FA Cup

[Kernow Yellow]

At least now we get a chance to see how worried we need to be by Dagenham's recent form...

[Snake]

Of all the teams and all the places to go to we had to pick that one!

It’s the most difficult possible draw, we’ve only just been there so there is no novelty value like at Eastbourne last season, and it’s not even a nice place to visit - but hey, it could really turn our season one way or another so it’s now quite an important game.

And we might still have to go there again in the play-off semis should Weymouth sneak pass us both come May..

Why can’t stuff be simple at Oxford United?

[Baboo]

Are we bothered about the FA Cup ?

I would have said it is a distraction we could do without but the money would be nice if a decent draw / run were to materialise.

I guess we both need to win to strike a psychological blow and winning is a nice habit.

But wouldn't it be funny if we let them win and they went on to Cup glory, got knackered towards the end of the season when they were playing catch up and we finished loads of points ahead of them.

[Matt D]

it does have the feel of the sort of game where proceeding to the next round is not the key reason to win this.

interesting contrast of moods on TiU and the daggers messageboard too.

[DLT]

Bullocks.

I was hoping for Forest Green Rovers or Merthyr Tydfil. I have to be in Caerphilly by 20.00 that evening. Dagenham is bit of a challenge.

[Baboo]

Bullocks.

I was hoping for Forest Green Rovers or Merthyr Tydfil. I have to be in Caerphilly by 20.00 that evening. Dagenham is bit of a challenge.

Make sure you drive Caerphilly Dave.

(Oh come on, someone had to say it)

[SmileyMan]

I think the boys ought to make an effort for this one. While I couldn't care less for the cup (even if we made it to the second/third round I doubt the TV money would come our way again), and I don't think our team's morale would suffer too much from a loss, you can be sure that beating us would give the Daggers a massive boost in confidence that might inspire them for the rest of the season, giving us a hard chase all the way in.

Whereas a right royal stuffing at the hands of the Yellows could break them just as their going into a tough fixture period, allowing us to pull clear and stay there this time.

[Sideshow Rob]

You are a bunch a cynical old sods! It's the FA Cup, the best domestic cup competition in the world. It didn't do our league form any harm to have long cup runs under Smith in the 80's did it? I will be at Dagenham hoping for a chance to put one over a league club in the first round.

[DLT]

I would relish us outnumbering the home fans at a place like Macclesfield with us being the 'giant killers'.

[A-Ro]

Good call Dave, I can see that happening.

[Sideshow Rob]

I would relish us outnumbering the home fans at a place like Macclesfield with us being the 'giant killers'.

Or winning at Slumdon to put a marker down for next season.

[Mooro]

Overall, I think the main impact of the result next week will be a their end rather than ours. A win and they'll be on a high, defeat added to their result last Saturday could actually knock them right back.
For us, I think we can dismiss a defeat if it happens (focus on the league etc), while a win would keep the run going and help keep the others down.

My hope is that we get through and get the chance to turn over one of the eternal coffin dodgers at the base of Div 2 (eg Bury) just to prove to both sides that the wrong team went down last season.

I think the only circumstance in which I would want us to bow out is if the first match is tied and draw for round 1 proper pits the winner of the replay against Boston. If that happened I would happily stand aside and let Dagenham reap hearty revenge for being cheated out of promotion a few years ago.

It is interesting that if fate did indeed dictate that the dominance of Accrington last season meant it was inevitable that we would fall out of the league, then it is already beginning to arrange the stars such that Dagenham can claim their rightful place at the expense of Boston in May.

[Baboo]

[quote=&quotMooro&quot]

My hope is that we get through and get the chance to turn over one of the eternal coffin dodgers at the base of Div 2 (eg Bury) just to prove to both sides that the wrong team went down last season.

quote]

But the wrong team didn't go down.

I wonder what position we would be in now if we had stayed in League 2.

Would supporters be happier there in mid table (not that I don't think Jim would have been capable of getting us higher than that) than lauding it from the top of the Conference?

[Mooro]

But the wrong team didn't go down.

I wonder what position we would be in now if we had stayed in League 2.

Would supporters be happier there in mid table (not that I don't think Jim would have been capable of getting us higher than that) than lauding it from the top of the Conference?

I know, I know, but the one thing that annoys me, as I said the other day on a different thread, is that year after year there are the same half dozen or more teams that are content with surviving in Div 2 - Bury, Stockport, Boston, Macclesfield, etc, etc - and manage to do so, while other teams have one bad year and fall through the middle and out, which in the end is what we did. WE may not have set the world on fire in recent years but apart from the first season we have not really been in serious trouble of relegation before.

Personally, I think if we had stayed up we would have had a better standard of player to willing to come here, so would perhaps have been top half, maybe pushing the playoffs.

Mid table Div 2, or top of the conference? - It seems we are enjoying the conference at the moment, but only because we are actually top and clear with promotion a strong possibility. Should we fal away even slightly, then suddenly the spectre of not automatically going back up appears, then it may not be so much fun.

If we had stayed up, and you asked that question, pretty much everyone would have taken where they were and, novel as the Conference is, I think I still would

[GodalmingYellow]

I'm not sure that any of those teams are content with merely surviving. I don't think any of them have a choice. In particular, Stockport have particular problems with regards to ground ownership. Macc have financial problems stemming from an owner who tried to get grant funding and then spent the money on something else. Boston and Bury have crowd deficiency issues due to geographical location. In Boston's case in particular, I doubt they would ever be able to move home, because land prices in the outreaches of Lincolnshire are not sufficient to finance a new ground. We were very lucky in that respect.

I guess you may have meant they are happy to survive rather than face the drop, which in all of their cases could easily result in liquidation. It isn't a lack of ambition on their part, more the fate of circumstances.