logo
ENع
An FA Cup quarter-final lineup that Ron Manager would approve of

An FA Cup quarter-final lineup that Ron Manager would approve of

The Guardian03-03-2025

Football Daily didn't get where it is today wittering on like Ron Manager about the magic of the FA Cup. However, we are old enough to remember the glory days when the final was a day-long showpiece TV event. Interviews on the team bus to Wembley … yes, please. Ossie's knees all trembly, eh? Helicopters overhead, isn't it? Saint & Greavsie. Trevor Brooking scores with a header despite famously not scoring many headers, you know. Eh? The Crazy Gang v The Culture Club. Sweaty shirts and muddy boots. Buttonhole carnations, Steve Foster's headband and Smith must score. The Anfield Rap. Brian Moore's 'another look at referee Hackett's watch'. Kevin Moran's red card. Mick Channon and 'the boy Line-acre', innit? Gary Mabbutt's knee. Halcyon days. Marvellous.
In recent decades, the famous old competition has undeniably lost of some of its allure, with the subject of it losing its magic becoming so hackneyed that not only have radio phone-ins about the FA Cup losing its magic lost their magic, but even this email's flogged-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life riff on radio phone-ins about the FA Cup losing its magic losing their magic has long since lost its magic. Mercifully, help is finally at hand in the form of a quarter-final draw for this year's competition that is, if not Harry Potter-esque, at least far more open than the top of the double-decker bus on which the eventual winners will hopefully parade along the streets of – with all due respect to serial FA Cup-hogger Pep – Fulham, Birmingham, Croydon, Preston, Bournemouth, Brighton, Nottingham or Ipswich.
Having failed to achieve a single thing of note throughout Football Daily's 40+ years of taking an interest in football, the mighty Preston North End have happily taken on what Rio Ferdinand would describe as the mantelpiece of this year's fairytale side, the anti-yoyo, never-go-up never-go-down Championship staples becoming the lowest ranked team left in the competition after becoming the first team to score against Burnley since every team and their dog were banging them in for fun during the Vincent Kompany b@ntz era. Having secured a home draw against Aston Villa, who are no great shakes on the road, who is to say that Paul Heckingbottom's side cannot go on to add to their tally of two FA Cup wins, the last of which came in 1938.
Without wins to their name at all, Fulham, Palace, Bournemouth and Brighton will also fancy their chances while, Manchester City aside, the most recent skipper of the remaining trio of Nottingham Forest, Ipswich and Aston Villa to receive the Cup from the gloved hands of female royalty was Portman Road legend Mick Mills in 1978. It was Princess Alexandra, the Honorable Lady Ogilvy who did the honours over 40 years ago but she has since been replaced on Wembley duty by Prince William. While the heir to the throne would almost certainly like nothing better than to present this season's trophy to John McGinn, he's been in the game long enough to be able to plaster on a fake smile when Aston Villa or whichever other side of plucky pre-tournament outsiders are inevitably steamrollered by Manchester City.
Join Michael Butler at 7.30pm GMT for updates on Nottingham Forest 2-0 Ipswich in the FA Cup fifth round.
You know how many shots went over? Look at other games. Normally the ball goes inside from these shots' – Pep Guardiola blames the FA Cup ball for his Manchester City players peppering shots into the Etihad stands with alarming regularity in their FA Cup win over Plymouth. The FA said his complaints were a load of balls.
What percentage of people in the man v beast survey (Friday's Football Daily) thought they could beat a lion? Just wondering, as the chap in the Road to Wembley photo looks pretty confident' – Jim Hearson.
As a teenager of the 1980s, I was delighted to see Football Daily quote Echo & The Bunnymen's The Cutter in Friday's last line. As singer Ian McCulloch is famously a Liverpool fan, he may now with some Pride be expecting Silver in May whilst reminding us In Bluer Skies down the East Lancs Road that, in The Game we love, Nothing Lasts Forever' – Nick Howarth Pulleyn (and no other 80s indie fans).
I look forward to Big Sir Jim's latest menu at the cut-price Old Trafford restaurant offering Feeble Wings, saucy headlines, Nevilled eggs and, of course, a proper stuffing – but nothing from the Glazer gravy train' – Mark McFadden.
When Millwall manager Alex Neil said of this kamikaze challenge, by his goalkeeper on Jean-Philippe Mateta, that 'he's tried to get the ball, he's mistimed it and caught the lad' – presumably he means 'mistimed' in the sense that a better time would have been at the World Karate Championships in August' – Noble Francis.
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today's letter o' the day winner is … Mark McFadden, who gets our last copy of David Squires' latest book Chaos in The Box. We'll be in touch. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.
Join Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning and the Football Weekly podcast crew as they chew over the FA Cup fifth-round action and more.
And when you play, we follow, we follow, we follow … 'cause we support the Palace, the Palace, the Palace. Well, not really but we are following The Eagles in our FA Cup exercise now after their tasty 3-1 win over Millwall in the fifth round. It was a match most notable for an horrific head-high challenge by Lions goalkeeper Liam Roberts that sent Jean-Philippe Mateta to hospital with a cut that required 25 stitches behind his ear. And it could have been much worse. It brought to mind Toni Schumacher's cleaning out of France's Patrick Battiston at the 1982 World Cup. Palace chief suit Steve Parish had this to say. 'In all the time I've watched football, I've never seen a challenge like it,' he said. 'It is the most reckless challenge on a football pitch I think I've ever seen.' Yikes. Thankfully Mateta is recovering well after a trip to hospital. He may even be fit for the quarter-final tie at Fulham, which we'll be following avidly.
Big Sir Jim is still putting the pennies, pounds and postal orders in a vice at Manchester United. Now the club is exploring cutting short a 10-year lease agreement for their London offices in Kensington. Last May, the majority shareholder banned working from home, to the bemusement of staff who noted that there's not enough space at either their Manchester or London offices to accommodate everybody … with some corporate boxes at Old Trafford being repurposed as temporary workspaces on non-match days. Good luck everyone.
In related news, Manchester United won't be earning any further revenue from the FA Cup this season.
Rangers are close to being taken over by the owners of noted Big In The 80s And 90s USA USA USA concern the San Francisco 49ers, with a 51% stake in the club nearing the ink- and wax-sealed point.
Kick it Out and Her Game Too are to work together on a new reporting system for reporting sexism and misogyny at matches, in response to the growth in abuse of female fans – 'an important step to ensuring that those who experience discrimination are listened to and have the support they need', says Kick it Out chief Hollie Varney.
Fifa's new 16-team Women's Club World Cup could be delayed beyond its previously-proposed 2026 launch, Big Website has learned.
A vote on scrapping WSL relegation is on the way at the end of the season, Matt Hughes and Suzanne Wrack have the scoop.
French football's relationship with officials is under scrutiny again after Lyon head coach Paulo Fonseca placed himself nose-to-nose with referee Benoît Millot after being shown a red card during his side's victory over Brest. The 'intimidating' confrontation could land the Portuguese a seven-month ban.
Rodri's ACL-knack … might not be 'season-ending' after all, according to Pep Guardiola. His return 'may be before the end of the season in the Premier League' after his recovery has exceeded expectations.
Eddie Howe reckons Anthony Gordon's red card for shoving Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke was 'harsh' and hinted Newcastle may appeal. As things stand, the auto-ban would mean his forward will miss the Fizzy Cup final.
Manchester United forward Geyse has opened up on an 'agonising and lonely feeling' at the WSL club and is closing on a loan move to Gotham FC. The Brazilian was recently granted compassionate leave following the death of her brother in January.
Dele Alli was named in a matchday squad for the first time in two years as Roma narrowly beat 10-man Como in Serie A. He didn't play but, hey, he's getting closer.
Gary Caldwell has been linked with the Wigan job after fan-favourite Shaun Maloney was bundled through the door marked Do One over the weekend.
And who would have thought a year ago that an effigy of an apparent money-grabbing Jürgen Klopp would be joining satirical takes on some of the world's worst people at the Rose Monday carnival in Dusseldorf? Well, here it is.
From bits at Bournemouth to starring in a Serie A title tilt? Philip Billing emerged from the bench to earn Napoli a point that keeps the race alive, toots Nicky Bandini.
The biggest threat to 'young' Ronaldo's hopes of breaking his major trophy duck with Al-Nassr in the troubled AFC Champions League Elite? Other big-name Saudi Pro League imports at rival clubs, reckons John Duerden.
Stuttgart keeper Alexander Nübel belongs to Bayern, though he didn't mean to give his parent club such a helping hand in their 150th birthday celebration.
As Fulham's FA victory over a fading Old Trafford institution showed, Marco Silva could teach Ruben Amorim a thing or two about forming a workable plan, sniffs John Brewin.
Jacob Steinberg talks hamstrings, as a new, often missed brand of twang is badly hitting today's players.
Washington Spirit's Jonatan Giráldez gets his chat on with Tom Garry about coaching in a country where entertainment is king.
Paul MacInnes attended the Business of Football Summit to spare you all from it … and found the relentless pursuit of money butting against any hope of competitive balance.
And flying feet? Mitre ball moans? The weekend's FA Cup action sprouted a fair few talking points. Here are 10 for starters. And here are the key takeaways from the latest round of WSL matches, too.
Fulham fans are dreaming of Wembley again, which reminded us of this epic photograph of Harry Fowler, Honor Blackman, Alan Price and David Hamilton getting in the mood for the FA Cup final in 1975.

Hashtags

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

'Snobbery' over Scottish talent has left national game at crisis point
'Snobbery' over Scottish talent has left national game at crisis point

The Herald Scotland

timean hour ago

  • The Herald Scotland

'Snobbery' over Scottish talent has left national game at crisis point

'We're always looking ahead. We're involved in Olympic sports and we look four years, eight years, even 12 years down the line. We look at pathways and what we've got coming through.' Does Ferguson think that this country's leading football clubs have the same forward-thinking attitude? Does he believe their chairmen, managers, owners, chief executives and sporting directors are safeguarding the future of our national game? Is he hopeful that Scotland will flourish as a result of the farsighted groundwork they are laying now? The posts about the number of homegrown and under-21 players who were involved in the Premiership last season which he fired up on the X (formerly Twitter) social media platform last week suggested that he very much does not. Read more: The statistics which he personally collated were highly concerning. But here are two of the most startling. He showed that the overall percentage of Scots to start top flight games during the 2024/25 campaign was just 31.46 per cent. That was down from 45 per cent three years ago. In addition, he highlighted that, on average, just four out of the 132 players who kicked games off in the elite division every weekend were under the age of 21 and originally hailed from these shores. He can foresee major issues arising in the future as a consequence. 'I started doing this back in around 2018 or 2019,' said Ferguson. 'I went back to the 1980s and 1990s and looked at the trend of more non-Scots coming into the Scottish game. I tracked the summer and winter signings and looked at the team sheets every week. It worried me back then, but it's getting worse every year. 'When I started doing this, the number of Scots who were starting every week on average was at about 48 to 49 per cent. Now it is down in the low 30s. I think it is a major problem already. And it is only going to get worse and worse. There needs to be an intervention before it becomes an even bigger problem. 'It's not just the Premiership where it's a problem now, it's feeding down into the lower divisions as well. When you look at a line-up of a Championship team, there are often a lot of non-Scots in there. We are reaching a crisis point. We can be producing far more players than we are.' (Image: SNS Group) So what, if anything, does Ferguson feel can be done to turn things around? The man who has just helped Stenhousemuir to secure a play-off place in their first season up in League One admits that he is puzzled by the Premiership clubs' reliance on overseas players. He has long been convinced they would be better off shopping local. 'I have always felt, going right back to my own playing days, that Scottish players and probably Scottish staff don't get the recognition that they were due when they were playing at a lower level,' he said. 'They were never picked up. 'There have been so many examples of that over the years. But Lawrence Shankland is the one really jumped out to me. I can remember watching him when I was the manager at Stenhousemuir and we played Ayr United. He was the difference in the game. 'I went and spoke to Hearts about him. I got told, 'Yeah, we've had him watched, but we don't think he's quick enough, we don't think he's strong enough'. They had so many reasons for not signing him. 'But they went straight out and signed David Vanecek from a club in the second tier in the Czech Republic. He lasted five or six months and then he was gone. I looked at that and thought, 'Why not look at the best players in the leagues below here?'. Hearts eventually signed Lawrence, but they could have had him years earlier if they had just taken a chance.' Read more: Ferguson is optimistic that Scottish clubs will look at the success which Falkirk have enjoyed under John McGlynn in the past couple of years – they have won League One and the Championship in successive seasons – and realise that promoting promising talent from the lower leagues can yield impressive results. 'Falkirk have been a breath of fresh air for me,' he said. 'They've taken players up from the Lowland League, they've even looked at the East of Scotland League. Those players have made big jumps up. 'Not all of them will be able to step up. But a lot of them have and are progressing. They have had an unbelievable couple of seasons. For me, John should be getting far more recognition for what he has done.' Ferguson continued, 'I just think there's snobbery across the Scottish game. There are a lot of good players in Scotland, but the pathway is not there for them. The opportunities for them to play at the top are so limited it's incredible. 'There has been talk about a Scottish goalkeeping crisis recently. For me, there is a bit of snobbery there too. Nicky Hogarth at Falkirk is a far better goalkeeper than the lad Cieran Slicker at Ipswich Town. Now, that might not be the case in the future. But at this moment in time Hogarth has won back-to-back league titles and is a better player. (Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) 'Hogarth has been at Rangers and Nottingham Forest as a young player, Slicker has been at Manchester City and Ipswich Town. So they both have a good grounding. But Slicker, a player who has never played a league game, gets selected for the national squad. For me, that kind of belittles playing for your country. Why not give Hogarth a chance? 'I think there are players there now who could easily make the step up to the Premiership. Not every player is going to make the grade, that's just never going to happen. But there are a lot of players who will get recruited from other countries who will come and go in the blink of an eye. Fans will forget about them in a couple of weeks. 'But I don't think the fanbase helps things ether if I am being honest. People don't get as excited about signing a player or a manager from the Championship as they do about bringing in a foreign player or manager. The media is exactly the same.' Ferguson has also witnessed first hand a reluctance to field the best kids who are coming through the youth ranks at Premiership clubs despite the obvious ability they possess and the success which those who have, often because his manager has had no other choice, been promoted have enjoyed. 'There are also young players within academies who are good enough,' he said. 'I have worked at Rangers and seen players who could step up and play first team football far sooner. There are kids out there who aren't getting anywhere close first team football at the age of 19, 20, 21. I don't understand that. 'If Callum McGregor was a youth coming through at Celtic now I don't think he would be given an opportunity. When he broke through Rangers were in the lower reaches of Scottish football and they could maybe afford to take a risk with him. Would they play him now? 'Scott Brown, who is Celtic's second most successful captain, only got his chance at Hibs when his manager Bobby Williamson was told that he needed to play youngsters. All of a sudden, they brought through a handful and they all went on to have really, really good careers. Would they have flourished if there wasn't a crisis? 'There are lots of those kind of examples. Adam Forrester got thrown in at Hearts when they had a right-back crisis and he has now played 30 odd games. He's not a youngster either, he is 20. James Wilson only got his chance because Lawrence Shankland was injured. They had to throw him in. They had no option. 'Do I think he would be in that team if Hearts had four strikers? No, I don't. Do I think he would be in the Scotland squad? No, I don't. I am delighted he is now in the national set-up. But there are not enough of these kind of players.' Read more: Ferguson continued, 'Another issue is that there are so many players on the bench now. What used to happen when three substitutes were allowed was there would be 14 players stripped, two in the stand and the rest would be playing somewhere else, in a reserve match or whatever. 'Now you've got 19 to 20 players stripped and another three sitting in the stands. Those players are nowhere near playing in a football match because they've got so many players in front of them. Squads are so swollen now. Even if you are a really good young player you need to get in front of four or five senior players to get in. 'It's difficult for any manager to say. 'I really like this 17-year-old, he's going straight in the team'. He needs to put that kid above three, four, five different senior players. Why would you want to have such a big squad and have a youth academy as well? That doesn't allow kids to progress. There are so many things that happen at the top level that don't make sense to me.' The Cooperation System which the SFA rolled out last week – which will see up to three Scotland qualified players at Premiership and Championship clubs move to lower league outfits freely on loan going forward – makes perfect sense to him. 'I love it,' said Ferguson. 'I love the concept of it. I also love that there is a plan there. I've always felt that the loan system, and I understand why this is, is very reactive. What generally happens is a club puts together a squad and then they need to get players in to cover for injuries. 'The Cooperation System is a bit more of a planned approach. It sounds as if loan players will be identified throughout the course of the close season, going into pre-season, when a manager or a recruitment team are building their squad. (Image: SNS Group Alan Harvey) 'I think it's a very, very good piece of work. I don't think managers will build their team around the loan player, it won't be as extreme as that. But I think a player will fit in straight away, They won't be trying to force their way into the team. It is a refreshing concept.' He continued, 'Will a young player who is number 21, 22 or 23 in a first team squad be considered for it? Or will they be kept at their parent club to make up numbers? That would be my concern. Will the guy who is 22 or 23 be allowed to go out and play? If he isn't, he could spend another season not playing. 'Is it best for the club in the long-term to get a player out, to get them experience of playing football, to get their name known, to hopefully have an impact? Massively. It should have a positive impact on the player and of course on the club. 'But a manager might want to hold onto him, just in case. He might have injuries and need to play a kid. That is how Forrester came through and established himself as a Premiership player. But, at the same time, six months could pass and a kid won't play. We will see how it works in practice. 'But we are very much on board with it at Stenhousemuir. We feel as though it's something that could be of value to us. Martin Christie, our head of recruitment, is speaking to clubs at the moment. There are ongoing conversations.' Ferguson is eager to see more Scottish players in the lower leagues getting the chance to show what they can do in the Premiership and more academy kids getting promoted into first teams than is currently the case. He fears the national team will ultimately suffer unless there is a long overdue change in attitudes and the trend he has identified is allowed to continue. 'Generally speaking, the first team manager at a club looks after the first team and that is it,' he said. 'That is the way it should be. But why is he not involved in looking at what the pathway into the first team looks like? 'There is an obvious issue. A coach knows he may not be in a job in four weeks' time if he doesn't get results. So why look four years down the line? The dynamics around football are different to any other sport. That is good and bad at the same time. 'The culture of football, the tribal nature of the sport, the supporters' demand for success in the here and now makes people focus on that. Understandably so. But I do think it is unusual compared to other sports, that failure to develop a strategy which can enable a club to be successful long-term. Don't get me wrong, many clubs will try to do it, but there is a massive disconnect between what they want to achieve and what they actually do.' Ferguson continued, 'We're already seeing a lack of depth when we've got injuries. We have quality players, John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Craig Gordon, Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney. But quite a few of these players are getting towards the end of their careers, they're in their late 20s or early 30s. 'Could getting five per cent of the Scottish players who are in the Premiership to follow Lewis Ferguson, Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay and move on to a bigger league in Europe be a target? If it can be then surely five per cent of 100 is better than five per cent of 30. 'My real worry is the talent pool is getting diluted. That is definitely the trend. It is on a decline, a continuous decline. Unless something changes, Scottish players will be making up just 20 per cent of the teams in a few years.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store