The worst FA Cup final ever?

Ollie Irish

20th, May 2007

17 Comments

Nytol.jpgThe FA Cup final sponsored by Nytol was certainly the worst I can remember. At least the 0-0 between Manchester United and Arsenal in 2005 had some incident and intensity. This snoozefest was like a testimonial but without the fun and without the goals! It was played mostly at walking pace with no enthusiasm and no desire to create chances.
Never mind an English FA Cup final, it looked like two Italian sides who both thought they had got a 1-0 lead! I think the blame lies with the approach of the teams and the defensive formations, but if fatigue genuinely played a part then action needs to be taken. The death of a Carling Cup? A slimline Champions League?

Posted in Chelsea, Man Utd

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17 Comments

  1. joe says:

    The carling cup could probably be done away with but more importantly than that, how bout getting rid of some of these meaningless friedlies and minor international tournaments. I think players wouldn’t be so exhausted if they didnt have the confederations cup and international friendlies against leichtenstain, malta and san marino to contend with.

  2. haye says:

    shit football, anyone who could watch it after 90 minutes is actually a tough guy

  3. Ahmed Bilal says:

    What’s with all this bitching about the final, anyway?
    It seems that whatever the commentators on the day are saying and the mainstream media is saying after the game, people pick up on it and run with it like blind fuckin mice.
    The game was dry, but both teams canceled each other out, end of story. I’m glad there weren’t any fights or controversial incidents – too many of them already in football.
    And yes, really, the 05 final was worse.
    No offense, Pies, but really, sometimes you guys surprise me :)

  4. Allen says:

    Fatigue? How many times earlier this year when a lot was on the line have we seen teams play defensively and not take too many chances?

  5. Anonymous says:

    I think the reason the final wasn’t great is mainly the fault of Man. Utd. Chelsea’s game plan was always to slow the tempo and nick a goal, because they can get one from Lampard, Terry, Essien, Drogba, anybody. That’s what they do. For Manchester United to play for penalties when they know that Chelsea specialize in late goals is stupid and shockingly short-sighted. They played (or at least tried to play) like Chelsea do, and it killed them.
    Perhaps they were tired too. But unlike the other big three, their squad doesn’t give them the options outside the starting line-up that would allow them to rotate in the middle of the season.

  6. Andrew says:

    By the way, that last comment was mine.

  7. MaiGo says:

    Ahmed Bilal, you sir are a pussy.
    yeah both teams cancelled each other out with defensive tactics. thats why it was shit boring.

  8. Timothy B. says:

    At least penalty shootouts are pretty fun to watch, but nooooooooooooooo, Drogba just had to score after 116 minutes of snooze-a-roo. This is part of the reason why I’m glad it’s not an all-English Champion’s League final.

  9. Primo says:

    Timothy man, I agree.

  10. dan says:

    i like that final. not in entertainment sense, but more in tactical sense.

  11. JK says:

    Its rare whenever the Big Teams meet in an FA Cup Final it lives up to the hype.
    It normaly requires one lesser team in the final to make a reasonable final. A team who is happy to be there an has no expectations so at least trys to go for it.
    I dont think Fatigue was a problem. Yes they were tired but so were Liverpool & West Ham last season.

  12. Rob P says:

    Ahmed,
    As I think we’ve pointed out before, Pies tells it as we see it and doesn’t feel the need to go against the “mainstream media” purely for the sake of being controversial or different.
    No matter how you look at it, that was a terrible final. For 55 minutes both teams passed the ball along their back four. It’s the showpiece event of English football, and it was dull and boring. That’s what all the bitching is about.
    Cheers
    Rob

  13. xorg says:

    It was boring. 4-5-1 suits Chelsea because they’ve got Drogba and could use two players to keep Ronaldo quiet. Not so Man Yoo. Fergie should have changed formation to 4-4-2, taking off Fletcher and bringing on Smith.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Good goal though….

  15. Joe says:

    Man U can do 4-5-1, like they did v. Roma, with Giggs or Scholesy down the middle, Ronny & Rooney as ‘inside wingers’ doing the creative work and Smith to round it off and create space for the other two.
    Rooney Shouldn’t be played as a lone striker though, that’s an almost Erickssonian mistake…

  16. Broken Record says:

    I know it’s great fun to keep running that “Italian sides are boring” crap up the flagpole, but you do realize that for all the money and players in the Prem, the only truly entertaining top team this season was ManU — which is also why so many Italians respect the squad so much (further evidenced by comments out of the Milan camp which illustrate just how much they rate ManU compared to Pool). Gerrard is a beast and the spirit/history of Liverpool impressive, but if Liverpool and Chelsea were playing a CL semi-final replay in my backyard I’d close the blinds. Like Valdano said, they are boring, nightmarish teams lacking a hint of creativity for long stretches. So lets cut down on that same tired rehtoric, shall we, stones and glass houses and all that…

  17. Anonymous says:

    The best thing about Chelsea is Mourinhio, the man is quality (i hate Chelsea but the man is a legend) he is quite possible the most arrogant man in sport closely followed by Kevin Pietersen and Ronnie O’Soulivan, his comments and rants are what have made the prem interesting for the last 3 years. I hope he doesnt leave the prem and for the Chelsea fans sake they should hope he doesnt as hes a mind games master and a damn good manager.