Down to Ten Men

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic gave the media a surprise news line ahead of his side’s FA Cup third round clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

When asked whether he would rather win English football’s oldest trophy, or secure qualification for a place in next season’s Champions League, the assembled journalists expected Bilic to plump for the lure of joining Europe’s elite.

As such, there were some raised eyebrows when the Croatian answered, with a plain expression and barely a moment’s thought, that he would choose to lift the FA Cup. Seeing that he had caught everyone off guard, he explained – in broken English and with gestures that drew laughs of approval – that winning a competition allows you to lift a trophy, whereas mere qualification does not.

Liverpool boast a proud history in the FA Cup having won the world’s most nostalgic knockout domestic competition on seven occasions.

Since first lifting the cup in the 1964/67 season, the Reds have regained the silverware at least once in every following decade.

The Anfield faithful will therefore be hoping for another successful cup run this season when they begin their campaign against Exeter City.

And FA Cup betting at the time of writing places Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League giants at 4/9 to progress past their League Two opponents as they seek another road to Wembley.

The aim for Liverpool is to build on their FA Cup history and, here, we remember their most recent final experiences in the 21st Century, which have ended in both success and failure.

LIVERPOOL 2 ARSENAL 1 – 2000/01 – MILLENNIUM STADIUM

The shock 1-0 home defeat to newly-promoted Bournemouth was yet another body blow for Chelsea in what has already descended into a nightmare season where very little, if anything at all, has gone right.

Jose Mourinho has cut a forlorn figure on the sidelines as his team have been a distinct shadow of the one that dominated the Premier League with a swagger and ruthlessness that set them apart from the rest.

Bookies highlighted the fact that most bookmakers installed Chelsea as favourites to retain their league crown, but their latest defeat not only leaves them firmly in the mire in the bottom half of the table, but also dented any hope of clawing some credibility back by reaching the top four.

There is still time for Chelsea to resurrect their season with twenty-three games still to play, but if recent performances and results are anything to go by, then it may be worth writing off the 2015/2016 campaign altogether and starting afresh next season.

Juventus are still far away from mounting a serious title challenge this season. The team has been showing some decent run of form only in the last few weeks.

Three victories in the last five have seen them rise to 7th in the table. They, however, still remain almost 10 points behind table leaders Fiorentina. A major factor behind this poor form has been the loss of key players like Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez in one transfer window. Equally important has been the lack of good performances from midfielder Paul Pogba. The French international was linked with a world record transfer to Barcelona or Chelsea in the summer.

The Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool is a matter of days old, yet to take in its opening Premier League fixture, but the German tactician has already been handed his first managerial headache on Merseyside.

Thursday brought the news of season-ending injuries to Danny Ings and Joe Gomez, with cruciate ligament damage bringing their respective campaigns to a premature conclusion.

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri will not be taking over at clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea, who have been criticised by some for throwing money in order to buy success, according to his close friend, Leeds United ownerMassimo Cellino.