We’ve got our own ideas who should win but we want your suggestions too, we’ve been to lots of games but they are only a tiny fraction of games played.  So, leave comments here, email us at the address on the home page or Tweet us your opinion, we’ve already had a couple of suggestions …

Everton: Tweeter grandoldteam argued that the Toffees should win it “Because of our run last season (Liverpool, Villa, Man Utd en route…) only to fall at the last hurdle.” While we all would have fancied that being the actual result, it is still last season. Sorry, no.

Stoke City: Ilkeston Town fan @ilson_fan reasoned that the winners should be “Stoke. They beat York who beat Cambridge who beat the mighty Ilkeston so they must be REALLY good!”  That is compelling but we can’t have a Premier Lge team winning The Real FA Cup.

So what do we want you to bear in mind, who has been the nicest, most helpful club, who’s had the best team, scored the best goals, embodied the FA Cup spirit, had the best sense of humour, perhaps it was where you simply had the best day out, maybe it’s the team who has played the most games or got the furthest from where they started, or perhaps you think your local team should win?  Whichever of these is your reason, let us know and we’ll consider it.

Yes, we know that Forest Green are still in the Cup, we know there are some League 1 sides still in but they are going to have to go some to have the impact that some already have and, frankly, the mainstream coverage of the tournament is getting quite depressing. The Real has gone, hyperreal has arrived.  Obviously, we’re looking to our non-league followers to step up to the plate here but our short list is:

AFC Wimbledon | Aylesbury | Basildon Utd |Chelmsford City | Dartford | Lowestoft Town | Sutton Utd | Tooting & Mitcham | Wealdstone |

Who else should be on it – and why?

There are famous examples, there are infamous examples, there’s your Ronnie Rosenthal, your Ryan Giggs and <insert your team’s worst ever missed sitter here> there’s your Marlon Harewood when on loan at Ipswich some years ago. Step forward Robert Edmans. [Just click on the photos to enlarge]

Last weekend we saw Chelmsford City beat Dartford in the FA Cup. They scored four but it should have, undoubtedly, been five. The one that got away was caught in all it’s glory by Simon and Matt so let’s have a look at it a bit closer. Above left we see the milliseconds after Edmans had rounded the keeper, found the goal gaping and side footed it … errr … goalwards. You can see the joy and elation etched on the faces of those directly behind the goal who think it’s going in. Even some to the left are lost in the moment of glory, however, you can see some fans further back and in line with the direction of the ball whose hands are not high and stretched wide, they are moving down to the top of their heads.

We’re not necessarily here to rip it out of Rob Edmans though, just seconds later he set up Chelmsford’s last goal with a beautiful cross, but these photos seem to capture more than the miss. These photos capture the moments immediately before and after the miss and they display the plethora of emotions through which players and fans alike go during each and every match. These photos, as much as any do, show exactly what football means to people and the range of emotions also belies the theory that football supporters are a homogenous, stereotypical mass.

In the next photo (above right) you can see Edmans has sunk to his knees as it dawns that the ball might not nestle in the onion sack. The inverse Mexican wave on the terrace has now spread from left all the way across, as hands come down to heads from above. Some of the fans are starting to express anger, some despair, some disbelief and some, perhaps the sharper or less passionate fans, are already wetting themselves with laughter, safe in the knowledge they are 3-1 up with 2 minutes left. This gamut of emotions is what makes football great, so wide in just one tiny fraction of a football match.

In the next photo (left) the majority of the fans have seen the funny side, they have realised they’ve just seen a bad miss but know it shouldn’t cost them. Still though, some are furious. The keeper is glancing to the bench with a hint of mirth and a smidge of relief but Edmans is still stuck in time, internally replaying the shot over and over and, almost certainly, wondering how he missed.

And now (right) it’s all sinking in for the rest in the scene, Edmans is still on his knees, still lost in a long moment of contemplation. Behind him, the keeper is perhaps now baffled, a gallic shrug belying his emotions but is the gesture expressing disbelief that Edmans missed or is it enquiring what his defence were doing to let him through in the first place. The player in the foreground, no17 Matt Lock, covers his mouth as if to force himself not to shout disbelief at his team mate. Similarly, Antonio Murray, no9, has turned away as if to pretend it never happened and even the Dartford outfield player has adopted the ‘speak no evil’ pose of a man not wishing to intrude on private grief.

And for last we save perhaps the best. Edmans has now given up his inner fight and is prostrate on the floor, accepting that he has in fact somehow missed that. The four fans pictured show the range of emotions, from disgust on the left to a wry smirk to hilarity to disbelief on the right.

So, a big sorry to Rob Edmans for featuring his miss, we hope he forgives us. Our interest was less in his misfortune and more to do with the various captured ways he and his fellow professionals affect us fans. This is a stark example but these emotions run through us every minute of every game to greater or lesser degrees. Even neutrals.

We’re no psychologists and we know photos like this appear quite regularly but we thought they photos said something, even if we aren’t entirely sure what that is, and wanted to share them with you. And we’ll leave you with this final photo, feel the joy. A big thanks to the players and fans of both Dartford and Chelmsford City for making our day, it perhaps wasn’t the best game we’ll see but it was one of the best days out we’ve had.

Damon

We had been led to believe, by people who should know better, that Dartford was a chav hell hole. Rubbish. A chav hell hole does not deliver three quality boozers, a cafe with a young ‘host’ more at home in Madame Jo Jo’s or Brechtian discussions with the local youths?! This is a town with apparent diversity in its sense of self and a slightly tenacious attitude to make things better.

It fits, therefore, that the local council have essentially given the football team superb eco-ground (left) that is Princes Park. A wooden man (below right) holds aloft the roof of not only the north facing stand but, as it is a continuous oval wooden lid, effectively the whole ground.

Given the size of the ground (allegedly 4,000 capacity) the bar is dwarfed by Dulwich Hamlet’s behemoth of alcohol but it’s nice enough, if a little soulless.

As we suggested in our preview, this match was eagerly anticipated and would be very close. Correct on both counts, except the scoreline probably flattered Chelmsford a little.

This game mirrored, almost exactly, the game we saw at the 4th Qualifying Round stage last season, AFC Wimbledon 1 Wycombe W 4. A very similar pattern of play, not much happened during the even start, the higher team the more clinical with the few chances they had, the home side coming into it in the second half but getting suckered on the break at inopportune moments.

The main difference between these teams was that Chelmsford had a very solid defence that gave little away and they had goal poachers in abundance, with one glaring exception.

Before we ventured forth we sought fortification first from Shepherd Neame and then from the correctly titled All Day Cafe. The cafe was rammed to the gills and bubbling with atmosphere. It was either going ot be cheap, good or cheap and good.

There was a hubbub in the middle of the cafe, the waiter was rooting around in some woman’s bag. He had found a white polka dot bikini and he asked the diners if he should try it on. “YES” was the response, so he did, and catwalked up and down the caff from door to kitchen. It has to be said, this was not what we were expecting from Dartford.

The Dartford fans were equally as loud, often enquiring if they could knock out a tune for their opposite numbers. We did wonder if the Dartford fans were hard of hearing because the Clarets fans were making some noise too. In beautifully arrogant style, as we all down in these situations, the Darts fans reminded the crowd that they were top of the league but this game was a wake up call.

In the first half, there were four shots of note and one header. The opening goal came from a corner, Murray (celebrating, left) taking two shots to score after the ball fell to him in the 6 yard box. The third shot resulted in the Dartford keeper tipping over a free kick and the fourth saw the Clarets go in at the break 2 nil up, Ricky Holmes shooting neatly in to the corner from the edge of the box.

The first half of the second half was almost entirely Dartford but they had very few sightings of goal. Chelmsford got a free kick about 25 yards out and Dave Rainford swept it over the wall and in to the corner. 3-0. Clinical. “3 nil and you still won’t sing”, sing the Darts fans. “Top of the league, you’re having a laugh” retort the Claret faithful. It was fair comment, bar one draw, Dartford have won all of their league games this season but, on this evidence, they are going to have to up their game somewhat if they are to compete in the league above.

The ref was very indecisive, there were 3 or 4 drop balls in this game for no apparent reason. You very rarely even see one and the crowd amusingly started shouting for them at every stoppage.

With around 15 left Dartford did finally get a great chance to get back in the game but Tait blasted over from 4 yards. With 10 to go they get another chance but May headed wide when well placed.  They also smacked the woodwork. We thought that was probably it but then Dartford got a freekick and captain Flanagan sneaked in to plant one firmly past the keeper.

Game on? The Darts fans thought so, “Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy” they went. Chelmsford threatened to pop the optimism when the Dartford keeper made a hash of edge-of-the-box control and Chelmsford’s own ‘Crouchy’ found himself on the penalty spot with the keeper on the floor behind him and no defenders within 20 yards. He sidefooted the ball a foot past the post. The crowd were incredulous, that was probably the worst miss any of us has ever seen.

Seconds later ‘Crouchy’ does some twinkle toes down the left and crossed perfectly for Murray to touch home. ‘Crouchy’s’ miss was somewhat special, so much so that we’re going to devote a whole story to him. And apologies, ‘Crouchy’ is in real life Robert Edmans and he had a tidy game otherwise.

Dartford 1 Chelmsford City 4

Overall not the greatest game of FA Cup football but a fair bit of interest, incident and 5 goals so what more could you ask for? We retired to the Stage Door foor a few and were accosted by a hooded youth in the beer garden. Was the Dartford experience about to take the type of turn we were led to expect? The youth enquired if we were involved with the next door theatre and informed us of his involvement in a production of ‘The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui’. Nope, we weren’t expecting that either.

We gave you the chance to send us further afield and you adventurous folk well and truly took it, huh! Literally to the edge of London we must venture, towards a massive great bridge! Or tunnel, depending which way you’re travelling.

The visitors, Chelmsford, are a league, if not currently a class, above. Minor interest point sees former Ipswich and Hibs player Antonio Murray lining up for the Blue Square South side after failing to get (or perhaps turning down) a new contract with top flight new boys Histon.

Chelmsford’s emphatic result in the previous round was sandwiched between two league defeats that have cost the ambitious clarets quite dearly and they now find themselves languishing in mid table, well off the pace they kept up for so long last season.

The home team on the other hand can do no wrong. The last time Dartford failed to win a league game it was still August. They’ve won their last five and have 28 points out of a possible 30 overall, which means they top the league by some distance. In the close season, Dartford signed a a player we saw several times at Dulwich last year, Jamie Coyle, and former Gooner, Jamie Day, who left Highbury to join Bournemeouth and now finds himself sliding down the leagues.

This may not be quite the biggest name clash in this round of the FA Cup but it’s one of the most eagerly anticipated and it’ going to be one where a bit of an upset is possible. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if the bookies have this one quite evenly poised.

35/40mins from London Bridge and the below link looks handily placed between station and ground …

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/67/6757/Malt_Shovel/Dartford