You obviously weren't at the Norwich match....Papa's injury time equaliser, Wayne Thomas smashing in that pen in the shootout...St Mary's went ballistic that night!!!! Thousands travelled to MK for midweek tie followed by a full house at home. Granted the final was at Wembley but cup fever certainly took off in the city when every man and his dog wanted a ticket....unfortunately we were limited to only 50 odd thousand!!!
JPT win was a building block at a football club which had hit rock bottom when Pardew arrived. As he said at the time the team and the club needed to get a winning mentality and he's been proved right as we have moved onwards and upwards from those dark days.
Maybe, but we wouldn't have given Markus any reward for buying the club, and we wouldn't have those memories of him and his little camera.
I will always love our run in the JPT. It gave us some compensation for not going up and, though we didn't know it, it was the only reward we could give Markus. He had his day in the sun at Wembley.
Pardew said last weekend that he wasn't surprised where Southampton was as he knew we'd do well. Liked that.
Talking about the JPT being worthless is out of context with the argument being raised over cups in general. It is a closed competition to the lower leagues and for that level is most definitely not a competition that is worthless. And as stated above, We as a third tier club acted exactly the same with the same build up of excitement as we closed in on the later stages. I also agree with the above posters though on there being just 1 cup......the FA cup for the whole league + qualifiers, and the League Cup be done away with. The League Cup is virtually the JPT with Prem and Champ reserves thrown in. However I also remember not so long ago (15-20 years?) when there were 3 cups and even top flight teams challenged fiercely for all 3 with no exceptions. Even we were glued to the TV (or our Wembley seat) for the ZDS final against Forest It is since the Premier started that gradually everything but the Premier has become a side issue. Added top that the expanded inclusion of 'also rans' that are allowed into the CL for achieving 'nothing' other than being second, third or fourth best. UEFA have the same argument over their formerly prestigious UEFA Cup (Europa League)
The Champions League has caused the devaluation of the FA Cup and the League Cup. At one time, there were the three Euro competitions, with the winners of the FA getting into the European Cup Winners Cup and, if what's left of the grey matter can recall - the League Cup offered a EURO Cup slot. If we reverted back to the three Euro competions; I think that would make the domestic cups attractive. I would go as far as to state that IMHO the Champions League has devalued our own Leagues and when I read about a Super Euro League taking the big 4 out of the Premiership I think that might actually be a good thing for our domestic leagues...
Still a great competition after all if we get through today we will all be transfixed in wait of who we draw next and over the last few seasons we had home ties against Man U twice and the skates at home all of which we sadly lost but at the time all these ties caused great expectation in the lead up. Alternativly the draw can be kind and teams can find themselves very easily into the last eight and people start dreaming of Wembley I do come from a generation when the cup final was probably the highlight of the football calender so i still respect the history of the competition and hold dear the memory of little Bobby Stokes breaking through Utd's defence and firing that low shot into the net to bring the cup home to us.Dont forget how the saints fans illuminated Cardiff in 2003 with the sea of yellow i think most saints fans got what the magic of the cup was all about that day even though it was rainy and we lost .For teams of our ilk it represents hope and that can be no bad thing. With regard the Coventry game the cup takes a bit of pressure of Nigel and the boys given our recent league form where every point seems priceless with the pack now hunting us down so my advice to them and all fans is enjoy the cup and who knows the way we are going a cup final could be not be to far into the near future for us
I agree. FA cup final day was the highlight of the year. Watching the build up from early morning on TV etc.
Interesting thread - wrt to what the OP says, I think the 3rd round draw was disappointing for us this year as we were drawn to a team we had already visited in the league. I havn't "busted a gut" to get to the Ricoh today because I was only there a couple of months ago and have no wish to visit that soulless place again for a while. However, I enjoyed my trip to eastlands a few years ago, one of the best of the new build stadiums IMO If we are in the 4th round draw tomorrow, I will be watching !! COYS
Exactly right. Watching us beat Norwich was one of the most exciting and happy moments I've experienced. Some people may not care about the cups until you get to the latter stages but I think that JPT run was a way of restoring pride in the club. I like the cup games myself, I go to all the rounds if we're at home but I'm too scared of the gf to try to get permission to go to an away game!!
For the supporter of a Championship side, a cup tie away from home against another Championship side understandably wont make the competition seem very glamourous, especially if you get knocked out. However, for supporters of teams that have had to come through earlier rounds to get this far, it is still a magical competition. Just think of the excitement of those hardy 900 - 1000 souls who turn up every week to watch Tamworth as they make their way to Goodison Park; the Wrexham fans traveling to Brighton or the Cheltenham fans heading for White Hart Lane. For me, the romance of the FA Cup is one of those quintessentially English traditions that deserves the respect that it doesn't always get from the top sides these days.
Great points, had we be drawn away to Arsenal or Chelsea i'm sure our feelings on this years competition would have been greater. The reason people ask questions about the FA cup is because of the heritage and the importance it held in English football as the 2nd most important prize in our domestic game. Since the late 80s and the increased exposure of football to the masses. Live matches now on everyday, 24hr news on tv and the internet. You can't get away from the amount of choice and options we have, so of course the FA cup has lost it's cache from being the only game on TV you could watch to being a game of hundreds per season. The FA cup still provides drama and excitement like no other and the amateur early rounds give it the romance that no other competition in the world can deliver. It was great to see Totten do so well this year. But to answer the question here are some of the reason the FA has become less important; The Premier League; The money in the premier league meant that being in the top flight of english football and staying there has become more important than ever and relegation sees more than hurt pride. The Play offs; The football league season lasts longer for more teams. 12th in January does not mean you can't get promoted or relegated and the cup being the last chance for the season to have any lasting memories. Champions league; Europe was no longer a knock out competition. The guarenteed quota of 6 matches and maybe more was on. The squad was born for the elite in English football. Top 4 qualify; Like the play offs in the lower leagues this gave greater longevity to a premier league season and so more teams needed bigger sqauds to cope. The pace of English football has increased thanks to the influx of the squad game. Fitness and conditioning and keeping a large sqaud of players happy has become an important part of the game and the domestic cup competitions provide an easy way for a manager to keep his squad fresh. Football has moved on and it's a matter of opinion as to whether it's for the better
easily my faviourite competition in the world. There is nothing quite the same as the 3rd round weekend. It's a great way to bring fans together. Man Utd virtually destroyed. Im sure when man city start dominating the Premier League the cup competitions will gain more interest again.
im 38 and 3rd round day is special and aleays will be.. bottom line as we all know is this.. football is DYING.. us true supporters are hanging on in there but its almostgone
