Football Daily | ‘It’s a pain in the bum’: Port Vale and the magic of the FA Cup

3 hours ago 5

ROAD TO WEMBLEY

Sunderland fans have suffered enough to know that no matter how well things might appear to be going, calamity is never too far away. Take, for example, a thirtysomething mackem of Football Daily’s acquaintance who travelled to see Régis Le Bris’s side get dumped out of the FA Cup by Port Vale. Having watched his side lose 1-0 to the worst team in League One – and the one we are still following through the tournament – he cheerfully noted that the result “isn’t even in the top 10 most embarrassing things to happen to Sunderland in my lifetime”. With his team safe from relegation, Le Bris treated Port Vale with maximum respect by picking his strongest side but they still lost to a team that clearly “wanted it more”.

In a match settled by Ben Waine, a Kiwi Newcastle fan and Alan Shearer tribute act, Sunderland’s only real contribution of note came from a thunderously struck Luke O’Nien backpass that his goalkeeper was forced to acrobatically head over his own bar to prevent a goal. Had it gone in, those fans who famously didn’t recognise the midfielder in an episode of Sunderland ‘Til I Die would certainly know who he is now. At least Vale manager Jon Brady was delighted to be in the last eight, though. Wasn’t he? “It’s a bit of a pain in the bum,” he yelped. “It’s a privilege but it’s tough as well.”

Unlike his Sunderland counterpart, Marco Silva made nine changes and saw Fulham pay the price. Given his team had little else to play for this season, the Portuguese found himself the subject of much post-match opprobrium after his reserve team lost to in-form Southampton in one of those “shocks” that was entirely predictable. “I understand that I get the blame for making the changes,” he grumbled, resisting the urge to point out that the first-choice team everyone hoped he’d field hadn’t exactly covered themselves in glory at home against West Ham last time out.

The mood was lighter at Elland Road, where Daniel Farke watched from the Naughty Step as his second-string Leeds side brushed Norwich aside in the Farke Derby with the same kind of clinical indifference shown by Manchester City and Liverpool earlier in the weekend. With Leeds making the last eight for the first time in more than 20 years, the manager could scarcely have sounded more German, saying: “It is still not realistic for us to win the FA Cup.”

While their team is still on for a quadruple, an FA Cup win would be scant consolation for Arsenal fans unless it is accompanied by the league title or victory in Bigger Cup. Fielding a team boasting two 16-year-olds, they advanced at the expense of League One’s Mansfield Town, but only after flirting with disaster. “When you don’t close the games and they have hope and belief, that becomes more and more dangerous,” said Mikel Arteta. “And after they equalised in the game, you really have to dig in to earn the right to win.” Later that evening at the Racecourse Ground, Chelsea were also forced to dig in to earn the right to win against a Wrexham side who in recent years have snuck into the Championship under the radar and about whom not much is known. In use for the first time at the ground, VAR did its bit to shaft the hosts with a couple of decisions that, while correct, flew very much in the face of the Welsh club’s narrative arc. If the use of technology is going to sour the “fairytale” ending for plucky underdogs with mega-rich celebrity owners, their own Disney+ documentary and a budget larger than several small nations’ GDP, then surely it’s finally time it was binned.

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE

Join Daniel Harris from 7pm GMT to follow the draw for the FA Cup quarter-finals. And then he’ll be at the wheel from 7.30pm for minute-by-minute updates from the last fifth-round tie, West Ham 2-1 Brentford.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I asked the referee what was happening. He told me it was because of the pigeon and I said: ‘Seriously? You stopped the match because of the pigeon?’ I picked it up. I don’t know if there’s supposed to be a protocol. I hope it wasn’t seriously hurt” – José Giménez gets some of his ornithology on after taking a knacked pigeon to safety after it appeared to be struck by the ball during Atlético Madrid’s 3-2 win over Real Sociedad in La Liga.

José Giménez takes an injured pigeon to safety

QUOTE OF THE DAY TWO

“Tottenham Hotspur has redefined what a modern football club can be, emerging as a globally recognised brand built on sport, culture, and partnerships” – relegation-threatened Spurs are going to the SXSW music festival in Texas, baby, to discuss the club’s “innovative partnership strategy and global stadium vision”, among other things. Guardian Football Weekly will also be there, erm, redefining what a modern football podcast can be, perhaps.

Down here I was looking forward, courtesy of the FA Cup, to a brief break from getting up in the middle of the night to suffer through another disappointing Spurs game. So I sat down in front of the telly on a nice Sunday afternoon to cheer on fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri in the Australian Grand Prix, hoping for a win. Yep … crashed out on the formation lap. There is a pattern here and I am wondering if I have some special curse or power. If you have a particular team or sportsperson that you don’t like and want me to cheer for, my rates are reasonable” – Greg Wynn.

Could we send Sergio Ramos as head coach to Cruzeiro in Brazil. Their playing philosophy appears a perfect fit (see below)“ – Krishna Moorthy.

If you have any, please send letters to [email protected]. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Greg Wynn. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.

FUN AND GAMES IN SOUTH AMERICA DEPT

A mass brawl led to red cards for just the 23 players from Cruzeiro and their fierce local rivals Atlético Mineiro after clashes at the Campeonato Mineiro final in Brazil. Sunday’s ruckus in Belo Horizonte was sparked deep in stoppage time of Cruzeiro’s 1-0 win when Atlético’s goalkeeper was seemingly overcome with Six Nations fever as he rugby-tackled Christian to the ground after the midfielder collided with him when trying to poke home a ball that he spilled. Cue bedlam and a brawl that began next to the goal and ended up spilling inside the other half. The game was completed without sendings-off but the referee retrospectively issued red cards to 12 Cruzeiro players and 11 Atlético players. “It’s regrettable,” deadpanned Atlético’s former Brazil forward Hulk.