Deluxe Apartment in the Sky?

Reading Will Also Be Playing For Chris Armstrong–Retiring Before the Match Due to His Battles With Multiple Sclerosis

While Manchester United and Arsenal have a torrid FA Cup history together, little intertwines the histories of Manchester City and Reading FC in this oldest of cup competitions. The sides have only met twice–both wins by City–and Sunday’s encounter pits vastly different sides. One might go as far to call it a “David vs Goliath” tie.

But who’s Goliath in this tale?

If you refer to the values of the squad’s players, then City could be considered the platinum giant while Reading’s the plug nickel underdog with a slingshot. With a market value of £322 million, City’s collection of highly-priced and in some cases overpaid dwarfs Reading’s value of £18 million. The Royals’ entire squad costs £10 million less than Mario Balotelli alone–and without Dave Kitson they lack the petulance factor too.

Overall, City has lost three of its last four matches against Reading.
The last encounter was a 2-0 win for the Royals in their last Premiership season back in 2008. And the squad for City on that day?

Joe Hart was in goal, with lads like Richard Dunne and Vedran Corluka (Charlie!) in the back. Dietmar Hamann and Elano patrolled the midfield while Darius Vassell partnered Benjani up top as a forward. Stephen Ireland rode the bench while Nery Castillo came on as a substitute for Hamann.

My, how times have changed for the blue half of Manchester. Would the sheikhs even let Vassell back to wash Edin Dzeko’s dirty socks these days?

As for Reading, it dropped out of the Premiership after 2008 and have been stuck in the death grips of Championship football. Currently, the side sit 8th with 54 points and are led by forward Shane Long and his 19 goals. Long–for what it’s worth–scored 1 of those 2 goals against City back in 2008.

Do you sense some bad voodoo brewing for Mancini yet?

What this match might come down to is determination–which side wants it more? Will City’s millionaires be focused on taking down the sole remaining Championship side in this competition and progress to the club’s first Cup semi-final in some 30 odd years?

Or, will Reading have a chance to stun another Premiership side on its home ground as it did when Matthew Mills fired the match winner over Everton? Reading’s gaffer Brian McDermott is developing a bit of a reputation for taking down big sides in the FA Cup–leading Reading to a win a replay over Liverpool at Anfield last year prior to this March’s 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park.

This is no David vs Goliath match–instead, call it a tie of George Jefferson vs Archie Bunker. At one time, they lived in the same neighborhood, but then Mr. Jefferson moved up to the East Side. This weekend we’ll find out how he does when he’s back down in his old stomping grounds.