A week is a long time in football. I know, I know, it may be a vintage footballing cliché (A quick Google on this phrase reveals 9,670,000 results! Knilly must have said it at least twice, I say twice of late) but the events of the past seven days have certainly showed us that no matter who you have in your $quad, what lessons the referee wishes to teach you, or how long you've been in management, anything can happen.
The Blades finally managed an away win, Spurs triumphed against the Champions in one tense Landan derby, and Alan Pardew (practically) beat Arsene Wenger in the other. Add on top of that accusations of a referee with an agenda (is there any other type?) and you have the most remarkable week in English football for a long time.
Despite such revelations, the story of the week surely has to be Southend's momentous victory over Man United in the Carling Cup.
As a Yorkshireman I consider it my divine right to jeer and scoff at the most miniscule of Manchester United hiccups, and was thoroughly delighted to see them beaten at Roots Hall. Any game which causes Mr. Ladyshave himself (Christiano Ronaldo, as if you didn't know!) to grimace and gripe is certainly worth scrutiny in my book. Granted, Fergie was gracious in defeat, lamenting Southend's spirit and determination in a rare candid post-match interview. 
However, it is not mere Manc-bashing that leads me to endear Tuesday's result as I do. The similarities between our beloved club and Southend are palpable; both are small clubs, with young managers (also ex-players) who were recruited from within, and both with a hotshot young striker in the shop window. It could just as easily have been us playing Man United that night, and I am proud to say that in our current guise we would be as equal a match for them as Southend were. This is by no means an attempt to diminish what was a fantastic performance by The Shrimpers, but instead a comment upon the inherent magic of cup competitions.
In recent weeks the more Premiership-fixated media outlets have expressed criticism of the current state of football in this country, often citing the Premiership's alleged transgression into a one/two/three/four horse race (depending on who you believe) as a nullifying influence on English football. This is often put down to the ‘foreign' influence on top tier football (Xenophobic newspapers, never!) which is a different debate entirely. I ask such critics to look at our cup competitions as a microcosm of the health of English football, and see that despite the perceived shortcomings of the Premiership, football is certainly alive and kicking throughout the leagues of this green and pleasant land.
I recently read an interesting article by the BBC's Editor of Match of the Day, Paul Armstrong, who described the extent at which the BBC will cover this year's FA Cup - CLICK HERE TO READ IT, even going as far as to build an on site studio at Dorset Nationwide Conference side Weymouth FC, who take on Bury in the first round this Saturday. Such a commitment to the coverage of lower-league sides should be commended as sensible public service broadcasting, and is testament to the infectious romance synonymous with the world's oldest football competition. A competition that never fails to ignite the flames of passion for every club, from Carlisle to Bournemouth , Swansea to Grimsby , and back again. 
So then, who fancies a trip to Peterborough ?
Tommy Miller