Forget all of the fuss about ticketing arrangements, it's time to get down to the nitty gritty of FA Cup heroics and that starts tomorrow at 3:00pm.  It's us against the big bad Wolf and we ain't scared.

They may be a Premier Division side now but they're not a very good one are they?  They've struggled all season so far and one win at home to Leeds last Saturday does not making them world beaters overnight.  In fact, Leeds aren't much better than the Wolves this season and I expect both clubs to be still at the bottom of the table come May 15th.

For any club stuck at the bottom of the table it's usually for a reason, that being a lack of goals and poor defending.  Bit obvious really.

The Wolves manager, Dave Jones, has taken steps to rectify one part of the problem over the Christmas break by bringing in two proven strikers from abroad and is also hoping to get Dwight Yorke on some kind of deal from Blackburn Rovers.  Guatemala international Carlos Ruiz and Romanian international striker Ioan Ganea have been bought in on loan until the end of the season.

Ganea's work permit has come through and he can play in Saturday's Cup tie after the FA waived their seven day rule for the third round because of the transfer window, would that apply if it was us wanting to bring in a last minute signing?, but it's very unlikely that Ruiz will be able to play because his permit has yet to come through.

At the same time Jones has shipped out midfielder Kevin Cooper and a striker, Dean Sturridge, to Sunderland and Sheffield Utd respectively.

A strange move considering the lack of strikers in the first place.

Defensively he has continued to rely on the ones that have been shipping goals by the bucketfull.   Luhzny, Irwin, Craddock and Butler have been ever presents all season and, on average, letting through a regular 2 goals per game.

Dave Jones has said this week that he doesn't think the FA Cup is all that important and he'd rather concentrate on the League:
"I'm not interested in any cups," he said. "All I'm interested in is survival in this League.  However, winning games breeds confidence so I do want to stay in the FA Cup as long as possible.

But, it's no good winning Cup matches if you are losing in the League."

Sounds like someone rolling out the excuses in case of defeat already.

On the injury front Wolves have got a bug going through the camp at the moment.  Paul Butler, Mark Kennedy, as well as manager Dave Jones, have been affected and if Butler does miss out on playing then Mark Clyde could make his first start of the season against the Harriers.

Clydie was here on loan during September and October last season when he completed four games for us before Jones re-called him back to Molinuex for some first team experience.


We're hoping that all this Cup excitement has rubbed off onto our team of youngsters and journeymen.  We easily put paid to the threat from Woking in the last round even though many people thought that we would have a hard job beating an in form Conference side.

That was achieved with two goals from Dean Bennett and one from the now departed Steve Burton, giving us a 3-0 win.  Deans goals were in addition to the two that he scored in the previous round against Northwich Victoria and he'll be hoping to continue that kind of record against Wolves.

For this game we might be seeing the debut of our new man, Jesper Christiansen, at some stage during the game.  I don't expect him to be starting, that'll be either John Williams or, preferably, Andy White.  Andy's missed the last two games and he'll be raring to go now that he's signed up for a further month on loan.

Lee Jenkins would love to be playing but he's now out for at least the next six games with a return of the dodgy knee that saw him leaving Swansea City for us a few weeks ago.  Good bit of business by Brian Flynn.

Jan Molby said this about the situation:
"He's going to have a scan on his knee this week, but it looks like he's going to need a little operation which will probably keep him out for five or six weeks.

It was a minor problem that started in training and it just got gradually worse against Rovers.  He's a very level-headed lad and he knows it's part of the game.

I think he's delighted that he's at a club where he knows he'll be given a chance to play.  He'll bounce back from this."

Adie Smith, who got injured at Yeovil on Boxing Day and missed the Bristol Rovers game because of a calf injury, will not be fit and Jan will elect to go with Matt Gadsby again.

Our other new? signing, Adam Murray, is cup tied so he won't be available.

Both Dean Bennett (knee and hip) and Wayne Hatswell (hamstring) missed training earlier this week but following fitness tests last thing should be ready to play.

There's always at least one big Cup shock and I feel that it may be this one.  I don't think Yeovil will get past the threat of the mighty Liverpool and as for Fulham v Cheltenham I'd not be surprised to see Fulham rattle in a few goals against them so it's going to be us.

If not I'm sure our lot will give their all against the Wolves and we'll see a good game.

Teams

Harriers from:
Brock, Danby, Stamps, Gadsby, Hatswell, Coleman, Hinton, D Williams, Parrish, Bennett, Betts, Ward, Shilton, Christiansen, Henriksen, Rickards, White, J Williams, Heath.

Wolves from:
Oakes, M Murray, Ikeme, Irwin, Naylor, Rae, Lescott, Butler, Newton, Ince, Cameron, Kennedy, Craddock, Silas, Miller, Camara, Ndah, Iversen, Luzhny, Clyde, Andrews, Okoronkwo, Gudjonsson, Ganea, Kachloul, Ruiz, Clingan, Walters, Clarke.