Archive for tag: Newcastle United v Blackburn Rovers FA Cup match preview.

Eeh By Gum It’s FA Cup Time! Newcastle vs Blackburn preview

January 6th, 2012 | 35 Comments |

Blackburn Rovers fans.
Blackpudding Rovers fans: Up for t'cup on Satda!
Newcastle United will begin life without striker Demba Ba and midfielder Cheick Tiote in the FA Cup third round clash with Blackburn Rovers. Both are off to represent their countries (Senegal and The Ivory Coast) in the African Cup Of Nations.

But would either of them have been selected anyway even if they had been available?

The third round of the FA Cup used to be something which was seen as a major event in the English football calendar. Not only did it throw up the exciting possibility of a big club being drawn against a minnow, but for the bigger clubs it represented the first step in what could just possibly be a money-spinning path to the FA Cup Final – a fantastic day out in the full glare of the media, with all of the pomp, ceremony, posh new suits and possible glory that it throws up.

Sadly, times are changing and the romance of the FA Cup is changing with it – perhaps even sliding the same way that the League Cup has gone. Money is king in the modern game and some clubs are taking a different approach to the competition. As a result, we have seen teams shying away from fielding their best line-ups for fear of the extra injury risk to key players. For Premier League clubs, the difference in TV pay-outs attached to end of season league positions means that the risks are assessed more keenly.

Teams fighting relegation are in a particularly challenging situation, and often take the view that league matches have to be the priority. Which brings us nicely to Blackburn Rovers.

The Blackburn Perspective (more…)