When Ruud Gullit left Valley Parade before the end of Bradford City's clash with Crystal Palace this week, it is doubtful he had learned anything other than that he does not want to face Paul Jewell's men in an FA Cup replay.

The Bantams travel to Newcastle United hoping to pull off one of the shocks of the fourth round against one of the most expensively-assembled squads in English football.

Gullit was at Tuesday night's game with his assistant Steve Clarke to see for himself what all the fuss that Jewell's men have been generating in recent weeks was all about.

Unfortunately for Gullit, a gluepot of a pitch often reduced the game to a farce. Several area of the playing surface became a sea of mud even before kick-off.

And that meant City's attacking options were drastically reduced, with tricky ball-players such as Peter Beagrie and Robbie Blake becoming bogged down. It is doubtful whether Gullit's sexy football would flourish on such a surface.

However, that is unlikely to be the case on a St James' Park pitch which is as flat as a snooker table, and that is why City will be relishing the trip to Tyneside.

Newcastle are going through a period of transition, with a number of pundits - including former City boss Chris Kamara - confidently stating there has never been a better time for Jewell's men to face United.

It is hard to disagree with this. Newcastle's performance against struggling Charlton last Sunday proved the point.

Against a side which had lost its last eight league games, they established a 2-0 lead, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

It could also have been a lot worse for Gullit's men if Mark Bright's 'goal', which the referee ruled had not crossed the line, had been allowed to stand.

Newcastle appeared to crumble as soon as they came under any sustained pressure. Their defence simply collapsed.

And that could be the key if City are to dump last year's finalists out of the competition. One thing is for sure, the Bantams have enough players with the ability to cause the Newcastle defence problems.

I believe the midfield will prove to be the key to this tie, with City having to counter the skills of former Leeds United man Gary Speed and England international Robert Lee.

Both are top performers, so much depends on how Gareth Whalley and Stuart McCall perform against them.

This pairing have been crucial to the success City have enjoyed this season.

McCall has been playing in the midfield anchor role, which has enabled the widemen and Whalley to get forward.

Beagrie and Jamie Lawrence will also have crucial roles to play by supporting the central midfield duo in a manner similar to that which proved so effective at Bolton recently.

It has to be noted that City are not a team that can travel to Newcastle intent on defending for a draw. Their natural game is to attack, and that is why the tie promises to be a cracker.

It is surprising that it has not been selected for live broadcast on either Sky or ITV because both teams will be committed to attack.

Playing at St James' Park will give the City players and fans an opportunity to see just what lies ahead if promotion can be earned this season.

And what better way to mark that than by catching a prized scalp to really make the nation sit up and take notice of what is going on down at Valley Parade?

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.