All roads lead to Rome (Well, Wembley actually)

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I just bought a new Motorola phone. I wonder; if the bosses at Motorola realised, would they decide to sponsor Torquay Utd?

 

GAME ON

POMPEY v Harrow Borough
HALIFAX TOWN v Maidenhead Utd
Charlton Athletic v HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE

 

POMPEY 1-0 Harrow Borough
HALIFAX TOWN 7-4 Maidenhead Utd
Charlton Athletic 4-0 HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE

So it's POMPEY, HALIFAX TOWN and CHARLTON ATHLETIC into Round Two

 

Round Two

POMPEY V Harrogate Town
The Sulphurites are now in their 2nd season in the Football League and are currently in playoff contention in League Two.
They will be aiming to reach Round Three for the first time, having reached this stage last season and, in 2012-13, when they were in National Leagur North.
They are in this round on the back of a 2-1 home win over National League side Wrexham.
Last season they went out with a 0-4 home defeat to Blackpool in Round Two

KIdderminster Harriers v FC HALIFAX TOWN
The Carpetmen are in National League North, a level below the visitors
They reached Round Five in 1993-94. They also won the National League that season but were denied promotion as their ground did not reach the specified safety standards for the Football league in time.
They have already won four ties to get this far, having dispatched Sporting Khalsa, Ware, Bedfont Sports Club and Grimsby Town
Last season they went out on penalties to Alvechurch in the 2nd Qualifying Round.

CHARLTON ATHLETIC must wait to discover their opponents. They will be away to either Gateshead or Altrincham, who replay on the 16th November.

 

Round One Replay

Altrincham 2-3 Gateshead

So our final tie is Gateshead v CHARLTON ATHLETIC
The Heed were founded in1977, when the original Gateshead Utd folded.
They are currently in National League North, 3 levels below the visitors.
They have so far beaten Bradford Park Avenue, Runcorn Linnets, Marske Utd and Altrincham.
Their best performance was Round Three in 2014-15
Last season they lost 2-1 at Chorley in the 2nd Qualifying Round

 

Having had a very busy month of December, it has suddenly dawned on me that this thread had disappeared off the front page as I had not followed up on Round Two or the draw for Round Three!

So here goes:

POMPEY 1-2 Harrogate Town
Kidderminster Harriers 2-0 FC HALIFAX TOWN
Gateshead 0-2 CHARLTONATHLETIC

Round THREE details to follow.....

 

Round THREE
Sat 8 Jan

KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS v Reading
The Royals are in the Championship, so are four levels above the Red Baton holders.
They are entering the competition at this stage
Their best performance is the semi-finals, which they reached in 1927 and 2015
Last season they lost 1-0 at Luton in Round Three.

 

Sun 9 Jan
12:30

Luton Town v HARROGATE TOWN
In the Jim Bowen tie, Harrogate visit the Hatters, who are two levels above them, in the Championship
Luton are entering the competion at this stage
Their best performance was in 1959, when they were runners up, losing 2-1 to Nottingham Forest in the final.
Last season they went out in Round Four, loosing 3-1 at Chelsea

 

Sun 9 Jan
14:00

CHARLTON ATHLETIC v Norwich City
The Canaries lie, for the time being, two divisions above their League One hosts
The Premier League's basement club are entering the competition at this stage
Their best performance is the semi-finals, which the have reached three times, most recently in 1992.
Last season they lost 1-0 at Barnsley in Round FOUR

 

KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS 2-1 Reading
So the romance of the FA Cup is alive and well as the Carpetmen, of National League North march on at the expense of their Championship visitors!

 

Luton Town 4-0 HARROGATE TOWN
CHARLTON ATHLETIC 0-1 Norwich City

So it's KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS, LUTON TOWN and NORWICH CITY in Round FOUR

 

Round FOUR

KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS v West Ham
The Hammers, being in the Premier League, are five divisions above their hosts
They have won the cup three times, most recently in 1980, when they became the last side from outside the top flight to win the trophy when they shocked Arsenal 1-0 in the final.
They are here courtesy of a 2-0 win over Leeds United
Last season they went out with a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United in Round FIVE

Cambridge United v LUTON TOWN
The U's are one division below their Championship visitors
Their best effort is the Quarter Finals (Round SIX) which they achieved in back to back season in 1990 and 1991.
Before their shock victory at Newcastle, they had already disposed of Northampton Town and Exeter City i this season's cup run
Last season they went out after a 0-2 home defeat by Shrewsbury Town in Round ONE.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v NORWICH CITY
Wolves are acquaintances of the visitors i this all Premier League tie
They have won the cup four times, although the most recent win was in 1960.
They are here by virtue of a 3-0 win over Championship Sheffield United in the last round
Last season they fell in Round FIVE, suffering a 0-2 reverse at home to Southampton

Ties to be played on the weekend including Saturday 5th February.

As in Round Three, there are no replays, so games will go into extra time ans penalties if required.

 

Round Four

KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS 1-2 (AET) West Ham
Cambridge Utd 0-3 LUTON TOWN
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 NORWICH CITY

So we are now starting to reach the business end of the competition as the last 16 teams reach ROUND FIVE

Southampton v WEST HAM
We start with an all Premier League tie as Saints host the Red Baton holders.
They famously won the cup as a Second Division (Championship) side when Bobby Stokes gained his place in Saints folklore with the winner against Manchester Utd.
They have so far dispatched Championship sides Swansea City and Coventry City, with both ties going to Extra Time
They reached the semi-finals last season, where they were beaten by eventual winners Leicester City

LUTON TOWN v Chelsea
The Pensioners are a division above their championship hosts
They have lifted the trophy on eight occasions, most recently in 2018
Their run so far has seen them knock out Chesterfield, of the National league and League One Plymouth Argyle, who took them to Extra Time at Stamford Bridge.
They were last season's Runners-Up

Liverpool v NORWICH CITY
The Reds welcome their Premier League counterparts to Anfield for the second all-Premier League fixture in our trio.
The seven times winners have to go back to 2006 for their last triumph in the competition.
They have enjoyed comfortable wins over Shrewsbury Town and Cardiff City to set up a third consecutive home tie.
They have gone a step further than last season, when they went down 3-2 in Round Four at Old Trafford.

Ties to be played mid-week, in the week including Wednesday 2nd March

 

All three ties take place this evening
Luton v Chelsea kicks off at 7:15
Southampton v West Ham at 7:30
Liverpool v Norwich at 8:15

 

For the second season running the three threads have avoided each other for the maximum period of time, so there be no cross-over until the semi finals.
Liverpool will find out their quarter final opponents on Monday, but we have two of our three fixtures settled.

Middlesbrough v CHELSEA
Boro are one of two remaining Championship sides in the quarter finals.
Their best performance came in 1997, when they were runners up, losing 2-0 in the final against........Chelsea.
They have so far knocked out Mansfield Town, Manchester Utd and Tottenham Hotspur
Last season they fell at the first hurdle, going out in Round Three with a 2-1 defeat at Brentford

SOUTHAMPTON v Manchester City
The Cityzens have lifted the trophy on six occasions, most recently in 2019.
They have so far dispatched Swindon Town, Fulham and Peterborough United, so this is their first FA Cup tie this season against a fellow Premier League club.
Last season they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the Semi Finals

 

Nottingham Forest 2-1 Huddersfield Town

So Forest complete the draw for the quarter finals and make up the third of our baton games.

Nottingham Forest v LIVERPOOL
Forest are one of two side remaining from outside the Premier League
They have won the cup twice, but their most recent triumph was way back in 1959
Having already knocked out Premier League sides Arsenal and holders Leicester City, before their win over Huddersfield, the hosts will have no fear as they go into this contest.
Last season their cup run came to an abrupt end at Swansea, where they were thrashed 5-1 in Round Four.

 

Middlesbrogh 0-2 CHELSEA
SOUTHAMPTON 1-4 Manchester City
Nottingham Forest 0-1 LIVERPOOL

So, just like last year, the three batons have avoided each other right upto the semi finals!

MANCHESTER CITY v LIVERPOOL
This is only the sixth time these two sides have met in the FA Cup. Liverpool have won the last three tires, in 1988, 2001 and 2003. The previous two were won by City in replays, 1956 and 1973.

CHELSEA v Crystal Palace
The Eagles are the one side in the semis who have never won the cup. They have been runners up twice; in 1990 and 2016.
They have reached this stage by beating Millwall, Hartlepool, Stoke City and Everton.
Last season they fell at the first hurdle, going down 1-0 at Wolves
It's 3-2 to Palace as far as previous FA Cup encounters go. The previous meeting between the sides in this competition was way back in 1976, when Palace won 3-2 at Stamford Bridge

Matches to be played on the week-end of Saturday 16th April

 

So it's the RED road that has been eliminated!

We're down to the Final!

CHELSEA v LIVERPOOL

 

This is the 12th time the two sides have met in the FA Cup. The first time was in the Quarter Finals of 1931-32, when Chelsea won 0-2 at Anfield. The most recent meeting was in Round Five, in 2019-20, when the Pensioners won by the same scoreline at Stamford Bridge. Overall, Chelsea lead 7-4.

In all competitions there have been 83 wins for Liverpool, 65 for Chelsea and 43 draws

This is only the second time that both the League Cup and FA Cup finals have been contested by the same two sides. The only other occasion was in 1992-93 when both finals were between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday.
Arsenal did the domestic double that season, winning 2-1 in the League Cup final and 3-2 in the FA Cup.