In 1989, a famous milk advertisement in England featured two thirsty young Liverpool fans. One says to the other: “Is there any lemonade?”
The first boy passes him a can and then takes a bottle of milk out of the fridge.
Seeing it, the second boy is disgusted. But the first boy says: “It’s what Ian Rush drinks.” He continues: “He said if I don’t drink lots of milk when I grow up, I’ll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley.”
The second boy responds: “Accrington Stanley? Who are they?” The first boy replies: “Exactly!”
The advertisement – ‘Accrington Stanley? Who are they?’ – was so popular that it ran for six years and earned the then-non-league club £10,000.
Interestingly, the Milk Marketing Board wanted to use Tottenham Hotspur, but the club objected.
Older Liverpool fans, and Rush in particular, reshared the clip of the advertisement on social media recently after Accrington Stanley was drawn to meet Liverpool in this year’s FA Cup third round.
The match takes place on Jan 11 at Anfield (8.15pm).
Now in the fourth level of the English game, Accrington Stanley is 19th in the table but won’t be a pushover for the Premier League leader. The club has progressed from its last four FA Cup third-round ties in 2009-10, 2016-17, 2018-19, and 2022-23.
To make it more interesting, this season’s FA Cup matches will be decided on the day itself, as the English FA decided that one way to reduce the number of matches was to eliminate replays in the event of a draw and to have penalties.
While that deprives ‘smaller’ teams of a chance of another big payday for replays, it also means, with luck on their side, the probability of an upset is higher.
The Liverpool-Accrington Stanley tie also showcases the magic of the FA Cup, where teams from the fourth tier go head-to-head with teams from the Premier League.
While many expect Liverpool to win, there could be upsets, particularly as the Merseyside club has failed to win its last two matches.
The main tie of the round, however, has Arsenal hosting Manchester United on Jan 12 (11pm).
Both clubs badly need a victory. United’s Rubén Amorim is slowly asserting his playing style on the team after a slow start.
The Portuguese boss was delighted and upset with his team’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool last week. On the one hand, he admired his players’ tenacity and bravery, but on the other, he wondered where it had disappeared to in previous games.
Arsenal, second in the Premier League table, needs to bounce back after losing 2-0 to Newcastle in the first leg of the League Cup semifinal.
Mikel Arteta was criticised for refusing to buy a striker, leaving his team short of firepower, but he will hope his forwards come good on Sunday.
Selected FA Cup fixtures (Malaysian time)
Jan 11
Aston Villa vs West Ham (4am)
Bristol City vs Wolves (4am)
Liverpool vs Accrington Stanley (8.15pm)
Leicester vs Queens Park Rangers (10pm)
Nottingham Forest vs Luton (11pm)
Brentford vs Plymouth (11pm)
Chelsea vs Morecambe (11pm)
Bournemouth vs West Brom (11pm)
Norwich vs Brighton (11pm)
Jan 12
Manchester City vs Salford City (1.45am)
Tamworth vs Tottenham (8.30pm)
Newcastle vs Bromley (11pm)
Ipswich vs Bristol Rovers (11pm)
Arsenal vs Manchester United (11pm)
Crystal Palace vs Stockport (11pm)
Jan 13
Southampton vs Swansea (12.30am)
Image: Accrington Stanley / Facebook
