Thanks to the result at Anfield, it’s been a memorable FA Cup weekend, although Bristol Rovers win over struggling Southampton and West Brom’s walloping of woeful Coventry could hardly be seen as upsets.

But as far as Barnsley’s win at Liverpool is concerned, the shine has been slightly taken off it, with Liverpool leaving Gerrard on the bench and Torres in the stand. Pepe Reina also had a day off and it was no real surprise when Barnsley struck in stoppage time to win the match.

Rafa thought he had enough quality in the side to win the match but in the end he got bitten on the arse and the result could contribute to him losing his job if it doesn’t go well against Inter.

But, despite all of the fuss and hoo-ha, in all probability, one of two things will happen at Wembley in May. The first is that Manchester United and Chelsea will meet again as in last year’s final (and there’s every chance that they’ll play out another dreary 90/120 minutes.)

Secondly, one of the minnows will make it to Wembley, and will find themselves up against the Red Devils or the Blues. As with the 2004 final between Manchester United and Millwall, the match will be perversely one-sided and completely lacking as a spectacle.

Saturday was a blip, and in the cold light of day, it wasn’t a particularly big one – the FA Cup is dying. We’ve got our own theories about how it can revive itself, but we’ll share them with you tomorrow.

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