This weekend the focus is on the FA Cup. We've had the minnows of Morecambe, Accrington and Salford taking on the giants of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City, and today Tottenham travel to Tamworth.
I loved those David vs. Goliath clashes and saw it from both sides. As a young player at Crewe we would play against Premier League clubs and try to upset the odds. At Liverpool we were the ones being shot at.
The season Fulham reached the Europa League final we played Accrington in the Cup. You could hear every word from the terraces and hear and smell everything unpleasant in the small changing rooms.
One fan kept yelling at me the entire game, “You're done, Murphy. You're too old, Murphy.' I didn't mind, but I was only 32! Fortunately we won the match 3-1.
There were some funny moments with lower league or non-league players. When Liverpool played at Yeovil, one of their players wanted to chat with me during the match and ask me what it was like playing with Stevie Gerrard and Michael Owen. I had to politely say:
“Sorry buddy, you know there's a game going on here!”
People often asked for your shirt. At Liverpool we got two for every game and weren't expected to give them back, so it was easy. At Fulham if we didn't return our shirts we had to pay £50 for each shirt.
I was still happy to give mine to an opposing player – it was a privilege to be asked – but in a season when we had good runs in several competitions, it cost me almost a grand.
I didn't mind the rough and tumble nature of playing the minnows. I had grown up as a player at Crewe who was excited when we played against bigger teams, so I fully understood how much it means to the smaller clubs and their players.
I was still a teenager when we played Wimbledon, which was in the Premier League at the time and had a reputation as the Crazy Gang.
I have a picture somewhere of Vinnie Jones grabbing my throat! We were proud to draw at Gresty Road and earn a replay, which we lost 2-0.
Those were happy days and I'm sure the Tamworth players and fans can't wait to have Ange Postecoglou and Son Heung-min at their feet and maybe even have a few words with them.
Many Premier League managers will be resting some of their big names for the cup as key league games take place next week, but I'm sure the vast majority of players would want to play this weekend.
In my experience, even the foreign guys bought the whole romance from the competition.
Roy Hodgson once rested me for a replay at Bristol Rovers and that led to one of our few arguments. I wanted to play it on the radio at home and listen to it. I was angrier about going out to Fulham when I hadn't had the chance to influence the game than I had ever felt in my career.
Not everyone felt this way, mind you. As I sat on the bench with Bobby Zamora as non-league Kettering kept us at 1-1, I indicated that we should start with the warm-up because we would be needed. His response was, 'Oh no, do you have to?'
I hope for Tottenham's sake that their attitude at Tamworth today is less like Bobby's and more like mine!
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