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Sir Geoff Hurst: Sutton United's route to Arsenal clash proves magic of FA Cup
The magic of the FA Cup is alive and well if you look outside the top tiers of English football, according to England and West Ham legend Sir Geoff Hurst.
For the first time since the 19th century, two non-league sides will feature in the fifth round of the world’s oldest cup competition, with Lincoln City due to travel to Burnley on Saturday before Sutton United welcome Premier League giants Arsenal to Gander Green Lane on Monday.
Both sides have beaten Championship opposition to reach the fifth round – were they able to overcome their top-tier opponents they would become the first non-league quarter-finalists since 1925.
Elsewhere the likes of Liverpool, Watford and West Brom have fallen to lower league opponents, with Millwall having stunned two top tier sides to secure a home tie against champions Leicester.
In spite of claims that top sides are devaluing the competition by playing reserve teams the thrilling feats of several of the sides in the last 16 are enough to convince Hurst, a winner with West Ham in 1964, that the FA Cup is in rude health.
“At the top end there’s a criticism of the FA Cup that the big clubs who have other priorities with the Champions League and so on don’t always field their best teams,” Hurst told Standard Sport.
“But conversely it has been absolutely magnificent for the smaller clubs. They now have a huge opportunity to beat the big boys who don’t put their best players out.
“For the Sutton Uniteds of this world these games are the best days of their lives. For them playing Arsenal will be financially life-changing.
“Of course it’s unlikely that they’ll get an upset but in football, you never can tell. In football this year and last we’ve seen some big upsets. The Cup has done, and always will provide upsets.
“For most people the competition remains a highlight of the footballing calendar.”
Hurst needs no reminding of the importance of the Cup, having scored in West Ham’s first Wembley win in 1964.
Two years later he was lifting the Jules Rimet trophy in an England shirt along with West Ham team-mates Bobby Moore and Martin Peters, who played no part in the 1964 FA Cup final.
“It was the highlight of my time at West Ham, one of the great days of my time there, winning the cup in 1964 and then the Cup Winners’ Cup the following year. Those memories will never leave me nor the fans who were there.
“It’s difficult to know how much that helped in 1966 but the fact that you’ve been winners at club level has to hope. You develop a mentality that helps you progress for competitions.”
Sir Geoff Hurst was speaking at the launch of the 2017 FA & McDonald’s Community Awards, recognising achievement regardless of age, gender or disability. Nominate your grassroots football hero at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/awards
