By Jemma Tappenden
March 9 2008

If the FA Cup has struggled in recent years to capture the imagination of fans, then this years shock results are sure to have done all the advertising the FA Cup will ever need. With the highest ranked club remaining being Pompey, and Boro at present the only other remaining top flight club – subject to their quarter final game versus Cardiff this afternoon

Albion fans might feel obliged to pinch themselves this morning as they wake up third favourites to win the cup. 

What a true competition this has turned out to be this season, and for the first time in many many years the Cup will most definitely be won by an English born manager. 

But nobody is more aware of the potential banana skin this afternoon’s fixture at Bristol Rovers could be for Albion.  And Mowbray will be trying everything possible to encourage his side to forget about yesterday’s dramatic exits for Chelsea and Manchester United and concentrate on their own outcome. 

Flying high in the Championship, the bookies have made West Brom favourites for this one, but Rovers have already disposed of Championship side Southampton and Premiership outfit Fulham on home soil in the competition this year.   

But Mowbray has issued a stark warning to his side that there will be no excuses about the state of the playing surface at the Memorial Stadium.  By their own admission the pitch at Bristol Rovers is a bit of a nightmare, a surface of which they have had to come accustomed to themselves, and cannot do anything about for the time being.  But Mowbray believes his team should be more than prepared to grace a pitch which is less than perfect, as demonstrated on a poor playing surface midweek against Sheffield Wednesday. 

But the pitch won’t be the only thing Albion have to contend with this afternoon, the weather looks likely to bring strong winds, and the Pirates will also be scrapping and challenging for everything to reap the same rewards as Barnsley and Pompey. 

Albion will also have to contend with a weekend of cup upsets.  And as Keeper Dean Kiely has warned, being the favourites is not always an advantage.  With both of yesterday’s results going to the ‘underdog’, Albion will be all too conscious of the possibility of a repeat.  Portsmouth’s first victory at Old Trafford in over 50 years, and a mammoth victory by Barnsley over Chelsea at Oakwell yesterday have seen the two favourites exit the competition.  And West Brom will know the outcome of Boro’s game against Cardiff before they even kick off. 

Albion have already swept aside lower league opposition this season, beating Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough side 3-0.  But with more at stake it will be an afternoon of high concentration and emotion all round.

FA Cp Quater Final Countdown

Discussion started by West Brom (IP Logged), 09/03/2008 10:42

West Brom
09/03/2008 10:42

FA Cp Quater Final Countdown

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Lifes Little Jem
09/03/2008 10:54

Dunno why the title has loadsa spelling errors on it. It doesn't on the main page

www.wbabaggies.co.uk

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