THOSE getting excited and already making ticket enquiries about Manchester United at Rodney Parade would do well to have a look at the 1978/79 FA Cup.
Newport County AFC are a game away from hosting the Red Devils in the fourth round of the famous tournament on the last weekend of January.
However, standing in their way are Eastleigh, who dug deep to stay in the round three tie in Newport when down to 10 men and behind to James Clarke’s strike 10 minutes into the second half.
The Spitfires showed spirit and then earned a home replay when Chris Maguire slammed in a debatable penalty in the 82nd minute.
The Exiles should have been out of sight but now they need to beat their National League opponents in Hampshire in a game that will have a lot more eyes on it courtesy of Monday’s draw.
Former Arsenal goalkeeper Emma Byrne pulled out number 31 Newport County/Eastleigh, ex-Spurs defender Gary Mabbutt grabbed number 20 Wigan/Manchester United.
The Premier League side duly won at the DW Stadium to earn a trip to either Rodney Parade or Silverlake Stadium.
United manager Erik ten Hag was asked how much he knows about the potential opponents from down the pyramid.
"Nothing," replied by the Dutchman. "But by the time [we play them] I will know everything.”
Scouts from Manchester will no doubt be heading for Hampshire when County need to avoid becoming victims of a minor cup upset if they are to have another crack at a major cup upset.
The swift turnaround from Tuesday to a home game with a Premier League side throws up its logistical challenges.
A temporary stand has been put over the North Terrace for past meetings with big guns but nobody will want to jinx it by making a provisional booking, while the ticket office will wait to hit print.
There has been big interest in the game with Wrexham on Saturday week but this would be an even madder scramble to be one of the 9,000, with season ticket holders, Trust members and those with FA Cup stubs having priority.
The County hardcore will warn the County occasionals that it is far from a done deal that the Red Devils are heading for south Wales.
There currently are only 16 clubs between the Exiles and play-off chasing Eastleigh.
Richard Hill’s side have won seven and drawn four of 13 home league games this season with losses to Gateshead in September and (Padraig Amond's) Woking in October.
The Spitfires have already sent League One Reading packing 2-1 in Hampshire.
They showed tenacity in Newport, have experienced players that thrive in the dark arts, former Sheffield Wednesday man Maguire is a class act and 25-goal Paul McCallum, who won the penalty, is unlikely to be as quiet on home soil.
County have a vital League Two game at Doncaster on Saturday before heading to the south coast to try and earn the money-spinner with United.
Lose in Eastleigh and they will travel to Harrogate on Friday, January 26 rather than entertaining a big gun in front of a bumper crowd and probably television cameras, which would mean a welcome live coverage fee.
A tie against Manchester United would be a wonderful footballing occasion but the financial aspect cannot be ignored given that County’s troubles have led to the imminent takeover by Huw Jenkins and an end to being Trust-owned.
Graham Coughlan’s side have so far earned £41,000 in prize money for beating Oldham in round one, £67,000 for knocking out Barnet in round two when they bagged £30,000 for the replay being televised and the winners next week will earn £105,000.
Those figures alone would wipe out the traditional structural loss per season that led to the last accounts revealing a deficit of £393,000 for the period up to June 30, 2022.
That adds to the pressure and County won’t want a repeat of 1979, when Len Ashurst’s side suffered woe in a fourth-round replay when United were the next opponents.
County won 1-0 at Hereford, beat Worcester City in a replay and then edged out West Ham, then of the second tier, in front of 14,124 in Newport thanks to goals by Eddie Woods and Howard Goddard.
That earned a tie with third division Colchester and it was goalless at Somerton Park before the Essex side won 1-0 on home soil.
The Red Devils edged out Colchester 1-0 in round five, beat Spurs in a replay then triumphed against Liverpool in a semi-final replay at Goodison Park thanks to Jimmy Greenhoff’s winner.
However, it was Arsenal that lifted the cup thanks to Alan Sunderland’s famous late strike to make it 3-2.
County will want to ensure that United must go through Newport if they are to have their name engraved on the famous trophy for a 13th time.
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