by : Colin Illingworth
Preston haven’t reached Wembley since that heartbreaking day against West Ham in 1964 when Geoff Hurst and Ronnie Boyce scored late on to win the Cup 3-2. They have won the trophy twice though, 1889 and 1938, but if Jim was given the choice between a day out at Wembley or guaranteed safety in the Championship he would probably opt to stay in the Championship.
“That is a very difficult question. My heart would say win the cup as it’s been 70 years since we last won it. The last time Preston were in a cup final I was only nine years old and I watched on TV so it would be a fantastic to see Preston North End at the new Wembley. My head would say stay in the Championship though as relegation would be a big setback for the club. I hope we can do both but avoiding relegation is a more likely scenario.”
But there’s every chance that Preston could be the surprise package of the fifth round, especially if they can reproduce the form they showed against Derby County, as Jim explains.
“I went to the game expecting us to win as there would be no relegation pressure or fear of defeat. The way we hammered them left me wondering whether we had turned the corner or was it just Derby are a poor team. They were the worst team we've played all season. If Derby play like that in the Championship next year they will struggle again.”
Preston were knocked out of the competition at this stage last season by Manchester City despite taking the lead through David Nugent, who joined Portsmouth in the summer for £6 million, and with Jermain Defoe cup-tied there’s a chance that he could be back to haunt his former side. Alan Irvine will be keen for the club to go one better than last season and Jim Hempseed is already contemplating the draw for the quarter-final.
“A home draw would give us a chance to reach the semis, especially if it’s against another Championship team. We know we can beat any team in the Championship on our day as the recent wins against Watford and West Brom have demonstrated. Failing that Manchester United or Arsenal away for the money we would receive and a great day out for the fans.”
This is the first time Portsmouth have reached the fifth round in four years and with the prospect of only five Premiership sides remaining in the hat for Monday’s draw they will really fancy their chances of going all the way. Although they will probably be hoping to avoid Arsenal who put five past them the last time they met in the competition back in 2004.
Portsmouth’s last away victory at Deepdale was back in 1973 when they ran out 5-0 winners. They have enough firepower in their squad to reproduce that result but Preston are a much more resilient outfit then earlier in the season and it should be a real test of Portsmouth’s credentials. Although Jim is confident of beating Portsmouth he believes it may have to take a replay after a 1-1 draw, and not too many Preston fans would be upset with that.
Colin IllingworthIn 1931 West Bromwich Albion became the first and only English team to win promotion to the top flight and win the FA Cup in the same season. Could history be about to repeat itself 77 years on? Tony Mowbray’s free-scoring Albion side travels to the Ricoh Stadium on Saturday to face Coventry City and despite losing top spot at the weekend everything points to a West Brom win.
The Sky Blues are currently managerless after axing Iain Dowie earlier in the week and are staring relegation straight in the face. Meanwhile, West Brom are undoubtedly playing the best football in the division, Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus have extended their contracts at the club and the Baggies are looking odds on for a return to the Premiership. However, the FA Cup is the great leveller and Tony Mowbray will be only too aware of the threat posed by Coventry City.
In November West Brom cruised to a 4-0 win over 10-men City at the Ricoh Stadium but the Sky Blues exacted their revenge less than a month later as they beat the Baggies 4-2 at the Hawthorns. West Brom fans are confident of booking their first appearance in an FA Cup quarter-final for six years but for one Albion fan a defeat could be a bit hard to take.
“As I work in Coventry I have very mixed feelings about this one,” said Amanda Hume, secretary of the Sutton Coldfield branch of West Brom Supporters Club. “I am pleased because it is winnable game but anxious about the embarrassment it would cause if we lost! In theory we should be able to win it even if it takes a draw to get them back to the Hawthorns.”
The Baggies’ away form has been a major concern all season and the fact that they’ve lost their past three away games is worrying. Albion’s cup involvement last season was cited as one of the reasons why the Hawthorns isn’t hosting Premiership football right now and with Mowbray’s men losing top spot there are fears that the same could happen again. While all West Brom fans would love to see the Baggies in their first FA Cup final in 40 years the majority of them know that the main priority this season is promotion to the Premiership.
“It has to be the Premiership for obvious reasons of money and holding on to our best players. However, I still enjoy the Championship more as we can win most of our matches and we are away from all that hype.
“It would be tremendous to go back to Wembley although I have to admit that having to play semi-finals there as well as the final takes the edge off the Wembley appearance. It is also so soon after our last trip there so it would not be that special for that reason too but I honestly think Baggies fans are more concerned about going up though and many wouldn't mind if we went out.”
Fellow Albion fan Steve Ashfield agrees that the promotion is crucial this season but is confident that they can still see off Coventry quite comfortably.
“Winning can only be positive, be it in the league or cup. I’d guess that the chairman and manager have their sights set on the Premier League and getting promotion is the main goal, but as fans it is nice to dream of Wembley.
“Coventry away gives us a good opportunity to progress. It’s not an easy one but one which we can be confident of winning having won 4-0 there already. They got their own back at the Hawthorns though 4-2 so they will be confident too. Perhaps after all those goals it has 0-0 written all over it!”
West Brom have been scoring for fun this season with the likes of Kevin Phillips, Roman Bednar, Ishmael Miller and Robert Koren regularly in among the goals. But their attacking options don’t end there. James Morrison, Zoltan Gera, Filipe Teixeira and Craig Beattie, when called upon, all know where the target is which will give Coventry’s caretaker boss Frankie Bunn a major headache.
But despite hovering around the bottom of the Championship, the Sky Blues have a decent home record as of late and with Michael Mifsud buzzing around up front you can’t discount City just yet, especially after winning at Old Trafford and Ewood Park this season. Not surprisingly both Amanda and Steve have picked out the Maltese striker as the Sky Blues’ main danger man, but Steve thinks the Baggies have more match winners in their ranks.
“Mifsud is their big danger player. He is very quick and has an eye for goal, but we have more match winners in our team, I believe. Phillips and Bednar have been outstanding as have all our midfielders. If only we could get the defence right too!”
At the end of the weekend there will only be five Premiership teams at least left in the draw for the quarter-final of the FA Cup, which gives the Baggies a great chance of reaching their first final in 40 years. And although they have to get the job done at the Ricoh Stadium both Amanda and Steve know what they want in the next round ... a home tie.
“It’s dangerous to look that far ahead but a home tie would make a nice change this season,” said Amanda. “Anyone bar the Premiership giants though.”
And Steve, who has been blown away by the style of football Mowbray has delivered at the Hawthorns, said: “I’d love to get a home time if we got through in the quarter-final as there could be a few teams left by then who we could easily beat and progress to the semi.”
Albion fans have witnessed some fantastic attacking displays this season but they would ultimately like some reward for their endeavour. Promotion and an FA Cup final appearance is the dream but with Tony Mowbray in charge there’s every chance that it could become a reality.
