FA Cup Saturday: Aston Villa v West Brom

A few years ago Wigan had 30 points after 30 games and were relegated but they won the FA Cup. At the time I thought to myself that it's not exactly a nice consolation prize, but the more I think about it the more I think, does the Premier League really matter?

What I mean is, we're never going to compete in the Premier League so does survival in the Premier League really matter? Don't get me wrong, I know staying in the Premier League is important, but I think if you were to go back and ask all those Wigan fans today if they would have swapped it for staying in the League, I'm not sue that many would say yes.

Okay, Wigan might go down to League One this season and from there they might find it even harder to come back, but isn't football about winning silverware and shouldn't that be the focus? Are Wigan ever going to win the Premier League. Are we for that matter?

The reason I'm writing this is that a lot has been said about winning at the expense and while none of us want to go down if you had to pick Premier League or FA Cup, most would pick the Premier League and up until recently so would I, but I'm starting to think differently. I remember 1994 and 1996 like it was yesterday and I bet all the other Aston Villa fans that can remember those days will tell you, there is nothing like winning silverware.

Hell, you'll find plenty of people tell you about the early 80's and our greatest success, but while it is a distant memory for me, I can't recall it like I can the 90's.

So this isn't me saying I'd happily accept relegation for the FA Cup, this is me saying I don't think I care anymore if we play Bolton or West Ham or Watford or Wigan. Football is about winning things and if there is one thing you really want to feel it's your side winning silverware at Wembley, not just playing at Wembley in a semi-final.

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So now I'm going to get ready for the game because it is an important one and one that deserves our full attention. But we need to go into this game just like we did as supporters the other night, because that is just how the players are going to go into it.

I've heard talk of streamers and balloons and while that looks nice, I'm not really sure what we're celebrating, unless we're counting the win against West Brom and ironically it wouldn't surprise me with some supporter groups. By all means throw out the balloons with 10 minutes to go, if we're leading 3-0 but I'd not celebrate when the day can end in defeat as it's going to look quite silly.

But that's just me. Go blow up your balloons if you think it will have an impact or get us into the semi-finals. Me, I'm going to wait here for the team.