This Saturday we embark on the road to Wembley.
Now at what junction we exit or whether we make the complete journey remains to be seen. In reality we`re honest enough to acknowledge that we`re never going to be challenging for the Premier League but there`s no reason why we can`t have a decent stab at a domestic cup competition, which leads me to ask whether 2013 could really be the year Fulham win the FA Cup?
Of course it would be foolish to assume we`ve a divine right to march on the majestic stadium believing any opposition we face will just fall by the wayside. On Saturday we face Blackpool, in the third round, with the seaside club having a far more illustrious record in the competition than ourselves.
But that`s what the FA Cup is about isn`t it – history, past and (making it) the present!
The FA Cup 3rd round looks to have come at an opportune moment for Fulham, any reservations about our recent form were eased with that wonderful victory at the Hawthorns last time out, a result hat has had Brede Hangeland crowing,
“The game proved to ourselves and to everyone else that we can get results against most teams. We`ve always known the quality is there, it is just a matter of producing it. The West Brom win was a step in the right direction.”
Unfortunately, if Martin Jol was looking towards the FA Cup to rest some of his weary troops, those plans may be thwarted by the squad depth being stretched due to injury, but that can be a good thing, keeping the same tight group of individuals in harness could work in our favour.
Naturally, the Fulham faithful will be looking towards Dimitar Berbatov for inspiration and Bryan Ruiz to combine with the talented Bulgarian but Blackpool, as is often the case in the FA Cup, will be seeking to pull off something of a giant killing.
The Tangerines may have lost their Premier League status and the days of Ian Holloway are long confined to the history books, but the youthful verve provided by the likes of Tom Ince could unsettle any defence, let alone ours.
So, as we all look down that distant road towards the famous arch and a possible date with destiny, caution is the by-word, one step at a time, tackle by tackle, shot by shot, pass by pass and you just never know what fate may lie waiting for us!
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