Arsenal 3 v 0 Rovers - Cup Semi Final

[nottsrover]

Good to see empty seats at Cardiff for the Manu V Geordies when we were told that both clubs had sold out .

Both clubs had sold out. I assume the empty seats were those reserved for the dignatories.

I think that a lot of fans had trouble getting there. I have heard reports of 600 fans being left stranded in Gloucester station because the trains they had planned to take were full.

[Biddy]

How in the heck can a 6 foot 4 strong black player go down clutching his leg after being "touched" by a dwarf? Was Vieira crippled for life? It looked like he was considering his reaction. Cheats. I bet they didn't show that on motd.

But Viera did have his leg broken at least three times during the game. That spray the physio uses really is a miracle cure that even mends bones these days.

[SamDingle]

I've a bit of time for Todd after his spell at the Turf but he still seems to enjoy his hard-man image.

It would be worth noting though Andy, that elbowing someone from behind just after they've made you look a mug again isn't all that tough.

Wannabe hard-man (Lily) Savage showed all his credentials by diving in on 18 year old Fabregas as he played the ball. Impressive.

Olé..... Olé..... Olé.... ooooooooooooh... Olé

[LeftWinger]

One funny moment on the coach back. Not long after leaving Cardiff, a car drives past our coach with two Arsenal supporting girls in. The "big boned" one on the passenger side started making 3-0 signs at our coach with her hands. She got a chorus of "Who ate all the Pies" sung back at her - everytime we went past her car.

[thenodrog]

I've a bit of time for Todd after his spell at the Turf but he still seems to enjoy his hard-man image.

It would be worth noting though Andy, that elbowing someone from behind just after they've made you look a mug again isn't all that tough.

Wannabe hard-man (Lily) Savage showed all his credentials by diving in on 18 year old Fabregas as he played the ball. Impressive.

Olé..... Olé..... Olé.... ooooooooooooh... Olé

Thanks Sam but with Sav age is irrelevent............ just ask Tony Grant!

[ABBEY]

I've a bit of time for Todd after his spell at the Turf but he still seems to enjoy his hard-man image.

It would be worth noting though Andy, that elbowing someone from behind just after they've made you look a mug again isn't all that tough.

Wannabe hard-man (Lily) Savage showed all his credentials by diving in on 18 year old Fabregas as he played the ball. Impressive.

Olé..... Olé..... Olé.... ooooooooooooh... Olé

2-1 you flerking returd!!!!when you beat us then come back on here and take the urine!!!!what about the muppet on talkballs before the game .WE'D TAKE 50,000 to cardiff .....WELL YEA RIGHT A MASSIVE 11 THOUSAND AT HOME IS NEARLY 50K I SUPPOSE.............

MORTON GAMST PEDERSEN TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL;LAAALAAAAAAALAAA

Edited April 18, 2005 by ABBEY

[1864roverite]

dont let him get to you Abster, I have heard the same for pne and bumely, both had home games this weekend and the total never reached above 26500 !

Now that says it all about both sets of supporters

[Dan Furness]

Good to hear 'The Wild Rover' being belted out on the tannoy before the teams came out.......it's something I've been on a personal crusade to get played at Ewood for years.

not to mention Hysteria when the teams came out

that got my adrenaline really flowing!

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

'THE WILD ROVER'.... why in gods name has this never been made the official club anthem?

[waggy]

because it is a bumley song

[thenodrog]

because it is a bumley song

and long may it continue to be!

[The Producer]

Had to stand for 2 1/2 hours on the train with nothing to lean against, but worth it for the atmosphere when the players came out and for the first 10 mins when I was sure we were going to win.

The press comment is very harsh, as Arsenal's tackling was very cynical when it needed to be, e.g. Reid's heels getting clipped every time he got into his stride. I doubt we'd have seen the same reaction in the press if it wasn't for 2 things:

1) Thompson who lost it completely at the end of the 1st half after getting frustated at being continually hustled off the ball by stronger Arsenal players. I was astonished he wasn't subbed at half-time, but Hughes did a good anger management job and he improved in the 2nd half.

2) Flitty's stupid half-stamp on Viera. Yes his momentum was taking him onto Viera but you can see that he decided it was a chance to put the boot in. Players really need to remember that slow motion and multiple camera angles exist and indeed have existed for, hmm, quite some time.

Van Persie definitely ran into Todd as he turned after scoring BUT you can see from the replay that Todd decides to take advantage and flick his forearm up to get a little bit of revenge. Happens all the time and normally it wouldn't have been a big deal, but unfortunately for Todd he happened to time it just "right" to really thump Van Persie. So in some ways, he'll be a bit unlucky to be charged, but equally if you try and take advantage of these situations then eventually you're going to get in trouble. It was stupid though as the game was over and so I'll be angry at Todd if we lose him for 3 games, take a few points less from those games as a result and lose £1m by finishing 2 places lower.

Great performance by Friedel. Nelsen and Todd were solid as ever. Matteo had one of his better games apart from the end of the 1st half when he got taken to the cleaners a couple of times, which seemed to affect his confidence to push forward in the 2nd half. Neil was ok - haven't seen the replays of the 1st goal, but the 2nd wasn't his fault, more a case of a great turn by a fresh Van Persie on a not-so-fresh defender. Pedersen was ok - the other players should make an effort to play off his headers because he wins loads but there's never anyone near him to take advantage. Emerton was ok when he came on - again the other players don't seem to have twigged that he makes direct runs and so there's never anyone to help him out. Axe was solid as ever, but ditto the odd dodgy pass. Dickov tried his heart out, but with his lack of pace and creativity was never going to cause any problems on his own up front - there were 5 or 6 occasions he started off level with the last defender running for a ball behind the defence but of course nothing resulted. If only we had a quick forward!

[DaveyB]

Does anybody have the foul count from todays game compared the semi yesterday?

42 fouls in total in our game - 28 by us, 14 by Arsenal

52 in todays game - 26 each

But remember, it's not the facts that matter - the press say that we are a dirty, over-physical, cynical bunch of hackers and so that's good enough for me!!!

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

So in some ways, he'll be a bit unlucky to be charged, but equally if you try and take advantage of these situations then eventually you're going to get in trouble. It was stupid though as the game was over and so I'll be angry at Todd if we lose him for 3 games

If the current anti-Rovers hysteria is anything to go by dont be surprised if the poor fella is hung drawn and quartered!!

[Ben-2000]

Great day out.

The atmosphere before and during the game was fantastic, all credit to the Rovers fans considering we were out numbered 2 to 1. Had a kick about in the City Centre before we went to the ground, couple of drinks - fantastic.

[Nayef]

Had to stand for 2 1/2 hours on the train with nothing to lean against,

Standing at New St station (Brum) waiting with all the other fans for the train to turn up.

The look on our faces when a 2-car train pulled up was utter disbelief.

Fortunately I took someone else's reserved seat and nobody questionned me.

[Hasta]

Same straight after the game at cardiff Central. Train to London had so many coaches I couldn't see the end of it. Train up North had two.

[P.E.]

After a couple of days of contemplation i'm glad I went. When the teams walked out the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, that rarely happens at Ewood these days

I thought we played ok, we were doing well in the opening 25-30 mins and then Arsenal just seemed to look all that more menacing towards the end of the half and I could sense a goal.

I actually thought we played well in the second half we were actually looking at making a break through but time was running out and Hughes brought on Stead which lost us our shape and fiar play to Arsenal they took full advantage! BTW i'm not critiscing Hughes by bringing on Stead we had to give it a go at that point.

I'd like to see Reid get forward more as he's a quite fast and a big strong lad who will cause problem by arriving in the box later. Plus i'd like to see someone in the team actually shooting......

[T4E]

Car broke down in the morning on the way, got a lift with the RAC guy from Cribbs Causeway to Cardiff, missed the first 20 mins, lost 3-0, got a train to Newport, bus to Bristol Temple Meads, taxi to Cribbs Causeway, then waited 2 hours to be towed home. Back in swindon (circa 60 miles from Cardiff) at 8pm. Then found out the car was going to cost about a grand to repair.

Never again.

Edited April 18, 2005 by Tugay4England

[robbojohnno]

I've a bit of time for Todd after his spell at the Turf but he still seems to enjoy his hard-man image.

It would be worth noting though Andy, that elbowing someone from behind just after they've made you look a mug again isn't all that tough.

Wannabe hard-man (Lily) Savage showed all his credentials by diving in on 18 year old Fabregas as he played the ball. Impressive.

Olé..... Olé..... Olé.... ooooooooooooh... Olé

YOUR MUMS YOUR DAD YOUR DADS YOUR MUM YOUR INTERBRED YOUR BURNLEY SCUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE LOVE YOU ROVERS WE DO O ROVERS WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Blue blood]

Absolutely gutted by the score line. Fair enough Arsenal deserved their win but 3-0 was very harsh and doesn't reflect all the hard work and effort that Rovers put in. People in years to come will see the result and think it was a walkover, which was far from the case, and doesn't reflect the tremendous effort everyone connected with the club put in.

Rovers fans were brilliant. Outsung Arsenal fans from start to finish.

A couple of points:

1) Reid looked very dangerous when he ran from central positions and scared Arsenal. The fact they cynically chopped him down every time he did so wasn't picked up by the commentators, or sadly his fellow Rovers players. I'd have liked to see him given more of the ball.

2) Friedel - brilliant again. He's pretty effective at the MS. Did not deserve to let three in.

3) Didn't think Neill played badly, did v well against Pires. Matteo looked solid defensively too. However when we are chasing the game Matteo becomes a liability due to his complete inability to go forward. Another alternative is needed for lb for when we are chasing the game.

4) Emerton looked promising when he came on - reckon he deserves a start on Wednesday.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Don't know if its just me but was nobody else just a tad disappointed at the way we played?

Although the style of play we would adopt was predictable, I thought we could have shown a bit more guile in our attacking options and think Hughes should take some criticism (esepcially the timing of the subs) for this as it was after all a semi final , yet bar the first 20 mins we didn't even bother to attempt to attack with any sense of determination - 1 header and a shot from a freekick was from memory our only real threat which IMO is very disappointing.

As everybody else on here feels, I also don't think we deserve all the stick and criticism we have had thus far in the media, and as for the numpties on the phone ins (especially the Liverpool fan as already mentioned -best player they have had for ages and he slags him off) just goes to show what sort of idiots they had calling in

However, enjoyed the day although (again is it just me?) it didn't feel like a semi final more like the Charity Shield.

As many have said the Rovers fans where as excellent in making it a day as the Arsenal fans where in their strange absence before and after the match.

Didn't feel to disappointed about the result as I feel Arsenal showed their class in the end - but what a set of whingeing tossers.

At the end of the day for most us at least we have been to a FA Cup semi final and we will be back, albeit at the New Rip Off Wembley (built for Arsenal) Benefit Stadium

[AlanK]

I know its been mentioned before but I can`t get the moment out of my head. It was when Arsenal`s 2nd went in. What a response from the fans. It was worth going for that moment alone. Only 17000 of us but it restored my faith.

[LeftWinger]

I know its been mentioned before but I can`t get the moment out of my head. It was when Arsenal`s 2nd went in. What a response from the fans. It was worth going for that moment alone. Only 17000 of us but it restored my faith.

Yeah it was brilliant. I was in the upper tier, row 16 behind the goal in the North End. When they scored, it was brilliant to look round at all the flags waving and people standing. Also enjoyed sitting outside a bar after a game with about 30 Rovers fans. Everytime Arsenal fans when past- everyone went silent and started going "SSsssssshhhhhhhhhhh!". Priceless.

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

I had a mixture of pride and disgust as the Rovers team walked out onto the pitch.

Pride in the fact that Rovers had reached the semi-final for the first time in 45 years, and disgust at the imbeciles at the FA who chose to play this game in Cardiff at 12.15pm.

Had the game been played at Old Trafford with a 3pm kick-off, I believe it would have come close to a 67,000 sellout. It certainly would have been more than 52,000.

In recent weeks the FA have proved that they are unfit to run our national game. They should be ashamed of themselves.

After doing well for the first half an hour of the game, we began to retreat and defended too deep. With Henry missing for the Gunners, we could have defended a little higher up the pitch in the final ten miutes of the first half.

The Spanish gypsy Reyes had a good chance shortly before the first goal. Brad made a good save - diving low to save his shot and the follow up from Pires.

I could see the first goal coming. We were defending too deep on the 18-yard line which invites pressure. England made the same mistake in Euro 2004 against Portugal.

It seemed to me that Lucas Neill was particularly at fault for not picking up the run from Toure. Vieira's chipped ball into the left-hand side of the box found Toure - who provided a simple tap in for Pires to score (below).

For the second goal, Lucas Neill was again at fault - allowing Van Persie to turn past him and score. The third goal was a case of chasing the game and getting caught on the break.

It's the first time we've conceded three goals in a match since the 3-3 draw with Birmingham back in November.

Hughes and Bowen deserve credit for tightening things up at the back this season, but I felt we were guilty of a bit of naivety in our defending at times against Arsenal.

Some people may think I'm being a bit harsh on Rovers, but I was also disappointed with our lack of creativity during the game. We created virtually nothing and this is obviously down to the midfield. Dickov was left isolated on his own up front with little support from his midfield colleagues.

I know that we had to be careful of throwing too many bodies forward because of how dangerous Arsenal are on the counter-attack, but I was nevertheless disappointed with our lack of imagination up front. David Thompson again had a disappointing game - offering very little except huff and puff.

If we want to move on next season and be challenging in the top half of the table, then as well as a new striker, another creative midfielder would be beneficial too.

Edited April 18, 2005 by Anti Euro Smiths Fan