Home
Only one side of North London were celebrating this weekend. And it wasn't the usual side...
Winners
Tottenham Hotspur
If only Spurs could play all their away league fixtures in the cup. Whereas Martin Jol's side have won just once on their travels in the Premiership, they've lost just one of their six away cup ties this term - and even that was only in extra time.
Ahead of the win at Fulham, the pressure on Jol had been increasing uncomfortably. The Dutchman probably didn't appreciate Chris Coleman providing a further blast by pointing out that Spurs have been the fourth-biggest Premiership spenders in the past two years before finishing his Friday press conference with the scathing put-down, "Martin has brought in a lot of good young players for a lot of money, but the pressure is always on if you don't buy the right players."
So Jol will have taken extra satisfaction from orchestrating the win at Fulham by adding extra bite to a side that had been pathetically out-muscled at Sheffield United. The loss of Jermaine Jenas to suspension was no loss at all, while Jol's decision to overlook the fit-again Tom Huddlestone should be applauded. The midfielder has flattered to deceive this season, failing to impose his talents and coasting through matches. A reality check on the substitutes' bench may just be what he requires for a few weeks.
Paul Robinson
A welcome return to form for the goalkeeper who Steve McClaren told the press will be between the sticks for England in Israel next month.
Some pwetty depwessed chap on the 365Podcast last week likened Wobinson to Ashley Giles, the unluckiest and luckiest man of English cricket for the past five years. What he meant to say was that this year's scathing criticism of Robinson was misplaced and largely unfair as it stemmed from the arrogant English assumption that whoever is the Three Lions 'keeper should be a world-beater. A realistic appraisal of Robinson is that he is a solid if uninspiring keeper who is both unlucky and lucky to be the best of a distinctly average generation of English shot-stoppers.
Manchester Citeh
If Citeh's strikers were on a par with their defenders and midfield then they would be in danger of possessing a decent side.
Tony Mowbray
It would be a considerable surprise if Mowbray doesn't - at some stage during his career - return to Middlesbrough as the club's manager.
Chelski
The quadruple is still on. No other side in Europe still retains such a conceivable dream of winning four different pieces of silverware ahead of this week's Champions League resumption.
It doesn't feel that way, though, partly because of the prevailing impression that Chelski have underperformed this season but mainly because Jose Mourinho's side have been handed such a comfortable, undemanding passage in the domestic cup competitions. Home FA Cup ties against Macclesfield, Nottingham Forest and Norwich were mere formalities. The Carling Cup has offered a sterner test, with Chelski prevailing at both Blackburn and Newcastle, but Wycombe Wanderers were hardly formidable semi-final opponents. Next up are Arsenal, shorn of Thierry Henry, William Gallas and Jens Lehmann.
Even if this weekend's 4-0 scoreline flattered Chelski, the outcome was never in doubt once Didier Drogba had scored his 26th of the season. Of greater concern was the horrible state of the Stamford Bridge pitch. Pitches of this uneven ilk are a regular source of injuries - the twisted ankle of Naarwich keeper David Marshall was probably a case in point - and the Premiership champions cannot afford any unnecessary casualties while they fight on four fronts.
Reading
Reading's reserve side could have been soundly beaten at Old Trafford, in which case the sycophantic tone of the media's post-match verdict would not have been so generous. 'Reading manager Steve Coppell faced opprobrium for announcing he would field a side sprinkled with reserves,' announced the wordy Sunday Times. 'There was snobbery, surely, about such criticism.'
Nonsense. The criticism was borne of disappointment and fear that Steve Coppell had been assailed by defeatism. Fortunately, Reading's squad is evidently stronger than previously thought.
Nonetheless, the disappointment remains. It is a sad state of affairs when a side sixth in the league and with no further external distractions beyond the cup are ready to prioritise a place in the UEFA Cup ahead of potential trophy-winning glory.
Watford
The Hornets' joy at winning a match for the first time this season in which they had been second best will be tempered by the implications of Ipswich's superiority. If Watford are demoted, their route back will be contested by better teams than Ipswich, currently 16th in the first division.
Losers
Arsenal
Any comment on Blackburn's performance - whether it be credit or criticism - should first be qualified by condemnation of Arsenal's all-too familiar early indolence. It was Arsenal, and not Blackburn, who set the lethargic tone of the game by failing to rouse themselves out of first gear until the 75th minute.
The Gunners' tendency to sleepwalk through the first half of games at the Emirates was remarked upon in last week's column. Against ManYoo, Bolton and Wigan, they made amends with late goals, and Blackburn would have suffered a nasty case of déjà vu were it not for Brad Friedel's trio of fine late saves. However, from Arsenal's perspective, the late frustration was an accident waiting to happen. Teams cannot expect to be consistently successful if they only decide to play in the last 20 minutes.
Theo Walcott
God help us if this is the future of English football. Stephen Warnock drew the plaudits for his performance at left-back for Blackburn but his display against the wretched Walcott was put in terrifying perspective when, within a mere ten minutes of replacing the youngster on the right, Jeremie Aliadiere's quick feet lured the full-back into conceding a penalty.
Except, of course, that a penalty wasn't awarded despite Warnock's tackle being, as even Arsene Wenger managed to see, "one hundred percent a foul". Considering that referee Martin Atkinson also enjoyed an unobstructed view, his decision was perplexing. Taking his lead from Paul Jewell and Sam Allardyce, Mark Hughes played the increasingly tedious 'small club' card, claiming that "it was a tight call and we're thankful that the referee hasn't been swayed by the big crowd here."
In fact, it was the 'big crowd' that probably caused Atkinson to wave play on. As his previous two matches had been Colchester v West Brom and Crystal Palace v Ipswich, the only conceivable explanation for his aberration is that he didn't have the bottle to make a big-game decision.
ManYoo
Profligacy has been a running theme this season. ManYoo were the latest off-target culprits, converting just one of their 22 shots on goal against Reading on Saturday night. The Premiership leaders should have booked their place in the last eight of the cup long before Gunnarsson's improbable equaliser.
In particular, Louis Saha had a sloppy match and was guilty of spurning a one-on-one with Adam Federici in injury time. The former members of the strikers union in the BBC studio judged that Saha was within his rights to ignore his well-positioned team-mates, but he was obliged to at least test the impressive Federici. Instead, Saha dragged his shot harmlessly wide and in doing so spurned his own opportunity to usurp Henrik Larsson as Wayne Rooney's first-choice partner.
Fulham
Devoid of any flair or fun, and winners of just one of their past ten games against top-flight opposition.
Pete Gill
Winners
Tottenham Hotspur
If only Spurs could play all their away league fixtures in the cup. Whereas Martin Jol's side have won just once on their travels in the Premiership, they've lost just one of their six away cup ties this term - and even that was only in extra time.
Ahead of the win at Fulham, the pressure on Jol had been increasing uncomfortably. The Dutchman probably didn't appreciate Chris Coleman providing a further blast by pointing out that Spurs have been the fourth-biggest Premiership spenders in the past two years before finishing his Friday press conference with the scathing put-down, "Martin has brought in a lot of good young players for a lot of money, but the pressure is always on if you don't buy the right players."
So Jol will have taken extra satisfaction from orchestrating the win at Fulham by adding extra bite to a side that had been pathetically out-muscled at Sheffield United. The loss of Jermaine Jenas to suspension was no loss at all, while Jol's decision to overlook the fit-again Tom Huddlestone should be applauded. The midfielder has flattered to deceive this season, failing to impose his talents and coasting through matches. A reality check on the substitutes' bench may just be what he requires for a few weeks.
Paul Robinson
A welcome return to form for the goalkeeper who Steve McClaren told the press will be between the sticks for England in Israel next month.
Some pwetty depwessed chap on the 365Podcast last week likened Wobinson to Ashley Giles, the unluckiest and luckiest man of English cricket for the past five years. What he meant to say was that this year's scathing criticism of Robinson was misplaced and largely unfair as it stemmed from the arrogant English assumption that whoever is the Three Lions 'keeper should be a world-beater. A realistic appraisal of Robinson is that he is a solid if uninspiring keeper who is both unlucky and lucky to be the best of a distinctly average generation of English shot-stoppers.
Manchester Citeh
If Citeh's strikers were on a par with their defenders and midfield then they would be in danger of possessing a decent side.
Tony Mowbray
It would be a considerable surprise if Mowbray doesn't - at some stage during his career - return to Middlesbrough as the club's manager.
Chelski
The quadruple is still on. No other side in Europe still retains such a conceivable dream of winning four different pieces of silverware ahead of this week's Champions League resumption.
It doesn't feel that way, though, partly because of the prevailing impression that Chelski have underperformed this season but mainly because Jose Mourinho's side have been handed such a comfortable, undemanding passage in the domestic cup competitions. Home FA Cup ties against Macclesfield, Nottingham Forest and Norwich were mere formalities. The Carling Cup has offered a sterner test, with Chelski prevailing at both Blackburn and Newcastle, but Wycombe Wanderers were hardly formidable semi-final opponents. Next up are Arsenal, shorn of Thierry Henry, William Gallas and Jens Lehmann.
Even if this weekend's 4-0 scoreline flattered Chelski, the outcome was never in doubt once Didier Drogba had scored his 26th of the season. Of greater concern was the horrible state of the Stamford Bridge pitch. Pitches of this uneven ilk are a regular source of injuries - the twisted ankle of Naarwich keeper David Marshall was probably a case in point - and the Premiership champions cannot afford any unnecessary casualties while they fight on four fronts.
Reading
Reading's reserve side could have been soundly beaten at Old Trafford, in which case the sycophantic tone of the media's post-match verdict would not have been so generous. 'Reading manager Steve Coppell faced opprobrium for announcing he would field a side sprinkled with reserves,' announced the wordy Sunday Times. 'There was snobbery, surely, about such criticism.'
Nonsense. The criticism was borne of disappointment and fear that Steve Coppell had been assailed by defeatism. Fortunately, Reading's squad is evidently stronger than previously thought.
Nonetheless, the disappointment remains. It is a sad state of affairs when a side sixth in the league and with no further external distractions beyond the cup are ready to prioritise a place in the UEFA Cup ahead of potential trophy-winning glory.
Watford
The Hornets' joy at winning a match for the first time this season in which they had been second best will be tempered by the implications of Ipswich's superiority. If Watford are demoted, their route back will be contested by better teams than Ipswich, currently 16th in the first division.
Losers
Arsenal
Any comment on Blackburn's performance - whether it be credit or criticism - should first be qualified by condemnation of Arsenal's all-too familiar early indolence. It was Arsenal, and not Blackburn, who set the lethargic tone of the game by failing to rouse themselves out of first gear until the 75th minute.
The Gunners' tendency to sleepwalk through the first half of games at the Emirates was remarked upon in last week's column. Against ManYoo, Bolton and Wigan, they made amends with late goals, and Blackburn would have suffered a nasty case of déjà vu were it not for Brad Friedel's trio of fine late saves. However, from Arsenal's perspective, the late frustration was an accident waiting to happen. Teams cannot expect to be consistently successful if they only decide to play in the last 20 minutes.
Theo Walcott
God help us if this is the future of English football. Stephen Warnock drew the plaudits for his performance at left-back for Blackburn but his display against the wretched Walcott was put in terrifying perspective when, within a mere ten minutes of replacing the youngster on the right, Jeremie Aliadiere's quick feet lured the full-back into conceding a penalty.
Except, of course, that a penalty wasn't awarded despite Warnock's tackle being, as even Arsene Wenger managed to see, "one hundred percent a foul". Considering that referee Martin Atkinson also enjoyed an unobstructed view, his decision was perplexing. Taking his lead from Paul Jewell and Sam Allardyce, Mark Hughes played the increasingly tedious 'small club' card, claiming that "it was a tight call and we're thankful that the referee hasn't been swayed by the big crowd here."
In fact, it was the 'big crowd' that probably caused Atkinson to wave play on. As his previous two matches had been Colchester v West Brom and Crystal Palace v Ipswich, the only conceivable explanation for his aberration is that he didn't have the bottle to make a big-game decision.
ManYoo
Profligacy has been a running theme this season. ManYoo were the latest off-target culprits, converting just one of their 22 shots on goal against Reading on Saturday night. The Premiership leaders should have booked their place in the last eight of the cup long before Gunnarsson's improbable equaliser.
In particular, Louis Saha had a sloppy match and was guilty of spurning a one-on-one with Adam Federici in injury time. The former members of the strikers union in the BBC studio judged that Saha was within his rights to ignore his well-positioned team-mates, but he was obliged to at least test the impressive Federici. Instead, Saha dragged his shot harmlessly wide and in doing so spurned his own opportunity to usurp Henrik Larsson as Wayne Rooney's first-choice partner.
Fulham
Devoid of any flair or fun, and winners of just one of their past ten games against top-flight opposition.
Pete Gill
The BIGGEST LOSER is the FA Cup itself when teams like READING don't give a fuck about it concentrating in getting to the UEFA Cup instead. More proof that the FA Cup is a "in case shit happens" cup. I'm not saying it, READING just yelled it to every corner with their recent approach.