Tottenham’s manager, Mauricio Pochettino, picked his biggest attacking threats and watched them beat Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage in the FA Cup fifth roundAt the most disarming of venues Tottenham Hotspur found their way through by dispatching the heavy artillery. Four days ago Mauricio Pochettino might not have imagined letting Harry Kane stretch out from the start against Fulham, much less if he had known a knock to his knee would render him a slight doubt; sometimes, though, a job needs doing properly and, if the purpose here was to blow the cobwebs of a sterile February away, then it was served conclusively.Supporters foraging their way to Craven Cottage through the artisan food market in Bishops Park might have expected...
There is little appetite for the FA Cup tie among fans of the Championship club, who are staring relegation in the face under seemingly indifferent ownership“We should be looking forward to an FA Cup tie at home against Manchester United, a dream tie for most clubs with the chance of an upset and reaching the quarter-finals. Yet we are indifferent about the whole thing. The game is meaningless and we’d trade it for three points any day of the week.” – Ian Battersby, a Blackburn Rovers fan for 50 yearsBattersby’s words may not suit BT Sport’s promotion of Sunday’s fifth-round tie at Ewood Park but they capture the depression, resignation and fear that have enveloped Blackburn. Year seven of Venky’s...
Bona-fide giantkilling seems to be a thing of the past, with bigger teams, Liverpool and Leeds last time out, often making multiple changes and all-but encouraging the smaller ones to put them out of their miseryWho needs a winter break when the FA Cup makes a perfectly good substitute? Everton are sunning themselves in Dubai, Liverpool re-enacting a pre-season (Jürgen Klopp’s words) at La Manga, while Sunderland have been testing their supporters’ patience by flying to New York for a team-bonding session.All of these jollies and a few more were made possible by early exits from the FA Cup. Given that other teams might suffer should Liverpool come back with batteries charged and deliver on their promise to win every...
With a winners’ purse of only £1.8m, bigger clubs will continue to field weakened teams despite the risks because league status is the priorityOn Monday night The One Show hosted the FA Cup fifth‑round draw. For the event to be deemed suitable for a prime-time BBC programme aimed at Middle England shows the competition’s enduring appeal.Just as undeniable, though, is the troubling question of whether the 146-year-old trophy is devalued by the fielding of reserve XIs on fourth-round weekend and the number of shocks this helped produce. Related: Shock FA Cup wins for Sutton United and Lincoln City – Football Weekly Related: FA Cup fifth round draw: non-league Sutton to face Arsenal Continue reading...
Liverpool’s defence needs to find cohesion fast, Lincoln felt the force with Alan Power and Bastian Schweinsteiger is welcomed back by José MourinhoIt was an afternoon when the ball would not go in for Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The Chelsea attacking midfielder was twice denied by the Brentford goalkeeper, Daniel Bentley, and, when he clipped over him on 58 minutes, the effort came back off the crossbar. Loftus-Cheek had two other moments when he jinked inside the area but could not find a finish. It was, nonetheless, an eye-catching performance from the 21-year-old – in front of the watching England manager, Gareth Southgate – in which he advertised both his power and the deftness of his touch. Could it offer him a...