THERE'S nothing quite like FA Cup third round weekend.

It's like the first day of Wimbledon or the opening day of a Lord's Test match.

It's a time for dreamers. Dreams that start when the draw is made.

Every Clarets fan and the mass of ladies and gentlemen of the press would have woken up this morning wondering if they were about to witness an FA Cup shock.

And every Clarets player would have dreamed about scoring the winning goal to knock the mighty Gunners - statistically the best team in the land at the present time - out of the famous competition and write their name into football folklore.

It's a day when the cream of English football are forced out of their comfort zone and made to play in surroundings alien to them.

No football fan will ever forget Ronnie Radford's wonder goal for Hereford that knocked Newcastle out of the competition in 1972.

Or the fabulous Mickey Thomas free-kick that dumped out Arsenal in 1992.

And on a bright and crisp January afternoon, there was no better setting for another big cup day.

Turf Moor is what the purists would call a proper football ground.

As some of the famous old grounds disappear to be replaced by state-of-the-art stadiums, Burnley's home is still soaked in tradition.

It's a place that has seen 125 years of cup days - some that will last long in the memory.

From the wooden seats of the Cricket Field Stand, generations of visiting fans down the years will have whooped and cheered at the famous old ground.

With the redevelopment of Turf Moor imminent, the famous old ground won't see too many more FA Cup games, but the old ground won't have seen many braver performances as this.

Owen Coyle's men gave as good as they got on this chilly East Lancashire day that will have warmed the cockles of the slightly disappointing 16,709 that saw the game.

And had Kyle Lafferty's early header hit the back of the net instead of Jens Lehmann's crossbar, another shock could have been on the cards.

Alas, it was not to be as Arsenal made the most of the chances that came their way, but I doubt very much that any Clarets fan went away too disappointed.

This season, Chasetown and Havant & Waterlooville added their names to the non-league heroes who have graced the third round stage and their efforts will be rightly applauded.

And Burnley deserve their plaudits after a fantastic display, ultimately in a losing cause.

The FA Cup has had its knockers, but on a weekend that saw no less than six Premiership sides fall at the first hurdle, no-one can deny that the competition is alive and well and is rightly the envy of the world.