FA Cup thread 2017/18

[ValiantRob]

Well of course you do, that’s hardy a surprise if you live or have lived in or around Stoke on Trent for any length of time.

As for time all depends on how much time you want to admire our play off trophies and what level of fascination you have with the famous Anglo Italian Trophy when compared to Football League Trophy lol

I’d say a good 30 mins to take in all the history of the Worlds Oldest Professional League Club. Then nip across to the other football stadium across the water to see if they have won anything

It should be quite the day for you.

Thanks Maggie, I am indeed a proud resident of the Potteries, home of the worlds finest ceramics and have seen the Valiants twice lift a FL trophy and compete in an Anglo Italian final v Genoa, who was it you played? I would have thought you having had a head start on the rest of us 30 mins would not have been enough but it seems you have just failed for longer.

 

[shoddycollins]

Good unexpected win over Oldham for us.

We were excellent for most of the first hour.

Then after that was the most fucktarded negative approach to seeing out a 3-0 lead I think I’ve ever seen. Everything we were doing well, pressing high, closing players down... we stopped and sat back, then made a negative substitution that left our striker completely isolated. Could easily be looking at a replay here after that from Curle, the fucking clown.

Relieved and happy to have won 3-2. Really pleased for Richie Bennett, he’s been shit for us but last week and today he now looks like a footballer and has 3 in 2.

Hopefully a kinder draw in the next round, one of the part timers please.

Were saying that ourselves at the game, we were the better team because we were pressing, harrying and attacking at every opportunity, why on earth would we stop doing that, almost fucked it up good and proper but this has been a long time coming, and good to see Bennett scoring the kind of target-man goals we want from him, as well as Bob notching another. Good to see Etuhu and O'Sullivan back on the bench.

I was looking at the Oldham forum, they must have been watching a different game to us because apparently they battered us for ninety minutes and we couldn't get the ball off them and only went 3-0 up because of defensive fuck-ups from them. Oldham were wank in the first half but that was because we never let them settle, as soon as we sat back and gave them the space to string passes together they looked more dangerous. I can only assume Curle made the changes he did because he thought it would allow us to take it easy and that there was no way they would score three goals. numpty.

Shame they scored on the rebound for their second because it really was a world-class save from Bonham.

 

[ASFC Tom]

We're away at Guiseley who have 4 ex Stanley players in their squad. Since being in the league we haven't yet lost to a non-league side so hopefully won't start tomorrow.
Apparently we've sold nearly 500 tickets. Has FA Cup fever hit Accrington??

500 would represent a massive away following for us. Is it the novelty of going back to a non league ground like 'the good old days', or because the game is on a Sunday, or the FA cup? The Accrington public are a fickle lot

 

[Indian Dan]

I’ll be tuning in to our game at Dartford this afternoon.

Bless Fox Sports and a VPN.

 

[Laker]

This Sunday football is confusing but it's a bright sunny day with a nip in the air - perfect for a couple of pints before an afternoon kick-around with a few goals. Pity the result matters quite a bit really. Apparently a 400+ Amber Army will be travelling to watch the U's strut their stuff against the U's at the Abbey.

I couldn't bring myself to support Gorleston FC (The Greens) down the road at Histon yesterday, so I popped over to St Ives to watch City eventually put 4 past Fleet Town. It looks like they might just manage to get back in the Southern Premier in time for their move to Sawston - although they'll need to strengthen up front if they're going to manage to finish ahead of the Moneys (Moneyfields FC - formerly Portsmouth Civil Service Reserves) this season.

I asume (hope) today's team picks itself. I'm not aware of any injury issues, so it has to be the diamond to start with

Forde
Halliday, Legge, Taylor, Carroll
Deegan
Mingoia, Maris
Brown
Ibhere, Ikpeazu

I'm expecting Sutton to be well organised,well prepared and well up for it. Indifferent recent form is irrelevant. They'll be aware that our weakness tends to be down the left, whether Dunk or Carroll are playing, but are likely to struggle with our front two - their saving grace being our need for at least 10 chances per scoring shot.

I fear we may need a replay on their plastic pitch so 2 - 2 in front another disappointing FA Cup crowd of only 3,650. Then it's on to Accrington at home on Saturday, with a mid-week reserve match against Posh to give Mitov, Lewis, Amoo, Osadebe and our loanees Taft and Howkins a run out. Apparently Posh have almost sold out the South Stand for that one.

I'm going today (yay!) and well up for it - I've got so much more motivation for this game than the one against Chesterfield two weeks ago. It's the cup, we're at home (obviously), we've drawn a side lower than us who are high on confidence so will attack us. It's perfect.

We'll probably lose but that's by the by, we should fancy it. I agree with your team 100% and I said on our board during the week that playing a weakened side would probably see us knocked out. We need a good cup run in my opinion, something to capture the fans' imagination again. So yeah, full team, 2 up top. Go for it, make it a proper cup tie.

KTF. Up the U's.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Interesting quotes coming out of Kenny Jackett’s post match press conference following defeat at Luton.


“We knew we were up against it coming to Kenilworth Road. We felt that if we could get out of here with a 0-0 and get them back to Fratton Park, with a good week to 10 days to grow our grass, we could pull off a win in the replay”

“We can’t talk about luck – we have to make our own luck. We had a game plan to defend well and then grow the Fratton Park grass, but once we conceded a goal the whole plan was out of the window. Now we are out of the FA Cup, which is disappointing.”

I've been saying it...

 

[shoddycollins]

I've been saying it...

Pompey can stick their grass up their arse

 

[thewwfc]

2-0 up v Solihull Moors so far. Decent start, let's make sure we stay focused though - please, no switching off at the back or getting cocky.

 

[Vanni]

FFS Exeter, you're making me look like a right plonker. It's only Heybridge Swifts, and *where in god's name is Heybridge anyway?

*I do know where it is actually, but that's not my point.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Thanks Maggie, I am indeed a proud resident of the Potteries, home of the worlds finest ceramics and have seen the Valiants twice lift a FL trophy and compete in an Anglo Italian final v Genoa, who was it you played? I would have thought you having had a head start on the rest of us 30 mins would not have been enough but it seems you have just failed for longer.

I was just being realistic, I thought you would also want to visit Trent Bridge and maybe the Temple of Sin to complete the trio of Sports Stadia on the edge of the City Centre. Sadly no ceramics if you are into that kind of thing but sport we are well catered for.

Who did we play in the Anglo Italian Cup final at the old Wembley Stadium, well we played there twice in consecutive seasons. Losing to a Brescia side containing the great Hagi and beating Oliver Bierhoff’s Ascoli . This turned out to be a rare victory for the Anglo part of the equation , we did it for the Queen and country . We certainly didn’t get thumped in defeat, conceding 5.

Talking of back to back Wembley visits , make sure you take time to look at the section of the play offs which led the club England’s top flight

Great days, the Bradford City Final..... errr less so.

Now tell me about the FL Trophy sure sounds great ...

 

[Indian Dan]

Very comfortable 5-1 win. Not a bad game, either.

 

[Vanni]

Job done but the second half, playing with a man down after Maris was foolish enough to be sent off after 40 mins, sure made for some uncomfortable viewing from a U's fan perspective. Decent side Sutton are, and tbh they perhaps deserved a replay but for some poor finishing from their forwards and a couple of decent saves form Forde. Can see why they're up there in the conference.

We may have won but well done to Sutton nevertheless. They gave us a good game.

 

[jacobncfc]

17 of 24 in the hat is a great effort from League Two, well done to all involved. Particularly with so many of us beating League One teams.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Made hard work of that. The quality of Stockley shone through in the end. Happy to be in Round Two and that's all that matters

 

[GTFCfish]

17 of 24 in the hat is a great effort from League Two, well done to all involved. Particularly with so many of us beating League One teams.

Sorry.......

 

[Davidimp]

Sorry.......

^ WHS

 

[ValiantRob]

I was just being realistic, I thought you would also want to visit Trent Bridge and maybe the Temple of Sin to complete the trio of Sports Stadia on the edge of the City Centre. Sadly no ceramics if you are into that kind of thing but sport we are well catered for.

Who did we play in the Anglo Italian Cup final at the old Wembley Stadium, well we played there twice in consecutive seasons. Losing to a Brescia side containing the great Hagi and beating Oliver Bierhoff’s Ascoli . This turned out to be a rare victory for the Anglo part of the equation , we did it for the Queen and country . We certainly didn’t get thumped in defeat, conceding 5.

Talking of back to back Wembley visits , make sure you take time to look at the section of the play offs which led the club England’s top flight

Great days, the Bradford City Final..... errr less so.

Now tell me about the FL Trophy sure sounds great ...

Are they a tribute football team? I will indeed be visiting Trent Bridge this season but may pass up the chance to visit the maginificence that is Meadow Lane trophy extravaganza.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I think he played for the German National team, some say overrated.

Why would you pass it up? It’s half an hour and a chance to see the Anglo Italian Trophy . Look at what you could of won ... Super smashing great

 

[valefan16]

I think he played for the German National team, some say overrated.

Why would you pass it up? It’s half an hour and a chance to see the Anglo Italian Trophy . Look at what you could of won ... Super smashing great

Always good to say we played in a European Club Final in fairness, the great Montella was our downfall that day, very good Genoa side too. Assume you played in Rome one of the finals?

 

[Stanleyfan]

We have our keeper to thank that we are still in the hat - he pulled off about 4 excellent saves. We'll have to up our game in the replay if we're going to make it through.
Cant believe we're the only League 2 team that need a replay!

 

[Laker]

Job done but the second half, playing with a man down after Maris was foolish enough to be sent off after 40 mins, sure made for some uncomfortable viewing from a U's fan perspective. Decent side Sutton are, and tbh they perhaps deserved a replay but for some poor finishing from their forwards and a couple of decent saves form Forde. Can see why they're up there in the conference.

We may have won but well done to Sutton nevertheless. They gave us a good game.

At 1-0, and despite all their possession, I always felt reasonably comfortable. Derry basically backed them to have the ball wide in the belief they wouldn't a) cross the ball well or b) if they did, our defence would hold out. He was right.

Sutton did give us a good game and actually looked better when we had 11 in my opinion. Maris's dive was stupid and I sincerely hope he apologises to the fans for that. And I hope Derry plays him on Tuesday.

I really enjoyed today's game. It was tough but it was a great defensive effort from us, it was so pleasing to see such good organisation and strong fight from us. Loved it.

Home against someone ranked lower than us please. Or Boro home or away would kill off Tuesday night's abomination and be a hell of a game to look forward to.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Always good to say we played in a European Club Final in fairness, the great Montella was our downfall that day, very good Genoa side too. Assume you played in Rome one of the finals?

Why would assume that? Both were at the home of Football, Wembley Stadium.

Ah Montella was a fine player, looking at the scoreline and the goalscorers I believe you had more than one downfall that day.

At least old man Vale legend bagged two consolation goals for the travelling army

 

[valefan16]

Why would assume that? Both were at the home of Football, Wembley Stadium.

Ah Montella was a fine player, looking at the scoreline and the goalscorers I believe you had more than one downfall that day.

At least old man Vale legend bagged two consolation goals for the travelling army

1 cap wonder Ruotolo with a hatrick unfortunately... Foyle did indeed fulfil his childhood dream of scoring at the Southern Wembley after his many at the Wembley of the North

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Yup winning a European trophy is no walk in the park. We needed two bites at the cherry to get our hands on the trophy

 

[shoddycollins]

Always good to say we played in a European Club Final in fairness, the great Montella was our downfall that day, very good Genoa side too. Assume you played in Rome one of the finals?

Can we join the Anglo-Italian cup discussion. It gave us the opportunity to become the first non-Italian team to beat AS Roma in Rome. Beat em 4-2... scoring 4 goals past an Italian team, in Italy in the seventies really takes some doing.

 

[Indian Dan]

Bollocks did it. We beat them in the first ever Anglo Italian Cup in 1970. 3-1 in Rome.

 

[shoddycollins]

Bollocks did it. We beat them in the first ever Anglo Italian Cup in 1970. 3-1 in Rome.

Can't find evidence of this happening. You beat them on aggregate in 1969 though lost the away leg of the final and didn't play them in 1970.

 

[shoddycollins]

Well wraps up a very good first round for League Two, let's see who's in the hat for the next round and how they did.

Notts County (beat Bristol Rovers 4-2)
Port Vale (beat Oxford United 2-0)
Mansfield (beat Shaw Lane 3-1)
Carlisle (beat Oldham 3-2)
Crewe (beat Rotherham 2-1)
FGR (beat Macclesfield 1-0)
Luton (beat Pompey 1-0)
Morecambe (beat Hartlepool 3-0)
Stevenage (beat Nantwich 5-0)
Yeovil (beat Southend 1-0)
Newport (beat Walsall 2-1)
Cambridge (beat Sutton 1-0)
Coventry (beat Maidenhead 2-0)
Swindon (beat Dartford 5-1)
Exeter (beat Heybridge 3-1)
Wycombe (beat Solihull 2-0)

All of those apart from Mansfield, Wycombe and Exeter were home wins.

Only a few of us went out, they were
Crawley (beaten 2-1 by Wigan)
Grimsby (beaten 1-0 by Plymouth)
Colchester (beaten 1-0 by Oxford City)
Cheltenham (beaten 4-2 by Maidstone)
Chesterfield (beaten 2-0 by Bradford)
Barnet (beaten 3-1 by Blackburn)
Lincoln (beaten 1-0 by Wimbledon)

Cheltenham and Colchester both lost at home to non-league sides, the rest were away from home.

Accrington held Guiseley to a goalless draw to bring them back to Lancashire and so are also in the draw.

Non-League teams remaining in the hat are Fylde, Boreham Wood, Maidstone, Oxford City, Slough Town, Gateshead, Hereford, Tranmere (pending replay with Peterborough), Guiseley (pending replay with Accrington), Leatherhead or Billericay and Woking (pending replay with Bury), Chorley play Fleetwood tomorrow. A lot of shit non-league teams there.

 

[JJ1532]

Full list of ball numbers:

1 STEVENAGE
2 BRADFORD CITY
3 PORT VALE
4 NEWPORT COUNTY
5 MORECAMBE
6 YEOVIL TOWN
7 PETERBOROUGH UNITED OR TRANMERE ROVERS
8 CAMBRIDGE UNITED
9 FOREST GREEN ROVERS
10 AFC FYLDE
11 LUTON TOWN
12 SHREWSBURY TOWN
13 HEREFORD
14 GUISELEY OR ACCRINGTON STANLEY
15 BLACKBURN ROVERS
16 DONCASTER ROVERS
17 LEATHERHEAD OR BILLERICAY TOWN
18 BOREHAM WOOD
19 MANSFIELD TOWN
20 OXFORD CITY
21 PLYMOUTH ARGYLE
22 AFC WIMBLEDON
23 ROCHDALE
24 COVENTRY CITY
25 CHORLEY OR FLEETWOOD TOWN
26 CARLISLE UNITED
27 NOTTS COUNTY
28 SWINDON TOWN
29 MAIDSTONE UNITED
30 WOKING OR BURY
31 CREWE ALEXANDRA
32 GILLINGHAM
33 MILTON KEYNES DONS
34 SLOUGH TOWN
35 WYCOMBE WANDERERS
36 NORTHAMPTON TOWN OR SCUNTHORPE UNITED
37 CHARLTON ATHELTIC
38 WIGAN ATHLETIC
39 GATESHEAD
40 EXETER CITY

I'll take anyone at home in the 2nd, but ideally it would be a League One/Two team. Want to avoid a banana skin non-league opponent at all costs and make the third round. 13/16 League One teams, 16/17 League Two teams and 8/11 Non-League left in the 2nd round.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Jacob Mellis reliving the nightmare of Marek Stech there. Third miss of the season - why is he still on pens?

Other than the fact thats the first pen Mellis has missed this season.