Ball No. 32 on Sunday

[Niko]

PS absolutely bitter!!!

Liverpool (away) Carling Cup
United (away) FA Cup
Liverpool (home) Carling Cup
Spurs (away) FA Cup


2 years ago and onwards I would've bitten someones arm off to get one of these ties, and now we have a good chance of doing well in it, and the novelties worn off, look who we get!!

never mind, all we need to do is beat spurs and we can get swinedon in round 4

[Jerry St Clair]

On the plus side, it'll be a piece of piss to get tickets and we can all have an all-dayer in Lonners!

(I do home Tottingham price it accordingly too)

[Whistle]

PS absolutely bitter!!!

Liverpool (away) Carling Cup
United (away) FA Cup
Liverpool (home) Carling Cup
Spurs (away) FA Cup


2 years ago and onwards I would've bitten someones arm off to get one of these ties, and now we have a good chance of doing well in it, and the novelties worn off, look who we get!!

Spot on - typical Reading luck. Wherever we are we seem to get dull unwinnbale away ties too often. Still, saves the misery of our reserves being beaten by Swindon.

[size 12]

The balls really need to be mixed up a lot more than they are.

I can only count 6 ties where the automatic 3rd round qualifiers are drawn against a team that has played in round 2. Far too manuy ties are all Premeirship/Championship affairs, or all lower league affairs

GIVE THEM A BETTER STIR IN THE 4TH ROUND PLEASE!!

[I was there at Elm Park]

The balls really need to be mixed up a lot more than they are.

I can only count 6 ties where the automatic 3rd round qualifiers are drawn against a team that has played in round 2. Far too many ties are all Premiership/Championship affairs, or all lower league affairs

GIVE THEM A BETTER STIR IN THE 4TH ROUND PLEASE!!

Or maybe they should start doing what they do in Germany and other European countries where in their equivalent of our 3rd round all top division teams play away and are kept apart from each other. Would bring something to the Cup: less teams or no teams from the same divisions playing each other and more chances of upsets as the team from the lower divisions are at home. Villa playing Utd for the 3rd time in 7 seasons in the Cup is ridiculous.

[papereyes]

The balls really need to be mixed up a lot more than they are.

I can only count 6 ties where the automatic 3rd round qualifiers are drawn against a team that has played in round 2. Far too many ties are all Premiership/Championship affairs, or all lower league affairs

GIVE THEM A BETTER STIR IN THE 4TH ROUND PLEASE!!

Or maybe they should start doing what they do in Germany and other European countries where in their equivalent of our 3rd round all top division teams play away and are kept apart from each other. Would bring something to the Cup: less teams or no teams from the same divisions playing each other and more chances of upsets as the team from the lower divisions are at home. Villa playing Utd for the 3rd time in 7 seasons in the Cup is ridiculous.

Its more than the 3rd time in 7 seasons - I can think of four (plus a fifth in 99-00)

What's worse is that its ALWAYS televised. You know Villa will make a stab at it and then lose to a late, pointless goal.

[bobby1413]

Any ideas when the cup match will be played?


EDIT: never mind, found on bbc sport website:
Ties to be played on 5/6 January

[AndyRFC]

No trip to Hull then

[Row Z Royal]

To quote AndyRFC:

Dumpity dump.

[Behindu]

Or maybe they should start doing what they do in Germany and other European countries where in their equivalent of our 3rd round all top division teams play away and are kept apart from each other. Would bring something to the Cup: less teams or no teams from the same divisions playing each other and more chances of upsets as the team from the lower divisions are at home. Villa playing Utd for the 3rd time in 7 seasons in the Cup is ridiculous.

That would really annoy all the smaller clubs. Imagine drawing Man Utd and having to play it at your 5000 capacity ground so forfeiting the £500k share of gate receipts that would have ensured the survival of your club...

[Huntley & Palmer]

Tottenham away in the FA Cup > Tottenham away in the League, if they price it correctly.

[royalsteve]

lets hope spurs defence is still leaky.......should be first on the motd then....chris kamara throwing a wobbly again on skysports......"and its 7-7, no 8-8, er no 9-9...i just dont believe it"

[Volvicanus]

Unless you go and watch the reserves a lot - I can't see how anyone could possibly care about RFC in the FA Cup.

[URZZZZZZZZ]

Or maybe they should start doing what they do in Germany and other European countries where in their equivalent of our 3rd round all top division teams play away and are kept apart from each other. Would bring something to the Cup: less teams or no teams from the same divisions playing each other and more chances of upsets as the team from the lower divisions are at home. Villa playing Utd for the 3rd time in 7 seasons in the Cup is ridiculous.

That would really annoy all the smaller clubs. Imagine drawing Man Utd and having to play it at your 5000 capacity ground so forfeiting the £500k share of gate receipts that would have ensured the survival of your club...

I'm sure in extreme cases 1) they can either switch to a bigger venue near by, like Havant and Waterlooville did at Fratton Park last year 2) switch it so that the game is played at the Prem teams ground, so both teams get a good deal, like Farnborough Arsenal a few years back.

[rabidbee]

44 teams from the top two flights joined another 20 to make a total of 64 in the third round. Therefore, if you were going to seed teams, you'd have to put the top 12 from the Championship in with the Premiership teams, and put the other 12 Championship teams with the lower league teams. Which means you could still see a number of all-Championship ties, plus a number of Premiership vs recently-Premiership ties: Derby vs Crystal Palace would hardly set the pulses racing in many places. I suspect it probably would also ensure that few lower-league/non-league teams survived into the fourth round, let alone the later stages.

[Dirk Gently]

Or maybe they should start doing what they do in Germany and other European countries where in their equivalent of our 3rd round all top division teams play away and are kept apart from each other. Would bring something to the Cup: less teams or no teams from the same divisions playing each other and more chances of upsets as the team from the lower divisions are at home. Villa playing Utd for the 3rd time in 7 seasons in the Cup is ridiculous.

That would really annoy all the smaller clubs. Imagine drawing Man Utd and having to play it at your 5000 capacity ground so forfeiting the £500k share of gate receipts that would have ensured the survival of your club...

I'm sure in extreme cases 1) they can either switch to a bigger venue near by, like Havant and Waterlooville did at Fratton Park last year 2) switch it so that the game is played at the Prem teams ground, so both teams get a good deal, like Farnborough Arsenal a few years back.

But last year Havant & Waterlooville were really stiffed by the Police, who used strong arm tactics to make them move to Fratton Park - in the end they barely broke even from the tie!

See previous posts - after the Farnborough/Arsenal switch, forfeiting home advantage for purely commercial reasons is not allowed any longer.

[Huntley & Palmer]

Unless you go and watch the reserves a lot - I can't see how anyone could possibly care about RFC in the FA Cup.

Well I'm not going for the football, that's just an excuse to lash it up in London all day

[Volvicanus]

Unless you go and watch the reserves a lot - I can't see how anyone could possibly care about RFC in the FA Cup.

Well I'm not going for the football, that's just an excuse to lash it up in London all day

Fair 'nough

[Jerry St Clair]

Unless you go and watch the reserves a lot - I can't see how anyone could possibly care about RFC in the FA Cup.

Well I'm not going for the football, that's just an excuse to lash it up in London all day

Meet me at St Pancras, love.

[Amongst the sheep]

PS absolutely bitter!!!

Liverpool (away) Carling Cup
United (away) FA Cup
Liverpool (home) Carling Cup
Spurs (away) FA Cup


2 years ago and onwards I would've bitten someones arm off to get one of these ties, and now we have a good chance of doing well in it, and the novelties worn off, look who we get!!

My thoughts exactly all those years we never got near a prem team.