Usually the FA Cup brings a level of excitement to Saints supporters, but this year it is almost as if we aren't in the competition with the raft of Premier League postponements and the fact that although the other games played will have fans present, our game won't.

Since the draw at Crystal Palace on 15th December, Saints have played just two games, ironically both within the space of 3 days, meaning that by the time the team but not the fans travel to Swansea City, we will have played just twice in 24 days.

Of course a year ago we were watching games on TV with no fans back in the stadium, but we have all got used to being able to go to games again and the ban in Wales of fans attending games is just our luck to get a Welsh club.

So with only 5 days to go there is no excitement going into the game against Swansea, the buzz from the Spurs game has already subsided and it will have been 11 days since that fixture when we run out in South Wales.

This morning we should have all been talking about the Newcastle game the previous day, but all we are talking about regarding the Toon Army is how their club have possibly pulled the wool over the eyes of the Premier League , Everton & Southampton to avoid playing those games and losing, hoping that by the time they are rescheduled they will have spent multi millions on new players.

The sad thing about the situation is that the once respected Newcastle fans whom we all had sympathy for when they were owned by Mike Ashley, now seem to have forgotten their years of whinging and now are all over social media sneering at Saints & Everton fans for the accusations and seem happy to have accepted money from any source no matter how controversial, yes it is easy for the rest of us to sneer at them for suddenly losing all their morals when glory beckons, but until someone similar takes over at St Mary's we can stay on the moral high ground.

But I digress, the last week or so has seen us with nothing to get excited about since the Spurs game euphoria has died down and it is hard to find any excitement in the coming weekend.

But there is no reason not to get excited, last season we reached the semi finals of this competition and we have a good chance of another good run, if we are moaning about games being called off the Swans have more to moan at, they have not played a game since Saturday 11th December when they lost 4-1 at home to Nottingham Forest, their 3rd defeat in a row.

Since then it has been a run of postponements and if they can get this game played against us on Saturday they will be very rusty.

They will also be without the backing of their fans, something that may have made it more difficult for us with the Liberty Stadium being very compact it makes it an intimidating place to play at the best of times.

The hope is that on Saturday we can go and repeat our pre season win against the Swans and then hopefully we can all go to the 4th round tie when it is played in February.

Photo: Action Images

pjt50 added 11:58 - Jan 3 I find it difficult to get excited about the Cup these days. Not only has it been totally devalued by the over dominance of the PL but we've got virtually zero chance of winning it anyway. The best we can hope for is a couple of good days out.
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Block8 added 17:33 - Jan 3 Its the FA Cup and still holds magic for some of us older fans and no fans may be a pain but could ease the pressure on some of the youngsters expected to start. The size of our squad has lowered the chances of some of our very promising youngsters getting a look in. So lets see them start, particularly Small, Simeu, Watts and Chauke. These guys have some promise and could save us a fortune so lets have a good look at them. If they are not due a start lets get them out on loan. Now is the time before we spend money we don't have on players we don't need!

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A1079 added 19:43 - Jan 3 I am very much one of the older fans and I recall with excitement waiting to see who we would get in the draw and look forward to the game whether it be home or away. The FA Cup was and still should be something special. It would be easy to blame the lack of enthusiasm on Covid but the truth is, the FA Cup has become increasingly diluted by the PL, TV and managers particularly of PL clubs but not exclusively (also managers of clubs who put promotion or the need to avoid relegation over an FA cup round). It all started when Man Utd were allowed to pull out and then they slowly got rid of replays, playing games over a period rather than a weekend, managers putting out effectively reserve sides and then, lets be honest, when we did get to a semi final we played as if we did not care or have any interest. We should though go for it and a cup is still our best chance of a trophy and for a city and club of our side our lack of appearances at finals and even more so gaining silverware is poor to put it mildly. So come on Saints lets get into the next round.

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PaulGutirrez added 11:54 - Dec 19 These days, it's hard for me to get pumped up about the Cup. After 32 years, the Genesis and Mega Drive are now becoming more and more significant. Despite the fact that they "only" sold a half million copies in their initial year of release, both represent a significant historical pillar and a turning point in gaming. You may find more information about the best sega gambling games here at https://armchairarcade.com/perspectives/2021/12/20/best-sega-gambling-games/ But as with all good things, it took some time for people to change for the better, and as of now, more than 29.5 million copies have been sold. While some collectors purchase intact systems and games for the same at expensive rates, the legacy is expanding and becoming heavier every year.

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