Ok, before I get launched into todays testosterone enhanced blog entry… I am balancing things up because I am speaking to the ladies on the Charlie Crocker show on BBC radio Solent early afternoon today… So if you are near to radio and want to hear me discussing women drinking, tune in around 2.30pm-2.5pm to hear me live.

Ok, it has to be the greatest cup competition in the world, doesn’t it?

The FA Cup!… I have to talk about it today after the weekend we had….

The FA cup baby!

This is what it is all about… This is the stuff real footballing dreams are made of, this is fairy story football. All the big guns have been knocked out and we have 3 of the 4 remaining sides from leagues outside of the premiership. I love it.

Cup football is about winning. Not settling for a draw or going for complex safety tactics, it is rip-roaring, end-to-end, and boy oh boy have I been cheering on the underdogs.

There are schools of thought that believe that without the big teams of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool still in the competition that the excitement is gone and we are not seeing the best players in the world… This is complete hash!

When it comes to knock-out football, the game is different. This is the romance of the FA cup; that on their day, anyone can do it.

That is the hypnotic effect of the FA cup.

I remember being in trances as a school boy scoring goals in the FA cup final as I kicked my leather past the jumpers and jackets we were using for goal posts. The hypnosis happens by imagining that it is not out of your reach, that on their day, anyone can be brilliant. I really feel the excitement of the fans and players that have their chance at glory.

I applaud those teams who have treated the FA cup viewers to such excitement, such drama and I cannot wait for the next hypnotic installment.

The real football fans appreciate this because they support their team through a lifetime, not just because they are glamourous and this year the FA cup has some new heroes!  

Anyway… I’ll get back to less tenuous links to hypnosis tomorrow 😉