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Much debate has been had about the FA Cup, its planned reform and ultimately whether the competition has lost its magic. I believe it has in every degree as like most things in football these days it was sold to the highest bidder.

I was invited in January to the ESPN launch of the ‘Cup of Dreams’ – a fan poll to determine the greatest FA Cup XI of all time. At the event were various ex players and managers who have all tasted some degree of success in the competition and they were all asked their opinion as to whether the FA Cup had lost something special compared to yesteryear. Unsurprisingly they all claimed it hadn’t, but I couldn’t help but feel that one or two felt otherwise despite their claims. I don’t think there is a person in football that honestly believes that the magic of the cup still remains, and in my opinion it is all down to the array of broadcasters, like those present at this particular launch.

The FA Cup use to be magical as it always use to be a Saturday game at 3pm. There use to be perhaps one game televised on the Sunday, therefore the crowds were always high as the dream of a giant killing scalp, or a trip to Wembley remained the hope of many. Sadly the TV broadcasters have ruined this sacred tournament by ensuring they get as many games covered for their TV audiences. This means that the FA Cup fixtures are played at ridiculous times and across three different days in order to coincide with TV schedules. I remember Newcastle having to play Plymouth once on a Sunday night, which meant that many Toon supporters were unable to attend the match due to the fact that no trains were running after 8pm that particular evening. It is absolutely scandalous and shows how the competition has allowed itself to be sold out.

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I know the damage has been done and in many ways you have to point the finger firmly in Sky’s direction for the way they destroyed fixture scheduling over the years, with the Premier League. Football supporters have become accustomed to the dearth of a 3pm kick-off and have had to get use to the 12.45pm, 1.30pm, 2pm, 4pm, 4.10pm and 5.30pm times just to accommodate the TV companies. It is a shame that football’s oldest competition has succumbed to the same way and ultimately destroyed the romance and magic of this one great tournament.

Pride will be the only thing on the line when West Brom play host to Everton at The Hawthorns on Saturday.Both teams are resting comfortably in mid-table, Everton in seventh place with 51 points and West Brom in 13th position on 43.

But with Everton seven points adrift of fifth-placed Liverpool with two games remaining, the lure of a Europa League berth is just out of reach for David Moyes’ side.

Similarly, Roy Hodgson’s West Brom are seven points clear of 18th-placed Blackpool, and have already secured their place in the English Premier League for a second successive season.

After looking like relegation contenders at the end of February, West Brom got a move on in March with a 3-1 win over Birmingham, before following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal with wins over Liverpool and Sunderland.

They finally secured Premier League survival with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa last month – their first in 26 years – but were comprehensively beaten 3-1 by Wolves in their last league start.

After a lacklustre start to their campaign, Everton finally clicked into gear in October with a 2-0 win over Liverpool, and the highlights of their season must be a pair wins over Manchester City, although Moyes would no doubt trade them to have secured City’s Champions League berth.

A 2-1 win over FA Cup finalists City was Moyes’ men most recent outing, and he has made his intentions of a strong finish to the league campaign clear.

Both managers have key personnel out of action ahead of the fixture, with Moyes missing Marouane Fellaini and Louis Saha with ankle injuries.

Hodgson, meanwhile, will be without midfielder Graham Dorrans as he recovers from an ankle injury, defender Steven Reid has missed the past two games with a calf complaint, as has his captain Chris Brunt with a hamstring concern.

Tottenham Hotspur are close to completing a deal to sign South Africa international defender Bongani Khumalo when the transfer window re-opens in January.

The 23-year-old currently plays for Supersports, but has impressed while on trial at White Hart Lane, with a £1.5million deal now on the cards.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp confirmed:"I think we've done a deal for him. We're in the process of doing a deal for him.

"He's not expensive. We had him over on trial and we like him. He's got potential and we've got a tie up with the club Supersports, so we've taken him on.

"It will be a great chance for the kid. He's a great lad. He comes from a poor background and he's desperate for a chance and we're going to give him a chance."

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Khumalo was part of the hosts' squad at the World Cup finals earlier this year, starting all three of the Bafana Bafana's group games, scoring in the 2-1 victory over 1998 world champions France.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

A couple of weeks ago, Jose Mourinho allegedly accused the Spanish media of giving unfair protection to members of the national team when it comes to the articles they right. Whether this is the case or not – and in my humble and not at all biased opinion it most certainly is, with the World Cup winning squad getting lauded and protected in the Spanish press second only to that of the cult of Leo Messi – it got me to thinking if this was the case in England.

Whilst considering this issue, another and far greater thought crossed my mind. As this doesn’t happen too often I decided it would be a good idea to write about it and see exactly what other football watchers think – the issue I am talking about is the protection given by the FA to members of the English national team compared to the foreign players who make up the Premier League.

Now I am not for one second accusing the FA of doing this intentionally – being the upstanding and flawless body that they are this is has not even crossed my mind – but I do think it is slightly strange and more than noteworthy that in recent weeks, we have seen not only retrospective action in terms of the Balotelli ‘stamp’ when no such action was even considered with Peter Crouch and his eye gouging and the Kompany sending off for a challenge that did not look all that different to one a certain Glen Johnson performed around the same time.

I have long held the opinion that certain players have a Teflon like ability when it comes to officials, yet had put that down to players and their reputations more than their nationality, yet more and more it seems that the English players escape sanction where others cop the fall.

Frank Lampard most certainly should have been sent off for a horror challenge, yet this was not the case. Gerrard likewise could not pick up a yellow card sometimes if he offered the officials his weekly wage for it. Is it the case that because they are internationals, the officials subconsciously go easier on them? A point to ponder one thinks.

However, when you consider that this is the same FA who appealed the Rooney ban for the opening stages of the Euros in the summer, totally contradicting their own values and suspensions, it is not all that surprising that they will go to huge lengths to protect English players.

The media in this country are not exempt from this accusation either – the antics of players such as Rooney and Carroll off the field go forgotten when a national team game is around the corner – the media absolutely vilified Ronaldo after the 2006 World Cup for ‘getting Rooney sent off’ yet conveniently forgot that unless Ronaldo can add mind control to his impressive list of attributes, it was in fact Rooney who stamped his foot on Ricardo Carvalho.

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Yes support for the national team is of course expected, but this is not what is achieved – in fact the media are so quick to jump on the back of the team after every failure you would think entirely the opposite, so why both they and the FA protect players from the national team to the degree they do is a mystery. Of course, it could just be a happy coincidence – but then again, I think not.

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Former Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez has revealed he would be interested in signing for the Anfield clubs arch rivals Manchester United given the chance.

The nippy left sided winger is quoted in the Daily Mail as telling ADN radio, “It would be a dream to have the chance to join Manchester United.”

The 26 year old Chilean had a disappointing spell in England with Liverpool and was sold for £5 million to Real Betis after a solitary year with the club. This clearly hasn’t prevented Gonzalez from craving another crack at the Premiership.

Gonzalez went onto say, “We all know the quality that the team has and of course I would like to play in England again, even more at a team like Manchester United”.

These comments won’t have endeared the CSKA Moscow man to his former club. Gonzalez’s lofty ambitions to play in the Premiership again with the league’s most successful club do seem unlikely.

The Anfield flop finished off by underlining his commitment to his current club “But while I am at CSKA I will only have my mind focused on my current team, trying to play and showing what I am doing.”

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Newcastle boss Chris Hughton hailed the improvement Andy Carroll made to his game in a season out of the Premier League after the young striker bagged a hat-trick during Sunday's rout of Aston Villa.

The Magpies dished out a 6-0 St James' Park thrashing, with Carroll scoring a hat-trick after the visitors had missed an early penalty kick through John Carew.

Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan (2) were also on the mark for the rampant home side.

Carroll scored 17 goals in the Championship last season and shone on his first home appearance since being handed the club's iconic number nine shirt.

"What he has done is work hard to develop his game, but we all know and certainly centre-forwards will know it is about scoring goals," explained Hughton.

"He was able to do that last season. It was something we asked of him, could he add goals to his game, and in the lesser division, he was able to do that.

"Now the challenge for him is to do it in this division.

"There are areas of his game he can improve. How far he can go, that will be up to the environment he is in and the individual himself, but he has the attributes to improve even more.

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"For those who have been in the game for quite some time, he is very much a throw-back. He can be prolific in the air – he is certainly a handful for most defenders he plays against.

"But as all good and great goalscorers will tell you, it's not only about a contribution for the team, but they would see it more so as putting the ball in the back of the net and ultimately, he will be judged on that."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

The Sun reports that Tottenham Hotspur are among the clubs interested in Nigerian star Raheem Lawal.

Lawal hit a hat trick in Nigeria’s under-23 victory over Algeria a fortnight ago and has had plenty of offers since then. Lawal is expected to be involved in the Olympics for Nigeria next summer and will be looking to impress big European clubs before then.

The talented midfielder currently plays his football for Spanish Third Division side Atletico Balearas, who are currently six points clear at the top of the league as they look for promotion to take a step closer to becoming an established Spanish club.

Spurs will face tough competition for the midfielder if they opt to make a bid, but a cheap deal would be on cards to improve an already talented set of youngsters emerging at White Hart Lane. Lawal could be seen as a long term replacement for Luka Modric or Rafael van der Vaart as the goalscoring midfielder weighs up his options ahead of January.

“I have had several offers coming my way following my performance in the game against Algeria,” said Lawal.

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“Lyon have indicated interest, as have Tottenham and Zamalek of Egypt.”

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The latest player that Tottenham have been linked with is the 24 year old Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani. Cavani plays for Napoli in the Serie A and has scored a stunning 25 goals already this season. His form has put Napoli in 2nd position in the Italian domestic league just three points behind AC Milan.

The player would be an ideal signing for Tottenham who have struggled to find a consistent goal scorer to lead their attacking line this season. With Van der Vaart’s arrival, Tottenham have begun playing with one striker and the Dutch Maestro just behind him. While this benefited Van der Vaart (at least in the first half of the season), it has not benefited the strikers. Peter Crouch has been Redknapp’s first choice due to his height and ability to link up with Van der Vaart, but Crouch has not been potent enough in front of goal. Nor has Defoe who has scored just twice all season. Pavlyuchenko, perhaps the most well-rounded of the strikers, has not managed to impress Redknapp enough to play regularly.

With this in mind Tottenham definitely need a new front man, and I think Cavani fits the bill perfectly. He moved to Napoli last summer and started the season very well in Serie A, scoring in all of his first 4 games. Since then he has gone from strength to strength. Cavani scores goals with his feet as well as with his head. He has also made a great partnership with Napoli’s Merek Hamsik, who plays a similar role to Rafael Van der Vaart, just off the striker.

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Crucially he has played well and scored goals in the big games. That is exactly the type of player Tottenham need if they are to continue their development and progress. He scored a hat-trick against Juventus and has since followed up with a brace against Roma and another hat-trick against Lazio, this time from 2-0 down. The guy seems like a big match player with a winning mentality.

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However, Cavani’s recent success will make him an expensive player and a well sought after one too. Tottenham are not the only side interested in the Uruguayan and there is likely to be a bidding war for his signature in the summer from Italian giants Inter as well as clubs in Spain and England.

Furthermore, he has only been at Napoli for one season. If his side come in the top 3 of Serie A (which they are likely to do being 8 points ahead of 4th with 6 games left) Napoli will play in the Champions League next season. It would therefore take a huge bid to persuade Napoli to sell and massive wages for Cavani to part with his new team, after all he has been central to their recent success. Further still, if Tottenham do not finish fourth and do not secure Champions League football, he is even less likely to move to White Hart Lane.

It seems that Cavani is emerging as one of the hottest talents in European football. The question has to be asked, where were Tottenham last summer? Although the player was linked with White Hart Lane, he eventually moved to Napoli for around £12m. Tottenham will now have to pay as much as £30m if they want to sign him, but as I have already mentioned, the decision of Cavani’s future could be decided by Cavani himself, who will have a choice of places to ply his trade next term.

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Mark Hughes has revealed that one of the main reasons why he decided to become Fulham's new manager was his desire to start working again.

The former Wales and Blackburn Rovers boss had been without a job since being axed by Manchester City in December 2009.

Hughes, who was last week confirmed as Roy Hodgson's successor at Craven Cottage after signing a two-year contract, said at a press conference:"I made the decision that this is the right club for me at this time. It feels a good fit.

"The attraction, obviously, is the opportunity to get back into work. I needed to get back to work. The situation with Fulham was maybe the perception I had of Fulham's ambitions.

"Obviously, I was disappointed (to leave Manchester City) because I felt I was doing a good job, given the circumstances. I think no-one else could have done as good a job as I did, given the circumstances. I felt we were fully on track with the expectations of the owners.

"I think the job Roy (Hodgson) did was magnificent. He maximised the results out of the group he had. That's what I've always tried to do. The way I set my team up, I think that will lend itself to the work Roy put in place.

"We don't have the distraction of the Europa League this season. That's a big ask when you're involved in that competition. We had that experience the year before at City.

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"I think the fact we haven't got that this year is a bonus. If we can get into the top ten this year, that'll be good progress.

"I think it's fair to say that we need more attacking options. We'll look at that and I think what everybody knows is quality strikers are at a premium."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

The likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not likely to be seen in the Premier League in the near future but the rest of Europe is certainly open to trading for the big guns in the English game and whether it be in January or the summer, there could be some more big names on the plane to the best league in the world.

The likes of Ronaldo, Robinho, David Silva, Carlos Tevez and Fernando Torres have graced the Premier League in recent years and that has turned the English game into the best in the world. Here is a list of players in Europe that are targets for Premier League clubs and could be seen here in the near future. Who would you like at your club?

Click on Ricardo Montolivo to unveil the top 10

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Compiled by Brad Pinard

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