FA Cup and FA blunders at Albion

FA Cup fever is here again and personally I love it, writes Albion blogger Jarrod Hill, although not all things related to the FA have had me smiling this week.

Let's get the negative feeling out the way early so we can concentrate on tomorrows FA Cup showdown with Norwich.

I was astounded this week when the FA having taken a second look at the Peter Crouch eye gouging incident, decided no further action is required.

What they did was contact the referee on the day who was Kevin Friend and ask him had he have seen the incident what would his decision have been.

His reply was that he would have given Peter Crouch a yellow card and not a red, which means as the FA cannot issue yellow cards retrospectively nothing more is to be done.

Firstly I would question the decision itself, secondly I would ask what would the booking be for?

If the booking is for attempted eye gouging then surely that's a red card offence and not just a booking? So what would the booking be for, removing a stray eye lash Jonas had on his cheek?

The fact that both Jonas Olsson and Roy Hodgson have not made a song and dance over the matter has possibly made it easier to sneak under the carpet.

Or maybe the fact the whole world is still discussing Mario Balotelli means it's easier to ignore, for me it is just another example that the FA and Premier League standard of refereeing is at an all time low. Rant over.

Tomorrow sees us go head to head in round three against Norwich.

One win each so far this season means this game is nicely poised to be an entertaining affair. I hope so anyway and I am one of a rescinding few that still loves the FA Cup.

As a kid I would sit and watch the whole build up to the FA Cup final.

From interviews with players in their hotels to watching the coaches arrive at the famous old ground, I loved every minute of it.

Watching the victors climb the steps to receive the trophy and lift it to rapturous applause it made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

It would fill my dreams as a kid that one day I would play in a final for the Albion, score the winning goal and collect the trophy - come on we have all had similar dreams.

Alas my football career never hit those heights, so now my dreams focus on hopefully seeing Albion win the Cup sometime during my lifetime.

What is funny is that if Albion were to get to the final this season it would cost me a small fortune.

Not realising that the FA had moved the Cup Final day to the 5th May I have booked a holiday for that week.

It is due to this summers European Championships and rumours are abound that the kick off may even be 5.15pm due to having a full Premier League fixture list for that day.

Talk about further cheapening the competition.

Having explained all this to my other half I then proceeded to explain that I would have to cancel the holiday or attempt to move it in the unlikely event we did make the final.

Luckily Laura being a season ticket holder understands why this is non-negotiable. However at least if we do get knocked out I can rest easy in the knowledge the holiday is safe!

Hopefully by 5pm tomorrow the holiday is still in danger because that will mean we have beaten Norwich.

Roy has this week spoken of not wanting to risk key players in this cup game.

Who he sees as key players is anyone's guess but personally I would think his list includes Jonas Olsson, Ben Foster, and Youssouf Mulumbu.

I hope we can field as strong a team as possible but also give opportunities to players like Somen Tchoyi and Craig Dawson who need game time.

Either way I am still looking forward to a game in a competition I still love.

No matter how this competition has been disrespected by clubs, players, fans and even the FA themselves, I still love it.

Up the baggies.