As we head off to Accrington to take on Stanley at their 5,000 capacity Crown Ground, you sense that Roy Hodgson really fancies having a go at the FA Cup this season.
But, as we`ve already touched on today, there is always the chance of a shock and if Stanley were to dump us out of the FA Cup it would rank as one of the shocks of the season.
Ahead of the game, Roy has spoken about the threat Accrington might present with regards t a shock, commenting,
‘For Accrington Stanley, the FA Cup is the moment of glory.”
‘They are sitting pretty in League Two, but for glory they need to knock a Premier League team out of the FA Cup. “
‘We are the potential mugs, and we have got to make certain we are not mugged up there.”
‘The FA Cup has lost some of the glamour, but it is still there for the smaller clubs, no question about it.”
‘A club like Accrington Stanley preparing to play a Premier League team and for Leeds United to win at Old Trafford – these are the things which keep the glory alive.’
I`ve got to admit the mug reference brought a smile to my face. But, continuing, Roy went on to admit that he`d sill like to win the FA Cup, possibly realising a dream, when he remarked,
‘Like every other manager I am hoping one day to go to Wembley with a team and lift the FA Cup.’
‘While that dream remains and while that ambition is still alive the teams I coach will do everything to try to achieve that.”
‘We are in a nice position in the league and are looking fairly stable.”
‘We are not playing that badly and there is no reason whatsoever that if teams like Chelsea are still fighting for the championship and performing on all fronts, then Fulham can do so as well.”
‘That is why I will not be giving the players any reasons or any excuses for prioritising or being nonchalant about one or other of the competitions.’
Great to hear that this season we`re finally going to give it a real go, in the last couple of seasons you get the feeling that survival in the Premier League has been of paramount importance.
Finishing, Roy acknowledges that on the domestic front there are only two major trophies and with one being out of our grasp, the FA Cup. Significantly, Roy believes that on our day Fulham can beat anyone, commenting,
‘I also think there are two major trophies to win domestically and the FA Cup is one of them.”
‘For a lot of teams these days, our chances of winning the Premier League are not that great because of the differences of budgets, whereas the FA Cup is a knock-out competition.”
‘If Leeds can knock out Manchester United, then why cannot Fulham knock out a top team?’
Is it tempting fate to book that trip to Wembley in May?
After all 1975 seems a long, long time ago!
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