2014/15 FA Cup Thread

Saving the PL for embarrassment. Had the toughest game out of the so called top teams yet we are the only side into the next round.

Fifth round draw.

Preston North End or Sheffield United v Cambridge United or Manchester United

Crystal Palace v Liverpool or Bolton Wanderers

Arsenal v Middlesbrough

Aston Villa v Leicester City

West Brom v West Ham

Bradford City v Sunderland or Fulham

Blackburn Rovers v Rochdale or Stoke

Derby County v Reading

Well I like the Derby County v Reading tie since it means at the least of one lower league team left!

Liverpool through to the fifth round after a deflected Coutinho shot goes in against the ten men of Bolton Wanderers.

Saturday 14th Feb

West Brom v West Ham (BT)

Bradford City v Sunderland

Blackburn Rovers v Stoke City

Derby County v Reading

Crystal Palace v Liverpool (BT)

Sunday 15th Feb

Aston Villa v Leicester City (BBC)

Arsenal v Middlesbrough (BT)


Monday 16th Feb

Preston North End v Manchester United (BBC)
Did anyone know that the final is on Steven Gerrard's birthday by the way?  I'm surprised the commentators haven't mentioned it.

You seem very rattled by Liverpool today.

Huh, i actually didn't know it was on Gerrard's birthday.

Preston North End v Manchester United should be good since Preston is the team Manchester United loaned David Beckham for the 1994/95 season.

That's going to be an emotional one for me.

Bantered him right off there

I think RR said that he is from Preston, so he might have actually been serious. Not that he is really capable of emotion.

Much as I'd like to have been that sarcastic Glen has it right.  Preston were the first team I ever supported before being seduced by Clive Tyldsley, Manchester United and the Champions League.  Hopefully the beating we inflict on them isn't too severe.

I was the same way.  I only got into football when I finally got satellite television in 2006, and I had hoped to be a Nottingham Forest fan until I realised that they were never on the television.  I think Peter Crouch might have convinced me to support Liverpool, but I can't be sure.

I always supported Arsenal. Being an immigrant meant I never had ties to shitty small teams.

Keyser Söze wrote:I always supported Arsenal. Being an immigrant meant I never had ties to shitty small teams.

Do small teams win the First Division in 1978, the Football Alliance in 1892, the FA Cup in in 1898 and 1959, the Football League Cup in 1978 and 1979 and 1989 and 1990, the European Cup in 1979 and 1980, the European Super Cup in 1979, the Anglo-Scottish Cup in 1977, the Bass Charity Vase in 1899, 2001, and 2002, the Trofeo Colombino Cup in 1982, and the Brian Clough trophy 5 times?  Ive never wrote anything on the internet, have you. Then again maybe you should learn to understand, or that sometimes its not meant for retards and thats why you have never understood.

Do small teams go the whole season undefeated? In all competitions by the way, not like Arsenal when they did it and lost to half of Europe across the season.

When I first started following English football I decided to support Reading because I loved the story about their history and that they were new to the Premier League.  Granted it hard to find any of their games on TV but I still try to keep track.

Back to the FA Cup and the 5th tie @ Derby County I would be okay if we went out in this round because the team really needs to focus on the league and needs to not get sucked into the relegation race.

Next round will be Liverpool vs Arsenal and then Manchester United will get another bye with one of Reading, Blackburn or Bradford.

Liverpool at Anfield is the only draw I desperately want to avoid. If we avoid that then I think our chances of retaining the cup are very good.

Other fans are scared of us.   Can't blame you.

Are Oezil and Giroud actually playing well & hitting form besides the improved stats?

I have to say that since coming back from injury Ozil has improved. Not massively, he still doesn't justify the £42million we spent, but he is playing at a respectable level. He's still not the 'control a game' type of player I think his price tag merits but in all honesty I don't think he was ever that type of player nor will ever become that type of player.

I still think Giroud is cancer. Both his goals today were from near posts runs that he's always made so nothing new there.

Mate, Ozil has been tremendous since coming back.

Giroud is underrated imo

Ra's al Ghul wrote:Mate, Ozil has been tremendous since coming back.

I did say he had improved and was playing at a decent level. I don't know, maybe I personally wouldn't say he's been "amazing" or such purely because of the teams we've played. Bar Spurs every other team we've played has been ridiculously shit so I guess I taper his performances because of that. Quality of opposition aside, I thought he was excellent against Villa and our best player against Leicester, although that's not hard considering how poor we were in that game. I still think he should be playing better though.

SBSP wrote:Giroud is underrated imo

By whom? I've never heard a pundit say a bad word about him.

By you

LOL greatest draw ever

Delicious draw Was so certain we'd get Arsenal at the Emirates.

Hope United win now, just so they can knock out Arsenal.

Seems set up for a Liverpool/United final on Gerrard's birthday, you just know it's gonna happen.

Then he'll cost us the game, of course.

Jesus Christ, Man United are so shit.

Obviously it's not a preferable draw but it's one I think we can manage. As I said before, avoiding Liverpool was the priority for me.