Born in Wythenshawe, raised a Manchester United fan and once on the books of FC United of Manchester: Cheltenham Town defender Charlie Raglan has plenty of reasons to relish Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Manchester City.
“I’ve got family who are split down the middle, City fans and United fans – so it’s a massive occasion for my family and I’ve had plenty of messages off friends,” Raglan tells i.
“Playing for FC United was great and they definitely hold the values of Manchester United by not being particularly fond of City.”
Besides National League North side Chorley Town and Crawley Town who are just three points and three places behind them in League Two, Cheltenham are the lowest-ranked team left in the competition.
There are 71 places between them and City in the football league. City will be without Sergio Aguero who has tested positive for Covid-19 and Kevin De Bruyne after the Belgian suffered a suspected hamstring injury in the midweek win over Aston Villa.
“You want to test yourself against the best. It’s a bit of a free hit for us,” Raglan says. “They are the standout players for that team but whoever replaces them is still going to be an international footballer or as close to world-class as you’re going to get so it doesn’t make our job any easier. Whether it’s Mahrez or Sterling or Foden they are all top players in their own right.”
Playing City will be a first for many of Cheltenham’s players but not manager Mike Duff. He played for Burnley in a 1-0 win over a City side containing Aguero in March 2015.
“The manager has mentioned beating City before but he’s also mentioned the ones where he was 3-0 down after 15 minutes!” Raglan says. “He played against them and played at the top level against teams like this so it’s good that he has the experience.”
Raglan is adamant that preparations have not been affected by conceding a freak goal against Newport County on Tuesday. Newport goalkeeper Tom King entered the Guinness World Record books for the longest goal ever scored in a competitive match when his goal kick sailed in from 105 yards.
“From a positive point of view that was their only shot on target and the keeper had it inside their own box!” Raglan says. “I don’t think it has any impact on going into Saturday.”
Another of Wythenshawe’s footballing sons
Raglan has taken an unconventional route into professional football. The 27-year-old was raised in Tenerife but returned to England to pursue his ambitions. Starting out at Port Vale, Raglan dropped into the lower leagues, playing for Hinckley United, Nantwich Town and FC United of Manchester before returning to the football league initially for Chesterfield and then Oxford United, Port Vale again and now Cheltenham.
“My childhood in Tenerife gave me a bit more of a rounded view of the world and experiencing a different culture and language,” he explains. “But I had to come back here to play at any sort of level.”
Raglan’s hometown Wythenshawe has been put on the map by Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford over the past 12 months through his tireless campaigning to ensure that children across the country do not go hungry during the pandemic.
“He’s born and bred in Wythenshawe, I was born there but lived a lot of my life away,” Raglan says. “But Rashford is unbelievable not only as a footballer beating the odds to make it as a star for United but going beyond that he’s done things for the country and the welfare of so many people who aren’t involved in football. You can only commend him for that and admire him.”
Wythenshawe will have another famous son to call its own if Raglan is involved in an FA Cup giant-killing this weekend.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/39QAFlW
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