Saints meet Bury in the 4th round of the FA Cup
Revenge for the defeat in the 1900 FA Cup Finalhas long been extracted from the lancashire side as we meet them again for the first time in 42 years. Older fans may remember that for the best part of the 20th century we spent many years in the same division as them after joining the league after the First World War, not to mention the odd cup clash or two, and the ratio of wins for both clubs is fairly close and its fair to say that up until the sixties Bury could claim to be a bigger club than Saints with their two FA Cup wins and many seasons in the top flight.
Since our last clash in 1966 though the Clubs have gone in seperate directions, Bury have struggled in the basement for far too long and Saints have finally won that Cup and enjoyed a golden period in the top flight.
Of course Saints will start as bolted on favourites for the clash at St Mary's, but Im sure that my contemporaies in Norwich were all writing the same thing three weeks ago when Bury forced a draw and then gained a well deserved win in the replay.
One thing Saints wont want is a draw, another long mid week trip to Lancashire is not something anyone will relish be it players or fans, what is needed is a confidence boosting win followed by a good tie in the next round.
Saints of course will be managed by John Gorman and Jason Dodd in a caretaker role and it will be interesting to see how their side differs from tht picked by George Burley last week.
The main point of focus will be in the centre of midfield, will the dynamic duo retain the services of Wright and Euell or will they try something different, problem in using this as a guide is that being Bury and the fact that we have a game against Norwich on Tuesday, some changed would still have happened under the old boss to avoid injuries etc.
One man who looks set to play will be Stephen O'Halloran, On loan from Aston Villa, ther is no point in bringing him here unless he plays and lets be blunt if he doesnt get in against Bury he never will.
Saints should take this game seriously though, a run in the cup would be a good boost to morale, but probably more importantly at present it offers the opportunity to get some cash into the Club.
Another good gate is expected, already ticket sales are approaching the 20,000 mark with business being brisk this morning, strangely Bury have only sold 1,000 tickets so far although with there supporters not used to having to buy tickets in advance there may be a significant walk up on the day.
Saints fans too should look at getting tickets sooner than later, a good home walk up is also expected and this could cause chaos at the ticket office in the last hour before kick off.
A new era starts for saints against Bury and on Tuesday against Norwich, Saints supporters have been very critical of George Burley we will now find out if those critiscisms were well founded.