March 10 2008

The FA Cup

Underdogs of the league unite... Jamesey congratulates Barnsley on their defeat of Chelsea in the FA Cup.

Anyone who takes even a cursory glance at the sports newspapers and websites will now be aware that Barnsley's famous FA Cup victory over Chelsea on Saturday (Mar 8) is the first time the club has reached the semi-finals since 1912.

And I'll say it again folks, 1912 was the year the Titanic fought an equally unequal battle with an iceberg although in that case the iceberg, the hot (if a berg can be termed "hot") favourite, won the day.

I used to travel up to Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea as a Croydon schoolboy in the 50s and even in the pre-Kings Road and Swinging 60s era, the Blues had a touch of glamour about them and sported a few famous internationals like Frank Blunstone and Roy Bentley in their ranks.

Eventually I saw the light and started to support my local team, Crystal Palace FC, and, like most supporters, set off on a decades-long road of conflicting but very rewarding emotions.

Since then, Chelsea have had their ups and downs but, of course, the presence of a preposterously rich Russian as their chairman in the past few years, has enabled them to buy the world's top players and pay them ludicrous amounts of money.

All the above in no way overshadows the other underdog achievements of Pompey and Cardiff City, also removing grander opponents from the final eight.

The real point about Barnsley is, of course, that we play host to them this coming Saturday (Mar 15).

So let's give the Tykes supporters a real Sarf London welcome to the game.

A few words of congratulation in the pubs and on the streets beforehand, and some amiable and friendly chanting, rather than the usual insults, during the course of the match itself.

Most of my Palace-supporting years have seen us as the underdog, so let's give credit to an underdog that proved for once that money doesn't necessarily buy victory.

However, let none of all this detract from the fact that being genial hosts for a day does not lessen our resolve to take all three points. No sir...

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