CUP COMPLETED
Following Newcastle’s FA Cup win over Blackburn on Tuesday, Eddie Howe claimed his side’s victory could be “a sliding door moment”, one of those seemingly inconsequential events that could still significantly change the course of future events. The very next night, as his team went away to Manchester City in the quarter-finals, those metaphorical doors seemed to slam shut in his face. While this truly brutal draw doesn’t completely rule out Newcastle’s chances of reaching the semi-finals and a day at Wembley, it significantly reduces the chances of the geordies having a sliding door moment of their own on the Metropolitan line in April.
On the same night that Newcastle squeaked by at Ewood Park, Luton were subjected to the kind of mauling by City that always earns the side one of those condescending tributes Pep Guardiola always pays to teams that offer little in the way of resistance. “I think Luton’s central defenders defended really well,” he honked; Keep making those impeccable passes as we’ve seen them prove just how difficult a place Kenilworth Road can be for the visitors to play in, unless you happen to be an incredibly talented Norwegian giant yourself. an almost preternaturally accurate Belgian. “Sometimes when you face that kind of opposition you struggle a bit,” Luton’s almost preternaturally handsome manager Rob Edwards observed after the match; he had previously said – sternly – that the opposing team’s side was “pretty good at winning”.
Coventry became the lowest-placed team in this year’s competition, knocking out the previous lowest team, Maidstone United, as Kasey Palmer and Ellis Simms successfully emulated the Haaland-De Bruyne pivot of pain 24 hours before it became fashionable. That earned them a trip to Wolves and their fans were treated to Gary O’Neil giving full Klopp in the post-match punch-up bets after a narrow win against Brighton. The quarter-final is already a potential powder keg derby, although one West Brom supporter known to Football Daily insists none of the Baggies, Aston Villa, Birmingham City or Wolves have stronger feelings than almost total It started to be talked about as. The lack of interest in Coventry is painful.
By all accounts, Leicester come closest to the arch-rivals of Mark Robins’ team, but their victory at Bournemouth earned them a trip to Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea’s blue-chip billionaire bottlers edged out Leeds’ reserves to reach the quarter-finals. . Meanwhile, at Old Trafford, Manchester United will host Liverpool, whose under-9 players stayed up well past bedtime to see off Southampton; Meanwhile, an increasingly erratic Erik ten Hag had to be diverted from his team’s last hard-fought victory, angered by some jokes made towards him. Bruno Fernandes’ expenses [Football Daily checks notes] … the famously controversial administrators of Fulham’s TikTok account. And some have lost the magic of thinking they are still defending the FA Cup.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I always say that the field is freedom for a blind person. Those who know how to appreciate it can enjoy it to the fullest. Even if you lose, draw and things are not going well, this is the place where you can be free” – Gracia Sosa, star of the Argentine blind women’s football team, speaks to Júlia Belas Trindade in the latest edition of Moving the Goalposts.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
“There is a report in yesterday’s Football Daily about the temporary appointment of John O’Shea as Ireland duty officer. Given that you regularly treat your reader to a group of executives being guided through the door that says ‘Do One’ in various languages, would it be too much to ask for Stephen Kenny’s big green ‘doras’ to be marked ‘Bain As’? or even ‘Téigh ag feadáil’ (whistling)?” – Harry Wall.
On whether Neil Rose should applaud opposing players (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). My father gets around this conundrum by not applauding anyone unless they are incompetent (they get two claps). If they were rivals, they would have to do this because they were better than us or we performed poorly. If it were us, it would be because the opposition were performing poorly, or because they ‘just did what they were paid to do’ (I don’t know if this logic extends to other areas where it is customary to applaud to show appreciation, such as the theatre), although in other respects his support seems quite normal Well, maybe he doesn’t like applauding” – Andy Gill.
I agree with Neil that a rare show of appreciation for the opposition after an outstanding display is more than acceptable. 20 years ago I was lucky enough (?) to witness and be part of the standing ovation the Stretford End gave to Proper Ronaldo, whose imperious hat-trick put us through the Grand Cup exit door. Sometimes you just have to stand there and applaud greatness. Neil obviously doesn’t have a fantasy team. “If it were, I’d imagine witnessing Erling Haaland smack dab five days after half the planet took him over as triple captain for a double-header week – scoring a solitary goal – would have sparked a completely different reaction.” -Mark Read.
Style, flamboyance, exciting exploits and succeeding in a game always deserve applause, no matter the team. Neil is right” – Bill Preston.
As a man of a certain age, originally from the north of England, I had to laugh at Rochdale fan John Leach’s description of his father and grandfather as ‘essentially functional mutes of the modern-day northern type’ (yesterday’s full email edition). But then I started thinking about what pundits, broadcasters and social media were saying about all sorts of topics, and I started to feel quite nostalgic for simpler times” – Colin Reed.
Send a letter to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our letter of the day is… Andy Gill, who received a copy of Pat Nevin: football and how to survive, published by Octopus Books..