91Èȱ¬

To answer people who've criticised the lack of 3pm Saturday kick-offs, that's the one time we're contractually not allowed to place a televised game in order to protect the fixture list across the rest of the country.

And I mentioned in an earlier post how we have to negotiate with an array of people to get to a final schedule. Our partners at the FA; our fellow broadcasters at Sky; the clubs themselves; and the police.

But if anything I understated the number of factors. There's now often a European dimension to the discussions - do clubs have Uefa Cup or Champions League commitments? - as well as a more domestic one for us at the 91Èȱ¬ about how our sport coverage slots in to the schedule on 91Èȱ¬ One and 91Èȱ¬ Two. (For instance, both Reading and Manchester United asked for their replay to be on a Tuesday rather than Wednesday as we'd expected.)

And in working out the pattern for the quarter-finals, we had another couple of interesting challenges: different police decisions in different parts of the country, and also showcasing the Cup alongside the fixed kick-off times for Six Nations matches.

Anyway, it's now done. And on the weekend of 10/11 March we have a fantastic menu of three Six Nations games and three FA Cup quarter-finals - and it comes together well, we hope.

I should say that the majority view is that Chelsea v Spurs is the , and paired with England v France it means it's a day you shouldn't plan Sunday lunch out. But this was an example where derbies in London can't be played later in the day - hence the 12.45 start.

Here's the full list:

Saturday 10 March
* 1.30 KO Six Nations: Scotland v Ireland
* 3.30 KO Six Nations: Italy v Wales
* 5.30 KO FA Cup: West Brom or Middlesbrough v Reading or Manchester United

Sunday 11 March
* 12.45 KO FA Cup: Chelsea v Spurs
* 3.00 KO Six Nations: England v France
* 6.00 KO FA Cup: Plymouth v Watford

The Arsenal/Blackburn v Manchester City quarter-final will be on Sky at 4pm on Sunday.