The Magic of the FA Cup

What a weekend it's been for English football. Norwich manage to gain a point against Man City to help their fight against relegation, Leicester secure all 3 points to regain their 5 point gap at the top of the league and then there’s the magic of the FA Cup.

Now I want to start by saying that in recent years the FA Cup has bored me something rotten. Six out of the last seven years the FA Cup has been won by the so called “top four” clubs which is predictable and like I said boring. Admittedly when Wigan won it the other year that was quite exciting but I had a bet on City to win so that wasn’t a good one for me either...fuck Ben Watson...and fuck Mancini…

But I must say after the games at the weekend I will be keeping a much closer eye on the FA Cup. It’s just been truly typical of this unpredictable season that all the clubs left in the competition are teams you wouldn’t expect to be there.

Newly promoted Watford, form strugglers Everton and Palace and current high flyers West Ham. Even Manchester United are a club you wouldn’t expect to be possible contenders for the semi final after the poor season they’ve been having. Show’s the magic of the FA Cup is still there.

Now I’m only going to be talking about two games, one of which was the Manchester United vs West Ham match from Sunday. Now I'll say that the first half of this one was incredibly boring, looked as if neither team really wanted to step it up a gear in fear of a counter from the opposition. Second half though...wow.

The game burst into life when Payet, who’d been reasonably quiet beforehand, began creating chances, linking up play and generally just being a nuisance for The Red Devils. I know a lot of Man United fans complained that Payet dived for his free kick which I agree with, it was minimal contact, but you can’t complain about the brilliance of what he did next. What a goal that was!

And to be fair how many debatable decisions have gone Man United’s way in the past...even in this game with Martial’s goal. I noticed it as soon as it happened (I didn’t need Howard Webb to confirm it like Owen did) when Bastian Schweinsteiger blocked off goalkeeper Darren Randolph for Martial to tap it home. All in all though 1-1 was a fair result and I think MUFC have it all to do in the replay.

Onto the other game that I watched which was Chelsea vs Everton. For me this was an aggravating game to watch, a lot of big names with big wages and not an ounce of quality between them. One of the commentators (can’t remember who) spoke of how Aaron Lennon could get a late call up to the Euro’s and frankly for me his footballing brain is none existent and I’d rather take 55 year old Chris Waddle.

The lack of delivery from Lennon and Barkley playing so deep meant that the only way Lukaku was going to score was if he took on the Chelsea defense single-handed...so that’s what he chuffing did haha. When you’re up front and have nothing around you you can be in for a difficult but Lukaku made it look childsplay, scoring the only real chances that came his way.

After that goal, Everton came alive and a simple run from Lukaku combined with a simple pass from Barkley made it 2-0 to the Toffee’s. If Everton could take their away form into their home games they’d probably be challenging for a Champions League spot let alone a top half finish…

Last thing is Costa’s red card. All I wanted to say about that is ha ha ha ha ha ha ha tosser ha ha ha ha ha ha prick ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha cunt ha ha ha ha ha ha ha wanker ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha waste of space ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha twat ha ha ha ha ha ha bellend ha ha ha ha...ahem sorry about that. Oh and Barry got sent off too.

I only watched the highlights of the other two fixtures and have to say that Palace looked to have deserved their win but that wasn’t a penalty in my opinion, just because there’s an arm in the way doesn’t mean it's pulling you back, it was a dive from Bolasie for me. And the Watford game...wide...impossibly wide…#WengerOut.

Where does this leave everyone? Well Palace will face Watford in the next round which means that West Ham or Manchester United will play Everton. For me only Watford can afford to lose this one, I’m sure they won’t want to of course, I’m just saying the other clubs need it more…

Palace have been in some shockin form, for me this club is going to need some serious investment next season if they want to avoid a relegation battle, an FA Cup win could help that. Everton need Europa League football and Martinez as well as Van Gaal are vying to keep their jobs. Lastly West Ham will be hoping to say goodbye to the Boleyn Ground in style.

Now I think that not even an FA Cup will keep Van Gaal in a job but as for Martinez it’s the only thing keeping the fans sweet for now. I’m actually disappointed in the Everton fans who changed their opinions after that 2-0 against Chelsea. You either want him out or you don’t, fence-sitters are the reason so many people hate Arsenal #WengerIn #WengerOut…

Anyways hopefully we’re treated to a great final this year, like I said with the unpredictability of this season I’m sure it’ll be an eventful one. If it’s been anything like this season there’ll be plenty of goals, dreadful defending and plenty of ripped up bet slips...the magic of the FA Cup…

~ Anyone who enjoyed this please follow me on Twitter @ThePenaltyKing1 or like me on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ThePenaltyKing1 ~

Cheers for reading.