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.

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.