The Magic of the FA Cup is lost on me. It’s lost at the beginning of every season, when the past seasons hilarious upsets become footnotes, and all I want for Christmas is Spurs suffering a tragic, devastating, crushing loss to a team four levels below them.
The Round of 16 could very well be my very late Christmas, although that would be as likely as Marouane Chamakh scoring against Sunderland for Arsenal when they meet on Saturday. A rematch of their previous game in the Premier League, this could very well be the end of the road for an Arsenal side who were thrashed by AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday. With one eye on the North London derby next weekend, there could be a number of changes in the first team.
The pick of the games this weekend would have to be League Two side Crawley Town taking on big bad Stoke City from the Premiership. Crawley have made it a bit of a habit to punch above their weight in the FA Cup, utilising the magic quota to its fullest extent. Chelsea should have it easy against Birmingham, as should Liverpool against Brighton. Spurs face Stevenage, in what should be a keenly contested, epic battle, and a celebration of skill and style. Or not.
The magic may be disappearing from the FA Cup for a lot of people, but it still remains England’s foremost domestic Cup competition, with a rich history and memories of some fantastic matches over the years. This stage would determine what should be an exciting quarter final line-up, and shouldn’t disappoint the aficionados, especially if Steveange turn the enchantments on.