The Romance of the Cup

Ok, boys it all kicks off this weekend - the greatest competition in the world and a first step on the way to the hallowed turf at Offington Park, Sutton. The pizzas are on and it's just a short hop out on the bus along the coast road.

Before that the odd trip to Liverpool for the early rounds in the seventies.

We've all got out great memories from this competition, and some moments we'd like to forget (Port Vale in 1988) but all in all it is hard to argue against the romance of the Cup with its' ever-present opportunity for a slip-up by the giants at the hands of some hopeless downtrodden underdog like Everton. And then again you could also incur the wrath of the oligarchs by daring to score in the first minute.

This week it looks like relatively plain sailing for Spurs (the Posh at home), Chelsea (a repeat of the 1970 semi-final) and Everton (home to Carlisle. Spare a thought for Leeds however, drawn away to United - let's all get behind them this weekend and hope they can relive some of their former glories. Go for it Snoddie!

Leeds beat United 1-0 in the semi-final in 1970 courtesy of a Billy Bremner goals after two draws - in the round prior to that they went to the County Ground and this is how they got on: