Incredibly, this technically starts tomorrow!
We don't enter until the 4th Round (which is now in 'back' in its traditional January slot), but the draw for the opening stages is being held tomorrow at Hampden. Davie Moyes drawing out teams he'll never have heard of!

Interestingly, no 'first time' winner has retained the trophy since the 1870s.

To my knowledge, this seasons competition will have the most ever clubs with 92. And with 2 preliminary rounds scheduled, there are effectively 10 rounds of competition - again a record.
In the old North of Scotland Qualifying Cup, if I remember, the 16 Highland League teams had to win two games to reach the semi-finals, and qualification to the Scottish Cup.
Then (the Scottish Cup) had 4 rounds before the quarter-finals...so a total of 9 matches to win the whole thing! (sometimes even a bye in Round 1 was a possibility).

But this season's marathon means that when we enter, 5 of the 10 rounds will already have been played, and 60 of the 92 clubs will have been eliminated!

The 2 preliminary rounds are drawn tomorrow with the Scottish Amateur Cup winners involved for the first time - apparently a team called Harestanes from Kirkintilloch who play on a public park!

22 minutes ago, PerfICT said:

Wouldn't fancy either of the ugly sisters - hopefully Killie will put paid to one of them anyway - or Edinburgh clubs away from home. Don't really want to get Ross County again - the derby loses its gloss when you play them 6 times a season! So that leaves the Dundee clubs or Morton (or Killie), preferably at home.

So, It'll be Celtic away....

Actually do quite fancy County. Given that we have lost to them this season once in a quarter finals I'd quite like the opportunity to even things up....

True champions dont care who the opposition is.

Celtic don't get drawn at home very much!
If they are away AGAIN it'll be the most remarkable of statistical anomalies. But, as always, 50/50 !
However, it's already is bizarre...18 away ties in the last 20 - of ties that could be home/away in the Scottish Cup.
One would have to toss a series of 20 coins literally thousands of times to produce a 18/2 differential. Pascal's triangle!
I'm not for a moment saying it's rigged against Celtic, but, if it was anyone else, that suspicion would be widely cast.

 

1 hour ago, Sneckboy said:

Celtic don't get drawn at home very much!
If they are away AGAIN it'll be the most remarkable of statistical anomalies. But, as always, 50/50 !
However, it's already is bizarre...18 away ties in the last 20 - of ties that could be home/away in the Scottish Cup.
One would have to toss a series of 20 coins literally thousands of times to produce a 18/2 differential. Pascal's triangle!
I'm not for a moment saying it's rigged against Celtic, but, if it was anyone else, that suspicion would be widely cast.

 

For goodness sake don't encourage them in their paranoia

2 hours ago, Sneckboy said:

Celtic don't get drawn at home very much!
If they are away AGAIN it'll be the most remarkable of statistical anomalies. But, as always, 50/50 !
However, it's already is bizarre...18 away ties in the last 20 - of ties that could be home/away in the Scottish Cup.
One would have to toss a series of 20 coins literally thousands of times to produce a 18/2 differential. Pascal's triangle!
I'm not for a moment saying it's rigged against Celtic, but, if it was anyone else, that suspicion would be widely cast.

 

Remarkable stat, Sneckboy! Jeez, I was getting paranoid about us getting drawn away all the time (7 away/ 2 home in the League Cup and 7 away/4 home in the Scottish Cup over the past 5 years, in my reckoning), but 18/2 is astonishing. Bring on the conspiracy theories...

Seeing as it's Feb 8th today we'll probably be getting Celtic.

Ideally Morton away for me.

5 minutes ago, PerfICT said:

Remarkable stat, Sneckboy! Jeez, I was getting paranoid about us getting drawn away all the time (7 away/ 2 home in the League Cup and 7 away/4 home in the Scottish Cup over the past 5 years, in my reckoning), but 18/2 is astonishing. Bring on the conspiracy theories...

On the other hand this - and I am prepared to be contradicted if I speculate that the probability of it may be (190/2 to the power 20) - is no less likely than any of the other possible permutations for Celtic or indeed anybody else. If it's anything other than genuine, it must involve a very elaborate and long running conspiracy indeed which has it in for Celtic so much that it is prepared to deny so many lesser supported clubs profitable pay days at Celtic Park in order to achieve its ends!

3 minutes ago, Nod said:

Seeing as it's Feb 8th today we'll probably be getting Celtic.

Ideally Morton away for me.

I know what you mean  but if ICT fans are going to insist on acquiring their own version of the Dons' Gothenburg Syndrome, might it not be better to adopt May 30th as the "sacred" date?

4 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

On the other hand this - and I am prepared to be contradicted if I speculate that the probability of it may be (190/2 to the power 20) - is no less likely than any of the other possible permutations for Celtic or indeed anybody else. If it's anything other than genuine, it must involve a very elaborate and long running conspiracy indeed which has it in for Celtic so much that it is prepared to deny so many lesser supported clubs profitable pay days at Celtic Park in order to achieve its ends!

Doesn't stop them bleating about it before every cup draw, though!

Shambles - Celtic evidently did not like another away draw and Lubo screwed open the next ball and it looked like us - away to Dungdee or the Rock !Z,

Even for the SFA that's shambolic, you could clearly see the loose piece of paper in the bowl at the start.

you could not make this stuff up! How difficult could it be? SFA are just an embarrassment!

Awful draw. The defence will be the hard way!

No doubt changed to Sunday with a 9 am ko to suit TVs 

Wonder what the outcome of the first draw would have been?!
But, we're left with this -
Quarter-finals (currently 5th March):
Celtic v Morton
Hibernian or Hearts v Inverness Caley Thistle (holders)
Kilmarnock or Rangers v Dundee or Dumbarton
Ross County v Dundee United

After the Dons visit next Monday, we'll then have 4 away games in-a-row...
Celtic (away)
Dundee (away)
Hearts (away)
Hibernian or Hearts (away) - Scottish Cup

8 hours ago, bdu98196 said:

I expect us to get another spl team with a trip to dundee or edinburgh, but id take anyone if we got a home draw for a change, fully expect the OF avoid each other at this stage too.

Not suggesting its a fix, but really is all rather predictable!!!

Looking at Hibs' fixtures, I'd much prefer them. The following Sunday, they have the LC final and they are scheduled to have a game against Rangers on the Monday. That would have to be rescheduled, but is a more important game for them (whenever it happens). Hearts will be secure in 3rd and would be able to give the tie their full attention. C'mon the Hibees!

The chance of a Highland Derby match in the semi is now a very real possibility.  Would it really be played at Hampden?  Say we took 3,000 and County much the same, would the SFA really want to have a 6,000 attendance match in a 50,000 seat stadium?  Surely a move to McDiarmid Park or Pittodrie would be far better, though I presume they wouldn't want all that traffic going along the A96.

Maybe they should use Grant Street like they did for the Inverness Cup in the mid-90s!

3 minutes ago, PerfICT said:

Looking at Hibs' fixtures, I'd much prefer them. The following Sunday, they have the LC final and they are scheduled to have a game against Rangers on the Monday. That would have to be rescheduled, but is a more important game for them (whenever it happens). Hearts will be secure in 3rd and would be able to give the tie their full attention. C'mon the Hibees!

Agreed

1 minute ago, Renegade said:

The chance of a Highland Derby match in the semi is now a very real possibility.  Would it really be played at Hampden?  Say we took 3,000 and County much the same, would the SFA really want to have a 6,000 attendance match in a 50,000 seat stadium?  Surely a move to McDiarmid Park or Pittodrie would be far better, though I presume they wouldn't want all that traffic going along the A96.

Maybe they should use Grant Street like they did for the Inverness Cup in the mid-90s!

At least we are spared a semi against an Edinburgh side played in a "neutral" venue in Edinburgh.

8 minutes ago, Renegade said:

The chance of a Highland Derby match in the semi is now a very real possibility.  Would it really be played at Hampden?  Say we took 3,000 and County much the same, would the SFA really want to have a 6,000 attendance match in a 50,000 seat stadium?  Surely a move to McDiarmid Park or Pittodrie would be far better, though I presume they wouldn't want all that traffic going along the A96.

Maybe they should use Grant Street like they did for the Inverness Cup in the mid-90s!

It's a fair point you make.....but you have made the usual mistake of crediting the SFA with common sense and the necessary skills to run Scottish Football! Let's give them time to sort out how to draw eight balls out of a hat before burdening them with the four for the semis and tough logistical questions!

37 minutes ago, Renegade said:

The chance of a Highland Derby match in the semi is now a very real possibility.  Would it really be played at Hampden?  Say we took 3,000 and County much the same, would the SFA really want to have a 6,000 attendance match in a 50,000 seat stadium?  Surely a move to McDiarmid Park or Pittodrie would be far better, though I presume they wouldn't want all that traffic going along the A96.

Maybe they should use Grant Street like they did for the Inverness Cup in the mid-90s!

So where does this leave the conspiracy theory of an Old Firm final which wouldn't be possible in the above scenario? But without crossing the several intervening bridges, I think a Highland Derby semi-final would attract a bit more than 6000 - unless of course these two teams reaching semi-finals has now also ceased to be a novelty. Hampden would clearly be nonsensical, Pittodrie would be a good shout as a venue but not as an accessible one so I would opt for McDiarmid on the grounds that the A9 isn't quite as bad as the A96. On the other hand that 40mph stretch in Badenoch would be a bit of a pain.

And yes.... Caley Thistle 5 Ross County 2 in front of 2500 at Grant Street in December 1995. Hat trick for Iain Stewart, star performance from Daisy Ross, debuts for Brian Thomson and Mike Teasdale. That was some afternoon!

Third blooming away tie in a row and no chance of being drawn at home until next season.

If we did draw County in the semis surely Perth or Dundee but knowing the way the SFA organise things it would be Glasgow or Edinburgh with a 12.15 ko on the Sunday. Then not more than 5000 attendance is likely.

10 hours ago, DoofersDad said:

At least we are spared a semi against an Edinburgh side played in a "neutral" venue in Edinburgh.

Probably for a semi against a Glasgow side in Glasgow!

Either way it's more good money in the club's coffers. And a win will put the icing on the cake.