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Firemen and ex-boyfriends deliver old lines for BBC’s new FA Cup format Firemen and ex-boyfriends deliver old lines for BBC’s new FA Cup format
(35 minutes later)
So crammed are the BBC archives with magic memories conjured up by the FA Cup over the years it took almost 20 seconds for Ronnie Radford’s famous 1972 strike for Hereford United against Newcastle to crop up during the opening credits of the station’s FA Cup first round Final Score special. So crammed are the BBC archives with magic memories conjured up by the FA Cup over the years that it took almost 20 seconds for Ronnie Radford’s famous 1972 strike for Hereford United against Newcastle to crop up during the opening credits of the station’s FA Cup first round Final Score special.
Dave Beasant’s penalty save? Tick. Keith Houchen’s diving header? Tick. Obligatory footage of sheepskin coat-wearing old school commentators? Tick. All featured in the montage that kicked off the national broadcaster’s scattergun, ground-to-ground, as-it-happened coverage of what was left of the weekend’s action on Sunday afternoon. Dave Beasant’s penalty save? Tick. Keith Houchen’s diving header? Tick. Obligatory footage of sheepskin-coat-wearing old school commentators? Tick. All featured in the montage that kicked off the national broadcaster’s scattergun, ground-to-ground, as-it-happened coverage of what was left of the weekend’s action on Sunday afternoon.
Urbane Welshman Jason Mohammad chaired proceedings, alongside players-turned-pundits Kevin Kilbane and Jason Roberts. If either analyst was irritated by the speed with which their good‑humoured host tacitly questioned their credentials by pointing out they’d never actually won the FA Cup, they hid it well. “We’ve got plenty of experience of the first round,” countered Kilbane, who would go on to book his place in the Colemanballs section of Private Eye magazine by praising the manner in which some Colchester United player had skilfully “pulled off his centre-half”.Urbane Welshman Jason Mohammad chaired proceedings, alongside players-turned-pundits Kevin Kilbane and Jason Roberts. If either analyst was irritated by the speed with which their good‑humoured host tacitly questioned their credentials by pointing out they’d never actually won the FA Cup, they hid it well. “We’ve got plenty of experience of the first round,” countered Kilbane, who would go on to book his place in the Colemanballs section of Private Eye magazine by praising the manner in which some Colchester United player had skilfully “pulled off his centre-half”.
On a rare afternoon when League sides such as Colchester United are numbered among the Goliaths risking the embarrassment of a good David‑ing at the hands of Gosport Borough, pitch-side reporter Eilidh Barbour was kept busy as the goals flew in at Privett Park. Alas, there would be no upset; the League One side prevailed 6-3 to eliminate the Conference South minnows and keep alive their own dreams of a money-spinning high-profile exit at the hands of Premier League opposition if they can safely negotiate the next round. On a rare afternoon when League sides such as Colchester United are numbered among the Goliaths risking the embarrassment of a good David‑ing at the hands of Gosport Borough, pitch-side reporter Eilidh Barbour was kept busy as the goals flew in at Privett Park. Alas, there would be no upset; the League One side prevailed 6-3 to eliminate the Conference South minnows and keep alive their own dreams of a money-spinning, high-profile exit at the hands of Premier League opposition if they can safely negotiate the next round.
With descent into banal football cliche on such an occasion always a potential banana skin, those in the studio and around the grounds gave 110% in their efforts to avoid patronising the lads from teams such as Norton United, Maidstone United and Braintree Town. Understandably, they did make every effort to generate as much of the tournament’s fabled romance as possible by pointing out that many of the players at these clubs have proper jobs.With descent into banal football cliche on such an occasion always a potential banana skin, those in the studio and around the grounds gave 110% in their efforts to avoid patronising the lads from teams such as Norton United, Maidstone United and Braintree Town. Understandably, they did make every effort to generate as much of the tournament’s fabled romance as possible by pointing out that many of the players at these clubs have proper jobs.
Norton, playing their bread-and‑butter football in the eighth-tier Northern Premier League Division One South, featured a fireman, a teacher, a paramedic and a warehouse worker among their ranks. I think it was Woking, we were informed who “feature the ex-boyfriend of the ex-singer Tulisa”. Whether or not the unnamed player in question is the subject of the ex-singer’s forthcoming single Living Without You remains unclear.Norton, playing their bread-and‑butter football in the eighth-tier Northern Premier League Division One South, featured a fireman, a teacher, a paramedic and a warehouse worker among their ranks. I think it was Woking, we were informed who “feature the ex-boyfriend of the ex-singer Tulisa”. Whether or not the unnamed player in question is the subject of the ex-singer’s forthcoming single Living Without You remains unclear.
Considering they’d devoted the two-hour slot ahead of Songs Of Praise to football coverage that is unlikely to have captured the public imagination, BBC mandarins will have expected teams resolutely unused to anything more than a passing mention on the Saturday afternoon classified results to keep up their end of the bargain by providing some entertainment. Northern Premier League Premier Division side Blyth Spartans duly obliged, causing an upset by knocking out Altrincham of the Conference Premier. This turn of events may not have registered with more Premier League-focused armchair fans, but rest assured it happened, while you were basking in the romance of West Brom v Newcastle. Considering they had devoted the two-hour slot before Songs Of Praise to football coverage that is unlikely to have captured the public imagination, BBC mandarins will have expected teams resolutely unused to anything more than a passing mention on the Saturday afternoon classified results to keep up their end of the bargain by providing some entertainment. Northern Premier League Premier Division side Blyth Spartans duly obliged, causing an upset by knocking out Altrincham of the Conference Premier. This turn of events may not have registered with more Premier League-focused armchair fans, but rest assured it happened, while you were basking in the romance of West Brom v Newcastle.
The Spartans were not the only underdogs to put supposedly superior opposition to the sword, with Worcester City securing the result of the day as they humbled 1987 FA Cup winners Coventry City. The Dragons sit 65 places below Coventry in the league ladder and have every right to be pleased with a classic match that ticked boxes on many an FA Cup Shock bingo card: a sending-off, two goals from a player so obscure he doesn’t yet have his own Wikipedia page and a missed penalty from a giant centre-half with a bandaged head. That lucrative glamour tie at home to Colchester United is just one swirl-and-pluck of a numbered plastic ball from the FA tombola away.The Spartans were not the only underdogs to put supposedly superior opposition to the sword, with Worcester City securing the result of the day as they humbled 1987 FA Cup winners Coventry City. The Dragons sit 65 places below Coventry in the league ladder and have every right to be pleased with a classic match that ticked boxes on many an FA Cup Shock bingo card: a sending-off, two goals from a player so obscure he doesn’t yet have his own Wikipedia page and a missed penalty from a giant centre-half with a bandaged head. That lucrative glamour tie at home to Colchester United is just one swirl-and-pluck of a numbered plastic ball from the FA tombola away.