Should West Ham triumph in tomorrows FA Cup quarter final then there’s the prospect of a semi final against – more than likely – Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal to contemplate.
Whilst everyone will have their own favourites, it could be seen as an ‘opportunity’ or ‘distraction’ depending on your viewpoint. These days the abandonment of neutral grounds such as Hillsborough or Villa Park for semi finals makes the ‘Wembley Showcase’ mirage of a semi final almost seem worth shooting for in itself.
‘Almost’.
However several West Ham players face the real jeopardy of missing out on a day at Wembley if the Hammers do prevail over Leeds tomorrow. As sportsmole.co.uk reminded us:
“Should Summerville be passed fit to feature, he will be one of six West Ham players walking a suspension tightrope against Leeds.
Soucek – another player one card away from an FA Cup semi final ban
If West Ham’s No.7, Wan-Bissaka, Soucek, Kyle Walker-Peters, Valentin Castellanos and Soungoutou Magassa are booked during this weekend’s game, they will be banned for the FA Cup semi-finals, should the Hammers progress.”
Which will only add to the drama and jeopardy tomorrow. Well I remember Hayden Mullins missing out on an FA Cup final appearance after being banned for a previous transgression: It would be desperate luck indeed for any of the six to be yellow carded tomorrow should West Ham prevail.
Absolutely ridiculous rule. I wonder if the clubs had any say in this?
“Luck”? I would have thought that the possibility of getting booked rests entirely in the hands of the player , & no one else. Or, have we got to the point where fouling & getting booked are all normal & acceptable parts of the game ?
Referees give yellow cards for ‘fouls’ that wouldn’t even be free kicks 10 years ago. Sadly, it’s no longer only down to the actions of a player