FA Cup (third round and onward) 2007-08

can't muster up much interest in the competition, to be honest. at least blackburn have won the league in the past twelve years.

Here's Chasetown FC:

http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/images2/chasetown2.jpg

plucky

I thought all Man Utd ever did in the third round was beat Aston Villa.

"We are not going to win the FA Cup and I do not care less about it", sez Dave Kitson

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/reading/7168675.stm

I SMELL CONTROVERSIAL TALKING POINT QUICK EVERYONE HAVE YOUR SAY JOIN TEH DEBATE

^Was gonna post this this morning, I motion that Dave Kitson joins Campo and Bomber Bramble on the list of ILX approved footballers.

"This whole club is committed to finishing 14th in the Premiership and that's where we'll be directing our energies" - Steve Coppell.

"This whole club is committed to finishing 14th in the Premiership and that's where we'll be directing our energies" - Steve Coppell.Juande Ramos

A third round tie between two teams who are actively trying not to win it. I can't wait.

Perhaps Spurs and Reading both got confused and thought the FA Cup game was last week?

"My biggest motivation is to say, "This guy cost £10m and he's won God knows what. Well, I'm Dave Kitson, I cost £150,000 from Cambridge and I ran the show today'."

I lifted the FA Cup at Wembley the other day. It's very light and the lid is held on by masking tape.

Steve Coppell's glum dismissal of the UEFA cup as a worthwhile enterprise was one of my favourite interviews of last season.

I lifted the FA Cup at Wembley the other day. It's very light and the lid is held on by masking tape.

Were you then chased out of Wembley by giant carrots before waking up in a cold sweat?

i'd love to think that it's all a calculated act and coppell turns into this raging psychopath in the dressing room. he has terrified and tormented kitson into the above quotes.

and i thought kitson was already officially ILX approved since we found out his aptitude for scrabble.

Liverpool will win this - think Rafa has to get his hands on something this season.

Were you then chased out of Wembley by giant carrots before waking up in a cold sweat?

Cheek. There is pictorial evidence in this week's issue of a leading London listings magazine. I look as elated as Dave Kitson might.

Dom, how did you verify Kitson's identity?

Did he just seem completely indifferent to the game of Scrabble?

I am off now to sneak a look at a copy of Time Out and see if there's a photo of a disconsolate bloke being chased by giant carrots.

There was no way of verifying it, but who the fuck is going to pretend to be Dave Kitson on an online Scrabble server?

I reckon Graeme Murty'd think that was a fucking hilarious thing to do

http://hobnob.royals.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=67977&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=40&sid=a3e088f857677e742e628cd8a71257e2

Kitson's Scrabble credentials confirmed by Forbury Lion.

Fulham defender Liam Rosenior has revealed that unlike most other 22-year-old Premiership players, he prefers playing Scrabble and drinking cocoa to a night out clubbing.

Isn't he at Reading now?

good to see he's got his priorities straight wrt the Coolest Application Ever and the Greatest Club Competition in the World

how many goals will chasetown concede?

i say 6. hasselbaink's gonna have his shooting boots on today. ;_;

Jammy fucking Cardiff

Cambridge for "upset".

"cupset", get with the lingo grandad

I agree with Dave Kitson.

I really ought to go and watch our thrilling 3-3 draw with West Brom, but after the events of last Saturday, I really don't have the heart.

Fuck it I'm going. Back later, in tears.

lol our teams suck

Bollocks. Cardiff 2-1 up.

3-1 :(

Everton vs Oldham kick off delayed for 30 minutes due to a chip shop fire. Good one for the headline writers, there.

lol Cambridge 1 up. McCarthy's got a taxi booked presumably.

Lol Middlesbrough a goal down in what could surely be the most predictable cupset ever.

Has Southgate got dodgy photos of Steve Gibson or something?

Oh dear, 'controversial' goal line decision for Spurs. Hoof from the half way line that Robinson apparently stumbled over the line with, or maybe not, no one seems to know.

Spurs 0 - We don't care about the FA Cup FC 1

Spurs 1 - We don't care about the FA Cup FC - 1. Sulky petulant strop in celebration.

Shame I bet my entire worldly goods on Kitson scoring first though :(

Kitson was too busy raging against the inclusion of "za" as an acceptable SOWPODS word.

A friend of mine date C0ppell in the 70s and by her account he was a serious Ac1dhead.

A friend of mine date C0ppell in the 70s and by her account he was a serious Ac1dhead.

^^^Have heard this also

If only it were still readily available we could see some exciting 2-5-2-Pi-5 formations at the Madejski.

Bollocks we equalised. Kightly straight back from injury to keep Mick in work for another week.

A friend of mine date C0ppell in the 70s and by her account he was a serious Ac1dhead

Nonsense - LSD is only used by wideboy City traders to give them that 'buzz' they need to get through the day. Footballers prefer the performance-enhancing boost of hashcakes.

Tragically Middlesbrough back level. Coventry 1 up at Blackburn tho lol.

Robbie Keane is going all out for this years Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Award For Talking Endlessly To The Ref. In John Terry's absence he might well win.

Double bollocks late winner.

Kightly with the assist lol 1 man team.

Sheff U go 1 up at Bolton. Robson's continued employment is still even more mystifying than Southgate's.

Berbatov (pen)

Oldham go in front at Everton so there's currently 3 Premiership clubs behind to lower league teams.

Flipping heck Coventry now 2-0 up.

2-2, Huddlestone on for two minutes, promptly sent off. We Don't Care About The FA Cup FC are going to win, aren't they?

Presumably Blackburn don't care about the FA Cup either, 3-0 down at home.

BBC Livetext Transcript:

78:55 Substitution
Tottenham substitution: Steed Malbranque replaced by Tom Huddlestone (tactical).

81:56 Booking
Bobby Convey (Reading) booked for unsporting behaviour.

82:18 Sent off
Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham) dismissed for violent conduct.

and Huddersfield hopefully about to dump out Brum

Just about to big lol at that, tho my heart's not quite as into laffing at the Blues since Bruce left.

Havant & Waterlooville back in da gaaaaame

Looks like West Ham - Man City's been a thriller eh?

Blackburn 1 - Coventry 4

Hughes out.

Didn't Huddlestone get sent off for England U21s under similar circumstances? Ie after about 2mins on the pitch?

I wonder if Sunderland's gubbing will have any effect on Keane's job?

No, people will continue to be blinded by the fact that he was a good footballer five years ago up until the point he gets Reading relegated in 2012.

Sheff U win. "Bolton never really entered into the spirit of things."

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mick_McCarthy&diff=179968357&oldid=179706532

Dom why are you sat next to Capello at Villa Park?

Blackburn 1 - Coventry 4
Blackburn 1 - Coventry 4
Blackburn 1 - Coventry 4
Blackburn 1 - Coventry 4

WAHEY. like finding ten quid on the floor of the Hindenburg.

well done the bbc for selecting this predictably feeble premiership shite for the telly

typically, we completely and utterly outplay a team supposedly better than us, only get a draw, and are all primed to capitulate in the replay.

on another note, STFU MOTSON AND LAWRENSON

This game is so bad.

See that spell early on when Villa kept on taking it up the left-wing and then getting stuck without being able to get a cross in? That was great.

In fairness to the Beeb previous Villa v Man U cup matches have been grebt but I'm not sure I can be bothered to watch the second half.

Yeah, I thought this would be good.

Midwinter Break OTM

Everton's FA Cup Dream - Up in Flames

^^^ this

Toffees come unstuck after Mcdonald's takeaway

This game is so bad

See, I was watching this in a pub in Highbury with a Villa-supporting mate, and we really enjoyed the first half and wondered what they were going on about at half-time. Mind you, the second half was boring until Ronaldo & Rooney showed there is still some romance left in the cup when a team from little old Manchester can knock out big bad Villa.

"Pay the ultimate price" needs to become ILX lingo.

Totally undeserved goal by Liverpool there.

and a deserved equaliser

albeit a jammy one

I was watching this in a pub in Highbury with a Villa-supporting mate, and we really enjoyed the first half and wondered what they were going on about at half-time.

lol, nice hand of god there Riise.

looool

HOLY FUCK, Steve Claridge is hosting 6-0-6 tonight!!!

Maybe there will be a shock today and Newcastle will actually win.

This is a decent cup game actually, Stoke look far more up for it than Newcastle and I'm surprised they haven't scored. Lol defending.

Yeah, I haven't enjoyed one of those endeavour-over-aptitude blood n'guts matches so much for ages, the Stoke fans sounded great as well.

For want of anywhere else to put it, here is an interesting Observer article about sporting injuries, featuring some interesting stuff about subconscious sporting anxiety and some more "John Terry is a bunny-boiling lunatic who will destroy his own body" stuff -

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,331961723-103977,00.html

You're right about Stoke-Newcastle being a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be. I mean, it had 0-0 written all over it but managed to be a pulsating affair regardless. Way better than the other televised games.

stoke's jon parkin = fattest baller i've seen in forever

his beard was WOBBLING when he came on :D

http://www.stoke.vitalfootball.co.uk/resource/teams/stoke/214_a.jpg

http://www.stokecityfc.premiumtv.co.uk/javaImages/78/d8/0,,10310~3397752,00.jpg

http://www.football.co.uk/shared/images/news/jonparkin2.jpg

Haha he just lumbered on looking like a fucking beast who'd downed a pint of Guinness instead of warming up, then came ridiculously close to scoring about 5 seconds later

It was a very bad miss, to be fair. Even with the two defenders on the line he had the entire left third of the goal empty, from six yards out.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4428813406

um, he's not as fat as andy reid, nor as fat as paul robinson was only ten weeks ago.

anyway, mickey quinn, neville southall and jan molby all win

Of the two goals he's scored this season, one was a 40-yard waltz through our defence, in which big centre-half Paddy McCarthy was nutmegged and left trailing as this paragon of athleticism barnstormed through to finish with his customary aplomb. It was the winner.

Darragh maybe you should just kill Paul Robinson, get it out of your system, eh? He'll probably sheepishly applaud you while you do it.

i don't wanna kill him, i haven't enough salt to keep him til winter.

ok, look, paul robinson is underpreforming and should be sold or dropped, but he's probably a nice enough fella and i wish him no harm personally. will that do as a last word on the subject?

now, on to villa- will mellberg and laursen both go, and if so are ye royally screwed for another two years?

Ooh I know this one!! Mellberg will probably stay till the summer, when he will be replaced EXCITINGLY by an ACTUAL EXCITING ATTACKING FULL-BACK with PROPER ATTACKING ABILITY like JOSE BOSINGWA or MIGUEL or JUSTIN HOYTE

Laursen will probably sign a deal, I think. If they did leave Villa would be ballsed, in Mellberg's case only because it would mean playing lovable large-foreheaded psychopath Craig Gardner at right back, where he would routinely be dismissed for two bookable offences within 14 minutes.

http://files.myopera.com/Eddie_Lopez/blog/The_More_You_Know.jpg

attacking right back? you could do worse than chimbonda, our youth right back. he's 17, but shows promise. he won't ever get into the team ahead of ifil though.

or you could put down 8 million for the scottish pele.

Chimbonda! I love that little guy, think his unwavering loyalty would be an obstacle tho

I hope Ricky Hatton gives Floyd Mayweather a fuckin good hiding

haha jon parkin - we thought Stoke had brought on a tramp for a sub. And when he almost scored, we started to call him super-tramp.

any truth to the obafemi martins to villa rumour? i likes the sound of it v much

martins needs a few years to develop, he's pretty good for a nine year old though.

i can't see another shortarse with pace being what villa need. o'neill should be looking for dean ashton, he's always brought the best out of big centre forwards.

Haha the conversation round my house* when Parkin came on consisted of my housemate pointing at the telly and going 'WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?' and my running in from the kitchen and going 'fat footballer, hooray!'

*And probably every other house watching BBC1 outside Stoke as well.

Why would Dean Ashton want to leave West Hahhahahahahaha

Also lol at Shearer and Hansen doing a five minute montage smugly taking the piss out of Ricardo Fuller being off the pace and then J Pearce at first opportunity solemnly going "Fuller didn't train over Christmas because of that family bereavement"

^ lol yes!!

martins needs a few years to develop, he's pretty good for a nine year old though.

i can't see another shortarse with pace being what villa need. o'neill should be looking for dean ashton, he's always brought the best out of big centre forwards.

-- darraghmac

pure RONGness, this

Arsenal v Stoke City/Newcastle
Coventry v Walsall/Millwall
Oldham v Huddersfield Town
Swindon/Barnet v Fulham/Bristol Rovers
Wigan v Chelsea
Luton/Liverpool v Swansea/Havant & Waterlooville
Southend v Barnsley
Southampton v Norwich/Bury
Man Utd v Tottenham/Reading
Portsmouth v Plymouth
Derby/Sheff Wed v Preston
Watford v Wolves
Peterborough v Charlton/West Brom
Sheff Utd v West Ham/Man City
Mansfield v Middlesbrough
Tranmere/Hereford v Cardiff

I believe the correct word is 'fuck'.

when is the next round? if it's after january we might see united crumble when rock solid defender wes brown switches side to play for tottenham.

Reading will win the replay

Portsmouth v Plymouth
Watford v Wolves
Mansfield v Middlesbrough

I'm looking for this trio of battle of the alliterations grandslam sunday.

xpost not if tottenham gets super defender wes brown in time for next week.

yes they will

would be nice if Havant & Wville could make it to Anfield tho

Plucky little Liverpool have to make it past Luton first.

jolly charitable of them to enable the Hatters some extra cash after all

Haha, there's a mentallist on f365 claiming that they did just that, to improve their PR.

yeah that rafa's all heart.

i don't think we're going past reading either, so it's all a bit hypothetical. if we beat reading, we'll beat united.

would be nice if Havant & Wville could make it to Anfield tho

them and their little team of honest, hardworking thugs

Honest hardworking thugs are what made Britain Great!

Operation "Ignominious Fifth-Round Exit At West Brom" rolls on, then.

ZING

it'll be peterborough

anyone watch the luton/liverpool game? that was wow

i never thought i'd root for luton (ok that's a lie but still)

hard to beat their last encounter tho

I am looking forward to some Fulham (hopefully).

i bet Boro keep battling against lower league sides all the way to the semis

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/01/07/enjoy_the_fun_while_it_lasts_c.html

DERE BEEBEESEE

PLZ CAN U 2 STOP TALKING ABOUTS AVANT-GARDE WATERLOOVIL MIGHT BE PALYING AT ANFIELDS IN TEH NEXT ROUND OF UR CUPS

IT IS NOT GOING TOHAPEN IN ALL PROBABLY

UR ATEMPTS TO FIL MY HART WIH JOY ARE PATHETICK

THANK U

JGO

DO YOU RECKON THEY COULD PLAY SWANSEA AND LIVE, BECAUSE I DON'T

HAVENSADRSWR AND WATERSLOVWE 109 ULP

Richard Paquette, 8th minute. Didn't he used to play for QPR?

yes

TWO ONE!!!!!!!!!!!

It's just like watching Brazil.

Extraordinary scenes.

Just popped back from the pub. Mad lulz. Heading back to enjoy the rest of it with my Liverpool-supporting buds.

local radio commentator on the lpool havant game came up with my favourite new line: "mascherano's passing has been on a different planet; a bad planet". from now on i'm going to look for opportunities to use this in everyday conversation.

haha robinson must come back

would've been up £8 if it had stayed 2-1. HATE MANYOOO

Ah well, I enjoyed that a lot anyway, mostly because I didn't expect us to win for one second and could just relax and enjoy the football. Pleased with the performance anyway, even after Dawson's sending off. New goalkeeper needed like now though.

City with a Pennine to climb now thanksto Blades steely resolve

still hope to see cerny in for next game though- one slip after a deflection doesn't make him as bad as robinson.

thought lennon was pretty poor aside from assist, but dawson aside we were good today.

balloooooooooooon!

"I've never seen a goal like that before," said Eriksson. "The ball changed direction and the balloons played a one-two with Michael Ball.
"We asked the fourth official to tell the referee (Alan Wiley) to stop the game and take away the balloons or kill them," said Eriksson.

Thieves added insult to injury by stealing from Manchester City players as they were knocked out of the FA Cup.

Money totalling between £1,500 and £2,000 was taken from wallets in their dressing room at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane ground.

Fifth round fixtures:

Bristol Rovers v Southampton

Cardiff City v Wolves

Sheffield United v Middlesbrough

Liverpool v Barnsley

Manchester United v Arsenal

Preston v Portsmouth

Coventry City v West Brom

Chelsea v Huddersfield Town

The ties are scheduled to take place on 16 and 17 February.

hmmm i wonder which ones will be on TV

Man U v Chelsea final obv.

You can never have too many Manyoo v Arsenal games.

I can see Sheffield United doing Boro actually, could end up with just four Premiership teams in the quarters.

Liverpool v Barnsley

Potential shock of the round here, can the plucky Reds do it etc

will def be losing either Boro or Pompey in this round

mellberg signs pre contract with juventus. can't be arsed finding the proper thread, sorry.

chelsea to do double this year?

still hope to see cerny in for next game though- one slip after a deflection doesn't make him as bad as robinson.

Ferreal, thought he was really, really solid for the rest of the game.

That draw is pretty fun as these things go.

My picks for the round:

Bristol Rovers
Cardiff City
Sheffield United
Liverpool
Manchester United
Portsmouth
West Brom
Chelsea

and the accumulator i shall be putting two quid on. although i really hate betting against my own team i don't think arsenal are gonna beat united.

mellberg signs pre contract with juventus. can't be arsed finding the proper thread, sorry.

RIP, Turin needed a bearded psychopath to shout constant abuse at opposition players and teammates

also, Dave Kitson for England rumours, how about that

I don't have time to assemble the words 'LOL Capello' on a Scrabble board, take a photo of it, upload it and post it here so just pretend I did, okay?

will arsenal be playing with proper team or will it be Finsbury Park Primary School alumni?

also, Dave Kitson for England rumours, how about that

well, I should think so -- he's the top scoring Englishman in the Premiership this season.

world cup 2010 - fear.

                Alumnia
 Richards     Bramble   Terry    Cole
Walcott      Barry    Hargreaves    Bentley
            Kitson   D. Bent

Surely M Bent

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Bent

"He left the seaside in 2001, after Blackpool were relegated to Division Three, and joined Kettering Town, with whom he finished his playing career."

Beautiful.

Here's to the festival of flowing football that Man U-Arsenal will definitely be, then.

Our tie just stinks of upset, doesn't it? Especially away... dammit, I really would like us to the Championship side that makes a totally unmerited run to the semis this year. But that'll probably be Wolves or someone.

Portsmouth will get by Preston easy enough, so Sheff Utd should see off Boro. Expect to see the Chelsea game as Sunday's lunchtime kick-off, just in case the Northeners start getting ideas.

God, we're shit.

1325: PLAYER RATER LATEST
Bristol Rovers' Stuart Campbell leads the way with 8.40, but Southampton's Inigo Idiakez will be slightly disappointed with a half-time rating of 3.91.

I hear that Bryan Robson has always been a fan of Southampton and is really excited by the infrastructure there.

xxpost

wao barnsley

looks like the ref bottled giving them a penalty just seconds before the goal too

Rafa-lution continues apace

Haha, just listen to that Anfield crowd!

better not be a fucking chelsea vs man u/arse final after all these upsets

i can hear michael j's roffles from here

http://heynice.com/media-archives/2006-10/marty2.jpg

Rafa is going to get sacked

Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.
Lol.

God, Make-A-Wish-Foundation-Boy scoring against you, that's embarrassing.

This could be a cracking cup tie, needs Jens Lehmann to go psycho though.

3-0. This is a tumping worthy of Spurs.

I almost made Pam crash the car on a roundabout off the A22 when I heard the Barnsley result (we'd spent all day at a farm)...OH MY GOD! They'll beat Inter now, won't they?

(Barnsley, I mean - UEFA, 2011-12.)

Rafa has to go at the end of the season, please, just end it. (even tho I actually think they will beat Inter on Wednesday.)

I watched this with my Dad in the pub and he was sort of joking each time Barnsley went forward "oh they'll score now", and I had to tell him that actually the game was the exact same as Villa/Wigan etc etc etc and I was fairly sure Barnsley would score.

The second was less expected but still, no bottle in the team anymore. Total slump, they're never going to "bounce back" from never having been good enough to win a title in the first place.

The whole furore with the Americans has allowed people to stop paying attention to Rafa.

The only consolation was watching Wenger's constipated face hunched up in that massive chair at Old Trafford.

The whole furore with the Americans has allowed people to stop paying attention to Rafa.

OTM. If they had kept quiet some of the fans would've wanted him sacked at xmas.

drat

Manchester Utd Vs Portsmouth

Sheffield United or Middlesbrough v Cardiff City

Manchester United v Portsmouth

Bristol Rovers v West Brom

Barnsley v Chelsea

Blades vs Baggies semi final would be nice

that's the first time i've seen the word 'drat' used in years, literally, i think.

martian. earlier
http://www.rhodesfamily.org.uk/blog/2005/09/pix/dastardly.gif

Odds on Man U routinely dispatching Villa, Portsmouth and Boro on their way to a ditchwater-like final with Chelsea, for the second year running

http://www.teamtalk.com/Images/193226.jpg

Beautiful.

Benitez must stay.

i still don't think last year's cup final was half as bad as Arsenal-Man U or Chelsea-Villa.

well it's rich pickings in terms of rubbish recent cup finals

Liverpool Man U 1995 was one of the worst.

Yeah, you sift a bucket of shit and you still end up with shit.

Liverpool-Man U was '96. Everton-Man U was '95. Which was also probably a bad final but I sort of didn't notice.

And Liverpool-W Ham '06 was terrible.

It was at least entertaining to see the "what an advert for the game" Motsonspeak extended throughout the half hour of extra time consisting entirely of both teams shuffling around and clutching their cramp-wracked thighs in agony

And Liverpool-W Ham '06 was terrible.

surely only the last minute

so interesting at least that both of Arsenal's cup exits this season were such emphatic defeats and probably constitute two of their top 3 poorest performances since August. i doubt they'll be that bad at the San Siro (and in fact will probably scrape victory) tho.

I didn't see the Spurs game, but I don't think I've EVER seen such an abject and unprofessional display from the gooners.

Anderson is the nuts.

surely only the last minute

And the penalties.

Marlon Harewood lumbering over to the Liverpool area with his foot pretty much hanging off, only for the ball to fall to him right in front of goal was painful in so many ways.

Anyway the draw is kind of dull but the closer Middlesbrough get to a trophy the more rofflesome it is when they lose. I'm hoping for more footage of lots of Middlesbrough fans crying this May.

I just remembered how Everton exited the cup this year.

to be fair they're only a top 5 side

Anderson is the nuts

f'real

Going to be an incredible footballer.

I just remembered how Everton exited the cup this year.

Just as bad but not as funny. Bang and we were gone, clearing the way for more UEFA/Prem larks. Liverpool were building up to this with the Hyppia og vs Luton and the behind-twice-vs-Havant shenanigans. A classic Cup run/stagger.

we were really hopeless, i think the football gods gave us a ridiculously easy draw every time just to sit back and lol.

Yeah to be honest successive cup draws don't get much easier than that. Although if Liverpool had managed to squeeze past Barnsley we'd have the mouthwatering prospect of yet another Liverpool v Chelsea game so maybe they did us all a favour.

exactly

to be fair wasn't it Riise who got the og against Luton?

Sami's had enough woe already!

I still love him though. It just makes me sad he's had to play so much this season.

yeah, he should've ben able to do the pipe-and-slippers thing on the bench, he deserved that at least.

definitely. was it 3m he went for? easily one of Pool's best signings of the last 15-20 years.

to be fair wasn't it Riise who got the og against Luton?

You're quite right. Riise, Hyppia, Gillespie, Whelan, Grobbelaar, Cohen, Carragher - it's just one huge shower of own-goaling bastards.

yeah about 3 mil, one of the best.

posted on wrong thread. srsly tho Muntari to score first was 25/1 - i am being mocked.

this is worse than the final v arsenal

Fergie out

I was telling my mate last night to get on Pompeii at 9-1 then I sat on the couch with a hangover all morning and forgot to put it on :(

ashes to ashes

That was a great game. I thought United looked really good (much more fluid than the tedious victory against Lyon on Tuesday) and they could easily have scored four or five by the time Portsmouth got that penalty. Still, that makes the cup a lot more interesting now. If Barnsley can beat Chelsea as well then this will be the best cup I can remember (but I expect Chelsea to win 3-0 to be honest).

it all seems so set up for Chelsea to win it now, hopefully that'll instil a sense of complacency in them.

looks like portsmouth were lucky with the penalty really - utd keeper seemed to unintentionally bring baros down with his head altho there's an obstruction issue.

United were ridiculously unlucky in many ways (Ronaldo should have been given a penalty after about 5 mins, ball cleared off the line repeatedly, hit the post, had about 20 shots to Portsmouth's 3, ended up with Ferdinand in goal to face the penalty), but I thought it was a penalty and I wasn't surprised to see Kuszczak sent off (although the commentators said it was harsh). Actually, I was surprised to see *him* sent off because I hadn't noticed that Van der Sar wasn't still in goal.

Bloody hell, are we going to have a Pompey-Boro final?

Barnsley 1-0
Odejayi 1st scorer
600-1

Carvalho shouldve been off for that

Motson "I'm not sure Mr Blatter would say that was a yellow"
Lawro "All the more reason to give it then"

YEEEEESSSSSSSSSS

xpost
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Get" "in"

best fa cup ever?

Motson: "Let's just enjoy these scenes. This is the FA cup ENCAPSULED in a South Yorkshire town."

Chelsea were shocking weren't they? They really did deserve to lose. Wonder what Grant will try to blame.

Football....bloody hell.

I'd be happy to see any of the teams left in it win it now apart from Boro.

agreed

Haha, brilliant. Cardiff v Barnsley final please.

best fa cup ever?

-- Herman G. Neuname, Saturday, 8 March 2008 19:26 (11 minutes ago) Link

^^^^^ x1000.

"Sensational Barnsley" isn't something you see as the main sports headline on the bbc too often.

GET ONE BEST FA CUP EVER.

Hey Dom, what were the odds that none of the 'big four' made the semis?

The odds on none of them winning were something like 3/1, so... god knows. 20/1, maybe?

I can't decide what's made me lol most today, ManYoo, Cheslea, or the England Rugby Union team.

I remember signing Odejayi on FM07; no way did I ever think he'd be that massive.

RIP Man Utd and Chelsea. Heaven needed another fucking tedious shit final.

altho Boro vs Pompey could be just as bad

good to see ferguson in megalomaniacmagnanimous mode today. followed by that idiot portuguese parrot of his.

and now ronaldo reckons he doesn't feel safe playing football here anymore: "After what happened to the Arsenal player Eduardo da Silva, I am scared to do my skills."

just carry on practising your diving instead if you don't want to kick the ball.

Really do hope Ronaldo fucks off to Real and they go another four seasons without winning the league again.

his mum wants him to, so i'm sure he will.

i was reminiscing of the good old days of diving the other day: klinsmann. so obvious it was unbelievable, and then his first goal for spurs and he introduces the whole diving celebration, and in a second all of the (my) hatred for his previous diving disappeared. fat chance of the likes of ronaldo and his ilk ever having the humour or intelligence to even approach that.

I think Cardiff will beat Middlesbrough.

By 'think' read 'desperately hoping so as the final isn't as turgid as I expect it do be'.

Don't think a Portsmouth - Boro final could be any more turgid than any of the recent thrillers featuring lol Big 4 clubs, but still want Cardiff to win anyway.

Cardiff to win the FA Cup, it'd be funny to see Fowler win it again.

He could celebrate a goal by pretending to snort Sanatogen off the touchline.

comeon cardiff!

2-0!!!!

Ha ha ha ha ha

ahahahaha

G'WAN WHITTS

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/7286112.stm

Nothing'll come of it, sure, but I'm glad.

I fucking hate Cardiff. Their fans are just scumbags. I'm rooting for Bristol Rovers now.

Albion all the way

is it going to be harder to sell out Wembley now? who cares

last time a big 4 club didn't make the final (tho chelsea weren't considered one in the 90s): 1991 (sorry spurs fans)

I doubt it re. Wembley sellout - all clubs have a bunch of gloryhunters that'll turn out in droves, leading to terrible Football Focus build-ups on the romance of the cup, local bakers making cakes in club colours, shops putting cardboard cutouts of the Cup covered in tinfoil in their windows etc etc. Makes you long for the return of Saint & Greavesie, jumpers for goalposts, etc. (this is what it was like when Gretna got to the Scottish Cup Final a couple of years ago, and I can't see the progress to the semi-finals of Plucky Wee Queen Of The South being any different)

hmmm, can't help thinking that things would be the poorer for the lack of that. let the people have their fun. what would you prefer in place of all that?

Hang on, I wasn't criticising it - these are GOOD THINGS (but it would be nice if these people could be arsed with their clubs the rest of the time as well)

I was doubting whether it would be difficult to sell Wembley out, btw, not doubting that it would be a sellout.

sorry, I read the "terrible" and thought it applied to the whole lot, not just FF.

terrible FF bits are reminiscent of everything I can recall about Saint and Greavesie, i.e. poking fun at the provincials and their unfounded faith in their rubbish football teams.

Apparently it's the first time there's only been one top flight team in the semis for more than a hundred years.

Re: selling out Wembley - I'd be amazed if they didn't sell all the tickets. I think the play-offs for league 1 & 2 get pretty big crowds (but probably don't sell out?) and when you consider that about half the tickets for the FA Cup final don't even go to the clubs it shouldn't be that difficult to shift their allocations. The only problems might be with the semis being at Wembley as well and if the FA charge stupid prices: someone from Barnsley/Bristol/Cardiff who's hardly ever watched a game of football might be prepared to travel to London and fork out £80 for a ticket for that 'once in a lifetime' experience, but maybe not for that 'second time in a month' experience.

everything I can recall about Saint and Greavesie, i.e. poking fun at the provincials and their unfounded faith in their rubbish football teams

you and your rose tinted binoculars

Yeah, let's not short change them, they also poked fun at the blacks.

really wish that Thompson telephone directory advert with Greavsie was on youtube

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hleZE1FZz1k&feature=related

it's gin in greavsie's cup obv

This whole situation exposes what a rubbishy idea holding the semis at Wembley is.

two fine examples of the long banished from the prem "you're shit aaaaah" goal kick routine from bristol rovers fans their. surely this fa cup year is football's wake-up call.

Surely at Bristol it's "you're shit oooooo-arrrrrrrrrr"?

Boing Boing Baggies Baggies!

5-1 is a bit tough on Bristol tho.

It's a bit tough on football.

Sorry Jim but I like the Baggies. 1st football match I was ever at was Notts County vs WBA in the early 80s. (we were staying at my parents friends in West Bromwich and we got taken to the game)

Bollocks. That's that for 90mins of wearing my Bristolian heritage on my sleeve. Suppose I'll have to wait for Bristol City being smashed 4-0 by every team in the Premiership next season.

That was the only live game I watched all weekend. Keepin' it real.

Re: Rio Ferdinand in goal yesterday - things like that make you realise how amazingly agile goalkeepers actually are. Ferdinand went the right way and didn't do that badly but compared to a real goalie he fell over like a sack of spuds.

xpost

I actually don't care that much about West Brom, K. I just can't resist moaning.

i can see West Brom winning it now but then getting promoted too so you don't get the Championship team in UEFA Cup lols

Millwall were in the UEFA Cup not so long ago.

Is it just me, or was Boro v Cardiff the shortest ever set of highlights for a top billing MOTD game? Can I assume nothing at all of interest happened other than the goals?

Still, roffle roffle roffle at Adrian Chiles - "and if you want to see if there'll be a repeat of that 1912 thriller between West Brom and Barnsley tune in for the draw tomorrow".

Can Cardiff qualify for Europe through the FA cup? I seem to remember UEFA saying that teams have to qualify through their own FA, rather than in the FA that they actaually play. This was in relation to Celtic/Rangers playing in the Premiership (ie you can play in the premiership, but you won't be able to qualify for Europe through it) but would the same not apply to Cardiff?

Ooh, good point - I remember the thread where we were talking about Celtic and Rangers and I think it was pointed out that Cardiff wouldn't be able to play in Europe under current UEFA rules. Hmmm.

Cardiff definitely won't be able to play in the UEFA Cup.

Sure all four teams will sell out no prob. The TV viewing figures won't be great though...

I'm rooting for Cardiff cos they're the BAD GUYS although Barnsley were very, very good.

Grant out.

Very weird, though, FA Cup semis/final where you're not desperate for one set of bastards to get stiffed.

Interesting, though, that all this has happened in one season - has seeing other teams actually take on and beat the 'big clubs' spread confidence and inspiration around the league? Or is it all one big fluke?

Found an article claiming that it's the FA's interpretation of UEFA's rules, not UEFA's rules, that are stopping Cardiff getting through(hence how Monaco can represent France in European competition). I guess they'll just have to not win the cup then to stop this becoming an issue.

http://www.football.co.uk/football_features/story_298.shtml

Big clubs all knackered from still being in Champions League, innit?

The experts weighed in on this matter

Pearce: Can you think of a reason why there have been so many of these upsets this year?
Lawrenson: No.
Pearce: Thank you.

If Cardiff win the cup does 6th place revert to a UEFA place...?

If Lawrenson doesn't know, what chance the rest of us.

things like that make you realise how amazingly agile goalkeepers actually are

some goalkeepers. robinson looked good yesterday, off the ball.

Re: Rio Ferdinand in goal yesterday - things like that make you realise how amazingly agile goalkeepers actually are. Ferdinand went the right way and didn't do that badly but compared to a real goalie he fell over like a sack of spuds.

Was this based on the PK? I thought that kick was pretty much unsaveable by any keeper (unless they started out standing at the left goalpost.

Have another look at Dave Beasant in the 1988 FA Cup Final for how to save that penalty.

Barnsley v Cardiff
West Brom v Portsmouth

Baggies could def beat Pompey, and it's totally winnable for Cardiff (for some reason i favour them over Barnsley) too - excellent.

Have another look at Dave Beasant in the 1988 FA Cup Final for how to save that penalty.

start out standing at the left goalpost as i said ;-)

that's a good draw. I would love it if Portsmouth were beaten in their semi-final!

Kenneth, you have to remember that you are a goalkeeping hero of sinister vintage, and your standards of ... sticksmanship are different from other people's.

I don't think the Beasant save was as difficult as Rio's not-save, tho I've not seen it for a while

That's it, I'm rooting for Barnsley.

i wish i can still demonstrate my awesome goalkeeping skills with the sinister team one day soon, pf.

DJ Martian, this is your time to shine.

Atmosphere in that stadium is pretty amazing by the looks of things, loudest I've heard the new Wembley.

gah! just as I started a new thread

Bobby Robson remembers when they had the final at The Oval!

The gal singing the Welsh national anthem. Oh my!

no robbie fowler = don't care one jot who wins, would quite like to see bell-less twat crying at the end though.

Australian commentary team for today's final includes Mark Bosnich.

Oh, this is gonna be painful.

mike dean = jasper carrot

Bosnich will be OK, once his Bolivian marching powder arrives...

I have never seen less buildup to a final except the time Steady Mike and I ran down from the park to catch the match.

altho BBC coverage did start 2 hours and 20 mins before kick off. this seemed excessive.

would quite like to see bell-less twat crying at the end though.

he was blubbing during 'Abide With Me' - maybe because they forgot to turn Lovely Katherine Jenkins mic on

I always imagine that Steady Mike must be distantly related to Dave Jones; they have something of the same wry manner.

who is bell less twat?

I think you told Mike that once, Stevie, and he was not amused. Not even wryly.

Stevie are you going to be at that McCampbell pub later? I am --- and then going to the Clientele!

where is Martian in the hour of glory

Mars?

DC was correct:
Anyway, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that one of the Big Four will not win it this year.

Blueski, I only switched on at 2:55! Bobby Robson was meeting the players; I hope he enjoyed it.

I have made vegetable soup which is probably more interesting than the game.

Presumably Mike is watching this, on the Wirral?

The gal singing the Welsh national anthem. Oh my!

-- SeekAltRoute, Saturday, 17 May 2008 14:00

i know, lesley garret phwoooar

I didn't see LG; KJ (CJ?) looked nice, it's true.

so er, dj martian otm.

dullest cup final ever, it was on in the room, but I don't think I looked at it once in the second half.

It certainly had that feeling of inevitability about it.....

dullest cup final ever

Sit down and let's take a trip down memory lane back to 2007

It was pretty eh though really - I didn't previously realise that Portsmouth lead-holding stat which did make it seem a bit inevitable aye

This was less interesting than I hoped.

dullest....

2000, 2003, 2005, 2007? Take your pick. It's not been the same since Royal Engineers last won it.

Portsmouth = most black players in a winning FA Cup team ever?

Surely Arsenal 2005 come close?

It pains me to say this, but seemingly the only exciting FA Cup finals these days are the ones that end with Liverpool winning. The Carling Cup final is now a more enjoyable game on almost every occasion.

(xp) Dunno, I'll check

I can't remember ever enjoying an FA Cup Final. Ever.

Yeah, they're always shit, apart from the ones I don't watch, like the Liverpool v. West Ham one. Of course, I never used to see any when I lived in Scotland and they were on at the same time as the Scottish Cup Final. 6 black players in the Arsenal 2005 team, 8 in the Portsmouth - I thought it was 9, I'd forgotten about Mendes playing.

Great finals I have seen: 1981 (replay), 1983 (1st match for the neutrals, replay for me), 1987, 1989 (maybe not great, but some late drama), 1990 (not the replay!).....2006 (even if it wasn't the result I wanted). There's been a definite shortage of them in the last 17 years.

2001 was pretty great.

I didn't see that one.

86-90 were all great for various reasons. Then they've all been shit except Liverpool-West Ham, which I didn't even see.

Of the ones I've been to: 97 was good, 94, 02 and 07 were fine, 00 was abject - i can't remember anything about it, not even the goal.

I can't even remember 01. What happened?

Arsenal 1-0 up and completely overrunning Liverpool for 82mins and then Michael Owen single handedly takes them apart, Liverpool win 2-1.

Is there anyone, anywhere in the UK who mourns the loss of FA Cup Final replays? Arsenal vs Sheffield Wednesday might be the most interminable final I can remember.

The 1990 replay was awful as well, although Palace's kick-a-manc tactics were quite amusing.

Actually, the 91 final was very good as well, even if Spurs won.

Finals I have missed: 1991 (working in a shop and nipping next door to Argos every 20 minutes to look at the TVs to see the score), 1992 (just couldn't face watching Liverpool's inevitable victory over a second division team just after United's awful collapse had handed the league to Leeds), 2001 (in Italy). I don't remember anything at all about 1998, but I think I watched it.

i missed '98 due to my shift at Blockbuster but on the way home i saw Newcastle fans outside a pub looking quite happy so assumed they had won for a good 10 mins before finding out the score.

I missed 98 (I think I was at the cricket WC) and 06.

So much time wasted on sunny afternoons watching teams I don't like win trophies against lacklustre opposition.

Also can't quite believe I've been to five FA Cup finals. Does that make me ILX's answer to Mark Hughes?

I'd consider that necessary, but not sufficient.

The 1990 replay was awful as well, although Palace's kick-a-manc tactics were quite amusing

The strange thing about that was that there wasn't really any reason for Coppell to tell Palace to resort to such tactics. It wasn't like 1983, when United were obviously better than relegated Brighton and when Brighton missed their chance to win it in the first match people were pretty sure they'd lose the replay. Palace and Man Utd were very evenly matched: both had spent the whole season trying to avoid relegation and finished level on 48 points just above the drop zone. Palace had some good players, and actually finished 3rd the following season (well ahead of United), while United still featured people like Mal Donaghy, Mike Phelan, Colin Gibson, Clayton Blackmore, Russell Beardsmore and Lee Martin (of course). So it wasn't a mismatch by any stretch, and Palace nearly won the first match, so why they decided to try to kick United out of the match in the replay is a mystery.