Decent. Fabulous. Tidy. And other adjectives.
I'll tell 'em to give you Chelsea in the next round.
The Weekend Football Thread *spoilers*
- Thread starter Tummy
- Start date
Yes. Man U would've had number 32 had they won earlier today. The numbers are allocated in the order the ties were drawn in the previous round. Spurs v Peterboro was first out for round 3, so the winner got number 1 this time. Man U v Leeds was last out, so the winner got number 32. For the fifth round, Spurs (or dare I say it, Leeds) will get number 16.
I seem to recall a precident when a team from at least two divisions below beat Man U and then Tottenham in consecutive rounds. Bournmouth, IIRC, in the 50s. I'm sure someone will be able to confirm, or correct me.
Soldato
I'm not sure of that but here's another little titbit of info
I reckon you let out a girly shriek of delight when you heard the draw
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I remember the 84 occasion too. I've just checked, and found that the occasion I'm thinking of was 1957. Spurs were knocked out by Bournmouth in round 4. I'm certain that Bournmouth beat two first division clubs in consecutive rounds, and pretty certain that they played Manchester United in either round 3 or 5. Whether ManU was the other Div 1 club they beat, or whether ManU was the team who finally put out Bournmouth, I'm not quite certain. Hopefully someone will resolve it. In any case, that season ManU and Spurs finished first and second in the League. But in those days, the European Champions Cup was exactly what it meant - available to Champions only, and not as it is now - and so only ManU got in.
Soldato
As a Reading fan. This weekend has made me happy 
Here is a better rule.
"don't be a ****"
Leeds were the better side, Looked to me like United didn't have their heart and soul in the game. Some poor performances as well.
West Ham played well
I thought both teams were pretty poor. But when one team is so much better than the other, anything less than them dominating results in the media throwing comments like "deserved to win" or "much the better side" at the poorer side.
Still, don't get me wrong - they probably were marginally better and certainly we can have no complaints. But if people were watching that as 11 men vs 11 men and not MU vs division 2 leeds, it would have been considered fairly even.
Personally I think only Valencia and Anderson showed anything today. Gibson, Neville and Brown were terrible and the problem with Berbatov is clear to everyone but SAF it seems. He just doesn't put the effort in.
I can't really understand why SAF took Anderson off instead of Gibson. I suppose he would argue that he has a "goal threat"... Worrying times..
I would have liked to have seen a replay of the incident leading to their goal, Welbeck claimed the foul but ITV didn't bother mentioning it. I have no idea if it was.
Still, don't get me wrong - they probably were marginally better and certainly we can have no complaints. But if people were watching that as 11 men vs 11 men and not MU vs division 2 leeds, it would have been considered fairly even.
Personally I think only Valencia and Anderson showed anything today. Gibson, Neville and Brown were terrible and the problem with Berbatov is clear to everyone but SAF it seems. He just doesn't put the effort in.
I can't really understand why SAF took Anderson off instead of Gibson. I suppose he would argue that he has a "goal threat"... Worrying times..
I would have liked to have seen a replay of the incident leading to their goal, Welbeck claimed the foul but ITV didn't bother mentioning it. I have no idea if it was.
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Caporegime
It was 10 vs 11 really, if you count Neville. And tbh 10 vs 11 would have been better because then he couldn't keep giving the ball to them
First and foremost, Arsenal have a hectic schedule, playing FIVE matches between 27th December and 9th January inclusive - that's 5 matches in less than 2 weeks. Coupled with the major injuries already suffered (Fabregas, RvP, Clichy, Gibbs, Walcott, Denilson, Bendtner, Djourou etc) and Song and Eboue going to the ACoN, Wenger probably feels that he can't put his first choice XI out every week for risk of burnout. Heck, when he risked Fabregas on a rescue mission he did his hamstring in less than half an hour of play.
So, then it's a question of prioritising. The league is far more important than the FA Cup, because:
1) Securing a top 4, and preferably top 2 spot is essential for CL qualification, which is required to pay the wage bill.
2) You get an extra half a million quid for every place in the league, far more than you get for progressing to the 4th round of the FA Cup.
If anything I was surprised to see Wenger field such a strong defence.
Anyway, regarding the match I thought that was the best performance I've seen from Green in claret&blue. He only flapped once, he's certainly a lot better than a year or two ago when he looked a liability to me, like a Liverpool-era David James.
Man of Honour
It was 10 vs 11 really, if you count Neville. And tbh 10 vs 11 would have been better because then he couldn't keep giving the ball to them
If we're doing that then it was 11 vs 11 as the ref was on your side.
We came through it and beat you anyway
If we're doing that then it was 11 vs 11 as the ref was on your side.
We came through it and beat you anyway
laughs - forgot the freekick Utd should have got just out side your penalty area that was completely ignored, not to mention enough other events that went the "away" way
Leeds played well without a doubt - far but stupid goal to give away - but apart from that you didnt really test PIG that much (quite a lot of shots that were always going wide)
Leeds just had more heart on the day for whatever reason
Welbeck, Neville and Gibson should never have been on the pitch imo (with Valencia, Rafael and Carrick/Fletcher on instead)
Soldato
Well, apart from that freekick that was a couple inches from winning 2-0
I think Fergie needs to shut up about extra time, if we had been given 15 minutes we still wouldn't have scored, just another one of those 'more frequent' off days where we can't score to save our lives. And to say he was shocked at the performance... I wasn't especially after seeing the team sheet. City game on Wednesday is a must win and I expect a full strength side to play.
Neville was the worst player on the pitch by a country mile. Brown is just back from injury along with Evans who needs an operation. Evans is far from being mediocre nevermind the most mediocre CB in the world ever. Haven't you seen Skrtel?
Neville was the worst player on the pitch by a country mile. Brown is just back from injury along with Evans who needs an operation. Evans is far from being mediocre nevermind the most mediocre CB in the world ever. Haven't you seen Skrtel?
Caporegime
Hasn't he already got a suspended 2 game touchline ban for ranting about a referee hanging over his head? I can't remember him ever questioning how much injury time is played before this season but he's using the same old rant after every loss now.
Caporegime
Hasn't he promised to use the youngsters?
I would have expected Evra, Valencia, Carrick and Fletcher all to play though as they didn't today. I'd like to see what Diouf can do at some point as well.
I thought 5 minutes was reasonable, I didn't even expect that much. But if Ferguson really thinks having an extra 1 or 2 minutes on top of that would have changed the result yesterday he needs to wise up. He's gone on a whole new level this season with what he spouts after matches.
I can't wait to see what Diouf is capable of. Hopefully he gets his chance before the end of the season.
Haven't you seen Skrtel?
Somebody who agrees with me - i would rather have evans as cover than skrtel in the team - he is useless.
G Neville has been medicore throughout his career (apart from Euro 96) - god knows why he is still there - he is nowhere near a role model like Giggs/Scholes. His reaction to the failed penalty appeal was plain wrong but as long as he is PFA representative he will always get away with it!