Source: Daily_Mail
Does the FA Cup still matter? Here's what football's big names are saying
CARLO ANCELOTTI (Chelsea manager)In it to win it: Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti[LNB]The FA Cup may have lost some of its lustre as the focus has shifted to league and European matters, but Carlo Ancelotti revealed he is under orders to make retaining the famous, old trophy a priority this season. [LNB]Despite coming from a country where the major domestic cup competition does not fire the imagination like its English equivalent, Chelsea's Italian manager is eagerly anticipating his first taste of FA Cup action. [LNB]And Ancelotti revealed his employers had wasted little time in telling him just how important the FA Cup is to Chelsea upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge in the summer.[LNB] Was it difficult for a foreign manager to appreciate the significance of a trip to Wembley in May? 'No, I think that I know very well how important this competition is, ' replied Ancelotti. [LNB]'The first thing that the club said to me is that the FA Cup is not the Italian Cup. That was one of the first things they said to me. [LNB]'The club want to win this competition, just like the Premier League or the Champions League. It's the same. We want to do the best.' [LNB]To that end, Ancelotti is intent on putting out the strongest side available to him when they take on Watford tomorrow, even claiming he is ready to thrust explosive striker Nicolas Anelka back into action if he has sufficiently recovered from a hamstring strain. [LNB] Formidable: Chelsea will play close to their strongest side against Watford[LNB]'We have to look at him (Anelka) and, if there's no risk, he will play,' insisted Ancelotti. 'I want to put out my best team. The FA Cup is a very important competition in England. In Italy, the Italian Cup is not so important. It is one of our objectives, our aim, to win it. Last year we won it. We want to do the best again this year.' [LNB]Chelsea rounded off a difficult December with a comeback win against Fulham, even if their first-half performance prompted a cacophony of boos from the Stamford Bridge faithful. [LNB]Discussing the fans' reaction, Ancelotti said: 'When a team doesn't play well, it's normal that they won't receive a clap but a whistle. It can be a good motivation. The fans want to come to Stamford Bridge to see their team play well.' [LNB]SIMON CASS[LNB]ARSENE WENGER (Arsenal manager) Arsene Wenger (right) says the FA Cup is not a priority for either Arsenal or West Ham as they prepare for what ought to be one of the glamour ties of the third round.[LNB] Gianfranco Zola's team are still struggling to sell tickets for tomorrow's live game at Upton Park and have sent out a second email to fans to ask them to support the team at a discount price. [LNB]The two London clubs - winners of the FA Cup 13 times between them and finalists at Wembley 30 years ago - have their focus elsewhere this year. West Ham are locked in a relegation fight and confident Arsenal are eyeing bigger prizes.[LNB] 'Bolton is a very important game for us,' said Wenger, referring to Arsenal's game in hand on their Premier League title rivals, which they play at the Emirates Stadium against the managerless side on Wednesday. A win will move them within a point of Chelsea at the top of the table. [LNB]'The Premier League is so hard that you want to take care of your position,' Wenger added. 'West Ham is in a similar position. I think the pressure on Zola is more on the Premier League and less on the FA Cup. It is more important they keep their position in the Premier League.[LNB] 'The Premier League is always more important. But because we are looking after trophies in the eyes of the fans, the FA Cup is important to me as well.[LNB] 'I will rest some players against West Ham because we have some knocks but we want to win because we want to keep the momentum going.' [LNB] Strategic: Arsenal will not select mainly teenage players, unlike in the Carling Cup[LNB]Wenger stressed that his FA Cup strategy differs from his approach to the Carling Cup when his team is packed with teenagers. [LNB]'The Carling Cup for us is exclusively for young players and the FA Cup is one to win,' he said, but no-one will be risked at the expense of the Bolton game. [LNB]The Gunners have not won anything since their FA Cup triumph in 2005 and, although they would prefer the Premier League or the Champions League, the FA Cup remains an easier route to silverware.[LNB] 'People look to who has won the trophies but I look as well at how we have done and how consistently we have played,' Wenger added.[LNB]MATT BARLOW[LNB]RAFA BENITEZ (Liverpool manager) Rafa Benitez (right) is unlikely to risk Fernando Torres at Reading but knows the competition represents the best chance for Liverpool to lift a major trophy. [LNB]'The Cup has always been important to us, and that is certainly the case this season,' he said. 'I know that, after going out of the Champions League, people start thinking about silverware and how we might win something, and that makes the Cup a very, very important competition for us. [LNB]'We want to progress as far as we can, for our sakes and the supporters'. We have Tottenham coming up eight days later, in a very important Premier League game, but it is imperative that you always do things properly in the FA Cup. I haven't lost sight of that.' [LNB]JOHN EDWARDS[LNB]HARRY REDKNAPP (Tottenham manager) [LNB]Champions League designs: Harry Redknapp[LNB]Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, an FA Cup winner with Portsmouth in 2008, said that victory at Wembley in May would be a boost for Tottenham, but no longer comparable to finishing in the top four of the Barclays Premier League and qualifying for the Champions League. [LNB]'The FA Cup has always been special and I'd love Tottenham to win it,' said Redknapp. 'But, if we finish in the top four, that is a great achievement. [LNB]'It's so tough to do, whereas in the Cup you can get the luck of the draw and make it. [LNB]'Finishingin the top four over a season is difficult. No-one has broken into thattop four recently, only Everton, and it is going to be just as toughthis year because there's real competition.'[LNB] MATT BARLOW[LNB]SIR ALEX FERGUSON (Manchester United manager) Targeting win: Sir Alex Ferguson[LNB]We have targets in the league and the European Cup but you would not discount an FA Cup. Last season, we were knocked out of the semi-final on penalty kicks. The young players were unlucky. [LNB]'Now we have two legs against Manchester City in the Carling Cup and you don't discount the ferocity of that, but there won't be many changes for Leeds.'[LNB]CHRIS WHEELER[LNB]ROY KEANE (Ipswich manager) Selective memory: Ipswich boss Roy Keane[LNB]'I'd love a good cup run. The mentality in every game, even on the practice pitch, should be to try to win - otherwise you shouldn't even be in the game. [LNB]'I don't remember the wins as a player. There was usually a lot of alcohol involved so it's all a bit of a blur! I remember the defeats more.'[LNB]MEL HENDERSON[LNB]ROY HODGSON (Fulham manager) Craven Cottage craving success: Roy Hodgson[LNB]'It's a big tournament in our calendar. We will take it very seriously. What is at stake is the prestige of going forward. I can't imagine there are too many managers of any team, be they Manchester United, Chelsea or anyone, who wouldn't like a cup run. [LNB]'But, if it was a Cup run to the semi-finals or a place in the top six, I'd choose a place in the top six.'[LNB]HENRY SWARBRICK[LNB] Credibility gap: West Ham fans stay away as Gianfranco Zola promises to 'have a go' in FA Cup clash with ArsenalA decade on, Luke Chadwick gets a look in as former Manchester United fledgling reinvents himself at MK Dons'Charity of Middlesbrough stars rescued me' - Barrow defender pays tribute to Riverside support ahead of Sunderland clashThe club that saved the cup: Buzzing Barrow on the buses as 8,000 head east to SunderlandJeff Powell: Save the FA Cup and give the winners Champions League chanceVIDEO SPECIAL: Sportsmail's top 10 FA Cup third round shock exits [LNB]
