1 year ago
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Key events
The Wrexham manager, Phil Parkinson, is full of beans ahead of the National League high-fliers’ trip to Coventry, reports PA Media.
“Obviously Coventry offer a very different challenge to what Farnborough [their second-round opponents] did,” he said. “The out of possession stuff is going to be really important because you’ve got to respect Coventry are going to have a lot of the ball, like we did against Farnborough.
“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got nice distance while out of possession, but equally I said to the lads when we win it back we’ve got to look to play ourselves. We’ve got the players capable of passing the ball, getting control of games and that’s what I’m looking forward to seeing us do.
“We’re not just going there to hang in there, we’re going there to play, we’ll work hard to obviously make it difficult and restrict space when Coventry have got the ball.
“The FA Cup is the competition when I was growing up, was probably the biggest weekend in the football calendar at the time and everyone looked forward to the FA Cup.
“That stays with you, I still feel it’s got its magic, I really do, there’s always a different feel to FA Cup games and we go there like I say with nothing to lose at all. We’ll play with a real freedom and enjoy the day.”
And of course there’ll be more Hollywood-owner hoopla should Parkinson’s side cause an upset.
“These lads have played under or lived with quite a lot of expectation for a while,” said Parkinson of the attention afforded the club since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over. “We’ve always got the TV camera at live games, we’ve had loads of them – I’ve lost count the number of times we’ve been on TV this year.”
Some reaction BTL, and I like this from Glozboy:
Just learned about Vialli’s death. I was 12 when he signed for Chelsea and had a season ticket with my Dad so it was a real privilege to see the team develop over the years he was there. What a player, and a very decent manager as well. I remember at an early press conference he was asked how his English was progressing, to which he responded “It’s getting better, but when I talk to Dennis (Wise) I understand nothing”.
Legend. Rest in Peace.
So let’s have a look at some choice Vialli goals. I first remember noticing him at Euro 88, where he was the best player in an Italy side who looked good enough to reach the final but were undone by the USSR in the semis. He was also a mainstay in the similarly classy side that reached the last four and again should have gone further at Italia 90.
Chesterfield v West Brom is another of the weekend’s Cup ties to look out for – two in-form sides off the pitch, in the National League and Championship respectively, in contrasting situations off it: the Spireites revived under community trust ownership, the Baggies mired in financial murk, debt and supporter discontent.
Ben Fisher’s been chatting to Chesterfield’s assistant manager Danny Webb, whose family is well embedded in Cup lore:
Some reaction to Vialli’s death. Chelsea tweeted Chelsea “You’ll be missed by so many. A legend to us and to all of football. Rest in peace, Gianluca Vialli,” while owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali added: “This is truly an awful day for Chelsea Football Club. Gianluca’s legend will live on at Stamford Bridge. His impact as a player, a coach and most importantly as a person, will be forever written across our club’s history. We send our heartfelt and deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
Graeme Souness described him as “a gorgeous soul, fabulous to be around, a fun-loving guy, a warm individual and a fabulous player. What a human being.”
And here’s a lovely interview with him by Donald McRae in 2020, where he talks about coping with cancer:
Football mourns death of Gianluca Vialli
The former Italy striker Gianluca Vialli has died at the age of 58 having suffered from pancreatic cancer. He was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017 and announced he had been given the all-clear in 2020 after treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London but the illness returned in December 2021.
Vialli began his career at Cremonese before starring for Sampdoria and Juventus, and ended his playing career at Chelsea before going into management and coaching. He scored 16 goals in 59 appearances for Italy and featured in the Azzurri’s 1986 and 1990 World Cup squads.
Preamble
Morning everyone, and we must start with the very sad news of Gianluca Vialli’s passing. A class act as a player, manager and human being, and mourning for his loss will not be confined to Juventus, Chelsea and Sampdoria. We’ll bring reaction and comment throughout the day.
Elsewhere, it’s – still, despite everything – one of the most distinctive and anticipated weekends of the season: it’s FA Cup third round time. And beyond the now-traditional clashes of big clubs’ not-quite-first-choice XIs (yer Man City v Chelseas, yer Man Ud v Evertons), other treats await us with their own intriguing subplots – Coventry v Wrexham leaps off the page here, given the rollercoaster rides both clubs have been on in the past couple of decades. So let’s start with 10 things to look out for:
English (US)