it comes with no health risks.
A trip to Cambridgeshire next for me. Cambridge United v Weymouth on Saturday 1st December.
How do I feel?
I'm not sure. Let me sleep on it.
There’s an old saying that the more you watch the clock the slower time passes. I seem to have been waiting an age for Saturday’s FA Cup Final; six weeks will have elapsed between my last trip to Wembley and my next, but it feels much longer than that. When I was a kid, the six week summer holiday seemed like an eternity. This, by comparison, seems much longer. And the slow passing of the minutes, hours and days is all the more painful with the knowledge I have one more game to take in. Only one more, the ultimate game. One final hurdle left before I can complete this gallop through the fourteen ties that has whittled 731 teams down to just two and, at its climax, to one eventual winner.
