Nicholson column: The FA Cup and its essence of ‘giant killings’

(Photo: Media Image)
By Kevin Nicholson
I love the FA cup and I think if you ask any player or manager they’ll say the same.
The history, the passion, the possibilities are incredible and, barring maybe the top 5 or 6 teams in the country, who could argue they have bigger priorities? It is a huge opportunity no matter what league you are in.
Whether it’s a real chance of silverware and a path to European football as a Premier League or a Championship team, the opportunity to test yourself against the best in the country for those lower down the leagues or the possibility of earning prize money that could secure your clubs future for years to come while playing in front of rare packed houses for those in the non league, the FA coup offers that potential for every team that enters.
I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a few ‘giant killings’ and I’ve also had to deal with getting booed off the pitch after a humbling defeat from teams in lower divisions.
At Torquay in my first few seasons we made a habit of ‘giant killing’ but never got lucky in pulling that dream tie.
I remember sitting in front of the Sky TV cameras after we had earned the chance of a big draw by beating league 1 Blackpool in the third round.
The cameras were there to see our reaction if drawn against one of the big Premier league sides, our ball got drawn out of the hat and the tension in the room built, nerves and excitement as Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and the like could come out of the hat next, “Torquay United will play…… Coventry City” a few of us tried to look happy but it was such a let down on what could have been.
Coventry were Championship at the time and we gave them a great game losing 1-0 to a last minute effort – it just wasn’t to be.

One of the low points in my managerial career was in one of my very first games as manager at Torquay.
In the 4th Qualifying round  we travelled to Basingstoke, who hadn’t won a game in the National League South in 10 attempts, and we got beat 3-0.
I wanted the ground to swallow me and the rest of the team up, as we went to clap our fans they stood silent until we got close and then erupted into a chorus of boos and jeers.
They, as we did, knew that the FA cup dream was over for another 12 months and it was a huge opportunity missed. It hurt badly!
That’s the beauty and the tough side of playing in the FA cup, very rarely in a league game do the players have a feeling of total freedom like you can get when playing a team that everyone knows should beat you.
When you’re the heavy underdog you can express yourself without any worry as everybody expects you to get beat and on the flipside when everyone expects you to win it can cause a tightening, a fear of failure and players to go away from what they would normally do as they are panicking.
This is rarely a conscious thought process to begin with but as the pressure builds, the team from lower down the leagues take the lead, start to dominate and that feeling of dread starts to strangle you, every simple pass becomes difficult.
This is the basis of most ‘giant killings’; teams forget to stay in the now and  stop concentrating on the “process” of playing.
They think only about the result and forget to just “do their jobs” as most managers would have instructed them to do.
Every team wants to win whether it be a cup game or in the league but the most successful teams will stick to their process, stick to their style and just keep doing their job.
The best teams are relentless at what they do and the win is a product of their process.
That is why Lincoln, under Danny Cowley have been so successful recently in both league and cups.
In an interview After their famous FA Cup win at Burnley last season Danny described his preparation for the game and how him and his staff had broken the game down into 15 minute chunks.
I think that was brilliant from him as each player went out knowing their individual jobs and were never thinking of anything except getting that 15 minutes right.
Most National League teams would fancy keeping a clean sheet for 15 minutes against pretty much anybody where as if you go out thinking “I need to keep a clean sheet against a premier league side for 90 minutes” it can seem a whole lot more daunting.
When you add in the fact that Lincoln had their style which they would always stick to it added up to one of the best FA cup runs of any non league team ever along with a well deserved promotion back into league football.
I see the same thing with a different style at Dover over the last few seasons and I often used them as an example when speaking to my players.
Dover are by far the most pragmatic team in the National League. They have their style and they will stick to it no matter what!
5-0 up, 5-0 down, playing top of the league or bottom of the league their defenders will man mark and take no chances, their forwards will be ready to chase down anything that goes forward and their midfield will fight with all they have.
They are great from set plays both for and against and they are physical.
The manager has his way, the players respect it and they will do well because of it as their style will be effective on the best pitches in perfect conditions or the worst pitches in a gale force wind.
This is the first year in the last 20 that I have not either played or managed for a team in the FA cup but that is part of my current learning curve.
I knew I would be a manager by the time I got to 28.
My playing career had not hit the heights I had hoped.
I did all I could to play as high as I could but physically I was not blessed with the pace that is needed when playing in the higher echelons of the Football league.
I’m proud of my career and fortunate to have been in the game for 20 years as a profession, I certainly have no regrets but I wanted more and I wanted to play higher.
I know that as a manager my only limitations are those which I set myself.
My pace, size or passing will not hold me back as a manager, only my mind and my ability to manage, coach and deal with players.
It certainly won’t be an easy path as it’s a cut throat business but I know that I will be a success because I am going into this next phase of my career with an open mind.
I will learn all I can from the Danny Cowley’s and Chris Kinnear’s of this league.
I will learn from my mistakes and take that knowledge Into my next job.
I will make sure that my next group of players are acutely aware of their jobs, what’s expected of them and train them to stay in the moment and do their jobs one minute at a time until the whistle is blown.
Imagine a group of players who go into every league game like they would go into a big FA cup tie against a team the league above.
They wouldn’t be thinking about next weeks game or who they have to beat in April to make the play-offs or stay in the league, they would just be totally focussed on the task in hand.
They would leave everything they had out on the field on that given day because that game was win or bust. That’s the mentality I want from my players and that’s what I’ll work towards.
I love the FA cup, I’ve missed being involved this season but it’s a great opportunity for me to watch and learn.
A great chance to see which managers have their teams playing in the moment and focusing on the process, executing whatever style they have chosen to adopt and which teams are too busy dreaming of the next round to realise that the underdog is out working them only to react late and find themselves having to wait another year to try again!
I look forward to seeing who will have that dream cup run this season and I look forward to having a few more of my own!