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WE'RE ALL GOING TO WEMBLEY! 8-1-08
Toby Higgins
It's brilliant how ridiculous some of the comments made by commentators and reporters are.
Over the course of the "magical" F.A. Cup third round weekend, various media men have made comments that will probably one day find themselves in a daft quotes book.
"Stoke are fourth in the Championship and you can't ask for more than that", said one.
"They play a 4-3-2-1 formation. it's a simple 4-4-2", said another.
The one I found the most amusing was by a radio reporter who declared that:
"Most people were expecting an upset at Ashton Gate this weekend".
If most people expected it, then it wouldn't have been much of an upset, surely?
Don't get me wrong, though, it is a difficult job. It's easy enough to say something stupid when your audience is as small as one, let alone when it stretches to millions.
In truth, it's probably not something I'll fully understand until I'm there, behind the microphone or in front of the camera. With the written word, it's much easier to hide the odd daft comment, even if you can't be sure to erase them all.
I'll come back to the "upset at Ashton Gate" later.
It was the Luton Town versus Liverpool game that got me scribbling down thoughts this weekend.
I know that it's the job of people in the media to report sensational stories and, in some cases, to create sensation, but listening to the commentators during that particular game really made me wonder who these guys are trying to kid.
"Luton Town have really shown what they're about in this opening period and have shown their spirit despite not having received their wages in full" was the gist after about half an hour. This was after a period in which Liverpool had dominated and should have been out of sight in terms of the decent goal scoring chances they had, despite Luton creating one themselves.
Luton had hassled Liverpool without being malicious in their endeavour. How that was any different to most teams who face Liverpool, I'm not sure.
The bit about wages was the thing that bugged me the most.
Maybe it's just me but my love for the game is so great that I'd play for free every week. Hell, thousands do, all over the country. These are people for whom football is not a career, but a hobby. They are the guys who play Saturday and Sunday league football whatever the weather. I didn't stop playing once I realised I wasn't going to turn pro.
The indication, or at least suggestion, from the commentators was that the Luton players were in some way heroes for playing live on Sky against the Champions League runners up, despite not being paid.
Needless to say, I'm still waiting for my recognition for getting out of bed on a Sunday morning and playing ninety minutes in the rain with lads trying to snap my ankles every time I go near the ball.
In my opinion, there are three reasons why those Luton players have continued to play, despite lack of wages.
Firstly, the opportunity to play against a side like Liverpool.
Secondly, if a buyer can be found, they will presumably be paid at least a percentage of the wages they've thus far yet to receive.
And thirdly, if they take themselves out of the limelight of the football league, it will make finding a new club more difficult for them. To be set free of a sinking ship is much more noble than to walk away from one.
The claim from the pundits was that they played on because of their love and commitment to the club.
I find this strange because it took no longer than five minutes to flick through the first twelve names in Luton's squad list and see that eight of them only joined last summer. Of the remaining four, only two had come through the youth ranks.
So, they've been there five minutes and they love this club, despite most of them having played for several others in the league already in their careers?
Let's not kid ourselves, those Luton players are only interested in looking after number one. You can't blame them, it's their careers after all and they have every right to earn as much money as they can.
However, it's the way Luton's bad management decisions have been turned around so that they are now the victims, rather than the culprits, of their own downfall that I object to. It's the image that somehow "against all odds" their loyal players have battled on to get them a glamour tie against Liverpool that affronts me.
Chasetown was a big story, and a spectacular one at that. But their players were back at work yesterday morning. Luton's players are still probably very wealthy men. Poor sods.
This was no fairytale, nor will the replay at Anfield be. The gap between the teams in the football league and the Premiership is now just too great. The Reds would have been into the fourth round had it not been for a real fluke of an own goal, despite playing so far below their best. They will surely beat Luton in next week's replay.
If the same Liverpool that went to Luton turn up at the Riverside on Saturday, however, then there is no reason why we can't snatch all three points, despite our bizarre form this season.
As for our F.A. Cup game, Matt Le Tissier summed it up perfectly when asked by Jeff Stelling with ten minutes to go if there was going to be an upset at Ashton Gate. Le Tissier responded:
"Yeah, Middlesbrough are going to win!".
Clearly, being the people's favourites didn't favour City, as it rarely suits us when we're in that position. Like the wins at Fulham, Portsmouth and Derby, beating Bristol was as fantastic as it was unexpected, and once we crack how to win at home, we'll pick up enough points to survive.
But I'm not content with Premiership survival this week, oh no. Assuming that the winner of this season's F.A. Cup hails from the Premiership, then Boro are one of a maximum of twelve sides remaining in the competition (and it could be less after the replays next week).
And there could potentially be a maximum of only nine Premiership clubs still in by round five (if all Premiership teams that don't play each other go through).
Given that drawing Mansfield is exactly the draw we wanted in terms of level of opponent, and that, with all due respect, progression is almost a certainty, we'll be there in the fifth round.
Another favourable draw of big teams landing each other and us avoiding them all, and who knows, we could be at Wembley in May.
Who would lift the Cup is anyone's guess, and whilst who captains us in the Cup final is frankly irrelevant at this time, who captains us next week is a much more pressing issue.
With Julio Arca suspended, George Boateng apparently never to play for Boro again, and Jonathan Woodgate having been deemed unsuitable to wear the armband once already, who'll lead us out against Rafa's men at the Riverside will be interesting.
It's probably as good a time as any to face Liverpool and any result that ends "Liverpool nil" will be a welcome one. And even if we lose, it doesn't matter. We're all going to Wembley anyway.
Same time next week.
Up The Boro!
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