The FA Cup 2013/14

"Injury crisis". Missing two players is hardly considered a "crisis".

It was also Pellegrini's choice to play Demichelis in midfield. He had other options like Milner and Rodwell fit and in the squad to pick from. Not to mention it's a position Demichelis had also played before. And if you really want to get picky, Chelsea had Luiz in midfield too, also a central defender.

Not that it really matters at the end of the day, at the time, Chelsea beat the most dominate side the in the league who were previously unstoppable. Hence the praise involved.

Anyway, Man City were far and away the better side this evening. Chelsea looked tired and were very sloppy with possession. Lacked any sort of notion of an idea going forward and I think Mourinho got it completely wrong with his line up. We've put too many miles into the legs of Hazard, Oscar and Willian and it's beginning to show. We also definitely miss the leadership of Terry down back. All in all, all credit goes to City.

Never said it did. I mentioned them because they are probably our two most influential players apart from Vincent Kompany. We have no replacements for them. It was a crisis because we had García, Fernandinho, Aguero and Nasri out injured while Milner, Yaya, Dzeko and Negredo were all carrying knocks.


As already mentioned Milner wasn't fully fit (and realistically, can he even be called a central midfielder any more? He hasn't played there consistently since his Villa days, he's had 4 different managers decide he's a wide player) and Rodwell wasn't a viable option either. He's played 23 games (in all competitions) since August 2012, he was out of his depth against Watford and he hasn't played a full 90 minutes for I don't know how long.

True, Chelsea did play a central defender in midfield too. The difference is Mourinho could also have chosen Mikel or Frank Lampard (central midfielders) to play there, he wasn't forced into that situation by injuries. He made a tactical decision.


It does matter when the win is being attributed to 'tactical genius', Mourinho's tactics were good but they were hardly revolutionary. The win had far more to do with the players performances, in particular Hazard and Matic who were exceptional, than it did any tactical master-plan. (And if we're being picky, City had already been beaten 4 times in the league. Hardly unstoppable).

Pellegrini's tactical genius last night led to Chelsea having 0 shots on target. What a man.


Suggesting Rodwell could've played against Chelsea

FFS, got Troare anytime and Everton to win on a bet, knew i should have had him as first goalscorer instead.

De Guzman equalizes, good game so far.

This kit colour combination is weird. What was wrong with telling Swansea to come with black shorts?

Arsenal:




Subs: Viviano, Sagna, Gibbs, Wilshere, Cazorla, Gnabry, Giroud

Giroud on the bench \o/ and Sanogo starts

Would have preferred Cazorla/Wilshere for Arteta too as he's been shite most of the season too.

Might watch this just to see Sanogo.

FM TIME

Looks like Wenger has decided that a decent chance of winning the FA Cup is worth sacrificing for a miniscule chance of winning the Champions League. Not feeling confident at all today.

The only weakness is the fullbacks, but we should be much more direct going forward now.

Get in, really wanted Sanogo's effort to go in though.

The 6th Round Draw:

Arsenal or Liverpool v Everton

Brighton & Hove Albion or Hull City v Sunderland

Sheffield United or Nottingham Forest v Sheffield Wednesday or Charlton Athletic

Manchester City v Wigan Athletic

Uwe's coming home!

Should be level by now

Howard Webb being shit as usual

Go on Sheff United! Probable Sheffield derby in the quarters, that'll definitely be worth a watch.

Yeah, Sterling should have been booked for being a petulant little cunt.

Or we should have had a corner/freekick

And that's the directness Ox and Podolski give us, plus Ozil actually has someone making runs for him.

soft penalty.

Went down easily but always a pen

Sturridge has missed some big chances today

Good decision Howard

First penalty was as soft as shit so it evens itself out.

Hardly evens itself out, both were penalties

Gerrard should have been off there.

Shouldn't Gerrard now be off though?

Yeah probably should have been a yellow there. Mind you the first one was a bit of a soft yellow, but that deffinetly was

Will be interesting to see if Liverpool get a fine as there's been two smoke flares this half.

Brilliant comeback from us! Clough's tactical knowledge of the game is second to none. Really good manager, credit goes to him for us overcoming Villa, Fulham and now Forest, with his brilliant tactical changes and substitutes.