Will Daniel Sturridge get a chance to regain his verve? Will Ranieri fine-tune for a relegation battle? Will Ravel Morrison return to Old Trafford?A clutch of (fool)hardy Lincoln City fans queued through Wednesday night in sub-zero temperatures in order to get their gloved hands on the last tickets for their club’s biggest and indeed only fourth-round FA Cup tie since 1976. Those fans were evidently not discouraged by the fact that the National League leaders had suffered their heaviest defeat of the season the previous night, when they were beaten 3-0 by Barrow, whose rugged approach on a treacherous pitch fairly knocked Danny Cowley’s men out of their impish stride. The Championship leaders, Brighton, will probably not resort to such...
Plymouth’s defence was classy and defiant, Ndidi excelled on Leicester debut, Batshuayi proved little and Stourbridge showed romance is alive, even in defeatThe triumphant celebrations after Plymouth Argyle’s 0-0 draw at Anfield were further confirmation that giant-equalling is the new giantkilling. In the modern world of the FA Cup, it is enough for David to draw with Goliath – especially as it means a second payday for clubs often in need of such a financial boost. For Plymouth’s players, it was about more than that. It’s easy to be sniffy about their ultra-defensive approach against the youngest team in Liverpool’s history, but most League Two teams would not have been good enough to pull it off. Plymouth defended with such...
Pilgrims fan and comedian Josh Widdicombe documents his FA Cup awayday at Anfield alongside more than 8,500 Plymouth Argyle supportersIt may be easy for me to say this straight after the match but that was the greatest experience I’ve ever had supporting Plymouth Argyle. I presumed it would be the same for everyone who saw the game but having spoken to some friends I now realise I am out of step with the nation. In reality, it was almost certainly an absolutely awful football match. But, frankly, who cares? Related: Plymouth hold out against Klopp’s young Liverpool to earn FA Cup replay Astonishing scenes! Continue reading...
Sam Allardyce says Bolton was where his dreams became reality but now, in the FA Cup, he wants his first win as Crystal Palace managerAs Sam Allardyce pondered a return to his old stomping ground, he said “it sticks in my teeth” to refer to the home of Bolton Wanderers as the Macron Stadium, then corrected himself when he remembered that the sportswear manufacturer also has its name on the kit of his new club, Crystal Palace. It was an amusing and forgivable slip from a man who had plenty of other things on his mind before an FA Cup tie that gave him cause to reflect on how far he has come in his career while figuring out how...
Individual errors at vital moments left West Ham on the wrong end of a 5-0 scoreline against Manchester City and Slaven Bilic looking for a hole to climb intoNowhere in English football does the manager appear more isolated than at the London Stadium. This match had a television audience of millions, a stadium attendance of tens of thousands, a matchday staff in the hundreds, a few dozen players, coaches and physios and beyond them all, standing alone on the touchline with the bench a good 20 yards distant and no one but an occasional passing linesman for company, the two men carrying responsibility for it all. Related: Manchester City cruise past West Ham thanks to David Silva masterclass Related: West...