FA Cup First Round – Who Do We Want?

It’s always a great debate at this time of the season, who do we want in the FA Cup?

The draw is this evening and will get underway from approximately 6:30 pm live on TNT Sports 1 as well as their YouTube channel. It will take place during pre-match coverage of the qualifying games between Worthing and Robbie Savage Rovers.

I have a rule. You either want to be at home to a side bottom half of the league below and lower, or away against a side at least two divisions below. There are caveats to that – I wouldn’t want us to go away to Carlisle, for instance, but generally, for me, it’s about balancing novelty and winnable matches.

I wouldn’t want a team in the same division at home, but we don’t have a bad record with that, beating both Northampton and Carlisle in 2018/19. Also, we can’t have a repeat of 2017/18, when we went away to a side in the division above, in that case Wimbledon, as Championship teams don’t come in yet.

Of course, there are those matches that might work outside of my rules. As Chris pointed out on your favourite Lincoln City podcast last night, Bradford away would be good as it would mean a Saturday afternoon game against the Bantams after all. That’s not for me, but I can see the attraction.

Chris also said some games in our division are winnable right now, such as Peterborough. I guess you could throw Blackpool into that, and even teams likely to field a weaker side, if there are many. Usually, that doesn’t happen in the FA Cup, only the League Cup and EFL Trophy.

Who do I want us to draw?

I’m a romantic in the cup. I love us to come out against a Chippenham, Chesham or Bowers & Pitsea. We’ve had some good draws in the past, and they’re good because they encapsulate the romance of the cup. I like us to play a team we won’t get to play in run-of-the-mill league matches. It’s not about winnability, ask Chippenham, it’s about the FA Cup doing FA Cup things.

I’d love us to draw Scunthorpe, because it’s been ages since we faced the Iron. It struck me that 20-year-old supporters out there who won’t even see them as a local rival, as our last league meeting came on Sky at the end of the 2004/05 season. Getting the Iron, home or away, and going in as massive favourites, would be really sweet.

I’d also like Truro City, just because it’s a story I like. They’re a proper underdog, travelling hundreds of miles every week for matches, so I’d love for them to get us at their place. Would we be the ‘big club’ they’d like? Maybe not, but it would be a cool story.

There are a few other names I’d like to see. Shrewsbury, for a Michael Appleton return, but that would have to be at home, rather than at their place. There are very few other League Two sides I’d actively want, but I’d be happy with almost any. Not Grimsby or Gillingham, though, as the stories there write themselves.

Of the non-league sides we’ve got a chance of drawing, I’d love trips to Chelmsford City, AFC Telford United (again), Hemel Hempstead Town, Maldon & Tiptree, Buxton, South Shields (for Bubs), Spennymoor Town, Chatham Town, or Weston-super-Mare. Any of those at home would be okay as well.

Find out who we get this evening. My money is on a stinker, like Stockport County away. It’s been a while since we’ve had a rubbish draw!