Source: Daily_Mail
West Ham beg for FA Cup fans in email pleading for '12th man' against Arsenal
Such is the loss of standing of the FA Cup that West Ham have been forced to send out a begging email to their fans to attend their third round glamour tie against Arsenal at Upton Park on Sunday.[LNB]In a damning indictment on the oldest cup competition in the world, the club has struggled to sell tickets for what should be one the biggest, most prestigious weekends in the domestic football calendar and one of the ties of the round a repeat of the 1980 final, won by Sir Trevor Brooking's diving header.[LNB] Where are they: West Ham have sent out begging emails to fill seats at Upton Park for Sunday's third-round FA Cup tie against London rivals Arsenal[LNB]West Ham's struggle to attract fans to the game is even more remarkable because it will see the three-time winners face their local Premier League rivals in the 30th anniversary year of West Ham's last FA Cup triumph.[LNB]Enlarge But, far from being one of the marquee fixtures of the season, the match is classed as a 'Category C' game, ranking it below the likes of West Ham's home games against Hull City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League, where Gianfranco Zola's side are currently fourth from bottom.[LNB]West Ham season ticket-holders who had not taken advantage of a special discount offer have been sent a note urging them to 'fill up the stadium' and act as 'the 12th man'.[LNB]Marketing emails are regularly sent to non-season ticket holders, but this message was marked 'Urgent' and read: 'It would be fantastic to have your support at this fixture and at what we hope will be the start of the road to Wembley, building on our promising performance against Chelsea (a 1-1 draw on December 20).'[LNB] Hammershero: Sunday's third-round FA Cup tie marks West Ham's 30th anniversaryof Sir Trevor Brooking match-winning Final header against Arsenal [LNB] The tie is being shown live on ITV1 (kick-off 4.15pm), but prices are very reasonable for a match involving two Premier League sides, ranging from £35 to £51 for adults and £28 to £40.50 for season ticket-holders. Arsenal have taken their maximum allocation of 5,200 tickets.[LNB]Scott Parker and Mark Noble will miss the tie with hamstring injuries, but are expected to face Wolves on January 10.[LNB]Missingman: Injured Mark Noble is ruled out for Arsenal's second visit toUpton Park this season alongside fellow midfielder and hamstring victimScott Parker[LNB] JEFF POWELL: Save the FA Cup and give the winners a Champions League chanceWest Ham confident midfield talisman Scott Parker will be fit to face WolvesVilla join Liverpool and Tottenham in race for £8m West Ham star ParkerLEO'S LONDON: Super Cesc proved he is Arsenal through and throughWEST HAM UNITED FC
