[FA Cup Final]Manchester United vs Chelsea

last SG · 2007-05-18T23:01:10+00:00

the man of the match for me today is scholes, all his long passes are pin-point! we didn't take our chances well, especially the first one in the first half...

sand king SG

VS

Manchester United vs Chelsea

Chelsea : Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Geremi, Carvalho, Terry, Bridge, A Cole, J Cole, Lampard, Ballack, Makelele, Obi, Diarra, Drogba, Wright-Phillips, Shevchenko, Essien, Diarra, Kalou.

Manchester United: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, O'Shea, Evra, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Fletcher,Giggs, Richardson, Rooney, Saha, Solskjaer, Smith.

Date:19th May 07
Time: 10pm
Channel: 24
Location: New Wimberly

sand king SG

Lets [email protected]£$%ing hope it does not rain.

4getmenot SG

i thought the roof is retractable? only cover the seats but the field har? Shocked

sand king SG

Laughing not too sure about that, lemme go check.

4getmenot SG

i know the new wembley have new retractable roof, but dunno to what extend does it extend to? cover the fans seats only or all the way? Mr. Green

sand king SG

haha i cannot find any info on the Wimberley Stadium Laughing

4getmenot SG

er.. google – new wembley retractable roof

Dead_Man_Inc SG

Boss calls for fitting final

Sir Alex Ferguson claims United and Chelsea have a responsibility to serve up an entertaining FA Cup final this weekend.

The Premiership's top two teams will contest the first final to be held at the renovated Wembley, and the United Manager admits such an occasion deserves a fitting spectacle.

"We do want a good FA Cup final," he said. "We want to see a game that represents the English game the right way. We talk about the improvement in the English game and about three teams getting to the Champions League semi-finals.

"Its probably the best league in Europe now, so its an opportunity for both teams to give a display which shows theyre right two to play at the new Wembley. I think both of us will be thinking that way."

Although both sides go into the game in far from ideal form - United have one win in four games while Chelsea have drawn five straight - Sir Alex is confident of victory.

"If they play their best team and we play our best team, I wouldnt worry about that," he said. "I think were going there with confidence with players that can handle that situation.

"Weve got players who can win games and youre better having players who can win games than not. Weve demonstrated that very strongly this season.

"Winning the FA Cup is a special event. Weve lost at Wembley, when we lost 1-0 to Everton, so to me the only way you can enjoy Wembley is by winning.

"Were going there with good confidence, weve won the league and touch wood Ill get the players I need for next Saturday, then Ill start getting myself and the team ready for a really good game."

Adolez SG

i've read in reports last time when they were still building the stadium that the roof takes 45 mins to retract (not sure if they have done anything to improve it).

imagine it rains just at the start of the 2nd half and they start retracting the roof. by the time it finishes, the match would have ended. so it seems quite pointless to me.

but then again, the players are accustomed to playing in the rain. so it doesn't really matter actually.

sand king SG

haha no wonder, i spelt it as wimberly Laughing

ben1406 SG

it is a very big roof, the retractable roof for the Rogers Center here in Toronto takes about 40 odd mins too, don't forget the amount of electricity it needs to power it too.

They don't keep opening and closing all the time. They follow the weather forecast and decide whether keep the roof off.

omgukilledkenny SG

Mourinho Threatens To Use Hilario As Striker

Jose Mourinho claims Chelsea's injury problems are so bad he will consider picking goalkeeper Hilario as a substitute striker for the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Mourinho could have just 15 senior players fit for the clash against Manchester United at the new Wembley Stadium, with Mikel John Obi expected to miss the showpiece after limping off against Everton on Sunday.

Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho and Arjen Robben are undergoing treatment, while Ashley Cole is facing a race against time to be fit, meaning Mourinho could have goalkeepers Hilario and Carlo Cudicini on the bench.

"If Ashley is ready we have 15 players for the final," said boss Mourinho on Chelsea TV.

"I will have to choose between Hilario because he is not bad playing forward, or I'll bring one of the kids to make 16."

Michael Essien and Claude Makelele were rested against Everton on the final day of the Barclays Premiership season, with Mourinho using youngsters Sam Hutchinson, Ben Sahar and Nuno Morais off the bench.

Mikel picked up a muscle injury in the 1-1 draw and limped off with 16 minutes remaining and making him a doubt for the United clash.

"We will see but I think he is out of the game," said Mourinho.

Laughing

sand king SG

Originally posted by omgukilledkenny:
[b]Mourinho Threatens To Use Hilario As Striker

Jose Mourinho claims Chelsea's injury problems are so bad he will consider picking goalkeeper Hilario as a substitute striker for the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Mourinho could have just 15 senior players fit for the clash against Manchester United at the new Wembley Stadium, with Mikel John Obi expected to miss the showpiece after limping off against Everton on Sunday.

Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho and Arjen Robben are undergoing treatment, while Ashley Cole is facing a race against time to be fit, meaning Mourinho could have goalkeepers Hilario and Carlo Cudicini on the bench.

"If Ashley is ready we have 15 players for the final," said boss Mourinho on Chelsea TV.

"I will have to choose between Hilario because he is not bad playing forward, or I'll bring one of the kids to make 16."

Michael Essien and Claude Makelele were rested against Everton on the final day of the Barclays Premiership season, with Mourinho using youngsters Sam Hutchinson, Ben Sahar and Nuno Morais off the bench.

Mikel picked up a muscle injury in the 1-1 draw and limped off with 16 minutes remaining and making him a doubt for the United clash.

"We will see but I think he is out of the game," said Mourinho.

Laughing [/b]

Shocked Shocked Shocked

Ben sahar going to NS when ar?

omgukilledkenny SG

Laughing i found this on wiki

As an Israeli citizen, Ben Sahar must return back to Israel for a three-year spell of national service. It is rumored that legislation is trying to be passed called "The Ben Sahar Law", which would exempt him. In a recent interview, Ben said he is 99% certain he will be able to take a job somewhere in London so he can continue to play with Chelsea.

sand king SG

yea, heard the commentators talking about it.

i think its next year if im not wrong.

he should go and serve his country, and not take football as an excuse. Very Happy

sand king SG

Here, send an E-card for free

sand king SG

Saha misses showpiece

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that he will be without Louis Saha for Saturday's FA Cup final clash with Chelsea, and says the Reds are now deciding whether to operate on the knee problem that has troubled him recently.

The French striker, who has been limited to just four starts in 2007 due to hamstring and knee problems, made his most recent appearance as a substitute in the final 13 minutes of United's Champions League defeat in Milan.

It had been hoped he was over the injuries problems, but the 28-year-old suffered a relapse in training two weeks ago and now joins skipper Gary Neville on the sidelines ahead of Saturday's showpiece final at Wembley. Aside from those two injuries, Sir Alex has a full squad to pick from.

"There has been no progress," revealed the boss at his pre-cup final press briefing. "He had a scan on Monday and we know the problem now. It's matter of deciding what to do next; we're considering whether or not to operate. We'll make that decision in the next week."

The United manager refused to place any blame on the Frenchman, adding: "He's just unfortunate. It started off with a hamstring injury and then he gets a knee injury in training. It can happen, you come back from an injury and you're desperate to do well. You try and compensate sometimes and he has ended up with a knee injury.

"That happens with football, especially as Louis is a player built for speed. We can't apportion blame in any way. Over the years he has had hamstring problems, but he has contributed this season, getting us 13 goals.

"If you look at his record, he has had injuries. We were aware of that before we signed him. But he's such a fantastic striker that we took the chance, we took the risk. In many ways we're pleased because when he has played he's been a marvellous player for us. We just have to accept it's part of the game."

Dead_Man_Inc SG

Saha Saha Crying or Very sad

sand king SG

i think its good bye to him soon.

omgukilledkenny SG

The Road to Wembley