It’s clear that The FA Cup isn’t a big priority for the elite sides anymore and that takes some of the magic away, but we continue to be reminded of how much the competition means to the smaller teams when they get far in the competition.
Every Marine player and fan will remember their game against Spurs today for the rest of their lives even though they lost heavily, while the club will also feel the financial benefits from the major draw too.
It’s a shame they didn’t get the magical moment of the goal but we’ve got stories of people being amazed at looking out their window and watching Gareth Bale playing football so there’s a lot to enjoy from the day:
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) January 10, 2021
The club also had a raffle to raise some funds and it’s obvious that Jose Mourinho was simply being polite by buying a ticket, but it turns out he could end up managing Marine in a pre-season friendly next summer:
Marine FC raffled off more than 20,000 virtual tickets for their FA Cup clash with Tottenham, and will give the winner a chance to manage them in a preseason friendly.
Jose Mourinho bought a ticket ? pic.twitter.com/kqCh1DCQnW
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) January 10, 2021
Obviously that can’t officially happen but it would still be a great PR stunt all round if he does win and turns up for the fixture, so fingers crossed that he becomes the fortunate winner.
I think the man is a gentleman &, providing his schedule allows, I’m sure he will attend the day whether he wins the draw or not. These grass roots teams deserve all the help they can get.
How about a pre-season friendly – Marine v Spurs – he manages both teams!