Orient Express

We couldn't really have asked for a better draw than home to Leyton Orient, and based upon Barry Hearn's post-draw interview, they couldn't either. I'm sure I'm not alone in having a soft spot for the perennially hapless O's, though ironically they have reached an FA Cup semi-final more recently than us (in 1978) so perhaps we shouldn't be too cocky.

The paradox of our dire Cup record is that, in recent years at least, we certainly can't blame the 'luck of the draw.' Indeed, we seem to be given a disproportionate number of home ties and the likes of Rochdale, Yeovil, Dagenham and Exeter, have all been drawn to play at the Valley in recent memory, and none were put aside with much aplomb. Strangely the worst draw we have had in recent seasons (away to Chelsea in the Carling Cup) resulted in one of our most memorable Cup wins. Maybe we should stop praying for easy draws (or home draws) since they represent a poisioned chalice.

Unfortunately for Hearn, his hopes that the game would be a sell-out will almost certainly be dashed unless the two clubs can agree upon a very aggressive pricing strategy for the game. Even if the O's bring 6,000 by occupying part of the East Stand, our 'Cup support' has been shown to be only 12-13,000 typically, implying several thousand empty seats.

If the FA Cup is going to have any chance of reminding us romantics of those fond Cup ties of our youth, then games like this one really have to be played in front of a full house. Indeed it was notable how many games over the weekend had crowds which were astonishingly low, not least our own at Sheffield Wednesday (14,851), but also Leicester (19,844) and Wigan (10,980). Indeed it says an awful lot about the degree to which the Cup has lost its allure that Leicester can have a crowd of 21,072 at home to Norwich just a week before a Cup tie against a high-flying Spurs team, no doubt backed by several thousand of their own fans. Although I naturally enjoyed Leicester's brave comeback (the great thing about hating Spurs is the regularity with which they offer you cause for great mirth), I couldn't help noticing how flat the atmosphere seemed despite having all the ingredients for a ding-dong Cup tie and ultimately a giant-killing.

On a similar note, the Burton-Man Utd game in prior years would have gone down as one of the great 'shocks', but instead the team Fergie put out implied they are not taking the competition seriously, and hence the result was not a shock at all in my view. It is only a shame that Burton couldn't have nicked a goal from somewhere because then the Man Utd fans (and the club's new owners) might not have seen the funny side. Ironically this could have been the type of boost the competition needs with the club then shamed into taking it more seriously next time around.