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f a cup semi finals

while I'm sure stoke will be over the moon that they've reached the cup final but hasn't some of the gloss been taken off the tournament, having already played the semi final at wembley.

surely the whole f a cup, carling cup or any other major final fantasy is the journey to play at a prestige arena and hopefully lift that trophy, that's the pay off and in stokes' case it's particularly poignant, as it would have been their first trip to that hallowed arena.

is it just monetary greed that's switched the semis' to wembley and shouldn't there be a protest to revert back to the old days or am I myself just an " old fart "?%~{>

Comments

  • An old fart - like me.

    I have my football crazy cousins from Paddock Wood staying, naturally one is Chelsea one is Arsenal. Sadly these kids are brainwashed beyond belief by the Big 4 mentality. They no nothing about the lower divisions as i found out while we watched the Football League show and nothing about the games history as i explained to them what a neutral venue for a semi used to mean. This is the future though.

    Lovely kids but a real eye opener for me!
  • Wembley cost a fortune, it has to be paid for. We all know it's madness bring down 4 Northern clubs but I am getting fed up with people going on about it.

    Replays should be on the Tuesday after the Saturday's draw. All ties should be played to a finish. All ties should be played on a Saturday (excluding replays) Only the final should be on TV and BBC only.
    There should be a QofS special on the morning of the final between two teams of ex-players of the finalists. There should be an edition of It's A Knockout on the morning of the final between folk form the two teams towns. Old bill should be able to give scummy kids a clip round the ear. You should be able to leave your back door open. Pubs should close at 2pm on a Sunday. There should be TWO films on at the pictures when you go.........

    Life in this country has changed, maybe not for the better, but forever.

    Get over it.
  • During the ITV coverage the ITV commentator made reference to the final probably being a bigger thing for Stoke as a one team city, unlike Manchester. I'd imagine a few emails to ITV from Port Vale fans. Vale might not be Man U, but I'd expect an ITV commentator to know where it is.
  • first time in over 20 years i didnt actually watch either one, city utd was on in the lib after the match but couldnt be botherd then yesterday it was espn so couldnt watch even if i wanted to. think the final could well go the same way.
  • Glad that it is not Chelsea, Arsenal, Man U or Liverpool in the final, Man City have not done anything for years and although it is oil money that has got to the final I do not begrudge their fans a moment of glory, but do hope stoke win it and have a decent run in europe.
  • Sadly, Stoke probably stand as much chance as we do of still making the play-offs.
  • [cite]Posted By: Kap10[/cite]Glad that it is not Chelsea, Arsenal, Man U or Liverpool in the final, Man City have not done anything for years and although it is oil money that has got to the final I do not begrudge their fans a moment of glory, but do hope stoke win it and have a decent run in europe.

    Yep same for me. One thing that cannot be levelled against City fans is that they are glory boys, as their attendances durign their spell outside of the Premiership testified.

    I also find myself drawing parallels at what's happened at Stoke and our own rise up the leagues. A case of the 'what if's?"

    Obviously not the cup runs though ;-)
  • [cite]Posted By: tangoflash[/cite]Sadly, Stoke probably stand as much chance as we do of still making the play-offs.

    Stoke will batter Man City. I won't be pretty but I just cannot see Man City winning. Saturday was their Cup Final.
  • think its a evens game,hope man city do it as cant stand pulis,good to see stoke a average supported club making there time in the premier count.
  • Can't see anything wrong with Pulis. He must be desperate to get revenge for the Gills Play-Off disaster. Ref in the bath and all that.....
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  • Think he may get his wish,there strong and may have more drive to win.
  • Missus is a Stoke season ticket holder, when we met we were in the Prem & they were in Div 2. Depressing having her old man go on and on about Stoke all the time.

    Hopefully the Cup final will distract them and they will finish in the bottom half (got a £50 bet with her old man that they would finish 11th or below)
  • [cite]Posted By: nolly[/cite]think its a evens game,hope man city do it as cant stand pulis,good to see stoke a average supported club making there time in the premier count.

    Aww....... give it a rest mate - PLEEEEAAAASSSEEEE!!!
  • [cite]Posted By: nolly[/cite]think its a evens game,hope man city do it as cant stand pulis,good to see stoke a average supported club making there time in the premier count.

    So you've said but you have constantly also said that we need a nasty manager so what is wrong with Pullis in your book.
  • so because his a nasty manager i have to like him? no cant really put my finger on it just something arrogant about him i dont like really,i think in time you will all see his true colours come out. Have to have respect for what his done at stoke and what he said about this season was bang on,top half finish with a cup final was what they wanted.
  • [cite]Posted By: nolly[/cite]so because his a nasty manager i have to like him? no cant really put my finger on it just something arrogant about him i dont like really,i think in time you will all see his true colours come out. Have to have respect for what his done at stoke and what he said about this season was bang on,top half finish with a cup final was what they wanted.

    Blimey he has been around long enough, if his true colours ain't come out by now then they must be black and white
  • [cite]Posted By: Chirpy Red[/cite]Get over it.

    bloody hell someone's grauchy!%-{> i'm not having sleepless nights over it chirpy?

    you know what they say " if you haven't got anything good to say, then don't say anything at all "

    i'm only asking peoples opinion if they think it devalues the competition to play the semi finals at wembley?

    but interestingly those who did contribute took the thread totally in a new direction, which brings to mind, somebody else's post about taking threads off in another direction?%-{>
  • no logical reason really something about him grates on me,the guy annoys me im not alone plenty think the same,great manager though got stoke to a fa cup final what dreams are made of.
  • [cite]Posted By: sillav nitram[/cite]
    [cite]Posted By: Chirpy Red[/cite]Get over it.

    bloody hell someone's grauchy!%-{> i'm not having sleepless nights over it chirpy?

    you know what they say " if you haven't got anything good to say, then don't say anything at all "

    i'm only asking peoples opinion if they think it devalues the competition to play the semi finals at wembley?

    but interestingly those who did contribute took the thread totally in a new direction, which brings to mind, somebody else's post about taking threads off in another direction?%-{>

    I made my point. I got fed up all weekend, all last week and ever since the semis were drawn that "It's madness to play at Wembley" What I'm saying is we are stuck with it. I know it's madness, we all do. BUT Wembley has to be paid for.

    Get over it was directed at all those moaners who don't understand the world we live in today, not just you fella.
  • [cite]Posted By: nolly[/cite]no logical reason really something about him grates on me,the guy annoys me im not alone plenty think the same,great manager though got stoke to a fa cup final what dreams are made of.

    Like a lot of your posts! ;-)

    Maybe it's the baseball cap that gets to you!
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  • yeah perhaps..
  • I reckon he refused to sign nolly's autograph book once. Probably last week.
  • Clearly it's better as more fans can now go. Typical English attitude that tradition is more important than anything else, beside the ground has to be paid for some how.
  • Assuming that you want the maximum number of people to watch the game live, it made total sense for the Manchester derby to be played at Wembley. there was NO other logical alternative if anyone actually bothered to look at the facts. Cardiff just as far as Wembley by car, over an hour more by train, Twickenham also in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow also further. Next biggest stadium St. James' Park, but then we are down to 52k rather than nearly 90k, and that is half an hour further by train than London ( about 50 mins closer by car though ), Sunderland - ditto and finally Villa Park, which only holds 43k but is obviously closer by both car and train. Both stadiums in Liverpool wuld be out of the question on safety grounds, and all the other big stadiums are also in London.

    Stoke v Bolton, different kettle of fish, but the FA need to pay for the national stadium, and that's where we are at, as Chirpy rightly says...
  • so, some of us appear to be saying that, because the f a have built an enormously expensive stadium and it needs to be payed for, then, lets change everything and sod everybody's feelings about the joys of winning the right to play at the stadium as a one off. why don't we play the quarter finals there as well? if it's all about money, then that, to me, devalues the competition?
  • [cite]Posted By: sillav nitram[/cite]so, some of us appear to be saying that, because the f a have built an enormously expensive stadium and it needs to be payed for, then, lets change everything and sod everybody's feelings about the joys of winning the right to play at the stadium as a one off. why don't we play the quarter finals there as well? if it's all about money, then that, to me, devalues the competition?

    You're clutching at straws now.
  • One thing about the semi-finals was that the two clubs received more or less 50/50 allocation, whereas in the final half the tickets will be wasted on corporates and neutrals.
  • It's not so much corporates in the FA Cup final it's all the county FA's that get given tickets. In total they get somewhere in the region of 20,000.
    A lot of companies put a lot of money into the FA and deserve some allocation. It's the regional FA allocation that needs looking into.
  • [cite]Posted By: Chirpy Red[/cite]It's not so much corporates in the FA Cup final it's all the county FA's that get given tickets. In total they get somewhere in the region of 20,000.
    A lot of companies put a lot of money into the FA and deserve some allocation. It's the regional FA allocation that needs looking into.
    Exactly, and the sponsorship gets filtered through the cup in prize money. Some people will moan for the sake of moaning.
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