Wembley may seem distant to those looking to cause an upset in January, but one can dream

Although the third round is still a month away I have decided to honour the achievements of Crawley Town’s achievements encourage all the other potential giantkillers out there by running a series of posts looking back at some of the classic ‘cupsets’ over the years, which I have entitled ‘FA Cup Upsets and Cupsets’.

Despite there seemingly being fewer non-league sides in the hat for the third round than usual Crawley Town kept the giant killing dream alive last night with an extra time away victory against Swindon to set up a tie against Derby County.

This victory should serve as a timely reminder to the Premiership and Championship sides facing lower league opposition in the FA Cup, that these ties are far from the certainties that they appear on paper.

This message is of particular importance to the players in the Premier League this season, as over half of the teams in the Premiership face Championship opposition in the next round. 

We will start close to the present day with Barnsley Town’s heroics in 2008.

 Barnsley’s 2008 FA Cup Run

Barnsley may have been struggling in the Championship but this did not stop them making it all the way to the semi-finals of the 2008 FA Cup defeating Liverpool and Chelsea along the way.

Liverpool 1 Barnsley 2 - Fifth Round

Liverpool: Itandje, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Benayoun, Lucas (Gerrard 75), Alonso, Babel (Kewell 69), Kuyt, Crouch.

Goals: Kuyt 32. 

Barnsley: Steele, Hassell, Souza, Foster, Kozluk (Van Homoet 60), Devaney, De Silva, Howard, Leon (Campbell-Ryce 71), Ferenczi, Nardiello (Odejayi 55).

Goals: Foster 57, Howard 90. 

Having gone behind twice against non league Havant and Waterlooville Liverpool fans expected an improvement in their fifth round tie at home against the Tykes. 

The early signs reassured the Anfield crowd and seemed to point to victory for the Merseyside club, who were ahead at half time courtesy of a Dirk Kuyt goal. 

However the second half is what will be remembered in this tie, Stephen Foster drew the Tykes level on 57 minutes and looked to be heading for a replay going into the final few minutes. 

After trying to find the word I feel the best way to describe the final few minutes is through the Sky Sports Soccer Saturday Team

Barnsley won the day and the heroes were goalkeeper Luke Steele who made a string of amazing saves and boyhood Liverpool fan Brian Howard who scored the last minute winner in the stadium of his boyhood heroes.

Barnsley 1 Chelsea 0 – Quarter Finals

 Barnsley: Steele, Van Homoet, Foster, Souza, Kozluk, Campbell-Ryce, Hassell, Howard, Devaney (Togwell 73), Odejayi (Coulson 80), Ferenczi.

Goal: Odejayi 66

 Chelsea: Cudicini, Belletti (Pizarro 74), Terry, Carvalho, Bridge, Essien, Ballack, Malouda (Kalou 62), Wright-Phillips, Anelka, Joe Cole.

Barnsley were not rewarded for their giant killing against Liverpool with a soft quarter-final tie, instead they drew the holders Chelsea. 

However in a determined organised display the Tykes once again defied the odds going into half time level against a strong Chelsea side, the main worry being that there most effective striker in the half had not scored since in six months. 

However in typical FA Cup folklore fashion it was Odejayi who scored as Barnsley countered following lots of Chelsea pressure early in the second half with twenty five minutes to play. 

Despite enormous pressure being put on the Barnsley back line in the last fifteen minutes the Tykes held on with help from a hero of the the two ties goalkeeper Luke Steele to seal their first FA Cup Semi Final since the year the Titanic sank. 

Barnsley did not go onto win the competition losing to Cardiff at Wembley, but did get some memories that the fans, the neutral and especially the sides they defeated will remember for generations.

We have just passed the quarter mark on the season and it’s time to take a look at how the clubs are faring.  This is the first of three installments covering each of the 24 clubs in the nPower Championship.  I hope you will feel free to add your comments to each club.

First up?  Queens Park Rangers.  Neil Warnock has led QPR to the top of the table with 29 points and a goal difference of 21.  Last weekend’s come-from-behind draw at Bristol City showed great spirit and the club has to be considered a favorite for promotion.

Even with QPR on points but behind in goal difference is Cardiff City.  The high flying Welsh team is looking to roar into the Premier League next season led by recent loan signee and hometown product Craig Bellamy.  Manager Dave Jones has his team looking strong after an impressive 4-0 win away to Leeds United.

Sitting third in the table is the other Welsh side playing in the league, Swansea City.  With 23 points, but only a +5 goal difference, Swansea City has been inconsistent so far.  They have put consecutive league wins together only once this season.

Also sitting in the playoff position at fourth is last year’s League One Champions Norwich City.  Having spent only one year outside of the top two flights of English football in the last 50 years, Norwich City made wholesale changes to club management which saw them bounce right back and have them right in the mix for promotion to the Premier League.  They are even with Swansea City on points with 23 and only one behind in goal difference.

At fifth is Watford on 21 points and +7 goal difference.  A club with pedigree going back almost 130 years, and even playing in the UEFA Cup in 1983, Watford has struggled to stay at the highest level, having been promoted to the Premier League and bounced right back the following season twice in the last ten years. Watford’s fine run of form came to an end at home in a 2-0 loss to Scunthorpe United.  Watford will look to get back on track away to Derby County this weekend.

Coventry City is currently holding the final promotion playoff spot even with Watford on points but with only a  +4 goal difference.   A 3-0 defeat of visitors Barnsley this past Saturday saw Coventry City climb into the sixth spot, although it took the entire 90 minutes to put away a struggling Barnsley side.

Burnley is just one point off of a playoff spot, relinquishing that spot due to a 4-0 defeat at home to Reading.  With a trip this weekend to top of the table QPR, Burnley must be looking for at least a point, as there are several teams right behind them in the table.

The team immediately behind them in the table, and our final club for this first article is Reading.  They are the first of four clubs with 19 points and lead that pack due to their +7 goal difference.  The aforementioned 4-0 win on the road at Burnley propelled them to shouting distance of a playoff spot.  Hosting Doncaster this weekend, another of the clubs on 19 points, could help clear up the logjam a little.

Your comments are welcome and encouraged.  I read about these clubs, watch highlights when I can, and occasionally get to see the actual matches, but your opinions count at least as much as mine.  What do you think about these eight clubs?

The season is almost over and other then Charlton Athletic, the final relegation spots are still up for grabs by two unlucky clubs. While it has not been made official, it is only a matter of a couple more matches before Charlton’s relegation to League One is confirmed leaving two more slots for two more unlucky teams. While there are 10 teams within 9 points of the relegation zone, with a couple of wins in the last 6 matches 4 of those teams will be safe.

Teams that only need 2 more wins to guarantee safety:

Doncaster Rovers: 49 points, with one more win they will pass the 50 point barrier which usually is the points needed to stay safe in the Championship

Watford: 47 points and have one game in hand. With the game in hand, Watford should be able to secure safety with two more wins at minimum.

Derby County: 47 points and two games in hand Derby are in good position to secure safety this season. While their form has been up and down they have enough talent to secure safety by April.

Blackpool: 47 points, they have been mid-table all season and after just securing their future last season, Blackpool know what it takes to survive in the Championship and I think they will do it.

Teams in immediate danger of entering the drop zone:

Barnsley: 44 points, two games in hand. If Barnsely can win their two matches in hand and pull off another win and a couple of draws that should be enough for them to stay in the Championship for another season.

Norwich: 43 points, while they are only two points away from the drop zone, Norwich have picked up their form getting 10 points from a possible 15. If they can keep this form up it will be an uphill battle but it should be enough to secure safety.

Plymouth: 43 points, Unlike Norwich, Plymouth are on a horrible run of form and that doesn’t look like that is about to change. Plymouth need to dig deep and find a way to win or all too soon they could find themselves playing football in League One next season.

Team in the Current Relegation Zone:

Nottingham Forest: 41 points, Forest have struggled to adapt to the Championship all season and have endured more then a couple of thumpings this season. They have hovered around the drop zone all season and unless they find something inside them and a few results go their way they will be making an immediate return to League One.

Southampton: 40 points, 1 match in hand. Southampton have been around the relegation zone all season and they need to find a way to start winning, and winning fast. They need to basically win all their remaining matches and hope that some results go against those four teams above them if they are to pull off an escape.

Charlton: 29 points, 1 game in hand. At this point it really doesn’t matter what Charlton do, they are headed for League One next season. All they have to play for is pride and finishing off the season as best they can. Its amazing to think only three years ago they were a mid-table Premiership team and now they will be in League One next season.

My relegation predictions: Charlton, Nottingham Forest, Plymouth. I think Southampton will escape.

Last Saturday was another frustrating day as for the second time in four days (& the third time in a month) Crystal Palace’s Championship fixture was called off – not due to Peaches Geldof’s pending divorce, Michael Phelps being pictured purportedly smoking marijuana from a bong or that ‘idiot’ Gordon Brown………..no you guessed it, it was due to the weather!

Now I am well aware that neither you nor I (the man in the street) can do anything about the weather itself, but maybe the Clubs outside the Premier League should look at alternative strategies in an attempt to make sure games are played despite the weather.

In the cold light of day the Premier League is in a world of its own, The Royal Family of the Football League if you like, BUT the foundation, the bread and butter of our game emanates from the lower leagues.

The Championship, the second tier of our national  game is susceptible to the same problems and issues as the Blue Square League when games are called off.
Lost revenue through various channels including television rights, match sponsorship and ticket sales, match re-scheduling, administration costs, disruption and disappointment for the fans and general inconvenience.

For example, Crystal Palace were due to meet Plymouth Argyle at Home Park on Saturday 10th January, the match was postponed and is now re-scheduled for Tuesday 17th February .
How feasible and fair is it on the modern day fan to even contemplate a 460 mile round-trip from London, a nine-hour vehicle journey in MIDWEEK, and in the current economic climate!

A day off work, traveling costs, the long trip, returning home in the early hours and getting up for work the very same morning. Preposterous!
However the tenacity of some of our supporters (as with many Clubs) means there will without a doubt be a small representation of Palace fans at Home Park next week but obviously nothing like the vocal support OUR team would have received had the game been on the proposed Saturday.

This Saturday is FA Cup weekend, and with both teams are out of the competition, in theory anyway both Clubs were available to fulfill the fixture on this ‘free’ weekend, but for whatever reason it seems football politics got in the way. 

I stand to be corrected and will happily hold my hands up if I am wrong, but I thought the re-scheduling of postponed fixtures took priority wherever possible. Palace’s last two fixtures against Birmingham and Barnsley respectively were both victims of the weather. Meanwhile this Saturday Charlton play host to Plymouth, whilst Birmingham entertain Forest.  Both Barnsley and Palace will be kicking their heals this weekend, as neither of them have a game!  

I assume  a week is not enough time for two professional clubs and the FA to re-schedule a fixture! Galling and irksome are just two adjectives that immediately spring to mind.

Now the proposed solution………….of all the various gimmicks in British Football over the years the plastic or artificial pitch is possibly the least bemoaned.
Considered an avant-garde remedy to the rain, frost and snow of a British winter, as well as an additional form of income on non-match days by staging an assortment of other activities to raise money, the plastic football pitch was originally modelled on the Astroturf surfaces of the USA in the 1960’s.

The first football club to roll out a synthetic pitch on these shores was QPR at their Loftus Road ground in 1981. Luton, Oldham and Preston followed suit, but shortly after 1994 when Deepdale reverted back to the green green grass of home, artificial pitches were outlawed under Premier League guidelines.

At the time these pitches were in the early development stage and admittedly there were issues revolving around the bounce of the ball, carpet-type burns and the potential damage to joints, (in particular those of the knee) due to the overly unforgiving nature of the hard surface.
However times and science have moved on quite considerably, 25 years on in fact since the initial experiment at Loftus Road.

Under-soil heating and better drainage facilities also contributed to the death of the artificial pitch, BUT the fact remains today that currently the lushest of footballing surfaces are often made out of a combination of artificial fibres to toughen up the traditional ‘live’ grass alongside it!

In 2003 at the Under-17 World Cup Championships in Helsinki, ten of the matches including the final were played on one of the new generation of artificial surfaces.

Furthermore many of the ultra-modern stadiums in Britain have such high-sided stands that they block out the natural elements that are needed for the turf to be at its best. Subsequently this results in pitches having to be re-laid during a season at great expense, suggesting that an artificial surface of sufficient quality could have a place in the game, particularly outside the top flight.

A full international fixture for the 2008 European Championships was played in October 2007 between England and Russia on an artificial surface, which was installed to counteract adverse weather conditions, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
In Scotland last month Alloa Athletic hosted Aberdeen on their plastic pitch for a Scottish Cup game. 

Is it not finally time that the people at the apex of our game, in their shiny suits, moccasin shoes and badly dyed hair, took the bull by the horns and instead of  watching football clubs fall foul of the weather, became pro-active and provided lower league clubs in the British domestic game, with at least the option of using the latest technology in the form of ‘3G’ type plastic pitches?

The thrid round of the FA Cup draw is out and here is who the teams of the CCC will face. The ties will be played the weekend of January 3, 2009. If the tie is tied then a replay will be played.

Portsmouth v Bristol City – Ashton Gate

Sheffield Wednesday v Fulham – Hillbrough

Preston NE v Liverpool – Deepdale

Birmingham City v Wolves – St. Andrew’s Stadium

West Ham United v Barnsley – Upton Park

Manchester City v Nottingham Forest – Eastlands

Cardiff City v Reading – Ninan Park

Ipswich Town v Chesterfield/Droylesden – Portman Road

Charlton v Norwich – The Valley

Torquay v Blackpool – Plainmoor

Leyton Orient v Sheffield United – Brisbane Road

Southampton v Manchester United – St. Mary’s Stadium

Histon v Swansea City – Bridge Road

Forest Green Rovers v Derby County – The New Lawn

QPR v Burnley – Turf Moor

Leicester City v Crystal Palace – Walkers Stadium

Morcambe/Cheltenham v Doncaster

Arsenal v Plymouth – Emirates Stadium

Watford v Scunthorpe – Vicarage Road

Coventry City v Kidderminster – Richo Arena

The transfer window may be closed but Championship Teams are still active in the loan market. Deals that are struck between clubs about transfers won’t go through until Janruary 1st, 2009. Here is the latest activity in the loan market:

Andy Todd: From Derby County to Northampton Town

Keith Gillespie: From Sheffield United to Charlton Athletic

Chris Weale: From Bristol City to Hereford United

Luke Varney: From Charlton to Derby County (will be made permanate in Jan for 1M)

Graham Stack: From Plymouth to Blackpool

Bartosz Slusarski: From West Brom to Sheffield Wed

Kurt Robinson: From Ipswich Town to Northampton Town

Kyel Reid: From West Ham to Blackpool

Steve Jones: From Burnley to Bradford City

Shane Higgs: From Cheltenham Town to Wolves

Joshua Gowing: From Bristol City to Hereford United

Mitchell Hanson: From Derby County to Notts County

Liam Dickenson: From Derby County to Blackpool

Mark Davies: From Wolves to Leicester

Jamie Cureton: From Norwich to Barnsley

Deon Burton: From Sheffield Wed to Charlton

Steve Brooker: From Bristol City to Doncaster

Liam Bridcutt: From Chelsea to Watford

Chris Birchall: From Coventry City to Carlisle United

Ashely Barnes: From Plymouth to Gainsbrough Trinity

Oakwell are home to Barnsley Football club. It is a 23,009 all seater stadium and the pitch size is 110×75 yards.  The home fans are house in the East Stand which has a capacity of 7,500 seats, part of the North stand, which opened in 1999 and is the newest addition to Oakwell with a 6,000 fan capacity,the CK Beckett Stand which houses about 4,500. The away fans are housed in the North Stand and are usually given an allotment of 2,000 tickets but it can be increased if demand exceeds the initial allotment. Inside the stand to eat are the delicious‘Football’s Famous Chicken Balti Pie’ (£2.30) is available inside the ground, along with cheeseburgers (£2.80), hot dogs (£2.70), sausage rolls (£2) and chips (£1.70). If you want to catch a pint before the match the closest pub is the Outpost on Sheffield Road and is only a 10 minute walk from the ground. If you are traveling by train it is also a 10 minute walk from the stadium. The ticket office number is 0871 226 6777. Tickets cost:

 Home Fans:
East & West Stands (Upper Tier): Adults £22, OAP/Juvenile £13, Under 11′s £7
East & West Stands (Lower Tier): Adults £21, OAP/Juvenile £12, Under 11′s £6
Barnsley Chronicle Family Area: Adults £22, OAP/Juvenile £13, Under 11′s £7
CK Beckett (Pontefract Road) Stand: Adults £20, OAP/Juvenile £12, Under 11′s £6

Away Fans:
North Stand: Adults £20, OAP/Juvenile £12, Under 11′s £6

Barnsley:

In: Roberto Colace (Newells Old Boys, Und),

Out: Istvan Ferenczi (Ferencvaros, Und)

Blackpool:

In: Matt Gilks (Norwich, Und), Adam Hammill (Liverpool, loan)

Burnley:

In: Diego Penny (Coronel Bolognesi, Und)

Crystal Palace:

In: Calvin Andrew (Luton Town, Und), Jose Fonte (Benfica, Und), Simon Thomas (Borehamwood, nominal)

 Derby County:

In: Rob Hulse (Sheffield Utd, £1.75M), Przemyslaw Kazmierczak (FC Porto, loan)

Doncaster:

In: Tomi Ameobi (Leeds United, nominal)

Ipswich Town:

In: Kevin Lisbie (Colchester, Und), Richard Wright (West Ham, Und)

Norwich:

In: Arturo Lupoli (Fiorentina, loan), David Bell (Luton Town, Und), Dejan Stefanovic (Fulham, Und), Elliot Omozvsi (Fulham, loan)

Out: Matt Gilks (Blackpool, Und)

Nottingham Forest:

In: Mickael Darnet (AS Cannes), Joe Garner (Carlise, £1.14M)

Sheffield United:

In: Darius Henderson (Watford, £ 2M + add ons)

Out: Luton Shelton (Valerenga)

Swansea City

In: Febian Brandy (Manchester United, loan)

Here are your updated transfers for all the CCC clubs as of 18 July, 08.

Barnsley:  

Out: Dwayne Mattis (released)

Birmingham City

In: Marcus Bent ( Charlton, undisclosed)

Out: Daniel De Ridder (Wigan, free), Oliver Kapo (Wigan 2.5m)

Blackpool

In: Steve Kabba (Watford, loan)

Bristol City:

In: Emad Metab (Al Ahly, 1.5m)

Out: Darren Byfield (Doncaster, free), Enoch Showunmi (Leeds United, free)

Burnley

In: Remco van der Schaaf (unattached)

Charlton Athletic

Out: Marcus Bent (Birmingham City, undisclosed), Chris Iwelumo (Wolves, undisclosed), Darren Randolph (Hereford, loan)

Coventry City

In: Freddy Eastwood (Wolves, 1.2m)

Crystal Palace

Out: Tony Craig (Millwall, undisclosed)

Doncaster Rovers

In: Darren Byfield (Bristol City, free)

Plymouth

In: David MacNamee (unattached)

Out: Peter Halmosi (Hull City, undisclosed)

Preston NE

In: Barry Nicholson (Aberdeen, Free)

 QPR

 Out: Jake Cole (Oxford, free)

Swansea City

In: Stephen Morrison (West Brom, free)

Out: Darren Way (Yeovil Town, free)

Watford

 Out: Steve Kabba (Blackpool, loan)

Wolves

In: Chris Iwelumo (Charlton, undisclosed)

Out: Freddy Eastwood (Coventry City, 1.2m), Charlie Mulgrew (Aberdeen, undisclosed)

Each day I will be giving a quick snapshot of two CCC clubs to help familarize yourself with who will be batting it out to make it to the Englsih Premier League.

Barnsley 

Formed: 1887

Nickname: The Tykes, The Reds

Ground: Oakwell (23,009)

Last Season: 18th in the CCC with 55 points

FA Cup Winners: 1911/12