Aston Villa news: Opinion – Mike Taylor on FA Cup’s importance

With the possible exception of the groundstaff, Theo Walcott did everyone at Aston Villa a favour on Monday night, pulling out the relevant ball to give Villa a home draw in the FA Cup for the third round in a row.

Villa Park is going to be very well used in the next couple of weeks, with successive League games against Ipswich, Liverpool and Chelsea, and now an eminently winnable tie against Cardiff City.

All those games, and a visit to Crystal Palace, come before their Champions League last-16 matches, so Villa’s domestic season may have taken a decisive course by then.

For anyone uncomfortable with the idea of the FA Cup being a poor third priority for their club, behind the Premier and Champions Leagues, there was encouragement in Unai Emery’s team selection to play Tottenham, just about the strongest available to him.

BBC Radio WM’s Villa analyst, Garry Thompson, spoke up for the cup before the game. “There’s only so many competitions you can actually win. Look at Villa’s situation now. We can maybe win the FA Cup; I doubt we’re going to win the Champions League; I doubt we’re going to win the Premier League title. Therefore, there’s only one other thing to go for. So you should go strong, and try to win it. Fans want memories. They want their teams to win cups, and play in finals. You’ve got to give them what they want.”

Always respectful of football’s heritage, Emery sounded as if he wanted the same thing. He speaks more reverently of the FA Cup than some of his peers.

“I watched some matches, Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester City… wow, so difficult always here in FA Cup to win. And when you are playing away… wow.” (Emery has taken to saying “wow” quite a lot lately, in a hushed tone, about things that clearly fascinate him about the game. That sense of wonder is refreshing in these times.)

“Of course, we’ve played two matches at home. We felt comfortable, we felt strong against West Ham and Tottenham. OK, we have to always get balance, but [we’re] happy, and now we are in the next round, of course we are going to focus.”

Third priority? Perhaps. But Unai Emery knows what it feels like to win trophies, and knows what it does for a club’s honour and pride. You can be sure he also knows that winning the Cup brings a place in Europe, too.

What do you think? How important is the FA Cup for Villa?

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