The day of the underdog

Today, for all those people that don't know, was FA Cup 3rd round day. To many people, as I found out at work, this doesn't mean very much but I love it!! It's the chance for all the small clubs to test themselves against the Premiership clubs and the potential for the underdogs to become victorious.

Today was no different. The first game of the day was between Hartlepool of League One and Stoke from the Premiership but the form guide was thrown right out of the window as the lower league team won 2-0. That was not the only upset as Nottingham Forest also claimed a famous scalp as they beat mega-rich Manchester City 3-0. And not quite the same because it wasn't a win but Southend managed to hold Chelsea at Stamford Bridge which means a replay and an extra fixture for Scolari's men.

The thing about Manchester City's loss today was that it was so much more than a defeat in the FA Cup because the result of this could be that Mark Hughes loses his job as manager. The owner and the chairman have both been very vocal in their support of him but how long can this go on when they fall at the first hurdle in the Cup and hold a position in the league that sees them closer to the bottom three than the top four?

This is important because the wealthy owners have set the club the target of obtaining a Champion's League place by the end of next season. This seems as far away as it ever was for a team that has massive funding and big expectations on their shoulders and at the end of the day if the club falls short in the short-term then the manager is where the blame has to lie in today's game.

By the way, Tottenham got a great win yesterday. Pavlyuchenko had a massive game for us and delivered 2 goals in a 3-1 win against an in-form Wigan side albeit without their main strikeforce of Zaki and Heskey. This puts us in the fourth round draw which is tomorrow and ideally I would like someone like Kidderminster or Torquay at home. This might be wishful thinking as normally we end up getting Manchester United at Old Trafford but I live in hope this year as with every year. I shall keep you posted tomorrow with who we get and what I think about the serious issues pertaining to life i.e. Spurs activity in the transfer market.