Bit of an understatement there, Gary.

Coppa del Carling time again kids

Above, a memorable evening at Oakwell over a decade ago, but Barnsley’s task may be slightly easier tonight for the absence of Schmeichel, Beckham, Cole, Sheringham et al. Sky Sports 2 at 7:45 is the place to be if you want to see Championship strikers humiliating Rio.

Elsewhere, the U17 World Cup continues where the U20 left off last week - in a vapour of anonymity. It’s Argentina v Germany at 3pm, before Brazil and Mexico are allowed to stay up a bit past their bedtime, to entertain us at 6pm. All the fun on Eurosport 2. There’s a Eurosport 2?

They pose in homoerotic photoshoots, of course

If you thought David James was the only shot stopper to abandon modesty in front of a camera lens, think again.

As Heinz Müller made the move from Barnsley to Mainz this summer, Bild have unearthed a picture from the 31-year-old’s clothes shy past. “I was young and needed the money,” he said while reflecting on the generous distribution of suds around his man zone.

A blast from the past on a thoroughly slow news day

Back in January 1997, things were great: Oasis ruled the airwaves, Princess Diana was still knocking about and Trevor Sinclair proved that is was acceptable for a Premier League footballer to wear his hair like he was a member of early nineties rap duo Kris Kross.

In an FA Cup tie with Barnsley, Sinclair experienced the greatest moment of his career, when his decision to perform an audacious scissor kick from outside the box paid off in spectacular fashion. For his acrobatic effort, the former England winger earned himself Match of the Day’s Goal of the Season Award for 1997.

It worked out pretty well for Havant and Waterlooville last year…

Histon, who overcame Leeds 1-0 earlier today, were left disappointed after being paired with Swansea in an underwhelming FA Cup third round draw. However, last year it was Havant and Waterlooville who drew the Welsh side at this stage and after getting through that tie they were rewarded with a trip to Anfield.

Barrow got the best draw of the non-league clubs and will make the trip to Middlesbrough while Forest Green face Derby and Eastwood travel away to Notts County or Crawley. Holders Portsmouth face Bristol City while runners-up Cardiff face Reading. Chelsea and Arsenal were drawn at home to Southend and Plymouth respectively while Liverpool and Manchester United are away to Preston and Southampton.

The other interesting ties see Sheffield United drawn in East London against Leyton Orient on the same day that their ”Tevezgate” enemies West Ham face Barnsley, who are considering legal action against the Blades after Chris Morgan’s horror elbow on Iain Hume: don’t be surprised to see one of those games moved to the Sunday! Check out the full draw after the jump:

The best sports on the telebox

It was a devastating shock to see Steve Bruce help Sir Alex Ferguson out at Stamford Bridge last night, and it means that the race for the title will only really get interesting if Wigan beat Manchester Utd on the last day of the season. And something tells me that isn’t going to happen.

Drop down a division, however, and you will see a table that is much wider. Hull could go from fourth place to the top with a win against Barnsley tonight, who may face a relegation battle themselves if they lose. Bet on tonight’s action using the best odds available on the web, and make sure you do it before they decide to call the whole league one big draw.

Blue Square Premier
Exeter City/ Aldershot (Setanta Sports 1, 7.45pm)

Championship
Barnsley/ Hull City (Sky Sports 1, 7.45pm)

Setanta Sports Cup
St Patricks Athletic/ Linfield (Setanta Sports 2, 7.45pm)

Here it is…

Barnsley/ Cardiff

West Brom/ Portsmouth

The lower league sides show us what they’re made of

Barnsley 1/ Chelsea 0 - the one where Chelsea tried really hard but were outclassed anyway

Manchester United 0/ Portsmouth 1 - the one where Ronaldo was bodychecked and Rio got ‘merced’

Middlesbrough 0/ Cardiff 2 - the one where Boro were awful. Again.

[I would show highlights of the Bristol Rovers/ West Brom game, but there’s only so much copyright law I’m willing to ‘challenge’]

As you all know by now, it was one of the most exciting FA Cup Sixth Rounds in memory, and we now face the prospect of three lower league teams going to Wembley (why have they started holding the semis at Wembley again? It does nothing but detract from the final itself).

Betting folk