FA Cup draw leaves Souness baffled
YEADING, England -- Newcastle United's FA Cup draw away to non-league Yeading has left manager Graeme Souness scratching his head.
"I don't even know where Yeading is," Souness confessed after the draw gave his star line-up an assignment with the Ryman Premier Division leaders.
"I have contacts in football throughout the world but I must admit I have nothing on them," he added.
Yeading's Warren ground, not far from Wembley, is best known for its use in films like The Mean Machine and Bend it Like Beckham.
The team is managed by Johnson 'Drax' Hippolyte and their star striker is known as DJ Campbell.
This is the first time that the side, nicknamed 'The Ding', have reached the third round of a competition that Newcastle have won six times, with seven other appearances in the final.
Yeading FC was formed in 1965, 10 years after Newcastle last won the famous trophy by beating Manchester City 3-1 at Wembley, and they have lifted the FA Vase and the Bryco Cup.
Yeading plan to stage the match at their 3,500 capacity west London ground and are determined to savor the experience.
"It's magnificent, just what every player wants," was the reaction of 23-year-old Campbell, whose two goals against Slough Town earned his side a dream date with the Magpies.
"Realistically, we haven't got a chance because of the influence of their big players. But as a player you just want to be a part of games like this."
Hippolyte is also looking forward to the tie, though he is disappointed it won't be played at Newcastle's St James's Park.
A bit greedy
"Maybe I'm being a bit greedy but the fact the tie is at home has taken the gloss off it a little bit for me," he said.
"Of course, it will be great to play against Newcastle and if they play their strongest team they can beat us 99 times out of 100.
"But you never know what can happen in football and we'll just have to hope we can get some television money in to provide us with a bit of a payday."
The third round tie is likely to be shown live on BBC television on Saturday, January 8.
Souness is aware of the importance of the occasion to a semi-professional team that play their football two levels below the top non-league Conference division.
"It's a famous draw for them, getting Newcastle United at home, but while it's obviously a potential banana skin we don't want to make them even more famous," he said, no doubt recalling United's defeat to giant-killers Hereford in 1972.
"Everybody knows that you can play games like this on the wrong day and suffer but we have good players who should be able to adapt to playing under any conditions and I am confident we will be able to deal with this tie."
Conference side Exeter City's director of football Steve Perryman, who won the FA Cup as captain of Tottenham Hotspur and is also a life vice-president of Yeading, is looking forward to his side's third round tie at Manchester United.
However, he cannot match his brother's claim to fame.
Yeading's commercial director Bill Perryman appeared in Bend It Like Beckham, which tells the story of a teenage Indian girl who wants to pursue her dream of becoming a "soccer sensation."
