REPLAY IT
Boss Wenger wants to keep the history and traditions of FA Cup alive – and he’s not talking about VAR either
have some family time with my boys but this has made me doubly determined. I’ve never felt stronger.
“Now I want to repay Newport more than anything. They could have easily torn up my contract and looked to sign another striker who was available.
“But they have been brilliant in sticking by me and treating me the same as any other player.
“I can’t thank the manager and the chairman enough. I owe them.”
Hayes could begin to pay back his employers by firing the Welshmen past Leeds.
The Whites came a cropper at non-league giant-killers Sutton last season and Hayes added: “They are a big club but they won’t fancy playing us. It’s different to that Sutton game but we have nothing to lose while they have everything. And they will know that.”
Meanwhile, Leeds born and bred Kalvin Phillips says he is desperate to see his hometown club back in the big time.
Phillips, 22, who has already topped 80 appearances, said: “I want to get the team into the Premier League and then we will go from there.
“When we’re working together as a squad, I don’t think there are many teams who can stop us.” Newport v Leeds
Today, Noon ARSENE WENGER still loves FA Cup replays – admitting his own record-breaking romance with the competition may never have blossomed without them.
As of last season, replays were dropped from the quarter-final stage onwards in another bid to make the trophy more attractive to the English elite.
But Arsenal boss Wenger, who has lifted the cup an unprecedented seven times, believes scrapping them completely would be a mistake.
The Frenchman – who begins a threematch touchline ban today after his spat with Mike Dean at West Brom – believes replays are one of the unique ingredients that help make the competition so special.
And it is little wonder, given his fond memories of them began in his first full season at the Arsenal helm.
Wenger’s north Londoners completed the Double in 1997-98 but only after being taken to a replay on three separate occasions en route to Wembley.
Asked if the FA should retain them up until the sixth round, Wenger’s response was a resounding yes.
Ahead of his holders’ trip to Nottingham Forest today, he said: “Overall, if you gave me the choice of whether to go out or to have a replay, I’d still want the replay.
“No, I wouldn’t abolish them – not when I think that it helped us a quite a bit to win this trophy in the past.
“Many people want to cut it – but, personally, I am not in favour of this.”
Amazingly, considering it is now almost two decades ago, Wenger can vividly recall Tony Adams and Co requiring two bites at the cherry in the third round in 1998 – against then second-tier outfit Port Vale.
Indeed, after a goalless draw at Highbury, the Gunners eventually triumphed in the replay via a penalty shootout.
Wenger, 67, added: “Port Vale? Of course, I remember Port Vale. We had a replay and won it over there. Ian Wright played.
“It was a long time ago but for me it was a good discovery of what England and the FA Cup was all about.”
If Arsenal’s current crop are under any illusion brushing aside Championship side Forest will be a formality, they only need to cast their minds back to this time last year.
They looked to be heading towards a shock exit at Preston before coming from behind to snatch a last-gasp 2-1 victory. And Wenger warns the Gunners must be prepared for a similarly tough tie against Forest.
Yes, they may have sacked boss Mark Warburton after Christmas but they remain a genuine threat, according to The Emirates supremo.
Wenger, whose side beat Man City in the semis and Chelsea in the final last season, said: “It always hurts me not to sit on the bench and be with my team but as a club we are hugely focused in these kind of games.
“But it’s a special game for Forest and that’s why we have to be absolutely ready.
“I remember games we played at Brighton, for example, when they had just built their new stadium, and what a huge fight it was to get through.
“I’ve been in England long enough to know what to expect on
Sunday.”
When Wenger first arrived on these shores
Forest were still in the Premier League with the memories of legendary manager Brian Clough still lingering.
Tipping his hat to Cloughie’s glorious reign at the Midlands club, which included ruling Europe twice, Wenger revealed he was an inspirational figure for him growing up.
He added: “Whether his achievement was bigger than his personality I don’t know but he’s a special person in English football.
“His personality has left a huge print in the history of the game, so he will be remembered as one of the three or four greatest managers in English football.
“Clubs like
Forest show how much football has changed in the last 20 years. Forest could never win the
European
Cup now.
“I met Brian after we played Forest early on in my time here.
“By then he was thin and fatigued. But he was a special figure for me when I was growing up and a coach I had tremendous respect for.”