Town are likely to face an understrength Arsenal side in October 30th's Worthington Cup tie at Highbury. The North Londers warn fans on their tickets that they are unlikely to field a full stregth side in the competition, although like any of the major players in the Premier League even their reserves are pretty fearsome. Town manager When the suggestion of Arsenal putting out a less than full strength side George Burley said "what's a weak Arsenal side?" a reference to the fact that their bench contains several high profile stars. Burley added that the draw was "a good one for the fans".
The Worthington Cup draw at this stage allows you to see who you will play in the following fixture should you get through your next game. Town will meet the winners of Southampton and Coventry if they beat Arsenal. Full path:
4th Round: Nov 28th or 29th
Southampton or
Coventry City
Quarter-Final: Dec 12th or 13th
Aston Villa
Manchester City
Wimbledon or
Middlesbrough
Semi-Final: 1st Leg Jan 9th or 10th, 2nd Leg Jan 24th or 25th
Tottenham
Birmingham City
Newcastle United
Bradford City
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
West Ham United or
Blackburn Rovers
Final: February 25th
Stoke City
Barnsley
Liverpool
Chelsea
Derby County
Blackpool
Norwich City
Fulham
Grimsby Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Leicester City
Crystal Palace
Tranmere Rovers
Leeds United
Bristol Rovers
Sunderland
Watford or
Manchester United
Jim Magilton has said he is willing to relinquish penalty taking duties after his miss against Millwall. The Ulsterman also missed in the Bolton play-off, but scored against Leicester earlier this season.
A number of players are queuing up to take them including Jamie Clapham, who scored the vital fourth goal from the spot in the Bolton play-off, Marcus Stewart, long-term taker at previous clubs, and Jermaine Wright, a player with new found confidence in front of goal.
Town have a long history of being rubbish at penalties with the likes of John Wark and Neil Thompson never really replaced. Current players to have missed them include David Johnson, James Scowcroft and Mark Venus.
Both Academy teams are away this Saturday at Fulham's Craven Cottage. Returning to the U17s is Darren Bent who has returned confident from his two-goal England U16s haul last Friday at Walsall's Bescot Stadium. The young striker said: "I really enjoyed it, I hope to have done well enough to be involced against Israel in a month's time."