The FA Cup third round used to be a prominent date in the diary of football fans up and down the country. The draw itself, always eagerly anticipated by fans with a chance to renew old rivalries with teams leagues apart, and the potential for a true underdog story with a good old fashioned cup ‘giant killing’.

But in recent years our love affair with England’s most prestigious cup competition seems to have faded somewhat. Every football fan would dream of that Cup Final day in Wembley, a chance to witness their side play at the national stadium in what is the world’s oldest club cup competition, but more often than not the ‘cup dream’ plays second fiddle to other priorities such as promotion or league survival.

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On the weekend of August 27/28 will live in the memory in recent Premiership history because what was seen could not have been predicted.

Sunday 28th August in the afternoon Tottenham who just missed out on a Champions League spot played host to the team who replaced them - Manchester City.

Then straight after, Premiership holders Manchester United entertained Arsenal. Rather than watching two very close fought games, we saw two annihilations . In the first match Eden Dzeko helped himself to four goals as Manchester City showed just how lethal their attack can be with a 5-1 win at White Hart Lane.

Arsenal fans were absolutely loving this and twitter was the worst place to be as a Tottenham fan. Two hours later, Arsenal fans were left feeling just as bad as they saw their team crushed 8-2 at Old Trafford.

The papers had a field day days after and as per usual the English media already started predicting that North London were going to have two struggling teams for the foreseeable future.

Well, Fabregas finally left, Nasri decided to go and Van Persie has not signed a new contract. What could get worse for Arsenal fans, well the Old Trafford debacle was painful to watch unless you were a Tottenham fan.

The team that everybody targets every year as the team to replace in the top four were looking extremely vulnerable. To top it all off, the gunners have to deal with the constant reminder from rival fans who never forget to stress “you have not won a trophy in years”.

Just how long can they wait for Wenger to deliver them a trophy that every Arsenal fan is craving for.

Things seemed to be getting worse for Arsenal and the 4-3 defeat to Blackburn was a further downer in a season that had barely gone into gear two. How could this situation possibly get worse?

Questions were primarily being asked about their leaky defence. Per Mertesacker was not giving anybody confidence, Carl Jenkinson was just too inexperienced and Thomas Vermaelen was a long term absentee.

Meanwhile, down the road for Tottenham, the Luka Modric saga dominated the papers over the summer and the strain of the story took its toll on the player and club.

Luka came out and said his chairman did not keep his word and even asked to be left out for a Premiership game because he didn’t feel his head was in the right place. After that painful defeat to Manchester City, Spurs fans were feeling very low.

With their prized asset wanted to leave, getting back in the top four looked like an uphill struggle with the riches of Manchester City, they had a strike force that were struggling for goals.

Where do they go from here? Their fans almost forgetting that not too long ago they were an average team in the Premiership and now demand a top four finish every year.

Spurs fans were beginning to question themselves on whether their beloved team have peaked and the only way for them was down? And let us not forget the worrying Spurs fans who believe it is only a matter of time before the national team comes knocking for Harry Redknapp and he duly accepts.

For Arsenal it was the time to separate the men from the boys, the leaders from the followers and even the strong from the weak. Fortunately they found that but more emphatically in one man.

Many fans frown upon the term “one man team” which is not fair as you are disregarding performances from others however, whether Arsenal fans like it or not, one man has been getting all the plaudits and he truly deserves it. Robin Van Persie has been instrumental in the resurgence of Arsenal.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are rightly getting most of the plaudits but Van Persie has been anything but remarkable. His link up play with Walcott, Ramsey and Gervinho has been a joy to watch and his finishing is made to look so easy.

His hat-trick at Stamford Bridge in which many people doubted Arsenal on that day was the highlight so far in his season. His preferred left foot is one of the best in the business however, he has a right foot which can be deadly too.

Whilst questions are still asked about their defending, you cannot argue about the gunner’s attack spearheaded by a guy who has scored more goals than games played in 2011.

They rely heavily on Van Persie and he delivers every time. Nevertheless, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta performances should not go unnoticed as they have put contributed immensely.

Arteta who in his own admission cannot replace Fabregas, has been fantastic in the middle. He has added steel but more importantly added creativity in a team that is still reeling from the losses of Fabregas and Nasri.

It would be criminal not to acknowledge the importance of Thomas Vermaelen returning from injury and he has helped settle the ship at the back for the Gunners.

Tottenham’s worries was not so much players going or threatening to go, it was players coming in. There was a clear need for new arrivals.

They got a striker in the worst possible form of Emmanuel Adebayor who has been a constant thorn in Tottenham’s defence over the years and not to mention his past association with Arsenal which never goes down well.

For some fans that was a step too far and it was going to take more than a few goals to win them over. Alongside the Adebayor signing, last years player of the year Scott Parker signed to add some steal to the team.

Meanwhile, Peter Crouch left reluctantly after being told he would struggle to get games and left for Stoke. Nevertheless new signings Adebayor and Parker have been at the centre of Tottenham’s amazing run which came to an end against Stoke two weeks ago. Parker and Adebayor have been excellent so far.

Spurs fans won’t forget Parker’s performance in the derby win against Arsenal. He seemed to win every tackle in that game and his distribution was just as clean. Adebayor has helped himself to nine goals so far this season and also has a few assists to his name.

This will certainly go a long way in helping fans get over his past allegiance with Arsenal. Alongside Parker and Adebayor, Luka Modric who desperately wanted to leave for Chelsea is back to his best alongside Bale, Lennon, Van Der Vaart and Defoe who have all pitched in.

One can never forget Ledley King who is like Robin Van Persie in the sense that when they are in the starting 11, their teams chances of winning increases massively.

Optimism is high amongst Spurs fans and some believe their team can finish in the top three or even higher.

It is fair to say Arsenal look a different side without Van Persie and it is essential he stays fit. When Van Persie plays, Arsenal look ever so dangerous going forward as he has attributes that no other player in the team can offer.

If they tighten up at the back, they could become very difficult to beat. Tottenham look good in third place and do not have the Champions League to think about unlike last season.

It is a bit of a catch 22 because they struggled at times in the Premiership last season after Champions League games which cost them their place this year however, they would like to be participating in it once more.

The momentum can continue and they have some favourable games over the weeks. Whoever wrote off the North London clubs at the early parts of the season, I suggest you put your head down in shame because the North London brigade is back!

Arsenal stand currently in (4th) place with a game against Fulham away on Monday 2nd of Jan 17.30pm.

Where as Tottenham (3rd) host West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday 2nd of Jan 19.45pm and have their game in hand against Everton next Wednesday on the 11th of Jan 19.45pm. 

They are must win games for both sides as both teams in Manchester dropped points during the festive season. This could get interesting…

HAVE YOUR SAY!

Champions League: The Last 16

The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League was made last week with teams learning their fate after what was a dramatic group stage. The final round of group games on the 6th and 7th of December was unsurprisingly dominated by the Manchester duo failing to make it out of their respective groups, but there were plenty of other success stories overlooked as a result.

Whilst the final 16 includes the usual suspects of Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Inter, Milan, Arsenal and Chelsea, there is also room for three debutants at this level of the competition in APOEL, Zenit and Napoli, as well as Basle who have negotiated their way through a tough group for only the second time in their history.

APOEL and Zenit impressively made it through Group G ahead of last season’s Europa League winners Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk, who made it to the Quarter Final stage before losing to eventual winners Barcelona in last season’s competition.

And for anyone who needs reminding, Napoli and Basle are in at the expense of United and City, who can be found in Fulham’s usual Thursday night spot on Channel 5.

French duo Marseille and Lyon somehow made it through in the most unlikely of fashions as Marseille battled back from 2-0 down away at Dortmund to claim a 3-2 victory with two goals in the final five minutes.

Lyon’s progress was even more impressive as they required a seven goal swing in their favour to replace Ajax in the top two, and with Madrid winning 3-0 in Amsterdam; Lyon recorded a 7-1 victory away in Zagreb to seal their fate.

Finally CSKA Moscow took advantage of a goalless draw between Lille and Trabzonspor as they claimed an 87th minute winner away at Inter to grab second spot in Group B alongside the Italians.

It was an unlikely passage through for the Russians who went into the final round bottom of the group, and they are joined by Benfica and Leverkusen who make up the final 16.

So what have been the rewards for the respective teams following their roller coaster group stages?!

After seeing off the threat of Manchester City, Napoli have been handed an intriguing last 16 tie against Chelsea. The draw has also paired Arsenal against Milan, which sees Italian opposition standing in the way of the remaining English sides in the competition.

Whilst Milan sit top of Serie A heading into the Christmas period, it is Napoli who have raised the most eye brows with their eye catching counter attacking displays, a far cry from what we have come to expect from Italian sides in Europe over the years.

On paper one might expect Milan to offer the sterner test, but with the attacking threat of Cavani, Lavezzi and Hamsik, you would not bet against Napoli from causing another English casualty in the competition.

APOEL have been rewarded with a tie against Lyon in the final 16 and having achieved draws in their away games to Zenit, Porto and Shakhtar during the group stage, as well as away draws at Atletico Madrid and Chelsea in their qualifying campaign last time out, they will go into this tie full of confidence. Lyon have fallen at this hurdle in four of the last five

Champions League campaigns, but will see this tie as a chance to reproduce their run that saw them reach the Semi-Final on the one occasion they did progress past this stage.

Zenit will relish the chance to finally test themselves at this level, having won the Europa League back in 2008 they now have the chance to go one better and test themselves in the knockout stages of the Champions League, and a last 16 tie against Benfica promises to be an interesting affair.

Whilst Basle have been handed the task of overcoming European giants Bayern Munich, who will be desperate to make the Final which is to be held at their home the Allianz Arena.

Inter have been paired with Marseille for a first time in this competition, their only previous meeting coming in the 2004 Europa League Quarter Final which saw Marseille win both legs 1-0, a result they would most certainly take again this time around.

That leaves the Spanish heavyweights Madrid and Barcelona, who notched up an incredible 39 goals between them during the group stage, and conceding only six in the process.

CSKA have been handed the unenviable task of stopping Mourinho’s men, and although a trip to freezing Moscow may not be the most attractive of trips you would have to think that over the two legs Madrid will have too much in the tank for the Russians.

Finally it is Leverkusen who must somehow come up with a way to stop the Barcelona machine from progressing into the Quarter Finals. All the stats suggest it is an almost impossible task, with Barcelona winning two of the last three competitions, making at least the Semi-Final stages in the last four years, and losing only three games from their last 38 played in the competition.

No team has managed to retain the trophy in its current format, you have to go back to 1989-1990 when Milan managed back to back victories, but it seems that if anyone is likely to make history then it would be Pep Guardiola’s current side.

WHO WILL GO THROUGH?! HAVE YOUR SAY!!

Although a cold snap seems to have finally hit in the last week, it certainly has not stopped things from heating up at the bottom of the table.

Last weekend’s games brought us a third of the way into the season and the League table is already starting to take shape.

Last season’s top six, with the addition of the surprise package of the season so far Newcastle occupy the top of the table as expected, followed by consistent performers and European hopefuls Aston Villa and Everton – but even they both find themselves looking anxiously over their shoulder with equal points separating them both from the relegation zone and seventh place.

This leaves the bottom 11 clubs separated by only nine points, who it seems will spend the majority of the season scrapping for Premier League survival. The strength of last season’s top six means that the European places all but speak for themselves, leaving everyone else to hit the 40 point mark as quickly as possible and then see how far they can go.

Every year the relegation battle looks set to be the most exciting yet, with five teams going into the final game of last season still threatened by the relegation trap door – and this season is already shaping up to be just as dramatic.

The promoted trio, who are always tipped to struggle to adapt to the demands of the Premier League, have all got off to solid starts averaging over a point a game, a ratio which in recent years has been enough to ensure survival.

In Brendan Rogers and Paul Lambert, Swansea and Norwich have young, exciting managers looking to prove them self at this level and have assembled squads that mirror their football philosophy.

At the other end of the spectrum QPR have the vastly experienced Neil Warnock at the helm, who despite his 31 year managerial career to date is tasting Premiership football for only the second time and will equally want to prove that he can cut it at this level. Of the three it is Warnock who has the advantage of the recent cash injection made by Tony Fernandes and can again look to add to his squad in January to aid their fight for survival.

Sandwiched between the promoted trio are Stoke, who have established themselves as a consistent Premier League side under Tony Pulls but the addition of the Europa League to their calendar this year seems to already be taking its toll, with the Britannia Stadium perhaps starting to lose its fortress title after recent back to back home defeats to QPR and Newcastle.

Last weekend’s comfortable defeat of Blackburn saw a return to the typical workman like performance that we have come to expect from Pulis’ side and you would expect that they will eventually come to manage the added European fixtures and confirm their status in the Premier League come next May.

Further adrift lay West Brom and Fulham, both sides who will probably spend much of the season flirting with relegation before eventually sealing their safety. Roy Hodgson is steadily rebuilding his reputation after his torrid spell at the helm of Liverpool, and in Peter Odemwingie and Shane Long has a strike force capable of troubling any back line in the top flight.

Martin Jol’s Fulham also have enough quality to survive and the attacking quartet of Dempsey and Dembele either side of the tireless Zamora and Johnson should see them amass the points required to extend their Premier League stay. The same problems seem to plague Fulham year on year, with only five away wins from their previous 45 games, and an even worse return of only 3 wins from their previous 45 London derbies.

Should they start to reproduce their Craven Cottage form on the road, as they did last weekend at the Emirates then they should certainly be sitting a lot more comfortably come May.

This leaves the current bottom five, all separated by just four points and desperately struggling for form. The Stadium of Light witnessed an early season six pointer last weekend as Wigan recorded a smash and grab victory which was the final straw for Steve Bruce as he was sacked. Martin O’Neill will be the man to lead Sunderland for the rest of this campaign.

The lack of goals is apparent for all to see – with Nicholas Bendtner the only recognisable front man available compared to Gyan, Bent, Welbeck and Jones in recent years. Wigan on the other hand, despite their torrid start to the season which included a run of eight consecutive defeats have the advantage of a Chairman and Manager working in unison.

Whelan has already assured Martinez of his future even if the Latics were to face the drop, and with Martinez resisting Aston Villa’s advances over the summer it would seem the club is at least pulling in the same direction together.

The squad has taken its usual hit of losing its better players with the sale of N’Zogbia, and doubts remain over Rodallega’s immediate future. However Wigan can at least draw on last season’s successful fight for survival, an experience that could make all the difference.

Two other clubs who took it right to the wire last season were Wolves and Blackburn, and so it comes as no surprise to see both clubs struggling at the foot of the table again. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Rovers to perform and gain results given the unanimous negative feeling from the fans towards manager Steve Keen, although he does still seem to have the backing of the owners.

Despite bad results, the league table makes harsh reading for Rovers who probably deserve more points for the performances they have given, notably against Chelsea and Norwich. Keen seems to have settled on a favoured system which will only improve their chances, and a rejuvenated Yakubu with the attacking flair of youngsters Hoilett and Rochina could see them climb the table sooner rather than later.

This certainly needs to be the case if Keen is to have any chance of salvaging his relationship with the fans, and Blackburn’s position as a Premier League club. It seems an eternity ago that Wolves got off to a dream start with seven points from their opening three games, but only four points in their ten games since has seen them fall right back into the relegation mix.

Mick McCarthy made some astute signings over the summer with new club captain Roger Johnson coming in as well as making Jamie O’ Hara’s move from Tottenham a permanent one. And in Stephen Fletcher and Kevin Doyle, they have players capable of scoring goals to keep them in the league.

That leaves Bolton, who after four consecutive bottom half finishes, seem certain to struggle again this season. The days of the resilient Sam Allardyce hard to beat side are long gone, with Owen Coyle set on producing a more attractive brand of football down at the Reebok. However, last season’s poor finish of five consecutive losses in the league has carried over to the current campaign with the trotters already notching up ten defeats from their thirteen fixtures, and conceding a worrying 31 goals in the process, including 19 at home.

Poor early season form was excused given that they faced five of last season’s top six, but more recent defeats to Sunderland, Swansea, West Brom and Everton in their last five games would suggest that the problems lay a lot deeper.

Coyle has bemoaned the poor run of injuries he has been dealt, but it is unlikely that the January window will allow a chance to ease these worries with the main priority likely to remain keeping club captain Gary Cahill at the club.

It remains to be seen which three teams will fall out of the league through the relegation trap door in May, but in true Barclays Premier League fashion, there are sure to be a lot of twists and turns in what will no doubt be another roller coaster ride at the foot of the table. On current form, Wigan, Blackburn and Bolton certainly have the most cause for concern, but you would not bet against at least one of these sides pulling off another great escape as witnessed in previous seasons.

WHO WILL GO DOWN??? HAVE YOUR SAY!

It would be naïve to exclude the huge scrutiny that the Blackburn Rovers Manager Steve Kean has been under. Scraping a lousy seven points from his last 12 games has left Blackburn bottom of the pile in the Premier League.

However, there has been one diamond in the dirt that the Rovers faithful can boast of, and that is the young Canadian, Junior Hoilett.

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