It's Still the Biggest Match of the Season
posted by The Blue Devil @ 7:16 AM
Lakenheath Old Boys
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Lakenheath Old Boys
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
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483 Comments:
The team news is in from Villa Park:
Villa - Guzan, Lichaj, Vlaar, Baker, Bennett, Westwood, Delph, Sylia, Weimann, Benteke, Agbon.
Subs: Green, Bent, N'Zogbia, Holman, Bowery, Williams, Gardner.
Chelski - Cech, Azpiwhatever, Cahill, Terry, Cashley, Ramires, Lamps, Moses, Mata, Hazard, Ba.
Subs: Turnbull, Ivanovic, Sideshow, Torres, Os-CAR, Benayoun, Ake
Real implications for both top and bottom of the table:
First, the top half - here's what the race for the Wenger Cup looks like:
3. Chelski - Played 36, 69 points, +34 GD
4. Arsenal - Played 36, 67 points, +31 GD
5. Spurs - Played 36, 66 points, +18 GD
And the bottom - VIlla on 40 points are nearly there but they could easily lose both this one and their final match against (ahem) Wigan next weekend. So they're not out of it quite yet and could use a point or better today.
ESPN2 coverage has started and their showing clips of some Scots geezer who retired this week. What's his name - Jock McStavish or something. I can't really remember.
Come on, lads - focus! ManYoo aren't playing this morning. Let's be talking about the match that's about to start. Or the Cup Final!
Good morning BD. It is the biggest match of the season, but now for the opening act.
Morning, MUR - hope you and yours are doing well on this FA Cup Final day.
Villa still not quite out of danger with a draw here today. Wigan could still pip them with two wins by more than one goal.
An early yellow card for Baker as he cleans out Juan Mata.
How is that not obstruction by John Terry - it's never called anymore.
Moses and Ba are in but Moses is penalized for offside.
Thanks BD. I hope you are doing well on Cup Final day too. I was in the loo and missed the opening minutes.
Chelsea won the reverse fixture 8-0 in December
Right - they showed the goals flying in earlier in the broadcast.
UWS must still be in bed dreaming of Cup Final It's a Knock-out.
That must been when I was getting some kip or just getting up.
BOOM BOOM BOB!
I had a feeling - Mancini may well be out at Citeh replaced by Manuel Pellegrini.
I must still be in the cup as I was up a couple of hours due to a bad storm we had a few hours ago.
He was replaced by Pelligrini. I thought that was just a rumor.
The Villa crossing has been atrocious.
The weather is appalling in Brum today; it's affecting the scrappy play.
Brad Guzan has been named Villa player of the year. That sums up their season.
GOAL! Benteke fires Villa into the lead.
GOAL !!!! 1-0 VILLA
THAT MAN BENETEKE SCORES YET AGAIN
Long ball out from Guzan knocked down by Benteke, Weimann put him away and then he absolutely roasted a static Gary Cahill and beat Cech at his near post.
1-0 Villa!
Yellow now for Ramires for clobbering Benteke.
Villa are now mid-table - that's how crazy this season has been.
He basically made England defender , Gary Cahill, look the right fool as he beat for a header off a long clearance by Guizan then played a one two with nZogbia before out pacing Cahill for the goal
LUFC Academy lets rip and hits the top of the net with it. Not too far away!
It was a horrible tackle by Ramires. The two North London clubs must be delighted.
Not a bad effort from Delph. All that training from Paul Lambert has paid off.
A free kick from Mata is headed away, but Chelsea maintain possession. A moments applause for Stilian Petrov, who announced his retirement earlier this week.
As things stand, Arsenal could pip Chelski for third tomorrow with a win over Wigan on Tuesday.
I think you mean that Delph picked up excellent youth training at the LUFC Academy, right?
Nice through ball by Weimann for Agbon, who was offside and Cech was out to clear anyway
Was that Petrov in the stands smiling?
Yeah - he seemed quite touched by the effort.
Villa are set for a top half finish after nearly being relegated by McAleish and Jerry Houlier. It has to be great coaching by Lambert, not Dennis Wise or Kevin Blackwell.
Oh - great save by Guzan from Ba!
Demaba Ba did well to beat the offside trap and a superb block by Guzan
Villa are going to get caught out eventually if they continue to play such a high line against the Chelski speed merchants.
Not bad for an opening act
Not bad at all. There are still a lot of goals left in this one.
Great header out by Delph as Chelsea have a corner.
We had a tornado warning last night. How was your weather?
Villa caught out Chelsea and Cahill of all people on that goal
No tornadoes, but lots of thunder, wind ,and lightning between 3 AM and 5 AM.It kept me up.
Downpours too. They kept me up as well.
I've been a bit off my normal sleep pattern. Might have a nap between the two matches.
We have thunderstorms in the forecast all weekend and have to drive up for Melanie's concert tomorrow!
A good opportunity as we have a three hour break!
Better weather in the Midlands then in Texas!
Some Keystone Kops defending by Villa and now they've given away a dangerous free kick.
Agbon with a forward's challenge concedes a free kick. Side Show is on the bench
Lamps lining up the free kick. He's desperate to level the Chelski scoring record.
Oh - saved by Guzan off the post!
WOW! guzan fumbled that on to the post from Lampard then the rebound was pushed away for a corner.The corner eludes everyone!
That looked an uncharacteristic fumble by Guzan
I know Benetke is credited for keeping Villa up, but shouldn't he share the credit with Guzan.
I agree with you - Benteke and Guzan have both been vital.
Chelsea were three up by now at this time when they played at SB. Chelsea don't even have that many shots on goal
If Villa win their last two matches then they may qualify for the Intertoto Cup, LMAO!
Nauhgty by Ramires on Agbon and he's already been booked.
Lambert wants the temp increased.
Bit of an elbow thrown by Benteke on Azpiwhatever. He gets yellow but could have been red.
That looked an intentional elbow by Beneteke on Azpielcuietia. He should have been sent off and will probably be banned for three matches. REAAAAAATHER STUPID!
Great block by Baker.
Stupid foul by Cahill on Agbon. Not the best of days for the England centre half.
Ramires heads away the free kick
Bennett did well to track back against Moses.
A tackle by Joe Bennett leads to a Chelsea corner.
The corner is cleared in this rematch of the 2000 FA Cup Final
JT heads out a cross by Weimann for a Villa corner.
Cahill Blocks a header from Baker from a corner.
Terry gets a yellow; he was nearly the last man back when he upended Scylla.
JT booked for a foul by Sylla, but it looked a good tackle.
Azpi heads out the free kick
A red would have been harsh, IMHO despite my disdain for JT.
Coming down to the last few minutes of what has been a worthy kick off to FA Cup Final Day.
Lichaj with a poor cross that he learned from his brief spell at ER.
Do you remember the opening act for the Cup Final last year?
Ramires is off with a second yellow - Chelski down to ten men!
I don't remember it - do you?
Ramires off. REALLY STUPID.A high boot on Agbon and I had mentioned a few minutes ago he would be off if he wasn't careful. A second yellow.
Two minutes of stoppage time
Norwich held Arsenal 3-3 at the EM and Steve Morison had a brace for the Canaries including a late equalizer.
Now it's Terry giving Weimann a bit of a push off in the face. How many players are we going to have at the end of the match!?
Ramires is not exactly the sharpest tack on the wall. He will miss Moyes's last match with Everton
"Steve Morison with a brace." That's a phrase I would've liked to have heard this year.
Halftime and 1-0 to Villa. The race for the CL is thrown wide open. Fans of both North London clubs must be delighted.
Off to finish up a potato salad for a cook-out later today.
Celtic lead St. Johnstone 3-0. Does it really Mata?
Hopefully the cookout is after the Cup Final.It would be uncharacteristically poor form to miss the Cup Final.
Back from another trip to the loo just in time for the second half kickoff
The Side Show is on for Victor Moses as Raffa reshuffles things die to Ramires being sent off.
Agbon on a speedy counter and Cahill did well to recover to tackle for a Villa corner
I guess Bob is off for the remainder of the match?
Gooner and dad would be delighted with a Villa win as they must be confident that Their Gunners will defeat Wigan on Tuesday
As we start the second half, Villa are 1-0 up and Chelski are down to ten men. Ordinarily, you'd say that this one was over. But I'm not so sure.
It's looking better and better for the Arsenal in terms of the Wenger Cup.
OH! great possession by Villa. Superb pass from Beneteke to Weimann, who whiffs it, then Sylla shoots over.Now Agobn shoots wide on the next possession.
Welcome back, Bob.definitely not over.
Gabby Ag is Villa's top Premiership goalscorer - pity the poor Villa fan!
Did you notice I was teasing you earlier? I would have called it Arseing if you had been a Gooner!
I saw that you were teasing me about Fab Delph.
Isn't Beneteke Villa's top EPL goalscorer?
I'm just looking back over your earlier comments. I was finishing up a potato salad. The cook-out starts at 4:30 - hoping that it isn't going to get rained out. It's the retirement party for the colleague who I've bought the house off.
For this season, but Gabby Ag is apparently the overall one.
I was also teasing you about missing the Cup Final, saying it would be uncharacteristically poor form after you mentioned the potato salad.
Wow - now Christian Benteke is off - second yellow!
Somewhat similar incident to the Ramires one. Somewhat innocuous for both of them. Both sides down a man. Game on!
Now Benteke is off for a second yellow after that high challenge on JT. Similar to the one that got Ramires a second yellow.He will be out for the match at Wigan,but it may not Mata
Chelski are right back at it now - a real turnaround.
It should definitely be a more open match
Were you eating potato salad early in the morning?
GOAL! It's Lamps with his 202nd goal - equals Tambling's record. Wow!
Let the ball run across his body and then hit it oh so sweetly with his left peg - great finish!
1-1!
GOAL !!! 1-1 AND LAMPARD WITH A TRADEMARK FINISH AND FITTING NOW THAT HE HAS BROKEN CHELSEA'S GOAL SCORING RECORD.
Lamps now just needs one more to break Tambling's record.
Sorry , tied the record. it all came out of the blue as Azpi took a short throw near the corner flag.He played a one two with Mata then Azpi passed for Lampard who did the rest.Ten vs ten seems to suit Chelsea.That will not please Gooner or dad.
Celtic go four up vs St. Johnstone in stoppage time
Oh - Cashley plays an inviting cross over that Ba just couldn't stretch to get.
It finishes 4-0 at Celtic Park
Then Nearly an OG as Cashley deflects a Villa cross on top of the net.
UWS must be getting extra rest for the Cup Final. Is he still ignoring you?
Not far wide by Delph as JT failed to clear a cross by Weimann
Are both sides settling for a draw now? It certainly feels like it.
Probably - he's a stubborn sod.
UWS is still waiting for me to say something nice about Sir Angus Podgorney.
I think both sides are going for a win. A draw doesn't suit Chelsea.Just a lull in the match
How can he be ignoring you if he repetitively says he's ignoring you?.Shouldn't he actually ignore you if he wants to ignore you?
GOAL! Cahill seemed to have scored there but it wasn't counted. Wow!
Doesn't look like it went over on the replay. Vlaar cleared it off the line.
Shot from Cahill cleared off the line .He claims it was in but it looks like the entire ball did not cross the line. Now JT is down injured.
Oh - it was actually Ba's effort that seemed to go over the line. Not counted.
Now John Terry is struggling - he'll have to come off.
I don't think it was over. A tenth of a second later and it would have been as Ivanovic is about to come on for the injured JT.
Ivanovic will be replacing the skipper.
Might be the last time we see John Terry in a Chelski shirt.
Hazard is tripped up and Lamps has yet another chance to break the record. Could be Sideshow though.
Free kick to Chelsea Mata to take.
Curled wide by Mata.
Sideshow hits this one and Guzan did well to parry it away.
Great save by Guzan from a Side Show special
Late Chelsea pressure as they have a corner headed away
Lamps picks up a yellow card for his collection.
Head tennis in the Chelsea box off the free kick from Westwood after a foul by Lamps
Lamps still far short of either JT's or Chopper Harris's record in that department
Oh - Cech saved really well from Westwood. A few late chances flying about. This one isn't quite over yet. In the balance.
A draw suits Arsenal, who should defeat Wigan at the EM on Tuesday. The Latics might as well stay in North London no Mata what happens in the Cup Final.
Torres has replaced Ba - he'll be looking for his first league goal in 17 matches. How can they hang on to a player with that kind of record?
GOAL !!!! 1-2 CHELSEA AND LAMPS BREAKS THE CHELSEA SCORING RECORD WITH WHAT LOOKS LIKE A LATE WINNER.
GOAL! There it is - Lampard breaks the record and fires Chelski into the CL!
1-2!
"Super, supah Frankie Lampard" Chelski fans are chanting.
Great work by Hazard and Cashley off some Hazardous Villa defending as Lampard breaks the scoring record with a crucial goal
Seven minutes of stoppage time!
So Villa are right back in it. Seven minutes of stoppage time left. Can Villa get it back!?
That could easily be Frank Lampard's last action in a Chelski shirt.
Surely Chelsea have clinched a CL spot as I don 't see a seventeen goal swing in the remaining Spurs and Chelsea matches.
I am not sure about that. I think JT and Lamps may be around next season.
Lichaj just about got back to tackle Hazard. And now Hazard has gone down in a heap - looks like he's done his hammy.
Hazard down after he beat Lichaj for Pace, but the Yank did well to recover and tackle for a Chelsea corner. Now Hazard is down
Will Chelski have any players left for the Europa League final?
Chelsea keep possession off the corner, SHUT IT TORRES!
Only JT and Hazard injured. Ramires's suspension is only for domestic matches, so they should.
GOONER AND YOUR DAD WILL BE NONE TOO PLEASED.
So - as it stands Spurs will not realistically be able to catch Chelski because of the goal difference. It's down to the North London rivals for that last spot.
Tony's boss less pleased.
I still think that Gooner would be happier not to qualify and to see the back of Wenger this summer.
We could easily see a new season with new managers at United, Citeh, Chelski and Arsenal.
If Arsenal defeat Wigan, which they should then Wenger will win his trophy.If they don't then they don't deserve a CL place
Wigan fans definitely pleased.
I don't think Citeh and Arsenal will have new managers
This match has no bearing on wigan . The ones involving Norwich and the two Geordie clubs do.
That's it and Chelsea win 1-2 at Villa Park thanks to a brace from Lamps on a record setting day. Chelsea have basically clinched a CL spot. Next for them the EL Final.
We'll see - you didn't expect David Moyes to be manager of United last week, did you? Stranger things have happened.
Full-time - 1-2 Chelski. Good win for them.
I'm off to do a few errands. I'll be back for the Cup Final!
Our next match is in about two and a half hours. a small matter of some Cup Final?
Cheers Bob. Me too. See you later.
I am home with about half an hour to go to kick off
Hope I can stay for the entirety
The match is on Fox... ABSOLUTELY NO PRE-GAME!
Cooking on a Grill infomercial is much more important
Hello UWS. I just switched to FOX and noticed that. Actually The broadcast starts fifteen minutes before kickoff.
Will Wigan and their fans consider the Cup Final more important than the match at The Em on Tuesday? Martinez will probably not give a toss as he's on his way to Goodison.
I have a link going on FR from ESPN UK
I see that. THe kick off is at 5:15
I am off for a quick walkies with the Shadow.
I'll be back
I'm back
Fox is starting
I am back from Walkies with Sparky.Idiot campaigners on their megaphones pushing their local candidate. I could hear it throughout the subdivision.
Dave Wheelan is the man walking Wigan out today
I just noticed that The usual FSC crew on FOX. Martinez and Mancini on their way out
Gus Johnson doing the Cup Final.DEPLORABLE.I'm okay with Ian
Afternoon, lads!
Gus and Wrighty on Fox
Glad to see Dave Whelan walking the team out. Probably the last time in a while that they will be in a Wembley final. His first Cup Final in 53 years. Great chatter from Vinny Jones.
I do appreciate placing the Cup Final on the regular Fox channel. But why not do at least half an hour of build up with "Abide with Me," the teams coming out, the Queen a so on.
The Cup is being brought out.
I don't like the short walks out of the tunnel.... luved the long walk in the old place
Good afternoon, Bob. Who is this Angus Pogborny you speaketh of?
Totally agree Bob
Gus and Ian Wright, Wright, Wright seem to be becoming a regular team. Do they know each other?
I agree , Bob and Dave. I love the old Cup Final traditions.
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