West Ham & Leeds face FA Cup/PL dilemma - which would you choose?
If you're not a supporter of one of the Premier League's "big" clubs, the answer to that is probably very few, if any. The second part of this question is, would you like to?
If you're not a supporter of one of the Premier League's "big" clubs, the answer to that is probably very few, if any. The second part of this question is, would you like to? The answer to that would be a resounding yes, but would it remain so if the cost of silverware was relegation from the top flight?
That is a real possibility for two of the sides going head-to-head in the FA Cup quarter-finals - Leeds United and West Ham United . Both are just two games away from making it to a rare domestic final but, at the same time, there is a real possibility one of them will be relegated from the Premier League come May. Wigan became the first team to win the FA Cup and go down from England's top flight in the same season, back in 2013.
Now, languishing at the wrong end of League One, was their day of glory worth what followed? The last time Leeds United got their hands on a major domestic trophy was 1992, when they lifted the final First Division title before the league was revamped to the Premier League. For the last time West Ham United can boast similar you must go back even further to 1980, when they beat Arsenal 1-0 to lift the FA Cup.
It's 30 and 20 years respectively since either have even made it to a major final on home soil, meaning many among their fanbase won't have seen them take part in one - yet alone win one. And yet, still, both rang the changes for the previous round of the FA Cup. Daniel Farke made nine as Leeds beat Championship side Norwich City to progress while Nuno Espirito Santo made seven as West Ham beat fellow Premier League side Brentford on penalties.