Simon Corney, the chairman of League One club Oldham Athletic, is relishing the prospect of taking on boyhood heroes Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup next month.
A second-half strike from Charlie Taylor was enough to see off Southend in a replay and confirm the dream third-round tie for Corney. "I couldn't be happier," he said. "My nine-year-old son, Jonah, is a mad Liverpool fan, as is my brother-in-law. It'll also be a nice pay-day for the club."
Corney recalled how he grew up watching the likes of John Barnes, Peter Beardsley and Ian Rush in the '80s. His favourite match of all-time was watching the Reds beat Nottingham Forest 5-0 under Kenny Dalglish, who is now in his second spell at the club.
He said: "There is something special about Anfield and I can't wait. Some of my best childhood memories were watching Liverpool play. They have got a fantastic history and always represent England very well. But in some ways I believe they'll find it hard to compete with the top three teams in the league until they move into a new stadium and attract 60,000 fans every week."
Corney is relishing the potential battle between club captain Dean Furman and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard. "I think Gerrard could struggle," he quipped. "Dean has been on fire. He's been absolutely fantastic and will relish it.
"It will be a special day for him and he deserves it. I couldn't be happier for him and the boys."
Asked how he rated Oldham's hopes of an upset, Corney said: "We went to Everton four years ago and beat them 1-0 at Goodison Park. Everton were at full-strength and we know anything can happen on the day.
"Liverpool have a two-legged Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City sandwiched between the tie, so we'll go to Anfield with nothing to lose."
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