The FA Cup final

[Simster]

I might actually make the effort to watch it this year. Two teams who will be very keen to win it I should think, and it's a pleasant change to see none of the usual suspects in it. Last time that happened it was a nightmare because it meant Cardiff or Portsmouth had to win the thing, which obviously wasn't good.

Much as I have nothing against Man Citeh, I'm hoping Stoke win it. They were the only team to truly outclass our flairniacs this season, their fans have turned up in relatively decent numbers throughout their cup run, and I always think that the whole point of provincial clubs working to play in the Premiership is that it gives them a platform to go on and compete for trophies like the two domestic cups. Man City on the other hand, really ought to have bigger fish to fry.

Best of luck Stoke.

 

[Hillian1]

I totally forgot it was on and have arranged golf for 2 pm followed by curry.

Would like City in order to shut United up but always tend to go for the underdog.

So Stoke it is.

 

[Lush]

Weird having it before the end of the Prem season.

 

[Tooting Gull]

I'm sure City will be delighted that if they win a first trophy for 35 years, United will get at least half the headlines for winning the league...

Agree with Simster, could be a decent game though City these days are to all intents and purposes the same as a Chelsea or a United. Might not be enough to stop me enjoying the decent weather, though.

 

[stss30]

I want Stoke to win so we can say we were beaten by the winners + I have a lot of respect for Tony Pulis. Should be a fairly close game too!

 

[Left Footer]

Really looking forward to it as the atmosphere should be fantastic as both sets of fans are very vocal.
Should be an intrigiung game as well, will Man City be able to withstand Stoke`s onslaught?
All the pressure will be on Man City so i`m predicting them to bottle it and Stoke to win 2-1.

Also Bournemouth v Huddersfield to warm up before hand.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

Can accept not winning the FA Cup again if we went out to the eventual winners (in effect we'd be runners-up, and I can live with that). One of my best chums is a City fan however and will be there with his son. They are real fans from Manchester - and I know winning would make them deleriously happy. Hard one to call.

Also agree - horrible that the FA Cup is having to share the day with Prem games. If United win the title that day, a City/Stoke FA Cup final will just be a footnote - and that's a real shame.

 

[Rookie]

Disgrace that it is not the final game of the season and to put premier league games on the same day is a kick in teeth for the cup final. If they do this every year it will be just another game which will a damm shame

 

[Braders]

would LOVE City to win , hate Stoke and will grab more headlines* then the shit half of Manchesters record 19th title


*just , I reckon

 

[Brovion]

Must admit I'm planning to have half an eye on it for the first time in years. I'll be supporting Stoke as well for the same reasons as Simster and Tooting. No reason why we can't be emulating Stoke in a few years: mid table in the Prem and the Cup final would be great.

(And yes, I still believe it could have been us out there!)

 

[Frutos]

Disgrace that it is not the final game of the season and to put premier league games on the same day is a kick in teeth for the cup final. If they do this every year it will be just another game which will a damm shame

It's only because the CL Final is at Wembley on the 28th and there's a UEFA rule which states that when a stadium is hosting a Final, no games are allowed to be played there for 14 days before it, hence why the FA Cup Final is when it is.

Hopefully things should be back to normal next season.

 

[Easy 10]

[edit]
too slow

 

[house your seagull]

can't wait for this match, come on blues!

 

[Frutos]

It won't happen every year - the only reason its happening this time is because Wembley is hostnig the CL Final, and UEFA (for some reason) insist no matches are played at the Final venue within 2 weeks of the Final.

But yes. It is shithouse.

Fixtures

 

[Bry Nylon]

I'm taking my little girl to Adam Henson's farm tomorrow - the one off Countryfile.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

It's only because the CL Final is at Wembley on the 28th and there's a UEFA rule which states that when a stadium is hosting a Final, no games are allowed to be played there for 14 days before it, hence why the FA Cup Final is when it is.

Hopefully things should be back to normal next season.

According to The Times there will be prem games after it again next year too - and you can be sure that this is just the start. It's a bit like lectures at Uni - missing the first one is a wrench, missing the next one a bit easier - missing your third year entirely is a doddle.

The FA Cup Final will again be held on the same weekend as Barclays Premier League matches next season, it was revealed yesterday.

David Bernstein, the FA chairman, said that he was powerless to prevent such a clash. Traditionalists may also be offended to learn of a move to a 5.15pm kick-off to attract a bigger television audience.

Tony Pulis, the Stoke City manager, has been among those to criticise the “disgusting” decision to hold Premier League fixtures tomorrow, the same day as the final, but any hopes of this being a one-off — because of Uefa’s demand that Wembley should stage no matches for 14 days before the Champions League final on May 28 — were dashed when Bernstein said that he expects the same next season.

“In the course of time we will certainly be looking to get the FA Cup on its traditional day,” Bernstein said. “Unfortunately it won’t be next season because of the European Championship finals and the need for a gap.”

The European Championship finals in Poland and Ukraine will start on June 8 next year, but it has already been decided that the domestic season must end by May 13, six days before the Champions League final in Munich.

The FA is resigned to staging the Cup Final on Saturday, May 5, with the Premier League climax the next weekend, because the league says its final round of games must take place simultaneously, which would not be possible if one or two of its clubs was in the final.

The obvious answer would be for the Premier League to try to conclude the campaign by May 5, allowing the Cup Final to take place the next weekend, but the league has said that it cannot squeeze a 38-match season into an abbreviated calendar.

Another solution would be to abolish FA Cup replays, but that proposal was resisted during the FA’s recent investigation into ways to reinvigorate the competition. The review ended with two main decisions: to move the final to 5.15pm and to reduce the minimum ticket price in earlier rounds.

 

[Frutos]

Traditionalists may also be offended to learn of a move to a 5.15pm kick-off to attract a bigger television audience.

If true, that is an absolute f***ing disgrace.

 

[¤DãŃn¥ §êãGüLL¤]

Pulis plays some pretty ugly football.

I know it works, it's just not the most aesthetically pleasing for us purists.

 

[essbee]

To be honest, the FA cup lost its appeal for me for some reason ten - fifteen years ago. Can't work out why to be honest - maybe our league position and location (gilliingham) at the time might have trivialised the whole thing. Do like the fact that none of the big four are there though.

 

[bhaexpress]

I reckon it'll be worth watching and yes I too would like Stoke to win. Apart from anything else they knocked us out. However the fact that Man U will have only just won the Premier League just before kick off has made the Cup Final less important than it used to be. Of course it all went downhill when Man U decided that playing a game in Japan that most of the known World couldn't care less about was more important than a cup run. Frankly they should have been banned from all domestic cup competitions for five years. The years in Cardiff didn't help much either. I just hope this is a great game to help re-establish the credibility of the FA Cup Final as the event is once was.