The road to Wembley starts in Sutton Coldfield
Well, it has to start somewhere to be fair. And if you are going to head down to the outskirts of Britain’s second city, you might as well play against a team whose name derives from the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Conquer a king and the rest of the cup run should be a doozy.
Yes, Romulus are our first opponents of the new season in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup and although they play in a league below us, their record against us is impressive. Tomorrow would be a great time to stop the rot.
Let’s get the head-to-head out the way and then we can focus on the positive stuff. Last time out in the FA Cup five years ago, we had all the possession and chances in a one-sided first half before collapsing to a 4-0 defeat. In the last seventeen matches against our midland opponents tomorrow, we’ve only won four, so a change of luck is well overdue.
But we won’t be relying on luck. Our new gaffer Paul Moore has recruited extensively in the summer so much so that I won’t even try to predict what the starting XI will be here. One thing’s for sure, there’ll be new faces.
What we do know is that the team – or more accurately the squad – will be expected to maintain excellent fitness levels.
The gaffer’s recruitment this summer has first and foremost had this in mind. It’s going to take a little while for the team to gel – and there’s no shame in saying that – but we’re going to Sutton Coldfield to win and get on a cup run.
Let’s enjoy the ride.