Despite His White Boots

Football, football, football and, if the mood takes me, more football.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Cup Final Day

This was such an exciting time of year as a football-mad kid. FA Cup Final, European finals - you might get to see 3 live games on TV in two weeks ! Talk about saturation. Now of course you can usually catch 3 live games in two days if you can stand it.

I didn't bother finding a place to watch Middlesboro's luck run out. Classic example of a team over-achieving to reach a final and being hammered by better opponents who weren't satisfied with simply being there. And by the way, stop saying that Steve McLaren must be good to get such a poor side to a UEFA Cup final. He's been there long enough and spent enough money. Whose poor side is it ?

Today though I might make the considerable effort to watch it in the gym next door. It does follow straight after my Saturday afternoon yoga class [1]. Can West Ham overcome the psychological disadvantage I mentioned above - being the underdog in a situation where they've overachieved just to be there ? If anyone can, they can have a go. Pardew has slowly risen and risen in my estimation over the course of the season. The Hammers have gone out and had a go, and it's paid off. They've played well in the notoriously difficult pre-Cup final games, not least in sending Spurs back to their sick beds [2]. I have to favour Liverpool, but not at the odds on offer. The standout bet for this final was Wembley not being ready in time. Another opportunity missed.

[1] A couple of weeks ago, the end of class meditation was somewhat disrupted when Arsenal equalised against Spurs.

[2] I know this is the work of the board and not Jol, but is it not now clear that the problem was a virus, not food poisoning ? And as such don't Tottenham at least owe the Marriott an apology ?

2 Comments:

  • At 1:11 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Betfair (because 6/1 was just a nice, nice price) and then departing for the pub, I spent much of the game frantically ringing round trying to find someone next to a computer who could lay my bet off. No luck. Even the two most reliable sickos for this sort of thing Simon Ship and Stevie Bennett (who are ALWAYS on Betfair - I mean 24/7 on Betfair) let me down. Shippy was in a caravan and Steve's computer had blown up. Enter Gerrard. DISASTER!

    What a game though.

    Dom

     
  • At 11:55 AM, Blogger Andy_Ward said…

    What a game it was ! Hats off to both teams. And hats off again to Liverpool for the way they've reacted after the victory. Nothing but praise for their opponents.

    They make a good point here about allowing a fourth substitute in extra time :

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/4769653.stm

    Makes sense to me.

    Andy.

     

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