FA Cup 3rd Round

"One of the most magical weekends in English football" - It can only be the FA Cup third round.

There's always upsets, memories, controversies and 'part-time support' for the lower league clubs that survive the odds, anyone remember Crawley Town making it to Old Trafford after beating Newcastle? Or Havant and Waterlooville earning themselves a replay at Anfield against Liverpool?

Well it almost happened for The Reds again this year as they played Mansfield Town of the Conference National. If the referee had spotted Luis Suarez's handball in the build-up to Liverpool's second goal, the match theoretically would have finished 1-1, and Mansfield would have had the honour of visiting Anfield. Anyway, I have received enough abuse regarding the situation, so I shall leave that one there. Liverpool face League 2's Oldham Athletic.

The 'part-time supporters' will no doubt be following Luton Town and Macclesfield Town, after they both knocked out Championship opposition, despite being non-league.

Luton sealed a late win over struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers - who sacked manager Stale Solbakken after the game - and now face a trip to Norwich, while Macclesfield produced a fantastic late display to beat Championship leaders Cardiff, and will face either Wigan Athletic or Bournemouth.

Another giant killing as such was Brighton's victory over Newcastle United. The Seagulls aren't doing too bad in the Championship, just three points off the play-offs, so some people aren't keen on calling it a giant killing. Nevertheless, it was a good win for Gus Poyet's men, and they earned a home tie against either Swansea or Arsenal. 

Aldershot Town face a trip to Middlesborough after a 3-1 victory over Rotherham United, but for Southend or Brentford, the winner will have a home tie against European Champions Chelsea to look forward to.

Unfortunately for Hastings United, Middlesborough was a step too far, and they valiantly lost 4-1. Which leads me onto the other element of the FA Cup, the days out for the fans. This is more so for lower league teams, such as Hastings, going to bigger clubs, however if your team reach the final (as Stoke did in 2011), there is nothing better than the excitement of going to Wembley - even at 16!

As I mentioned in my last installment, the January transfer window is upon us.

Liverpool, as we all thought, signed a striker in Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge. He scored his first goal in the FA Cup match against Mansfield, and looks like he will thrive in Brendan Rodgers' flowing system.

Another club in need of a striker was Chelsea, and they too acted qucikly by snapping up Demba Ba from Newcastle for £7.5million. He too made an immediate impact by scoring a brace in The Blues' 5-1 victory at Southampton, and Fernando Torres' face - back on the bench - made the picture of the weekend as he sat almost sulking.

Man City are looking at a £45million move for Napoli's Edison Cavanni, prompting suggestions that Mario Balotelli IS on his way out, and his bust up with Mancini hasn't helped anything, so I wouldn't be surprised if that goes through.

That's all for now, New Year Resolution going well so far..

Ciao!