I said: 2-0
I'm pleased to be on target with this one and I think with Newcastle just 2pts away from relegation, the Europa League coming up for them in February and currently with quite a small squad, the FA Cup was never going to be on Pardew's agenda. That result ought to act as a confidence booster for Brighton though.
Aldershot 3-1 Rotherham
I said: 1-0
What a strange day for Danny Hylton! Scoring a hat-trick to give his team the win, of which the gloss was taken off slightly getting sent off towards the end. Although both teams are in League 2, predicting an Aldershot win wasn't the obvious choice for me with an 18-place gap between them in the table, but I had a feeling Steve Evans would want to rotate his team in this and place priority on promotion.
Aston Villa 2-1 Ipswich
I said: 2-1
I wasn't entirely sure how this one would go and didn't feel confident backing either team - Villa had looked poor at the back lately and had the Carling Cup semi-final to prepare for but Ipswich lost their last game 3-0 - so I decided to go with the Premiership club. One goal won't change Bent going in January in my view, he doesn't suit the system and level of work ethic that Lambert wants his team to play with.
Barnsley 1-0 Burnley
I said: 0-2
This result hasn't really helped either team. Barnsley could do without the extra games this season, as they already face a sizeable challenge to stay in the Championship with a few injury problems, but if Burnley have to cope without Charlie Austin for much longer then I could see them slipping into the bottom half as I'm not sure where the goals will come from. Without the excitement of a cup run, they could be in for quite a dull season.
Blackburn 2-0 Bristol City
I said: 3-0
In form like this, you begin to wonder whether Blackburn are better off without a manager. They've won each of the three games they've played since Berg was sacked after Christmas, conceding just one goal. If the fans support him for a change, I think the board should give caretaker boss Gary Bowyer the job, then again Shebby Singh doesn't seem to know what they're doing in the first place.
Bolton 2-2 Sunderland
I said: 2-2
A third perfect scoreline for me... I'm on a roll this weekend. Both teams have Premiership quality squads in my opinion, looking at Bolton on paper they're too good to be where they are in the table, so it would have been wrong for Sunderland to expect to win comfortably. They did well to get themselves back into it and it was a superb strike from Craig Gardner to earn the replay, which I think will be equally close.
Charlton 0-1 Huddersfield
I said: 2-0
It's just Birmingham City's luck that Huddersfield suddenly win a match right before we play them- they'd gone 10 games without a win beforehand and recently lost 6-1 to Leicester. Both teams were suitably far from relegation to afford a run in the cup and it being a winnable home match for them, Charlton will feel disappointed to go out.
Crawley 1-3 Reading
I said: 2-2
Couldn't believe it when I heard Crawley had scored after 14 seconds, and I expected that to spark a goal frenzy. It did, but not in the way I thought it would. Reading quickly equalized and had the better of the chances later, to end Crawley's hopes of another memorable cup run.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Stoke
I said: 1-1
Though by all accounts this was a dour game, both teams can take something from it. The result may encourage Palace that they can compete in the Premiership, if they could attain promotion. Given the tight congestion of fixtures there has been in the Championship over the festive period, a replay may not be ideal for them, but it may increase the confidence, but Stoke will feel that they can probably get the job done on their home turf.
Derby 5-0 Tranmere
I said: 0-0
I thought Tranmere would keep a clean sheet, given that they'd tightened up enormously since losing 5-0 to Swindon. How wrong I was, as it was a repeat of that result which saw 16-year-old Mason Bennett become the latest name on the conveyor belt of exciting young talent at Pride Park.
Fulham 1-1 Blackpool
I said: 3-2
Two midtable teams who wouldn't want to say no to a bit of cup magic, so both teams may be a little disappointed at this result. Fulham were playing at home against lower league opposition and probably should have won, but Blackpool having come so close, will have wanted to see the game out. I've got a feeling that Michael Appleton's seasiders will win the replay, as his players will be the more eager for an exciting trip to Old Trafford.
Hull 1-1 Leyton Orient
I said: 2-0
I don't think people had too many arguments with me when I went for 2-0 in favour of the home team who are 38 places above the visitors, but Bruce rotated a good 3/4 of his team for the match. I would still have expected Hull to win though, so credit to Orient for earning a draw and making Hull panic. Think the replay may go to extra-time if Bruce applies the same team selection policy.
Leeds 1-1 Birmingham
I said: 3-1
I said I didn't want a draw and a replay from the match due to the number of injuries but that's exactly what's happened and our crisis has been made even worse by the loss of Packwood, who could be out for up to a year- my thoughts are with him. That said, I'm glad we didn't get thrashed in this match, because it's important that we maintain our young team's confidence level going into the second half of the season. The replay could really go either way and I wouldn't like to call it, but now I hope we get through. I've got a feeling we could give Tottenham a really good game with a big crowd in the next round.
Leicester 2-0 Burton Albion
I said: 4-0
Luton 1-0 Wolves
I said: 0-1
This game resulted in Solbakken's sacking, which I can't say I disagree with. Wolves gained £25-odd million in the summer when they lost Fletcher and Jarvis, and had £10 million of that to re-invest in the squad over the summer. Given that money, any decent manager would have Wolves right up there near the promotion places, if not in them. It was time for Wolves to press the panic button if they wanted to get into the Premiership, because they were clearly going in the wrong direction. Take nothing away from Luton, who from what I saw on the highlights, had the better of the chances and deserved the upset.
Macclesfield 2-1 Cardiff
I said: 0-4
A massive achievement for Macclesfield. I actually agreed with Malky Mackay when he said that the team he put out was capable of winning against a team midtable in the conference, and I think in this competition you need to give your fringe players the chance to show what they're capable of. I actually remember Barnes Homer, who scored both of Macclesfield's goals, he came through the youth academy at Wolves before becoming a bit of a journeyman striker in America, Scandanivia and non-league in England.
Man City 3-0 Watford
I said: 5-0
I must admit that Mancini was being slightly more pragmatic with his selection policy than I thought he would be. Considering City's need to win the cup for a trophy this season, the rough week he's had with the Balotelli incident and Watford's away form, I would have expected Mancini to want to make sure City won at a canter to put everything behind them. They managed to do that in the end anyway, though, and Watford made it easy enough for them.
Middlesbrough 4-1 Hastings Utd
I said: 2-0
It seems strange to think that Middlesbrough can be in the last 16 of the FA Cup purely by beating Hastings Utd and Aldershot at home. The one good thing about this competition is that you only have to be a bit lucky in a few games, in terms of either the draw or the goals you get, and you can go on a run- the league is much more about consistency. Hastings will be happy to have saved a penalty and get on the scoresheet which will be something to savour for their fans, but the Borough had too much quality for them.
Millwall 1-0 Preston
I said: 0-0
Nottm Forest 2-3 Oldham
I said: 1-0
The loss just re-emphasizes how stupid Forest were to sack O'Driscoll. Looking at the goals the team seemed all over the place at the back, partly due to the red card, but I reckon McLeish will take Forest further away from the play-off places, rather than towards them.
Oxford Utd 0-3 Sheff Utd
I said: 2-1
Not what I expected, but I calculated that Wilson would decide to rotate with such a tight promotion battle. He didn't, so it turned out to be a bit of a sobering afternoon for Oxford, who had in fact won their previous 4 matches.
Peterborough 0-3 Norwich
I said: 0-1
I was quite surprised about this extent to which Norwich won this, because although there was a division between them, the facts suggested that it could be a close game. The Canaries had lost their last 4 and had injuries to their top strikers, Posh had won 4 of their last 5 and had home advantage. I was unsure about Simeon Jackson's credentials to be a Premiership striker, but he ended up scoring to make sure Norwich's cycle of defeats would come to an end.
QPR 1-1 West Brom
I said: 2-0
Kieron Dyer's late equalizer was probably met with an inner-groan from both sets of fans. West Brom were moments away from a place in the next round, but QPR probably wanted the cup over and done with given their relegation struggle. They certainly won't have wanted a replay.
Sheff Wed 0-0 MK Dons
I said: 1-2
Southampton 1-5 Chelsea
I said: 1-3
Senegal not qualifying for the African cup of nations might just be the best thing that's happened to Chelsea this season. With Torres, the general consensus is that everybody desperately wants him to score goals and get back to his Liverpool days but it's not really happening for him. In Demba Ba I think they've found a more potent goalscorer, who's got a bit more bravery when it comes to getting a part of his body in the danger area, where it hurts, to score goals. Torres needs to either accept this challenge and fight for his place, or go back to Spain where he may still have that extra yard of pace.
Southend 2-2 Brentford
I said: 1-1
Tottenham 3-0 Coventry
I said: 3-1
AVB didn't quite field a team of kids and reserves against the Sky Blues, but I think he got the selection right. He was able to give a few fringe players the chance to impress, he used his substitutions wisely and Spurs could still win with some to spare. I believe that Villas-Boas has learnt from his time at Chelsea significantly and I think he's growing into a world-class manager, certainly as a tactician. I suppose it's easy to say this after they've beaten a team like Coventry 3-0 but I think in the long-term, Tottenham under AVB have the potential to contend for the title.
Wigan 1-1 Bournemouth
I said: 2-0
West Ham 2-2 Man Utd
I said: 0-2
I watched the game, and that glorious pass from Ryan Giggs just shows you how much experienced deep-lying playmakers, such as Pirlo, Xavi, Lampard, Giggs and Scholes amongst others still have to offer their teams. The weight of it was inch perfect and it was a clinical finish from the classy Robin van Persie. Good to see Joe Cole do well on his debut as I would have thought he'd have lost a lot of his fitness by now, but I fully expect United to do the job in the replay.
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