Tradition. One of the first words which comes to mind when I think of the FA Cup and specifically, the third round weekend. For football fans, especially those who support a lower league team drawn to face a giant, this moment is the perfect antidote to any January gloom.
And January 2021 is doing gloom like few before.
There was such optimism among supporters of Marine, the Merseyside coastal community club who began their run in September by almost losing to Barnoldswick, and who now face a Tottenham side who were top of the Premier League when the draw was made in December. The extra spring in their step was that then, they were in tier 2 and were dreaming of fans in the ground. The Marine squad includes NHS workers and it would be just like the FA Cup if one of they were able to score against a club already looking forward to one cup final this season.
The third round weekend has thrown up yet more confusion in this season’s competition. Inevitably with a much higher level of Covid testing taking place, many clubs are reporting significant numbers of positive results. Both Aston Villa and Middlesbrough will field teams made up of young players. The Derby County first team squad will miss their club’s visit to Chorley, however Southampton’s match against Shrewsbury has been postponed, it’s unclear to me what the difference is? That Villa will complete tonight’s fixture with Liverpool in the cup, yet their Premier League match next Wednesday against Spurs is considered “in doubt” also seems odd. If a club can or is expected to play one match, unless the virus outbreak gets even worse then surely they can play both?
Across the EFL more than one hundred positive tests have been returned with 40 in the Premier League. The question of should football even be continuing is not going away. Newcastle manager Steve Bruce calling it “morally wrong”.
“I understand people want to see a game of football but we are just as vulnerable as everybody else. The speed which it hit our club within hours of each other, it was quite incredible how it rips through you. It’s difficult to contain and stop and it leaves people sick.”
Yet whilst there remains a complicated combination of fixture congestion, TV revenue and a rearranged European Championships looming in the summer, how much worse do things need to get before somebody decides this has gone too far?
Amidst all of this, Oldham’s home match with Bournemouth has been switched to the south coast for the old fashioned reason of a frozen pitch, but this in itself shows how desperate the FA are to get this round completed now. Fans or no fans, in any other season home advantage wouldn’t be tossed aside so easily
Glory Hunting 