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It’s Charlton

Who else felt their stomach sinking when Franchise got drawn out then the split-second thinking it was us…

Anyway, as the subject says – it’s Charlton. Not the best tie, though equally not the worst either.

Whenever people mention cup ties, it’s usually either one of playing a big team higher up, or playing some bottom feeders where they play in a hovel that barely has flushing toilets.

And that’s just KM.

Playing a side in your division in the FAC is always a strange one though. You should treat it like a league fixture, although it isn’t, and especially in the second round the prize is a massive one.

It’s obviously hard to predict how these sort of ties go, though ironically we may stand a better chance of progressing against this sort of side than another shite L1 outfit (or indeed one that a division or two lower).

Us playing, say, Boreham Wood would have been a Curzon-esque banana skin, but as it stands, we’re not automatic favourites for this one.

It’s also one of the more interesting FAC ties, in a round that doesn’t really produce that many at the best of times. Apparently, our first ever game against Franchise holds the record for most-watched live second round tie ever.

Interesting enough to be a televised fixture? Probably not, although it might end up being a Sunday 2pm kickoff instead. Plus, it’s bound to have many more people through the gate than Lincoln.

(As a quick aside, there’s been a bit of a debate about attendances for the first round – the point here is that many of the stayaways were regular matchday goers, which does suggest a sizable if not large amount of vote-with-your-feet. Again, though, pricing didn’t help…)

Just one final point about their attention seeking manager – he’s the 2017 equivalent of Steve Evans. He knows what buttons to press, and he’s always guaranteed to get a response.

So here’s a radical idea – just ignore him. If nothing else, that will piss him off more than any banner or chant against him…