Jan 07
The draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup was held just a short while ago in London, and Arsenal were drawn at home against the winner of the Stoke v Newcastle replay.
Fourth round ties will take place the weekend of January 26/27. No word yet on whether there will be any TV coverage here in the US.
40 Responses to “FA Cup 4th Round Draw”
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January 7th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Funny thing is, now big Sam moved to a “bigger club”. But i did fear more of his lowly Bolton than his Newcastle side.
January 7th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I hope it is Stoke. I don’t want to have to play Newcastle twice in three days. I know they are terrible and we will have them at home both times but playing twice in succession like that is usually not a good thing.
January 7th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Me too, I prefer stoke. Although I wouldn’t be concerned if it was the toons as our “kids” took them apart in the Carling Cup. Albeit it was earlier in the season and we were flying and they were struggling then.
We have the quality to advance against either team but of course I would like to see easier opposition so we don’t have to stretch our resources on multiple competitions especially during the ACN already stretching us thin.
January 7th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I don’t think Newcastle are looking forward to seeing Bendtner again either. He’s already knocked them out of the Carling Cup and last year I watched Nick and the rest of Birmingham beat the brakes off Newcastle in the FA Cup. I think the score was like 5-1. To get thrashed like that by a lower league side is shameful.
January 7th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
This is the sort of the time when the fourth, fifth, and quarter final matches tend to merge into one mass of mediocrity and attrition. I’ll start showing some interest in this competition if we reach the Semi-finals. Until then, I’m with Dave Kitson.
January 7th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
I tend to agree with you Mazza!!
I know I’m going aginst the pecking order of the cups but I’m more interested in our progress in the CC semi’s to the FA Cup at this stage. Probably for 2 reasons; firstly, the CC is about ‘young Arsenal’, and secondly at the semi final stage we are so close to winning a prize, albeit the 4th ranked one. I really believe any prize for this team will be a significant milestone in its development and maturing. Floodgates opening and all that……
January 7th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Interesting that Chelsea’s interest in Anelka has been confirmed.
On the face of it, good for Chelsea who would get a quality striker who will likely provide goals immediately - no transition period required.
The downside with Anelka is that he is 100% mercenary. You know with complete certainty that as soon as he’s bored, unhappy, just a bit itchy, or gets the scent of a ‘better’ offer he’ll be off.
Where does this put Drogba? Perhaps it frees him up to go in the summer?
In a perverse way the ethos of Chelsea and Anelka are in complete alignment. It’s like a soul-less wedding of convenience.
Part of me feels a sense of sorrow about all this because Anelka could have celebrated a wonderful career with Arsenal under Wenger. Instead he’ll look back upon a bitsa career with a loaded bank account. One that reached no great heights and made no great contribution to any particular club apart from providing seed money for Arsenals infrastructure development LOL. But what fans will celebrate him? A series of cameo performances and a legend for being a sulking gypsy with no heart, commitment or emotion. Hardly a fitting tribute for a guy who could have achieved so much.
January 7th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Kiwi, funny how most of that analysis could have applied to another ex-Arsenal player at Chelsea.
January 7th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
If it is Newcastle, one way to make it interesting is to send out the youngsters for the FA Cup tie, and run them ragged, then send out the first team on Tuesday to finish them off. It wouldn’t hurt to rack up a cricket score to gives a top goal difference.
Big Sam’s really on the ropes now. Boring and leaking goals, and he doesn’t even show up for the press conference.
Meanwhile, with Drogba gone and Shev injured, Chelsea have only Piss-aro as their striker for their CC tie with Everton. Everton should really get something out of this.
January 7th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
#8 yeah, Cole got all bent over the Arsenal ‘offer’, it was a time of real transition for Arsenal on the field so it made Chelsea’s success seem aluring. I think time will prove he would have ben better staying put. Anyway, who cares!!!
January 8th, 2008 at 12:46 am
i was not the least bit anxious or bitter when cole left. the full back position is not really such a significant position. the guy just has to make sure wingers dont run behind him too often…that is all. so chelsea blasted all that money on him just for because of status.
they were also the club that blasted 22 million pounds on that portuguese rightback!!! LOL. if wenger was at chelsea he would have just converted diarra to rightback fulltime and got better results.
January 8th, 2008 at 11:02 am
RvP is back for the Spurs game!!!
January 8th, 2008 at 11:29 am
4th Round date/time is now set for Saturday, January 26 at 10 AM ET.
January 8th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
exactly Fred. Chelsea fans been moaning non-stop on how “one price for Chelsea, one price for other clubs” when comes to bidding a new player.
But who’s the one to blame at the first place?
January 8th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Yes VanP is back.
Also “Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos will play at the back.” All hands to the pump!
January 8th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Acutally, Kiwi, I wrote earlier today about how Anelka has matured in that respect. I was comparing Diarra now to how Anelka used to be and how that attitude (not talent) ruined the career of what should have been a legendary superstar. But I believe Anelka has changed for the better in that respect and for all the reasons you’ve mentioned. He’s realized he won’t have a legendary status at regardless of where he goes so he’s, atleast, trying to remove the Les Sulk title.
Think, we haven’t heard a single wimper out of him trying to force a move the whole time he’s been at Bolton. Last Saturday, I heard some Sky commentators claim that he lacks ambition because he’s not agressively seeking a bigger club. Nonsense. He’s seen how Thierry’s become an icon and thinks what could have and should have been. He’s going to Chelsea now and, truthfully, I’m very happy for him. I just hope he doesn’t influence any of our trophy ambitions like we all know he’s fully capable of.
January 8th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
i agree joshuad. i do think Anelka has learned. and besides, the cirumstance when Ashley cole left was the worst that could happen to any club. far worse than Anelka.
first, not only Cashley jumped ship. he jumped to one of our biggest rivals. and before that, he had involved in that infamous “tap up” incident - talking with Chelsea behind our back.
worst still, after he moved, as if the big money packet he earned at Chelsea was not enough, he published a book to try sqeezing out more money. And even worst, he actually attacked his former club, and teammates in his book.
That’s the worst betrayal act I ever seen in any player of any club. Anelka was not even close. besides, we nicked Le Sulk away from PSG, and you kinda expected what goes around come around. Cashley Hole though, was an Arsenal born and bleed. fans usually would find it more difficult to take when one of your very own betraying their own club in a manner like that.
January 8th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Did you guys see the report on Cashley’s anger after the captain’s armband was handed to Drogba (a substitute)?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Anelka may have mellowed a bit, but I doubt there has been a character change. I don’t wish ill on the guy, so if he moves and things work out well then good for him. I recall he had commented in the press since the start of the season about the possibility of moving away from Bolton but that hardly raised a ripple - everyone expects it from him.
At the end of the day these players are humans with a variety of personalities and backgrounds. Some show maturity some don’t. The problem is that their wealth and public profile means their actions and comments get massive publicity - particularly anything negative - from that angle it just demonstrates the media’s bias toward dirt.
Clever players avoid making dumb decisions and surrounding themselves in negativity. On that score both Anelka and Cole fail - let’s see what Diarra does.
I feel more sorry for Cole than Anelka. For me Cole made 1 dumb decision and that has mushroomed (as they often do) when he tried to justify himself. Anelka on the other hand has floated from club to club in a mind-numbing manner. We’re talking a guy with the talent to be one of the worlds best strikers at 28 talking about going to his 9th club! For Pete’s sake. Now that’s not 1 dumb decision, that’s a dumb mentality. Cream years in his career have been wasted at Man City, Fernerbache and Bolton. Prior to that after one particularly promising year at Arsenal he moved with no impact to Real, to PSG to L’pool. What a waste.
Whatever he does in the future he can never recover the opportunities he blew over those 8 or more years.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
What goes around, comes around. Neither Anelka or Cole really listened to their heart. One had his brother filling his head with big-money scemes; the other had his fat greedy agent turning his head.
No-one wants to feel short-changed, but really… If you take the long view and see things in terms of personal development and overall success (not just cash, but a lasting rapport with the fans, being part of a club’s history), then both players could now be rich, respected, and loved. If you love a club, then that energy comes right back to you - the fans know that and revere you accordingly. Look at Alan Shearer. Christ, look at honest Perry Groves. He’ll never have to buy his own pint again in North London.
Anelka could have exploded with Arsenal over the past decade. Instead, he’s become a skilled but rather lonesome journeyman - like Charles Bronson in the Mechanic.
As for Cole - his betrayal, and there’s no other word for it, is still staggering to me. I have to remind myself he grew up supporting Arsenal. Being a club captain - as Wenger suggested - should have been a dream come true. When you swap a dream like that for pure money, you’re simply selling your soul. It will only come back to haunt him.
Cole’s case is so sickening because his ego suddenly gave him this huge sense of entitlement - the famous swerving off the road incident. So he felt hard done-by, but one senses he was already looking for a way to make more money. The lesser pay offer was the excuse he was looking for. And then he lied continually about the tapping-up meeting. His version of events in his book is total mendacity. He got caught and fined by the FA, as they all did at the meeting. And they still won’t admit any wrongdoing or accept responsibility for it.
Then came Cole’s pitifully self-justifying book, in which he dismissed his former team-mates, writing of Fabregas as a lightweight. Oh really? And would word should we then use about your wife’s singing career then?
January 8th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
It’s interesting to see how Wenger has gutted the 1st team and many of the established backup players in a very short space of time. Very interesting. Almost total change in 2 years. He didn’t have to do it so quickly or so comprehensively. He chose to.
My take is that Arsenal Mk II had become essentially complacent. Wenger wanted to rejuvenate the team and its culture.
Why its culture? Cole’s nonsense gives a pointer. Why did Cole’s worldview become so warped? Was he just intrinsically stupid? Maybe or maybe not. As Mac says a guy who was in line to be captain of his hometown mega-club? Why blow it all?
For me his outlook and actions reflected a hidden spoiltness in the dressing room. And I think in some ways it started with Vieira. When your captain has annual dalliances (4x) with the enemy (Real) is that really going to breed the right attitude in the camp? What comments would be exchanged between Vieira and Cole? What advice would Cole receive from his club captain? Would Vieira take the moral line (& sensible line?) and tell Cole that he is well treated and loved and had a great future and to work out the contract financial issues sensibly? Would seem a bit 2-faced wouldn’t it. No, I never liked Vieira’s annual dalliances, more-so because he was our captain and it couldn’t help but influence other players at the club. He could have come out publicly and killed the talk every year but he let it hang. I even remember being at Highbury and speaking to one of the club officials - he said “we have no idea what Patrick is going to do”. I was rather surprised at the time. I had expected “nah, that’s all just media talk”.
Anyway, Wenger the master manager has rejuvenated the whole squad allowing him to develop a fresh culture to go along with the fresh legs and youthful energy. Any way you cut it, the man is a legend.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I dont think it had anything with attitude or hidden culture in the dressing room. Somehow I dont think Wenger really concerns himself too much with that.
It was all down to playing style and mentality - nothing else in my opinion. For all the praise the “invincibles” got they were still somewhat lily-livered. The Mk 2 team could pummel the rest of the league but always played scared when our only real rivals Man U came to town. And ofcourse our total incompetence in the Champions League is legendary.
Basically, the Vieira team had maxed out their potential as early as 2004. And Wenger knew since then. I think at that point he decided to move slowly towards a “slower”, more deliberate team that can finally crack Europe. I doubt he would have expected such a fast change in personnel but once Vieira was sold, it dominoed and went very fast. Its a testament to Wenger’s guile and system that we are still a top club in that time.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I definately think the invincible team was quite diva-ish by the time United ended our unbeaten run. Big players, big personalities, and big egos. While Wenger usually turns a blind eye to all that when results are unfavourable, his awareness and intolerance of it intensified when Vieira began to confuse training with playing actual games and results suffered. Vieira’s malaise acted as a cancer to the rest of the team and by the time he had been removed, several cells were left over. Most notably Henry and Cole. They followed him not too long after and Wenger didn’t exactly put up a massive fight. He knew they had to go.
This team is devoid of ego- bar the odd Cesc tantrum- and Wenger likes it that way. He has a good nature which can be taken advantage of by strong-willed and ego-centric players and the current squad are more likely to test him ‘footballistically’ rather than off the field.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
sorry, when results are “favourable”. God we need this edit option.
January 8th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Diarra left out tomorrow night. Well it looks like he’s definately gone then. Impatient little git.
January 8th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I agree Fred all the juice had been squeezed from the orange after the unbeaten season. Wenger has since come out and referred to stages a player/team goes thru and Arsenal Mk II was in his ’stage three - all experience and no running’.
The demise of Arsenal Mk II co-incided with the Emirates project - hence Wenger chose the time to re-strategise. Clear the decks for ‘young Arsenal’.
But whatever way you look at it (Mazza put it nicely) they were diva-ish. And it manifested itself in different ways, from the holistic collapse post-Vieira (still can’t believe how weak they were) to the Cole saga. I agree with Mazza too that Wenger’s management style is very accomodating and nurturing - he probably needs a strong captain to keep the players in line at times - which again leaves him (and the dressing room) vulnerable when the captain’s attitude isn’t all it could be.
January 8th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
“Diarra left out tomorrow night. Well it looks like he’s definately gone then. Impatient little git.”
agree with your sentiments
Perhaps Wenger is teaching him a lesson. Has there ever been another Arsenal player whinge to the media after barely 4 months - let alone a 22 yr old who couldn’t even command a starting role in his last team?
And let’s remember he has started 10 games and been sub in 6. So involved in 16 out of 33 games. A guy who joined on the last day of the xfer window - no involvement in the pre-season. His attitude is almost worth an expletive.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:54 am
No, I don’t think Vieira had anything to do with Cole’s betrayal act. Cashely Cole is a grownup man. He’s not a kid, he’s old enough to know what he wants, what he should do, what he should not, what’s right, what’s wrong.
Imagine if a loyal guy like Tony was around and adviced Cashley that you should stay, do you think Cashley Hole would give a f*ck of it? He wanted that extra 5k, and he felt he was a “victim”, and it appeared to me he ENJOYED the role being a “victim”. He had that sorry ass mentality blaming everyone else but himself. And he felt “insecured” as his teammates didn’t speak English in the dressing room…. the man is 100% chicken shit.
That, no one could possibly have influenced him.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Agree with Andez, I think Cole missed the English (drinking and merry making?) group at Arsenal. At Chelsea, he saw Terry, Lampard, Joe Cole, etc. and maybe felt more at home.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:20 am
Andez, not like you to get so het up about a player!
Firstly let me say I’m not dogmatic about this stuff cause at the end of the day we’re all speculating. But……in answer to your question “Imagine if a loyal guy like Tony was around and adviced Cashley that you should stay, do you think Cashley Hole would give a f*ck of it?”
I would answer ‘yes perhaps’.
I rate the influence of strong captains. They set the tone and help the manager keep things together. So firstly, if Tony was around Cole would have had a captain whose commitment wasn’t in doubt and who expected the same from his senior players, particularly home-grown ones. He wouldn’t give the message that it’s ok to speak to other clubs (i.e. Real Madrid each off-season). So Cole wouldn’t have had a captain giving what can at best be called mixed messages.
And secondly, if Cole’s head was still turned, yes I think if Tony had a word in his ear, he may well have listened and weighed that up against other advice.
At the end of the day he may still make a dumb choice, like you say he is a grown man. But I wouldn’t under-estimate the key role a captains example plays in determining the culture of ‘commitment’ toward ones club. You’ve followed football a while Andez, think Tony Adams, think Roy Keane. They expected nothing less than total commitment and backed that up by giving it to their manager and club. Can you imagine either Adams or Keane doing what Vieira did?
For most of his playing career at Arsenal Vieira was sublime - but he sullied that by not being straight forward on the annual will he won’t he charade.
January 9th, 2008 at 6:56 am
Where did you guys hear that Diarra’s not in the team?
January 9th, 2008 at 7:01 am
if diarra cannot wait till the end of january to see what happens before moving on then he is an absolute idiot.
he is bloody 22, which other top manager in the world is MOST likely to promote players of his age. so now he wants to start for the likes of aston villa and man city????
i hope we dont accept anything less than 6 million for him. we should make a good profit off his back.
January 9th, 2008 at 7:14 am
I dont know where people are seeing things about Diarra either. There’s no squad on Arsenal.com . Unless they’ve all got French TV and seen an interview or something
January 9th, 2008 at 7:55 am
About Diarra, it’s all “reported” in the newspapers. It makes sense to drop him in the FA Cup because you don’t want him cup tied. But in the CC, it doesn’t matter, unless Wenger has frozen him out.
I wouldn’t mind keeping him around unless a 6M bid comes along. Flamini was frozen out of the team for the second half of last season and look how he fought back.
January 9th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Ah, Murphy’s law kicks in. The squad is listed on Arsenal.com and Diarra is not there.
January 9th, 2008 at 8:15 am
from the squad listed i expect this team to start:
fabianski
sagna - djorou - senderos - traore
walcott - gilberto - denilson - diaby
bendtner - eduardo
with a bench of: mannone, j. hoyte, g. hoyte, randall, van Persie.
i really do not like seeing gilberto play any more….but then he wasnt that bad against burnley.
hopefully we can keep the scores (at least their scores) low.
January 9th, 2008 at 8:31 am
With Diarra on the verge of departure, Diaby too might decide to move on in the summer. So even if Flamini stays, we could still be three short as Gilberto will almost certainly leave by the summer.
That will leave Cesc, Flamini, Denilson and Song as options in CM - with no backup for LM or RM if Eboue is moved on (I really hope).
I think at least two out of: Harvard Nordveit, Gavin Hoyte, Lansbury, Randall, Carlos Vela and Gibbs will see increased first team action next season, as I really cant see Wenger buying too much in the summer.
These four I think are ahead of Merida (who for some reason seems to have underwhelmed Wenger). Wenger will never loan “crown jewel” material.
After watching just a few reserve games, I will say Carlos Vela, Gavin Hoyte and Landsbury seem like the strongest. They are also in positions were space might become available.
Carlos Vela can play left wing or striker. But I am sure he will only get space as backup to Rosicky.
Gavin Hoyte is 6 ft 3in. And from what I have seen of him he is almost as fast as Toure!!! And he is calm in a non-Senderos way. Ofcourse he hasnt been tested in anyway yet. He definitely has far more potential than Justin.
Harvard Nordveit is also 6′3 and captain of the reserves. He is a bit slower. But looks strong in the air. Hopefully he isnt a Sendy Pt. 2.
Amongst the midfielders, Lansbury or Randall are most likely to break through I think. Because they play central and can pretty much do the “Flamini” stuff. Plus they are very good passers of the ball. They are also both 6 footers.
Gibbs is also interesting but I think he is competing against Vela on the left wing so I am not sure if he might make much progress.
CONCLUSION:
Wenger will not buy anybody at all in the summer. The only entries will be to replace any reserve players he has promoted.
January 9th, 2008 at 8:44 am
If Cesc stays, Denilson himself finds it difficult to get games. What chance does Merida have?
January 9th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Wenger definitely needs a left midfielder in the summer. Vela is not really a left winger, he is a striker - although he could conceivably play in an attacking 4-3-3 formation, but Wenger doesn’t employ that. So I don’t see Vela as an answer to Arsenal’s left-sided problem. Perhaps Wenger is happy to play Diaby in place of Rosicky, but I don’t feel we get the best out of Diaby there, he is being wasted.
Toure’s absence will now allow Wenger to make a final decision on Djourou/Senderos, I expect one to leave in the summer - hopefully Senderos.
Personally, I don’t see any sort of future for Lansbury or Randall or Hoyte, but maybe Wenger feels he has to keep them in case he needs to raise his English quota at some point.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Exactly. Their only advantage is being english. Plus not the Justin Hoyte, Gavin Hoyte is the one I am talking about.