Ben Davies / Ben Davies / 01 January 2010 / Leave a comment " class="free-bet-btn" rel="external" onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/G4/inline-freebet');" target="_blank">Free Bet View Market

The Notts County midfielder on having to play against your mates, why the magic of the FA Cup isn't gone and gunning to be drawn aginst the big guns.

"If we were able to get past Forest Green, and that is an if right now, any tie against any of the big four would be top of my list. Any of them or Aston Villa who I have supported since I was a boy. How I would love to go to Villa Park, beat them and score in front of the Holte End! "

I would like to start by wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

The last couple of weeks have been very frustrating ones for me, as like many other sporting events, our matches have been subject to the big freeze and been called off. Our training ground has also been frozen which has led to us having to train on a nearby school's astro-turf training facility or indoors at the gym. It has not been ideal preparation for our forthcoming games but the facilities have meant we have been able to keep our fitness levels high.

We did manage to get one game in over the Christmas period and that was our match away to Burton Albion. We had a great result beating them 4-1 and we put in a very strong performance. It was a game that I had been looking forward to for a while as it would have seen me play against my best friend, Andrew Corbett, had he not been injured. He would have been marking me as he plays right back and I was playing left wing. It is always strange when you come up against close friends but you really do have to put friendships to one side when you are out on the pitch. The atmosphere at the game was fantastic and we sold all of our allocated tickets and took nearly 2,000 supporters with us. It's a tight stadium and the noise our fans made was terrific, the loudest noise I had heard away supporters make for some while. They were fantastic and to have that kind of support really is a big boost for all of our players.

The first game of the new decade sees us switch from the league to the F.A Cup as we have a home game against Forest Green Rovers on Sunday. The F.A Cup is massive for the lower league clubs as a good cup run can bring in much needed revenue. This promises to be a very tough game for us with the prize of a Fourth Round tie and a possible game against a top club being on everyone's minds. The F.A Cup is such a special competition to players and fans and I really enjoy watching the draw and waiting to see who gets who. There is always a buzz around our club when it is F.A Cup week and we hope that we can continue that this weekend with a win.

The magic of the F.A Cup is something that I have felt since I was a boy and would like to win the cup as much as I would like to represent my Country, Wales. The final is something that I love to sit down and watch and ranks right up there as one of the big days of the footballing calendar. Some people say the magic of the cup is going but for me that is rubbish. All football fans seem to warm to the F.A Cup and for us it is a great distraction from the league.

For every club the league is number one priority but the F.A Cup would not be far behind. It is the same for us at Notts County and the income made from the F.A Cup will be crucial to the club. One of the biggest crowds of the season is expected for our game on Sunday and that should give us even more motivation to go out and win the match in style - as if any was needed!

If we were able to get past Forest Green, and that is an if right now, any tie against any of the big four would be top of my list. Any of them or Aston Villa who I have supported since I was a boy. How I would love to go to Villa Park, beat them and score in front of the Holte End!

Hopefully there will be some shock results this weekend and some of the minnows can triumph over the teams in higher leagues, which is what the Cup is all about and what makes it so special. Anyone can beat anyone on the day. It's your chance to take out a big gun and make a name for yourself as a player and for your club.
Talking of shock results, for this week's bet, I am going to go for a Carlisle win against Everton at [15.0]. Now that would be magical!

Happy New Year!

Tags: Ben Davies footballer, FA Cup betting, Fa Cup fixtures, Forest Green Rovers, magic of the FA Cup, Notts County players