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Which teams and managers have the worst form for early FA Cup exits?
Of the many frustrations induced by watching the FA Cup in 2019, watching stable Premier League teams throw away the chance of glory in the early rounds is right up there.
Leicester were the most flagrant offenders in this year's third-round, crashing out to League Two Newport County after Claude Puel made seven changes and left Jamie Vardy at home.
With Leicester seventh in the Premier League, seven points off sixth and sixteen points clear of the relegation places, quite what Puel was saving his resources for is a mystery.
Unsurprisingly, clubs and managers who regularly fight for promotion or battle relegation also tend to write off the FA Cup at an early juncture.
Here are the clubs and managers who have rarely seen FA Cup football in February over the past decade.
Clubs
Queens Park Rangers
Jake Bidwell's header gave QPR a 2-1 victory over Leeds United on Saturday and their first third-round win without the need of a replay in 23 years. The club bounced between the top two divisions over the last decade so understandably had other priorities, but it is still a remarkably poor record. Especially considering the cost of the bloated squad they once carried a few years ago.
Norwich City
A club that followed a similar trajectory to QPR, Norwich have also gone out in the third round eight times since 2009 including a 1-0 home defeat to Portsmouth this year. In mitigation, they had drawn Manchester City and Chelsea in two of the previous three campaigns. With Norwich second in the Championship currently, their fans might not be losing any sleep.
Newcastle United
Without a domestic trophy since 1955, every Newcastle cup exit seems to sting that little bit more and add to the supporters' weariness with Mike Ashley's stewardship of the club. Since 2009, Newcastle have gone out at the third round stage six times and were a stable Premier League team in several of those seasons. Alan Pardew may have reached two finals with West Ham and Crystal Palace, but he never got past the fourth round on Tyneside.
West Ham United
With five third round exits 2009, the spectre of Sam Allardyce still hangs over West Ham as a team who regularly disappoint in cup competitions. That said three of those defeats were against Arsenal, Manchester United and Pep Guardiola's Manchester City so they have not had the luck of the draw.
Leicester City
The 2016 Premier League champions have never won the FA Cup despite reaching four finals in their history. They have also only reached the quarter-finals once since promotion to the Premier League, which is unsatisfactory given their dangerous attack who can trouble any of the top sides on a good day. Still, you could hardly label them underachievers all things considered...
But the unlucky winner is....
Poor old Ipswich Town, who have gone out in the third round nine times since 2009.
Managers
Neil Warnock
Warnock described Cardiff's FA Cup defeat to Gillingham as a potential 'blessing', so it is not surprising to see several early exits on his Cup CV. Since David Seaman's agility denied Sheffield United in a 2003 semi against Arsenal, Warnock's teams have been eliminated in the third or fourth round seven times.
Sam Allardyce
Clubs appoint Sam Allardyce mid-season to keep them up not win the FA Cup, but Allardyce has not always been fire-fighting. Everton were virtually safe as soon as his first game in charge, West Ham became a solid mid-table team while Bolton Wanderers were quickly established as a Premier League fixture (until they weren't).
Allardyce's teams were eliminated at the third or fourth round in seven of his last eight campaigns, while he has never been past the quarters.
Mark Hughes
Hughes' managerial career to date has been top and tailed with FA Cup semi-final appearances - two with Blackburn in 2005 and 2007, as well as last season with Southampton (not all his own work). However, in five runs in the competition with Stoke City he only made it past the fourth round once. This at a time when Stoke were on their way to three consecutive ninth-placed finishes in the Premier League with a reputation for upsetting the bigger teams. A chance missed?