FA Cup Saturday, 4th Round: Open Thread
There are plenty of intriguing FA Cup matches scheduled for today including the tricky clash between Everton and Chelsea, where both teams will be tested, as well as Birmingham City against Championship side Coventry City and last but not least, Southampton against Manchester United.
Those are the televised matches featuring Premier League sides. There are plenty of other matches on too throughout the day including Torquay versus Crawley and Stevenage against Reading, as well as plenty of other FA Cup matches not on television.
I’ll be walking Saturday morning in downtown West Palm Beach to raise money for the fight against breast cancer, so I won’t be able to watch the FA Cup games until later. But for you, either before, during and after the matches today, feel free to post your questions, observations or rants in the comments section below.
21 Responses to FA Cup Saturday, 4th Round: Open Thread
They’ve picked a great match to show on FSC right now. Brum/Coventry City has been superb thus far. Shame not to see more people in the stands. Mostly I think Brum has been hurt by not having Ben Foster in goal. They also were pretty lax on the corner resulting in Coventry’s second. Looking forward to seeing if Brum can pull another turnaround like in their League Cup match earlier this week.
I’m watching this one too right now. Hoping that Coventry can score another goal to make it even more interesting.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
great match, classic! foster just rested, or is there another reason why he’s not there?
I think they said he took a knock somewhere down the road.
Brum are really starting to score some goals! Maybe we won’t need to get Latchford back from Germany after all….
Goals breed confidence so hopefully the last few days have been a turning point for Birmingham City to encourage McLeish to let his players push forward more!
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Here Here! It’s been a puzzlement to us bluenoses why Mr McLeish has been so reluctant to play two strikers when we clearly don’t have a forward who is effective on their own up front. But recent results will hopefully have changed that by showing how two strikers creates more space behind them for the likes of Gardner, Bowyer and now Bentley to score. But what about Kevin Philips! The guy is a phenomenon.
Looking forward to watching Southampton against Manchester United. I’m particularly interested in seeing how Alex Chamberlain does for Southampton. He’s being tracked very closely by Arsenal and Manchester United in this transfer window. And also interesting to see Anders Lindegaard’s debut for United in goal.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Hard to believe that for a club with such a rich history in the top flight of English football that Southampton is now in League One. Beautiful ground, wonderful history and a very loyal fanbase.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Come on Gaffer, Southampton made it a point to get themselves in a relegation scrap virtually every season the last few year they were in the top flight. Now Forest on the other hand, why that club hasn’t been bought up by someone with deep pockets is beyond me.
In the Premier League, Southampton finished in 8th position in 2002-03, 12th in 2003-04 and in last place in 2003-04 with 32 points. Those same 32 points would have kept them up if they were in the Premier League last season, so I don’t see how they were “in a relegation scrap virtually every season the last few years they were in the top flight.”
Nottingham is a small city with a population of 292,000. Rich owners would be better suited looking for a team in a city with a larger population.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
I forgot they stayed in the PL that long; I was thinking when they finished just one or two spots above the relegation zone for most of the 90′s.
As for Forest, I couldn’t disagree more. The club has a rich history, including the legacy of Clough. If the likes of other small city clubs: Blackburn, Portsmouth, Birmingham, Derby are “worth” buying; then why not a club with two European Cups? These days, football teams are more about brands and Forest is an iconic brand in my opinion.
Gotta dive in with a couple of clarifications here…. Nottingham is larger in popn than Southampton looking strictly at city boundaries and if you include the surrounding urban area, it is significantly bigger – the 7th largest in the UK. Also while I agreee Birmingham City is a small football club, the city is large, second in size only to London. It is at the center of the West Midlands conurbation of about 2.25 million. Villa are the biggest club in Birmingham, but not the best of course
Football speaking, both Southampton and Forest have enjoyed more footballing success than Birmingham down through the years and both probably deserve a White Knight to elevate them to greater success. Southampton have the advantage of having had Alan Ball as their captain which gives them the edge in my eyes.
But Nottingham has two clubs in the city. Southampton has just the one. I wish Forest the best of luck and I love their history but I’m not so convinced that a “White Knight” should step in at Forest first. There are other clubs with more potential to generate higher attendances and more revenue for an investor.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
1-0. Southampton
And a well taken goal it was by the young Nick Webster look-a-like. Can Southampton do a Leeds United by holding on to the lead against United?
Cheers,
The Gaffer
PS – What’s the deal with the United supporter wearing a stormtrooper helmet?
I will say, Javier Hernandez is quickly turning into the biggest whiner in the league.
One of these days, there won’t be a Ryan Giggs to bail out Sir Alex.
Very much enjoyed the Everton/Chelsea and Southhampton/ManUtd fixtures. What I saw of the Birmingham match looked good as well…but I found myself more focused on the Asian Cup final. That one was a classic.
I missed the Asian Cup Final but I saw Birmingham v Coventry and Southampton v Man United. Enjoyed them both! I’m now looking forward to watching tomorrow’s FA Cup matches. See TV schedule for US here: http://epltalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule
Cheers,
The Gaffer
I know Kevin Phillips is 37 but he still has that instinct and sharpness for goals. Shame he doesn’t play more often.