FA Cup Final: Chelsea v Manchester United

COTR wrote:

@ COTR - Every dog has it's day I guess... seeing Lampard pass in that position is about as rare as seeing Carragher score

or king keep a clean sheet

He's not the goalie

Get a full season out of King - we concede less than a goal-a-game.

When he's not around = train wreck. You're right, our defence has been wank this season. Conceded twice as many as your lot. Just unacceptable.

We have to get a new goalie - Jol/Commoli has to have the balls to make that move. The only thing Keeping Robinson in between the sticks is the fact that he's English.

quite funny. yes even lawro.



1546: HALF-TIME Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
Thank goodness. Time for a cuppa. Wayne Rooney's moaning about something to the officials. He's not the only one moaning. That was poor.

1545: It's the battle of the little men. Paul Scholes slips as he goes into a challenge with Shaun Wright-Phillips and is holding his hip. He's still holding it as Chelsea float in a free-kick which is cleared from the edge of the area.

1544: Chelsea comfortably clear.

1543: That's more like it. Cristiano Ronaldo thrusts down the left flank and his cross is turned behind by John Terry for a corner.

1542: The first half might get better with Didier Drogba on the charge. The Ivorian goes down like a sack of spuds when he's clipped by Paul Scholes.
1541: Still awake? Hang on in there. The second half can only get better.

1540: Chelsea fans enjoy that. Wayne Rooney is caught offside as he latches on to a Paul Scholes pass over the top but he still can't put the ball in the net. Jeers of 'Aaaarghhh!' and the like sound up.

1539: Arjen Robben is warming up on the touchline. Time for a change already? It could be worth it.

1538: Ryan Giggs gets the ball in space on the left of the area. He does not go for the snapshot and looks to curl a pass into the box which is cleared.

1537: Wayne Rooney's got fed up of standing up front alone without much to do and goes in hunt of the ball. He hangs a cross into the area but the galloping Gabriel Heinze cannot beat Shaun Wright-Phillips in the box.

1536: The net ripples as Frank Lampard picks up a sideways pass from Wayne Bridge wide on the left and drills a shot just over Edwin van der Sar's crossbar.

1534: Paul Scholes drops deep and floats a lofted pass forward for Cristiano Ronaldo. He momentarily escapes the clutches of Paulo Ferreira but his effort on goal is poor. In fact, it is not 'on goal', it's wide.

1533: John Arlott once fell asleep while commentating on a county cricket match.

1532: Chelsea are bossing possession.

1531: And a second - although this one is not on target. Shaun Wright-Phillips shoots over from the edge of the area. Is this fizzling into life? The sun's back out. Not for long.

1530: A shot on goal. Do not fall out of your seat, but it is worth repeating, we have had a first shot on target. Frank Lampard swivels inside the box on the right but Edwin van der Sar is down well to smother his low shot.

"The two teams have successfully thrown a wet blanket over the celebrations surrounding new Wembley - and over each other. Too much respect, not enough intent. Never mind the watching world, behind closed doors is the best place for this game so far."
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty at Wembley

1527: Is this game any better on the automated text commentary? No. Check out all those defending throw-ins by Paulo Ferreira.

Minute-by-minute commentary
1526: It is Joe Cole on the left. He is closing in on the box but his clipped cross is easily cleared.

1525: Didier Drogba goes down theatrically after being barged from behind by Gabriel Heinze. Chelsea are happy to play the free-kick sideways and pass the ball about in their own half before eventually trying to conjure something.

1524: Cristiano Ronaldo jinks and jives on the left but goes nowhere before Paulo Ferreira pops up to dispossess him.

1523: Anyone got any paint to go and watch dry?

1522: The blue-booted Didier Drogba has the ball with runners ahead of him. Never mind them, he goes for goal. He drags the effort well wide. But it's something. Can it spark something else?

1520: This is utter rubbish. These two are the best in the land. Never mind a good advert for cricket, it's a terrible advert for English football with an estimated 500 million watching around the world.

"This is a good advert for the cricket season."
BBC Sport's Mark Lawrenson

1518: The whole pitch is in shade now and this game is a shadow of what we were expecting. Ponderous.

1517: Cristiano Ronaldo has drifted in field, but Paulo Ferreira mirrors his every move. Just as the Portuguese winger shapes to shoot, his compatriot is in to take the ball off his toes.

1516: Another bad clearance from Michael Essien. He lazily side-foots a long Paul Scholes pass to Wayne Rooney. Maybe the Manchester United man was surprised by the chance, but his effort on goal is equally lazy and weak.

1515: Darren Fletcher nods a poor acrobatic clearance from Michael Essien to Wayne Rooney, but he is in an offside position. It's getting better.

1514: That might help. Some blood and thunder tackling in the middle of the park. That could pep a few players up.

1513: Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo have yet to score against Chelsea.

1512: Didier Drogba has never scored against Manchester United. At this rate he won't today either.

1511: Shaun Wright-Phillips shows his worth as he threatens to escape the clutches of Gabriel Heinze before being chopped down by the Argentine. The free-kick is easily cleared.

"Sir Alex Ferguson is already in the fourth official's ear. And to be fair he has a point as referee Steve Bennett, normally so keen to show yellow cards, lets Joe Cole get away with an horrendous tackle on Wes Brown."
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty at Wembley

1510: Joe Cole crunches into Wes Brown. Cole escapes a yellow card but gets a firm lecture. He apologetically puts his hand on Steve Bennett's shoulder which is brushed off. Nice to see. Respect the man in black, don't go chummily patting him.

"It's a bit more Community Shield than FA Cup final at the moment."
BBC Sport's Mark Lawrenson

1509: Is this a first threat from Manchester United? No. Darren Fletcher's cross is easily cleared and Paul Scholes fails to make a good connection with the ball outside the area.

1507: Here comes something. Joe Cole crosses from the right and finds Shaun Wright-Phillips at the back post. A poor shot but shouts for a penalty as it seems to strike Wes Brown's arm. Nothing given by referee Steve Bennett.

1505: Incredibly slow start. Not much to get excited about.

1504: The Chelsea goal is in the shaded part of the pitch and that's where the focus is now. A first corner of the game and it is to Manchester United. Chelsea easily clear.

1503: Wayne Bridge whips a cross in which Didier Drogba heads over under pressure from Gabriel Heinze.

1502: Chelsea dominating the early possession. Cautious and composed before Frank Lampard lumps a long ball forward down the left for Joe Cole.

1501: Manchester United are going with a 4-4-2 with Darren Fletcher out on the right... for the time being.

1500: We're off.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/6672585.stm

without having read all the comments, here are toon's FA cup final observations:

- the final does increase in prestige now it is "back" at Wembley
- a magnificent occasion, at least before the game went underway
- the ref was awful, fair enough you can have a physical game, but two footed tackles are cards, and sometimes he didn't even give a foul. elbows exist to make life easier around the dinner table.
- the English top 3 (sorry Arsenal) know each other too well and the managers are generally too cautious to expect any fireworks between them
- MOTM hard to say, no outstanding performances. Essien solid, Rooney hardworking but a lone rock for Man U. Drogba with a bad game, but he did finally get the winner. For me, overall it must be Essien, simply because he played for the winning team and Rooney did not.
- Looking forward to the Charity Shield already. Maybe the prize isn't prestigious enough so we may get a better football game.

toon h wrote:without having read all the comments, here are toon's FA cup final observations:

- the final does increase in prestige now it is "back" at Wembley
- a magnificent occasion, at least before the game went underway
- the ref was awful, fair enough you can have a physical game, but two footed tackles are cards, and sometimes he didn't even give a foul. elbows exist to make life easier around the dinner table.
- the English top 3 (sorry Arsenal) know each other too well and the managers are generally too cautious to expect any fireworks between them
- MOTM hard to say, no outstanding performances. Essien solid, Rooney hardworking but a lone rock for Man U. Drogba with a bad game, but he did finally get the winner. For me, overall it must be Essien, simply because he played for the winning team and Rooney did not.
- Looking forward to the Charity Shield already. Maybe the prize isn't prestigious enough so we may get a better football game.

I'd hope anyone who wanted the dream final is happy with what they've got. That was always going to happen without any clinical finishing during a period of pressure.

shazlx wrote: Niether of Scholes' or Carrick's short passing (particularly Carrick) is good enough when they come up against a good midfield and this showed today. However, both their long passing (particularly Scholes) was very good today.

Giggs once again shows how overrated he has been in his whole career. He is/was world class dribbler but his passing/crossing ability has been limited throughout including most of this season where he has shown his best vision and passing range.

Are you kidding?

Giggs maybe finished as a serious footballer and he was absolutely dire yesterday, doesn't mean he hasn't been an absolute Legend of a footballer. Jesus Christ!

As for Scholes passing....

Poor game, neither team went for it.

I can understand people saying Giggs could of fouled Cech, however I'd like to know why the ref didn't call it.

Ronaldo, Carrick and Giggs were shocking. Vidic, Rooney and Scholes were excellent.

Yesterday showed how badly we need a top striker though.

Scholes short passing $h!t

Giggs has been overrated

What a load of bollocks!

toon, Essien had a bad game yestarday IMO and no where near deserved MOTM (no suprise considering where he played but still)

Carrick, Giggs (how did he miss?), and Ronaldo (he just couldn't be bothered today - didn't seek out the ball at all) were shite, Scholes was actually pretty good.

Lampard was poor throughout the game. I don't know what the hell COTR is on about.

Very even game. Very dissapointed that we didn't play that well because I don't particularly rate that Chelsea team.

OwenThomas4 wrote:toon, Essien had a bad game yestarday IMO and no where near deserved MOTM (no suprise considering where he played but still)

you were the one that thought it was a great game, no?

hmm.

Essien intervened several times crucially. Who did YOU think was MOTM?

I already said Rooney was better today, but his team lost, so...

Best performances I saw - Scholes, Rooney, Mikel and suprisingly Ferrerai. He shackled Ronaldo really well.

EDIT - Vidic as well.

toon h wrote:

OwenThomas4 wrote:toon, Essien had a bad game yestarday IMO and no where near deserved MOTM (no suprise considering where he played but still)

you were the one that thought it was a great game, no?

hmm.

Essien intervened several times crucially. Who did YOU think was MOTM?

I already said Rooney was better today, but his team lost, so...

He also made several mistakes whch should have been punished. In defence Terry was much better and if we were going for a MOTM from the victors only I would give it to him.

No I did not say it was a great game. My enjoyment of it will always be different from a neutral though because my team was involved. It is a gross exaggeration though to compare that to Liverpool vs Chelsea. There was not ONE piece of skill in that game it was that diabolical.

Parks lives wrote: I can understand people saying Giggs could of fouled Cech, however I'd like to know why the ref didn't call it.

I thought that he was giving Giggs the benefit of the doubt - it wasn't dangerous play, his momentum just carried him into Cech. However, trying to claim it was cheeky.

You can't scoreby bundling the keeper over the line when he has the ball in his hands.

Parks lives wrote:

shazlx wrote: Niether of Scholes' or Carrick's short passing (particularly Carrick) is good enough when they come up against a good midfield and this showed today. However, both their long passing (particularly Scholes) was very good today.

Giggs once again shows how overrated he has been in his whole career. He is/was world class dribbler but his passing/crossing ability has been limited throughout including most of this season where he has shown his best vision and passing range.

Are you kidding?

Giggs maybe finished as a serious footballer and he was absolutely dire yesterday, doesn't mean he hasn't been an absolute Legend of a footballer. Jesus Christ!

As for Scholes passing....

Scholes' passing is phenonemal. Its just incredible, he picks the ball up in his own half and launches a 35 yard ball straight the feet of rooney or ronaldo or giggs. and does this at least 5 times a game!

@ parky



I thought Scholes' passing was phenomenal. Just a shame that Ronaldo and in particular Rooney were offside a lot when the ball was played over the top.

I honestly forgot Carrick was on the field.

@ toon

Essien had a poor game. But that's understandable. He is not a CB. I've said it about 100 times. At RB he can be phenomenal, because the importance of positioning and making a mistake is not so important. At CB the positioning is vital and making a mistake can lead to crucial mistakes.

PS. I thought that bar finishing, Rooney had a superb game. Definitely had a better game than Drogba imo

OwenThomas4 wrote:
Very even game. Very dissapointed that we didn't play that well because I don't particularly rate that Chelsea team.

Well we were missing our best defender, and I think yesterday also showed the importance of Ballack and in particular Sheva.

Essien CB instead of Carvalho, SWP, no Ballack. I remain disgusted that we didn't score a goal.

It is unfortunate that we were forced into playing such a negative formation. Ole and Smith have proved they can't pair with Rooney so we were never going to play that against Chelsea.

OwenThomas4 wrote:Ole and Smith have proved they can't pair with Rooney so we were never going to play that against Chelsea.

Thats what I most angry about. People may say we started negatively with 4-3-3 but we have no option with Ole and Smith not up to it.

Don't know who to blame though, maybe Saha's plastic legs.

We didnt play well at all , no coordination , no hunger , no desire, happy to sit back ,very bad. performance.

So was it a coincidence that when Carrick left and OShea come Chelsea scored,erm no Carrick was tracking the runners very well and helping out in defence.

Parks lives wrote:

OwenThomas4 wrote:Ole and Smith have proved they can't pair with Rooney so we were never going to play that against Chelsea.

Thats what I most angry about. People may say we started negatively with 4-3-3 but we have no option with Ole and Smith not up to it.

Don't know who to blame though, maybe Saha's plastic legs.

Time to write Saha off as at most a sub. When was the last time he completed a season without long term injury?

It's amazing we've done so well with only a support striker up front most of the time. With a proper striker up front who knows?

Fergie's 2 mistakes yesterday was that subsition and starting Heinze over Evra.

Heinze was decent defensively yestarday but was absolutely inept up front. I counted three times where he was in position to cross, checked back and somehow gave a throw in to Chelsea.

OwenThomas4 wrote:

toon h wrote:

OwenThomas4 wrote:toon, Essien had a bad game yestarday IMO and no where near deserved MOTM (no suprise considering where he played but still)

you were the one that thought it was a great game, no?

hmm.

Essien intervened several times crucially. Who did YOU think was MOTM?

I already said Rooney was better today, but his team lost, so...

No I did not say it was a great game. My enjoyment of it will always be different from a neutral though because my team was involved. It is a gross exaggeration though to compare that to Liverpool vs Chelsea. There was not ONE piece of skill in that game it was that diabolical.

Liverpool Chelsea had more drama - was more of a game of football with chances from both teams - and it was a semi final lets not forget - where you had away goals to be wary of..

But it was far more exciting than the pile of $h!t we had to put up with yesterday-


Ttwo best teams in the land"

Most of his passes were long humps straight to Chelsea players.

Grim Reaper wrote:

Ttwo best teams in the land"

I think thats hard to argue, despite that showing yesterday. Both teams have shown signs of tiredness in the last month as well due to fighting on all fronts all season.

Grim Reaper wrote:

OwenThomas4 wrote:

toon h wrote:

OwenThomas4 wrote:toon, Essien had a bad game yestarday IMO and no where near deserved MOTM (no suprise considering where he played but still)

you were the one that thought it was a great game, no?

hmm.

Essien intervened several times crucially. Who did YOU think was MOTM?

I already said Rooney was better today, but his team lost, so...

No I did not say it was a great game. My enjoyment of it will always be different from a neutral though because my team was involved. It is a gross exaggeration though to compare that to Liverpool vs Chelsea. There was not ONE piece of skill in that game it was that diabolical.

Liverpool Chelsea had more drama - was more of a game of football with chances from both teams - and it was a semi final lets not forget - where you had away goals to be wary of..

But it was far more exciting than the pile of $h!t we had to put up with yesterday-


Ttwo best teams in the land"

Foreign posters didn't see it that way did they? Check out the post match thread.

I think that the Liverpool vs Chelsea match was the most boring, unimaginative game I've ever seen. An abomination.

Not one piece of skill in 130 minutes. Full of lame hoofs from both sides. We expect it from Liverpool because they are so full of limited players. Chelsea had the excuse of injuries/tiredness.

The match yestarday wasn't great, but i've seen worse cup finals. Chelsea's goal was class and there was some good passing interspersed with the bad.

As i said, it was a semi final not a one off game - it was always going to be more of a cautious game

Whats your excuse for yesterdays embarassment? It was a Cup final FFS


Chelsea Liverpool had more drama

Not saying it was a brilliant game of football - but it wasnt as bad as people are making it out to be.

Both keepers made terrific saves - chances from both teams - disallowed goal.. goal line clearnaces... then the drama with the penalties...


I'd be very surprised if those foreign posters think the same after watching yesterdays game

Parks lives wrote:

Grim Reaper wrote:

Ttwo best teams in the land"

I think thats hard to argue, despite that showing yesterday. Both teams have shown signs of tiredness in the last month as well due to fighting on all fronts all season.

Dont remember anyone ever complaining of "tiredness" - when you won the treble back in 99.

Or when Barcelona won the CL last season

Tiredness - like injuries, you deal with it.

Excuses mate.

I'm not blaming that on us losing the game, I'm blaming it on the poor performances of both sides.

We also had a better squad in '99.