Oops
Everton has several layers of fucktitude. They’re like the LA Clippers and Liverpool is like the LA Lakers.
How did I miss West Ham firing their manager? They’ve just appointed Graham Potter, which is going from the frying pan to a fancy, smart, air fryer.
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Dyche is great if you want to finish 15th, not so great if you want to actually compete
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The romance of the FA Cup will be on full display this weekend.
Accrington Stanley (Who are they? Exactly!) currently sit in - if you stacked the English leagues into a single tower - 87th place. For reference, 92nd is dead last. But they get a chance to play the current #1 team in England…at Anfield. For those players it will be a day to remember, whether they win, lose or draw. For the club, it will be a huge payday that will likely double their revenue for their entire season.
Similarly, Salford City (70th) gets to play a local derby against [checks notes] Manchester City at the Emptihad.
Then there are “non league” teams, i.e. teams in the divisions below the top 4 leagues, who are still in the competition having progressed through the preliminary rounds prior to the entrance of the top two leagues in this, the 3rd round. Dagenham & Redbridge are in the National League (from where Wrexham came back) and they get to make the short and particularly unpleasant journey across London’s east end to Millwall.
Picking off Millwall would not be one of the biggest “giant killings” (as they are known) in FA Cup history, but it would be a banner day for D&R, and it would mean that their name goes into the draw for the next round where the prospect of a more glamorous opponent awaits.
One place below D&R in the National League is Tamworth FC, who will be hosting Spurs at their home stadium which has a capacity of less than 5,000 (but 518 do get seats). Watching elite players plying their trade in a cabbage patch is always fun and a great leveler.
Palace (15th) have a home game against Stockport County (51st). Seeing as we used to play Stockport on the regular back in the days before the 2010 rebirth this is probably not a great match for Stockport or their fans. Especially as Selhurst Park remains largely unchanged from those days. They will be hoping to usurp a plague-ridden Palace team who should be able to see off Stockport at a canter. But you never know; and that is the romance of the FA Cup.
All games are streaming on ESPN and take place today through Monday (they actually started yesterday). The pick of the match-ups is Arsenal vs. Man Utd at 9am (CST) Saturday.
ETA: All matches will be decided on the day, with extra time and penalties as necessary. I believe VAR will not be in effect as lower league grounds will not have the equipment, so it is turned off for everyone.
Wycombe Wanderers of League One (3rd tier) just knocked out Portsmouth of the Championship (2nd tier). It’s not much of an upset though because, given their respective league positions, they’re only really 5 places apart.
Aston Villa beat West Ham in an all Premier League, all claret shirts with blue sleeves match-up.
Wycombe Wanderers…I like the name
When you throw out rando football clubs, you should include the full name (then I’ll know who to root for, kinda like the 1st round of March Madness)
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There are a few “Wanderers” teams in the league. It stems from the fact that, at some point in their past, they lacked a home field.
You have to tell them how Wycombe is pronounced, because that makes it even better.
It’s Swahili, right? Wai-kahm-beh, with a hard accent on the second syllable?
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Wick ‘em, naturally.
Liverpool and Citeh ran out their youth teams and saw off the lower league opposition with aplomb.
Spurs, on the other hand, were this close to going out to Tamworth, who should’ve won it at the end of regulation time. But, at 0-0 going into extra time, Spurs swapped in all their regulars and ran out 0-3 winners.
Palace is currently beating Stockport 1-0 with 81% possession. Another lowly south London club - Bromley Town (80th in the stack) - is holding Newcastle at St. James’ Park at 1-1 with a mighty 18% possession.
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Not the biggest upset(championship vs prem) but as a Fulham fan, Plymouth taking out Brentford is delicious
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4th Round Draw
- Manchester United vs Leicester City
- Leeds United vs Millwall/Dagenham and Redbridge
- Brighton vs Chelsea
- Preston/Charlton vs Wycombe
- Exeter vs Nottingham Forest
- Coventry City vs Ipswich Town
- Blackburn Rovers vs Wolves
- Mansfield Town/Wigan vs Fulham
- Birmingham vs Newcastle
- Plymouth Argyle vs Liverpool
- Everton vs Bournemouth
- Aston Villa vs Tottenham
- Southampton/Swansea vs Burnley
- Leyton Orient/Derby County vs Manchester City
- Doncaster Rovers vs Crystal Palace
- Stoke vs Cardiff
Hmmm; I don’t see Arsenal in there.
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You have to tip your hat to a side whose midfield is anchored by a fat, old bald guy called “Tonks”.
The stadium is so hilariously small that it makes the players look like giants.
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This summer, Chelsea banished Trevor Chalobat from first team training. They made him train offsite with the other untermensch before allowing him to go out on loan to Palace. At Palace, Chalobat found a club he likes (and that likes him), a place in the starting XI and a decent run of form.
Now Chelsea has cancelled the loan and recalled Chalobat. As frustrating as this is, it is completely within the terms of the loan agreement. Between Chris Richards and Chadi Riad, Palace has cover for the position, but neither has quite the upside of Chalobat.
But Chelsea has a solution to the problem. They have offered to return Chalobat on a permanent transfer, with £10 million in his suitcase, if we give them Marc Guéhi. Chelsea once had Guéhi in their system, but buried him on the youth teams until Palace bought him and made him a starting CB for England. This is now the third time they’ve low-balled us to try and get him back.
Get fucked, Chelsea.
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So Chelsea is still a bunch of lizard people, even with ‘Chelski’ gone.
When I spent some time in the UK, I tried to find a Premier League team to bond with. The games were fun, but I could never make a connection with a team I didn’t grow up with. The one thing I did learn was that Chelsea fucking sucks…
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Always and forever
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Chelsea’s youth academy is located a couple of miles away from Selhurst Park. Until recently, Palace’s training facilities consisted of a couple of port-a-cabins overlooking a cow patch, so Chelsea had the pick of talent from the Thames to the Channel. They filled their boots and stockpiled talent.
Nowadays, Palace has a state-of-the-art youth academy and has pioneered a number of initiatives to benefit those kids who make it and, perhaps more importantly, those who don’t. Chelsea still has infinitely greater glamour than Palace, but Palace offers a far less crowded path to the Premier League and doesn’t treat its players like chattel.
Palace’s success at the youth team level has been exceptional in the last few years. We haven’t completely usurped Chelsea as the preferred team of South London youth players, but we have definitely nicked some gems off them. Things like what Maresca did to half the squad this summer should give kids and parents pause when being courted by Chelsea.
Fuck Chelsea.
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