FA Cup 3rd Round Blackpool (H)

[eric woolban woolban]

At least it wasn't a Sunday evening 7pm kick off or whatever it was against Utd the other year.

[bertlambshank]

Not sure how many tickets we'll need to give Blackpool, maybe North Standers will be moved? I imagine it should be okay though as playing us won't be such a big deal for them seeing as they were in our division not long ago.

As for "better fan than you"... no, I acknowledge there are many who put far more time and effort into the Villa than I do. Those who follow the club all round the World for pre-season and the Amfys of this World who give up their free time to campaign for fellow fans.

I just want as many fans as possible to attend this game as some of our recent cup games have been enbarassing and was attempting to dissipate some of the antipathy to the Sunday game.

Having a go isn't the way to go about it.

[peter w]

Fucking Sunday! Probably won't go now.

The date has been set for Villa's third round FA Cup clash with Blackpool.

We face the Tangerines in B6 on Sunday January 4, with a 3pm kick-off.

The match will not be televised.

Blackpool, of the Championship, are managed by former Birmingham City boss Lee Clark.

The last time we faced Blackpool at Villa Park saw Gerard Houllier's side win 3-2.

Stewart Downing, Nathan Delfouneso and James Collins scored the goals that night.

The only time we have played the Tangerines in the FA Cup was in January 1938, a match Villa won 4-0.

Eric Houghton, Frank Broome, Ronnie Starling and Frank Shell hit the goals.

Villa eventually reached the semi-final before going out to Preston North End.

The last time we won the competition was in 1957 when we defeated Man Utd 2-1 at Wembley, Johnny Dixon lifting the trophy.

Ah balls. Was going to take the lil one down to this.

[cdbearsfan]

Not sure how many tickets we'll need to give Blackpool, maybe North Standers will be moved? I imagine it should be okay though as playing us won't be such a big deal for them seeing as they were in our division not long ago.

As for "better fan than you"... no, I acknowledge there are many who put far more time and effort into the Villa than I do. Those who follow the club all round the World for pre-season and the Amfys of this World who give up their free time to campaign for fellow fans.

I just want as many fans as possible to attend this game as some of our recent cup games have been enbarassing and was attempting to dissipate some of the antipathy to the Sunday game.

Having a go isn't the way to go about it.

I believe I made a valid point. Plenty moan about the cups not being taken seriously, and yet attendances (not just ours) consistently show that fans don't seem to care either.

[silhillvilla]

Alex Ferguson brought the trophy to it's knees and it's still not properly recovered. No thanks to the TV firms either.

[dave.woodhall]

Alex Ferguson brought the trophy to it's knees and it's still not properly recovered. No thanks to the TV firms either.

It wasn't him; the FA 'asked' them to withdraw.

[bertlambshank]

Not sure how many tickets we'll need to give Blackpool, maybe North Standers will be moved? I imagine it should be okay though as playing us won't be such a big deal for them seeing as they were in our division not long ago.

As for "better fan than you"... no, I acknowledge there are many who put far more time and effort into the Villa than I do. Those who follow the club all round the World for pre-season and the Amfys of this World who give up their free time to campaign for fellow fans.

I just want as many fans as possible to attend this game as some of our recent cup games have been enbarassing and was attempting to dissipate some of the antipathy to the Sunday game.

Having a go isn't the way to go about it.

I believe I made a valid point. Plenty moan about the cups not being taken seriously, and yet attendances (not just ours) consistently show that fans don't seem to care either.

Which point? An extra days rest,being played on a Sunday,fans not caring about the cup or all of them?

[cdbearsfan]

I don't blame Ferguson or Man U (although the bad losers certainly degraded the League Cup in a massive strop cos Villa ruined their treble and York knocked them out).

Had Man U refused to withdraw from the FA Cup and not entered FIFA's World Club Cup, they'd have been derided for ruining England's chances of hosting the 2006 World Cup.

For my money the FA Cup's reputation dwindled when the Premier League became an all-encompassing money machine and staying in it became so vital for clubs that they'd rest players in the cup rather than risk being under strength in their next league game.

It was further undermined when UEFA's showpiece competition morphed into the game's greatest cash cow and finishing fourth became more important than winning the FA Cup (to Chief Executives and shareholders, at least).

Anyway, I still wanna see us win it... at least once, in my lifetime, pretty please!

[cdbearsfan]

Not sure how many tickets we'll need to give Blackpool, maybe North Standers will be moved? I imagine it should be okay though as playing us won't be such a big deal for them seeing as they were in our division not long ago.

As for "better fan than you"... no, I acknowledge there are many who put far more time and effort into the Villa than I do. Those who follow the club all round the World for pre-season and the Amfys of this World who give up their free time to campaign for fellow fans.

I just want as many fans as possible to attend this game as some of our recent cup games have been enbarassing and was attempting to dissipate some of the antipathy to the Sunday game.

Having a go isn't the way to go about it.

I believe I made a valid point. Plenty moan about the cups not being taken seriously, and yet attendances (not just ours) consistently show that fans don't seem to care either.

Which point? An extra days rest,being played on a Sunday,fans not caring about the cup or all of them?

All of them I guess.

We do have an extra day's rest which is a good thing for our chances of progression.

I'm not sure why a game being played on a weekend day is automatically much worse than a match being played the weekend day before.

Our attendances certainly suggest that fans don't care much about the cups these days.

[Dave]

FFs that is the Sunday before most schools and work folk will go back to work on Monday 5th Jan. !!

Is it particularly different to the 50 or so other Sundays in the year when people have work and school the following day?

[silhillvilla]

FFs that is the Sunday before most schools and work folk will go back to work on Monday 5th Jan. !!

Is it particularly different to the 50 or so other Sundays in the year when people have work and school the following day?

Yes. It's the Sunday at the back end of the Christmas holidays. Second only to the Sunday at the end of the long summer break.

[silhillvilla]

Alex Ferguson brought the trophy to it's knees and it's still not properly recovered. No thanks to the TV firms either.

It wasn't him; the FA 'asked' them to withdraw.

Fair point. It was a quid pro quo deal though.

[DeKuip]

The difference with this game is that we pretty much knew it would be a Sunday when the draw was made, with us already having a game Thursday. The date has been announced before tickets have gone on sale so although it doesn't suit me personally I can't have any real complaint.
League games being moved after I've bought a season ticket is another matter, as are games being moved after fans have booked trains and flights.

[Dave Cooper please]

Alex Ferguson brought the trophy to it's knees and it's still not properly recovered. No thanks to the TV firms either.

Oh come on. Are we still blaming shit FA Cup attendances on a one-off decision forced on Man Utd? Really?

[olaftab]

Alex Ferguson brought the trophy to it's knees and it's still not properly recovered. No thanks to the TV firms either.

It wasn't him; the FA 'asked' them to withdraw.

Fair point. It was a quid pro quo deal though.

How?