It will be right-on in Brighton next month and Robbie now Rules at MK but under the radar another Scotsman flew into Milton Keynes last week

The draw for the third round of the FA Cup was made last night and after the replay in Milton Keynes next week I will be heading to Brighton in early January. The Seagulls of Brighton have been drawn at home to the winners of the replay at Stadium MK next Tuesday between MK Dons and Charlton Athletic. It seems that the footballing gods have decided to send me further and further south with each round. My last five games have been Dunston in Gateshead then Spennymoor in County Durham then Lincoln then Milton Keynes then Charlton in South London and then on the 7^th January further south still to Brighton.

Brighton v Charlton at the Amex in 2014: Pic courtesy of Andy Phillips

After the draw was made I was left wondering are Guernsey still in the Cup? No offence Guernsey FC but I am sort of glad you were knocked out as I could end up in France at this rate. I am however looking forward to visiting the Amex Stadium next month.

The footballing world rolls on for the Dons and the Addicks. The Dons have a tricky away tie in the much maligned Checkatrade Trophy competition at Yeovil tonight. The Scots link with the Dons is now obvious with the appointment of ex Hearts Head Coach Robbie Neilson as boss last week. Tonight Robbie will take charge of team affairs for the first time and I wish him well. Under the radar another Scotsman has flown into Milton Keynes over the last week. Robbie has taken his trusted wingman Stevie Crawford with him as assistant manager. They first worked together at Falkirk FC in season 2012-13 when Steve was assistant to the veteran manager Alex Smith and Robbie was a player coach, soon to hang his boots up to concentrate on coaching.

The good the bad .. and Robbie: The Management team at Falkirk in 2013

Robbie left Falkirk via a brief stint at East Fife to join Hearts again – initially as youth team coach. Steve stayed on at Falkirk but in 2014 was invited by Robbie to be his assistant at Hearts and they have been together ever since. It has proven to be a very successful partnership and the fans of MK Dons will be hoping that the pairing works as well at Stadium MK as it did at Tynecastle.

Steve was an accomplished striker before moving into coaching. He was a man of many clubs and scored goals wherever he went. The teams he played for in Scotland included Raith Rovers, Hibs (but I won’t hold that against him) Dundee United and Aberdeen. He also had two spells with his home town team Dunfermline where he made over 200 appearances and scored well over 50 goals. He is regarded as a Pars legend.

Well above Par! Stevie Crawford playing for his home town team Dunfermline Athletic

Interestingly Steve also had a couple of spells in English football playing for both Millwall and Plymouth Argyle so the English scene will not be new to him.

Meanwhile at The Valley the Addicks have a quieter week ahead as they do not have a midweek fixture. Their facebook forums are discussing the draw for the third round of the Cup and the consensus seems to be that if they survive the replay then the draw could have been better and many of their fans would have preferred facing one of the big boys. The other interesting snippet on CAFC Social Media feeds is the celebration by some fans of the 24^th Anniversary of the return to The Valley after years in exile

James Redden on the Charlton FC fans group fb page proudly displays his 'Return to the Valley' badge

The return to The Valley was made possible by relentless energetic efforts and generosity from their enormous fan base. It was such a shame to see The Valley so empty on Saturday and I am guessing that many of the same fans who worked so hard a quarter of a century ago so that their team could return ‘home’ are now staying away to register their unhappiness with the current Roland Ducahelet regime. It probably won’t be sorted out before I say goodbye to Charlton on The Road to Wembley from Scotland but I do hope that they will have a new owner in place in the not too distant future and that the Valley will be well filled again.

Earlier today I was offered a stadium tour and corporate hospitality in ‘Club Red’ for the replay between the Dons and the Addicks by MK Dons FC. Many thanks to Colin Butler, Nick Hedges and Tim Lee for organising that and I certainly intend accepting this kind offer. They also have some other interesting blog related activities lined up for me. Intrigued ? (so am I by the way) then come back here later in the week for more detail and also more on the build up to the replay – a game that will be match 11 on The Road to Wembley from Scotland.