The FA Cup Final (SPOILERS)

Atxj · Post by **Atxj** » Wed May 18, 2005 10:42 am

Anyone know if any channels outside the UK are broadcasting live on Saturday? I checked www.SoccerTv.com and FSC isn't going to replay it until Wednesday,

.

If this ends up being the case please keep all spoilers confined to this thread, as I won't be able to finally watch it until late Wednesday or Thursday.

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Wed May 18, 2005 10:49 am

I think it's on Pay Per View, at least it is here.

Atxj · Post by **Atxj** » Wed May 18, 2005 5:59 pm

Sully wrote:I think it's on Pay Per View, at least it is here.

In that case i'll be waiting until Wednesday.

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Wed May 18, 2005 6:04 pm

$20 pub cover. Pretty early in the morning out here too. If I had a team to root for it might be different but it's the lesser of two evils this year (again).

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:05 pm

0-0 after 90 minutes.

Actually, It's a terrific game. Man. U. have had the best of the play and virtually all of the chances. Although he's a tendency towards thuggish behavior one thing I do like about Rooney is he never quits on the ball. Quite often he picks up second chances because the other team thinks they've dispossessed him and they sit around too much.

Right, extra time then.....

Best wishes,

Doug

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:44 pm

0-0 - off to penalty kicks then.

Actually, why have FA stopped with the replay tradition. Historically, FA CUP Finals still tied after extra time have resulted in a replay at a later date. It's a hell of a lot better way of deciding a Championship than the gimmicky piece of sh*t penalty shootouts. Whoever decided to change things should be chained to a goalpost and have balls shot at his nuts.

Best wishes,

Doug

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:54 pm

5-4 on penalty kicks.

And Arsenal STEAL the FA CUP. Haven't seen a heist like that since the great train robbery. I mean they were thoroughly outplayed by Man. U. who should have won by a couple of goals. Lehman saved Scholes' penalty but the goat of the match surely goes to Van Nistlerooy, who missed a couple of absolute sitters.

Bet Rooney would happily trade his man of the match award about now.

Best wishes,

Doug

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Sat May 21, 2005 1:05 pm

Oh, I'm so gutted.

If you really want to see a travesty scoreline, ask squid about the painful memories of MU's Champs League final win over Bayern Munich.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat May 21, 2005 1:22 pm

Dave,

I can just imagine the fun you and the rest of English football fans are going to have taunting United Supporters at Man U's away games

!

BTW, Bergkamp looks absolutely lost out there without Henri. Come to think about it, the only decent Arsenal moves against United were ones initiated by Ljunberg. Looks like Arsenal, without some decent signings, are heading downwards in the table the next few years.

Best wishes,

Doug

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat May 21, 2005 3:52 pm

Speaking of Squid,

Latest in the Guardian is that Hargreaves is going to be joining Liverpool from Bayern. I've only seen Hargreaves a few times (mostly England games) but I've never been that impressed by him. Any thoughts on how good a pickup he would be for Liverpool? Supposedly he'll replace Hamann.

Best wishes,

Doug

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Sat May 21, 2005 5:07 pm

One of those players who always seems to get mentioned in connection with coming to the Premiership, and I've yet to work out what he actually does on a football pitch.

If I had a central midfield of Gerrard and Xabi Alonso, I certainly wouldn't be blowing £5-7m on this guy...

unless....he's replacing Gerrard, as opposed to replacing Hamann.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat May 21, 2005 5:10 pm

2.5 million for Hargreaves - so they're not exactly breaking out the bank for him.

Best wishes,

Doug

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Sat May 21, 2005 5:22 pm

Interesting..City turned down a bid of £3.5m for Joey Barton, who's played for the U-21s but will probably never get a full England cap, so £2.5m for someone who has (for some reason) got England caps is slightly odd.

Looks like Bayern want to get shut before his contract ends and he goes for free on a Bosman.

Still, getting pine splinters in his arse sitting on the bench at Anfield is hardly likely to recommend him to Sven for more caps, so wonder what he's up to ? Arsenal was always felt to be a more likely destination, given that Edu is going, although they have already got another Owen Hargreaves in the shape of Gilberto.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 21, 2005 5:22 pm

Latest rumor: Spurs may make a bid to Wolfsburg for my boy D'Allessandro. If Spurs gets him, I'll watch a few more Spurs' games than usual next season.

Too bad Fat Freddie won't bid for him.

Take care,
PK

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat May 21, 2005 5:28 pm

From what I've heard and read there'll be a max exodus from Anfield after the seasons over - or more aptly a mass purging. Sounds like Raffa wants to take an axe to some of Houllier's more eccentric (read unsuccessful) signings from years past. So there may be more room from him in Liverpool's lineup than we suspect. Not sure how much flexibility there'll be though, given that Liverpool certainly don't have a mobster sugar daddy - though it looked earlier like they were trying to pick up a corrupt asian prime minister sugar daddy!

Best wishes,

Doug

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat May 21, 2005 5:31 pm

pk500 wrote:Latest rumor: Spurs may make a bid to Wolfsburg for my boy D'Allessandro. If Spurs gets him, I'll watch a few more Spurs' games than usual next season.

Too bad Fat Freddie won't bid for him.

Take care,
PK

Maybe they should be in the market for some defenders. It's amazing how much of a gap exists in goals against between the top three and the rest of the pack. I hate defensive football but it definitely pays to keep the ball out of the back of your net.

Best wishes,

Doug

vanburen · Post by **vanburen** » Sun May 22, 2005 4:43 pm

dougb wrote:Dave,

BTW, Bergkamp looks absolutely lost out there without Henri. Come to think about it, the only decent Arsenal moves against United were ones initiated by Ljunberg. Looks like Arsenal, without some decent signings, are heading downwards in the table the next few years.

doug, man u played a great game, especially defensively. why proclaim arsenal's downfall because of it? arsenal has plenty of young talent with reyes, flamini, fabregas and van persie. They'll have some money this offseason, and after they move into the new huge stadium, more money will flow in.

I'd be more nervous about being a man u fan. they played great and couldn't win the FA cup. They also have a new owner who they hate and went w/o any hardware this year. aside from ronaldo, the midfield is slow and uncreative.

I have no doubt arsenal's first 11, with healthy ljungberg and henry, would have made that a much different game.

penalties is a tough way to end a big match, but I loved the guts arsenal kickers showed going upper half on every kick. a well struck upper penalty is virtually impossible to stop.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Sun May 22, 2005 7:43 pm

davet010 wrote:Oh, I'm so gutted.

If you really want to see a travesty scoreline, ask squid about the painful memories of MU's Champs League final win over Bayern Munich.

f*** you, you dirty little brit.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Sun May 22, 2005 7:44 pm

dougb wrote:Speaking of Squid,

Latest in the Guardian is that Hargreaves is going to be joining Liverpool from Bayern. I've only seen Hargreaves a few times (mostly England games) but I've never been that impressed by him. Any thoughts on how good a pickup he would be for Liverpool? Supposedly he'll replace Hamann.

Best wishes,

Doug

Hargreaves does VERY well in the Bundesliga, but once the Champions League games roll around, he never shows up. It baffles the hell out of us Bayern supporters. In fact, he started almost ever game in the Bundesliga, but was a reserve in most UEFA matches.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Mon May 23, 2005 3:39 am

squid

I was at a City match when we heard about MU beating Bayern, watching us going through to the playoff final. I was almost physically sick when I'd found out they'd won.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Mon May 23, 2005 9:21 am

vanburen wrote:
dougb wrote:Dave,

BTW, Bergkamp looks absolutely lost out there without Henri. Come to think about it, the only decent Arsenal moves against United were ones initiated by Ljunberg. Looks like Arsenal, without some decent signings, are heading downwards in the table the next few years.
doug, man u played a great game, especially defensively. why proclaim arsenal's downfall because of it? arsenal has plenty of young talent with reyes, flamini, fabregas and van persie. They'll have some money this offseason, and after they move into the new huge stadium, more money will flow in.

I'd be more nervous about being a man u fan. they played great and couldn't win the FA cup. They also have a new owner who they hate and went w/o any hardware this year. aside from ronaldo, the midfield is slow and uncreative.

I have no doubt arsenal's first 11, with healthy ljungberg and henry, would have made that a much different game.

penalties is a tough way to end a big match, but I loved the guts arsenal kickers showed going upper half on every kick. a well struck upper penalty is virtually impossible to stop.

Vanburen,

Perhaps it was just the surprise of seeing how badly outlplayed they were by Man. U. For a team supposedly lacking in mid-field finesse and skill, Man. U. sure ended up often making Arsenal look like a bunch of pylons out on the pitch. And is Ljunberg even signed through this season?

Best wishes,

Doug

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Mon May 23, 2005 10:32 am

davet010 wrote:squid

I was at a City match when we heard about MU beating Bayern, watching us going through to the playoff final. I was almost physically sick when I'd found out they'd won.

Well, I'll get a taste of a playoff final this weekend!

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Mon May 23, 2005 4:20 pm

fsquid wrote:
dougb wrote:Speaking of Squid,

Latest in the Guardian is that Hargreaves is going to be joining Liverpool from Bayern. I've only seen Hargreaves a few times (mostly England games) but I've never been that impressed by him. Any thoughts on how good a pickup he would be for Liverpool? Supposedly he'll replace Hamann.

Best wishes,

Doug
Hargreaves does VERY well in the Bundesliga, but once the Champions League games roll around, he never shows up. It baffles the hell out of us Bayern supporters. In fact, he started almost ever game in the Bundesliga, but was a reserve in most UEFA matches.

Hargreaves might suit Liverpool well then since their trouble is not being able to get up for league matches rather than European fixtures. Be nice to have another player who shows up for those 'ordinary' run of the mill Saturday matches - unlike quite a few of the current squad.

Best wishes,

Doug

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Mon May 23, 2005 7:34 pm

True, but its sad when one of your "better" midfielders doesn't want to show up in the big matches.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Tue May 24, 2005 12:21 pm

He doesn't show for England either..a very 'ho-hum' sort of player in my opinion. Interest in the Prem in him is relatively limited, certainly none of the big three have him on their shopping list.

In other news, squid, your Owls have now sold more than 40,000 tickets for this weekend's Playoff Final.

To be honest, these games are often far more exciting than the Cup Final, particularly in terms of what victory and defeat means to the teams involved.