The FA Cup has taken a lot of stick recently for a lack of romance and due deference to the world's oldest knock-out cup competition with Farnborough switching their 'fairy tale' tie to Arsenal taking pole position in the knocking stakes.
Safety reasons aside, for that is the official line, who would begrudge the players and officials of Farnborough their day in the sun instead of trying to shoe-horn four and a half thousand supporters into their quaint rural ground? Besides, in these days of crippling financial troubles, who can blame the non-league club from tripling their income from a tie that will at least ensure the club has a financial future. A tie, by the way, Farnborough have no chance of winning.
You are not going to tell me that Town would have a better chance of becoming giantkillers against 'King Henry', Dennis Bergkamp and Co, if they had staged the game on their own patch, with fans hanging precariously from the branches overhanging the ground. Anyway, as manager Graham Westley has stated recently, none of the players live in the town and a lot of the home support isn't local either.
If Farnborough were to win at Highbury, or even force a replay, it would be THE BIGGEST FA CUP GIANTKILLING SHOCK OF ALL TIME.
Shrewsbury's victory over Everton in the last round stands proud alongside THE great 'giantkilling' wins of all-time and their reward is another home tie, this time against Chelsea. What an intriguing game this promises to be and what a 'win-win' situation Kevin Ratcliffe's side find themselves in. They are not expected to win, as against Everton, and the way they outplayed 'superior' opposition, because of their ease of mind, in round three does not auger well for Claudio Ranieri's cosmopolitan bunch of serial underachievers.
There is, however, one factor that might favour the Premiership outfit and that is the atrocious state of the Stamford Bridge pitch. Playing on the worst surface in the top flight might just acclimatise Chelsea for what will be a battle as well as a football match on the notorious Gay Meadow pitch that resembles the Somme whenever water gets on it, which is often. I must admit that I just fancy, ever so slightly, a possible shock here and the additional water, on Sunday, may just be the tears of Ken Bates and co as they troop back to London, out of the FA Cup.
I think the phrase that sums up this particular tie came from Kevin Ratcliffe, after the Fourth Round draw paired his giantkillers with Chelsea. He was asked if they could again beat Premiership opposition. 'Rats' replied: "They say that lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place, but ask that of Lee Trevino."
Leeds United need a decent FA Cup run if they are to avoid selling some of their star players to balance the books so the last thing they need is a tie against unpredictable Gillingham, who are starting to get a bit of consistency into their game. The Gills are unbeaten in their last eight games and have spent their preparation time for this game in La Manga, Spain. Leeds know what it is to go out to lower league opposition, Cardiff in the FA Cup last season and Sheffield United in this season's Worthington Cup so Terry Venables knows that tactics and game plans go out of the window on FA Cup day. It really will be a case of who fancies it the most and, at Priestfield on Saturday, that might just be Gillingham.
Norwich City face a Dagenham and Redbridge side that are in the 4th Round for the first time in their history and The Canaries will he ever so grateful that they are at home in this one because Norwich do not travel well. Having said that The Daggers claimed a draw at Plymouth before beating the league side on their own patch so the tie holds no fears for Gary Hill's team and this one is set up perfectly for, potentially, one of the giantkilling acts of the round.
Coventry City should beat Rochdale, even if they might need a replay to do it, as they did against Cardiff in the last round but Spotland will be heaving and if the First Division outfit are not of the correct mind-set they could be left with that old cliché, 'concentrating on the league'.
The romance of the FA Cup isn't something tangible like quaint non-league grounds hosting teams who are more used to Madrid and Rome rather than Farnborough or Dagenham.
It is in the psyche of football, in the mind of those players who patronise the club house after a mud-splattered non-league encounter in the 'Dog and bucket amalgamated electronics' sponsored league and watch the aforementioned stars on Match of the Day.
It's about the pro whose weekly wage is on a par with what some members of the same union spend on a car-wash facing such opposition and hoping to prove he could be that star.
The FA Cup is about dreams and as we all know dreams may or may not come true. It's about the realisation of dreams and playing above yourself, for maybe just 90 minutes in a season, so that your dream may just become part of FA Cup history.
