FA Cup third round review: Man Utd out in weekend of upsets

More Manchester United misery, questions over the importance of the FA Cup, giant-killing feats and Premier League embarrassment were all seen in a third round weekend full of excitement and tension.

Swansea City recorded their first ever win at Old Trafford to knock Manchester United out, while we saw Accrington Stanley manager James Beattie buy tickets for fans, Theo Walcott goad Tottenham supporters and a motivational speech at Macclesfield.

More Manchester Utd misery

What happened?

Manchester United suffered their fourth home defeat in six games as Wilfried Bony's header gave Swansea City a first Old Trafford win in their history.

The 2-1 defeat puts more pressure United boss David Moyes with his side now out of the FA Cup and sitting seventh in the Premier League, 11 points behind leaders Arsenal. They travel to Sunderland in the first leg of the League Cup semi final on Tuesday.

Listen to the BBC commentary of Bony scoring the winner here.

What they said?

Manchester United manager David Moyes: "We have another big game in 48 hours' time so we had to keep that in mind but there are no excuses. We had a very strong team out. Just about every player on the pitch was an international."

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright on the 6-0-6 phone-in on BBC Radio 5 Live: "They have selected David Moyes and given him a six-year deal. I cannot see the United hierarchy panicking and making a change halfway through his first season. I just can't see it."

Former England and Blackpool defender Jimmy Armfield for 5 live Sport: "For Manchester United to go out of any competition is big, no question. Swansea frustrated United but United did not, frankly, do themselves justice."

Reaction from #bbcfootball on BBC live text commentary:

Rob Cantarero:  I know new managers should be given time, but this run of form at Old Trafford is unacceptable. And Moyes even says no January signings!

Iain Moss:  Well done Swansea, but an absolutely disgraceful performance yet again from United - no cutting edge, no creativity without Rooney and no defence.

Hisham Alkooheji:  Moyes's massive change in the whole management team caused players to be uncertain but in time they'll understand the new manager.

Jerry Elumeze:  Losing in the league and FA Cup is not what hurts. Those happened under Fergie too. It's the manner of the losses that hurts.

No Cup distractions

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert saw his team knocked out of the FA Cup third round by League One strugglers Sheffield United just a day after saying in his pre-match news conference that his side could do without the competition.

Lambert said "survival" in the Premier League was the priority and top-flight managers could do without the Cup "if they were being honest".

Following Saturday's 2-1 loss at Villa Park, Lambert defended his stance and said his remarks were taken out of context. His comments saw a number of Premier League managers defend the competition.

What they said?

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker on Twitter:  "Great to see a foreign coach respecting the competition and his team's travelling supporters. Mourinho gets the FA Cup." - Mourinho described the FA Cup as "special" before his side beat Derby 2-0.

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown on Football Focus: "The FA Cup can bring the extra wealth. But there are also 700 teams who take part in this, everyone is given the opportunity. It is a truly great competition. As a player you probably get 10 chances to make it count. There is that sense the clock is ticking for players."

Premier League embarrassment

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce made nine changes as his inexperienced side were humiliated 5-0 at Championship Nottingham Forest .

He said pre-match: "Based on our game load, eight/nine players injured, a League Cup semi-final on Wednesday and Cardiff in the league next Saturday, it is a necessity to go for our Under-21 players."

It was an approach he defended at the final whistle: "What choice (in terms of team selection) did I have? I don't think I had one. I make the decisions for the benefit of everyone at the football club. We have a huge amount of problems in terms of available players."

What they said?

Phil McNulty, chief football writer for the BBC Sport website, on Twitter:  "Nottm Forest superb in winning 5-0 but no matter what side Sam Allardyce put out that is an abject embarrassment for him & to West Ham."

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker on Twitter:  Why managers throw away the FA Cup is beyond me. Especially teams like West Ham with no European games. Just exacerbates lack of confidence."

Upsets

Premier League Aston Villa and Championship sides Leeds United and Millwall were knocked out of the competition by teams two leagues below them in a weekend full of FA Cup upsets.

Villa lost at home to League One strugglers Sheffield United 2-1, while League Two Rochdale upset Leeds 2-0. Millwall were hammered 4-1 at League Two Southend.

Other shock results saw League One Stevenage win 3-2 at Championship Doncaster and League One Coventry win 2-1 at Barnsley, who are in the division above.

Giant-killers

League Two Rochdale reached the FA Cup fourth round for the first time in 11 years to leave Leeds boss Brian McDermott describing the defeat as probably "the worst moment" of his career.

Rochdale boss Keith Hill described the win at Spotland as "special" after Scott Hogan and Ian Henderson scored in either half.

Match of the round

Southampton's thrilling 4-3 home victory over Burnley included stunning goals, a second-half comeback, a late rally from the underdogs and a mixture of good attacking football and poor defending.

Former Claret Jay Rodriguez came off the substitutes' bench to help Premier League Southampton knock out his old club but Kevin Long's late strike ensured the Saints were made to fight to the end by the Championship high-flyers.

Honourable mention: FA Cup holders Wigan were held 3-3 by League One MK Dons with the lower league side fighting back from a two-goal deficit to earn a replay.

Magic of the Cup

Macclesfield motivation

Conference Premier Macclesfield Town, the lowest ranked team left in the competition, were left a motivational message in their dressing room before Saturday's 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday, penned by an identified member of their backroom staff.

The Winston Churchill-esque speech was six verses long and included phrases like 'we're not standing on the edge of glory, we're standing in the middle of it'. The words obviously had the desired effect as Steve Williams's second-half equaliser earned the minnows a replay.

Lights out

A floodlight failure at Southend's Roots Hall forced Millwall's visit to be halted for 16 minutes with the players having to leave the pitch.

The Championship side would have been left wishing the game had not restarted as they lost 4-1 to the League Two side.

Southend boss Phil Brown said afterwards: "They knew I was a trained electrician and asked me to have a look at what was going on with the floodlights!"

Season of goodwill

Bournemouth fans are raising money to give Burton fans free travel  for their re-arranged FA Cup third-round fixture after Saturday's tie was postponed only an hour before kick-off, with most fans already on the south coast.

It was the first time the two teams were due to meet since Bournemouth secured promotion to League One with a 2-0 victory over Burton Albion in 2010, with the Cherries fans now keen to repay the way they treated by their hosts.

Full of fight

The tension at Ewood Park got a little bit too much for Blackburn Rovers duo Chris Taylor and Grant Hanley on Saturday as they started pushing each other following Manchester City taking the lead at Ewood Park.

Harmony was restored soon after as the Championship side battled back to earn a creditable 1-1 draw with the Premier League side.

2-0 to the Arsenal

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott angered Tottenham fans as he was taken off on a stretcher during his side's north London derby win at home to Tottenham.

Walcott signalled the Gunners' 2-0 scoreline to the away supporters as he was being taken off on a stretcher after suffering a knee injury in reaction to being showered by coins.

Charity begins away from home

Accrington manager James Beattie rewarded four travelling fans with tickets to watch Southampton's FA Cup tie with Burnley on Saturday, following the postponement of Stanley's League Two match against Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

The four fans had made the near 300-mile trip to the south coast on Friday, before the game was called off because of a waterlogged pitch.

Fourth round prospects

Arsenal's reward for beating London rivals Tottenham on Saturday is a home tie against League One Coventry City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Chelsea will host Stoke, while Manchester City would play Bristol City or Watford if they defeat Blackburn in their third-round replay.

Picture of the weekend

BBC Radio 5 live commentator Conor McNamara  posted this picture of the press room at Grimsby Town below on Twitter.

Check out a photo gallery from all of today's FA Cup fixtures on the BBC Sport Facebook page  or on the BBC Sport website.