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ONLY THE CUP TO PLAY FOR 20-2-07
Karl Watson
Wasn't it just typical to see two former Middlesbrough managers dip their hands into the pot and draw Middlesbrough against Manchester United? As 'number five' was announced it was met with a few harsh words and a great big sigh, especially when Plymouth were drawn against Watford.
I was not surprised with the draw to be honest. Our luck seemed to have ran out when we were drawn against West Brom at home and we avoided all the 'big' teams. I was expecting a tough tie, yet getting one didn't make it easier to digest. We all know the cliché, if you want to win the cup you have to beat the best, but we are not the best, and that was why I was hoping we would avoid all the 'big' teams.
However, first things first and that is to defeat West Brom at The Hawthorns a week today and actually secure that game at home either against United or Reading. Of course we would all prefer Reading. West Brom boast a superb home record - only one defeat all season which came in early November. Since that defeat they have been formidable on their own patch, scoring plenty of goals in the process.
Tony Mowbray has got his side playing well after a sticky patch and so soon after his arrival; it will not be an easy game. I have my doubts whether or not we will come through the replay. We do not win many games away, whilst West Brom do not lose many games at home. The neutral may point towards Middlesbrough as the favourite, but Yakubu, Viduka, and Downing can not win us every game we play in.
The defence looked very suspect against West Brom. The goals may have been fortuitous but the defending prior to the strike was awful. It showed there was no communication and no organisation. Many clubs believe the league is their priority, but is our season not heading towards nothing yet again? Isn't the F.A. Cup all we have left to play for? It is OK to concede poor goals when the league is your priority, but the league is no longer ours.
A Premiership team should go on to win any game when in the lead, but to be in the lead twice, and to be pegged back on two occasions showed we have to do a lot more during the replay. The performance was not good enough. West Brom may have played well, but our performance did not merit a win. The players should have come onto the pitch with all guns blazing; the warning had been the game prior against Bristol City. We may be a Premiership side but this does not guarantee your path into the next round. You have to deserve to win, and on Saturday we definitely did not.
F.A. Cup games are the only chance lower league teams get to prove their worth against teams in higher divisions. They treat these games like a 'cup final'. They will not give up and they will battle until the end. It appeared like our players felt they could stroll into the game and still come out as the victors and they were very much mistaken on Saturday.
Tactically, these games are very different to league games. Many pundits felt West Brom more than matched Middlesbrough and would be good value for the Premiership. However, if that had been a league game then West Brom would have set out completely differently. With it being a cup game they had nothing to lose and they were never going to sit back and admire our talent. This will be their same approach next Tuesday and we have to make sure we go onto that pitch with attacking ambitions.
West Brom have a genuine chance of automatic promotion, and they will be putting a lot of their eggs into this basket. They have two league games with top table sides before our match against them and they will be wanting to get maximum points. We therefore may have the advantage of a fitter and more refreshed team. This may prove to be a significant factor in deciding the tie?
We are a better footballing side than West Brom and if we go to attack then we should win. In my opinion, they are favourites for that second leg. However we are the better side and if we are not professional enough to go away from home and defeat a championship side then we do not deserve to progress any further. And we would have to congratulate West Brom and wish them the very best for the rest of the competition.
What must be annoying is the amount of replays and second attempts we need to defeat teams in the F.A. Cup. Why are we not beating these teams over ninety minutes? Is it just that our players do not have enough quality, or is it because they do not want it as much as the opposition and we do not work harder than them? Bristol City worked so much harder than what we did yet our quality shone through in the end.
The draw was disappointing and we all know who we could face. On the whole the draw was negative but there are positives to take and reasons why we shouldn't all be down in the dumps.
I watched the Manchester United v Reading game on Saturday and Reading were excellent value for their draw. I thought they were magnificent and perhaps were a little unlucky not to win the game. They showed fantastic character and they could just spring a surprise in the replay. They will be on their own patch, with their barmy fans cheering them on. When the two sides met earlier in the season for a league game, Manchester United were a little lucky to come away with a point. Many believe it is a forgone conclusion, but I believe Reading could claim a shock victory.
The odds are stacked against Reading and if we are being realistic we have to assume that if we come through our replay then it will be Manchester United taking a trip up the A19 for the quarter final game. No matter what anyone says, we are Manchester United's bogey team.
We seem to beat them every year whether it is in the cup or the league. For the last six years Manchester United have not beaten us twice in one season. And when we were defeated at home in the league by them, we beat them in the cup. OK, we will not have Laurent Blanc and Fabien Barthez to help us to victory but we can beat them.
Manchester United will have Champions League commitments and there is the possibility that they will drop some of their more 'key' players so they can concentrate on the Premiership and the Champion's League. Against Reading on Saturday there was no Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Henrik Larsson or Gary Neville in the starting line up. Surely if these faces were missing against Middlesbrough, we could punish them?
However our success against United came when McClaren was in charge. Does Gareth Southgate have the managerial mastermind to defeat an old pro in the form of Sir Alex Ferguson?
Our attention now turns to the visit of Reading to the Riverside and it could well be a dress rehearsal for the quarter final of the F.A. Cup. I do not know what to make of the Reading game to be honest as it seems like a nothing game. Yes, we all want a win to help our slim chances of qualifying for Europe through the league but our away form is not good enough for the top half.
We appear too good for relegation however it appears we are not good enough for Europe. The cup now seems our only realistic chance of achieving something this year, just like it was last year. It is only February and I believe as far as the league is concerned, we have nothing to play for. Our season is in serious danger of just dwindling to a boring end and if we do not progress in the cup and I think it will.
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