[Archived] Fa Cup Semi-final .

[pksrover]

gutted still, when does recovery begin or am i done for life!!!!

got the game recorded at home, still havent brought myself round to watch it yet.

don't watch it!! I watched the highlights on Rovers World last night, and that Pedersen miss almost brought me into tears we came so close

[bellamy11]

No, USA thinks their is a major, far-reaching conspiracy against us (Mulder would be proud). I'm actually with LeChuck on this one, it's getting tired...

As am I. USABlue isn't the only one, but there are some people who seem convinced that the FA "would love nothing more than to see little old Blackburn Rovers fail". As Le Chuck says, it only ever crops up when we're losing or something goes wrong. And nobody has a theory for why we get dodgy decisions, which we do.

[broadsword]

Maybe it's not a conspiracy against Blackburn Rovers, but it seems more decisions go for "big" clubs than against.

And what would the media have done if Rovers had got to the final instead of the backward R brigade? They'd have been fat bearded slobs crying into their beers from Wapping to Canary Wharf!

[RevidgeBlue]

As am I. USABlue isn't the only one, but there are some people who seem convinced that the FA "would love nothing more than to see little old Blackburn Rovers fail". As Le Chuck says, it only ever crops up when we're losing or something goes wrong. And nobody has a theory for why we get dodgy decisions, which we do.

On the other hand we got two outrageously fortunate penalty decisions in each FA Cup tie against the Arsenal which allowed us to progress to the semi in the first place.

Imo there is no specific conspiracy against Blackburn Rovers but there is a very clear general rule of thumb:

1) Top 4 side v top 4 side. The ref officiates completely impartially.

2) Top 4 side v "the other 16" side. "The other 16 side" will get screwed by the ref if need be.

3) Other 16 side v other 16 side. The refs are only human and often make mistakes and some bad decisions but generally these even themselves out in the long run.

I don't include what happened against West Ham in 3) above btw. That was a very strange afternoon.

[Eddie]

Sheffield United were on the wrong end of a poor decision at OT last night. You have to really feel for sides who are getting poor decisions at this stage of the season when they are fighting to stay up, especially when one of their big rivals was recently handed 3 points by poor officiating.

[AggyBlue]

Imo there is no specific conspiracy against Blackburn Rovers

You're right, it's against all the smaller unfancied clubs in the premier league, especially when they play the 'big' clubs.

It's media driven too, not the FA.

The officials have been subconsciously conditioned over years by the press/media to favour the fancied clubs.

[Rover4ever]

Loved this bit on the BBC website........

Even Ballack, who has spent the whole season looking like he's wading through a sea of loose change, managed to bag a winner on Sunday. I loved the way he hauled off his shirt and held it aloft as if to say: "See! I'm not here for the money! I'm here for love!" Yeah right.

As a neutral you end up permanently underwhelmed. All that cash, all that talent, all that managerial mouthwash, all those victories... and a team with all the charm of a cockroach. The trouble is cockroaches always survive, don't they?

As expected the Chelsea fans responses were typified by :

Wat a load of rubbish Robbo... envy will get u nowhere id of 4t u would have learnt that by now!

the guy that wrote this article obviously hates chelsea like most people and for what reasons i ask? PURE JEALOUSY!!!

Also why do people keep talking about chelseas last minute winners as if goals are given to them by some unfair process. Ballack 'somehow managed to bag a winner' because he is a good player not because he is lucky. You have to earn your right to be in a final and chelsea have done this through determination and skill

[Eddie]

Robbo isn't great though. He hates us as well and has bad things to say about almost every side in the Premiership apart from Boro. He's a bit of an idiot.

[Ozz]

Took plenty of photos, but am so peed off I cannot bring my self to stick them on. Apart from this, which I quite like as it illustrates the sheer amount of support we had, in the East Stand alone. The noise was unprecedented, esp when Roberts notched. See if you can find yourself in it, may be easier to right click it, save it and then zoom in when its on you computer. It's a big boy, so be patient!

[bazza]

Not had time to comment on this game 'til now. Tough if it's a bit late.

I've never been to an FA Cup semi-final before. (Had to watch that against Arsenal two years ago in an Irish bar in Valencia)

I've never been to Old Trafford before.

I was very impressed with the stadium.

I was more impressed by the fantastic performance of the team in red on the field.

But what impressed me the most was the wall of noise made by the people around me, especially after the heroes in red had equalised. For a full 10 minutes, and more thereafter, the noise made by human voices (me included) was hurting my ears.

I reckon the volume exceeded 100 decibels, and that's LOUD.

No wonder Mr Mourinho admitted the excellence of the manager, players and supporters.

The gorgeous weather; the friendly banter before and after the game; pleasant drinks in convivial surroundings plus the above-mentioned all added up to an (almost) perfect day.

It will live in my memory. And I'm sure it will live in yours too.

And I would walk 500 miles.............................

[colin]

I'm not sure it's been mentioned on here yet, I've commented on it to a few mates...

To win the FA Cup we would have to beat Everton ( OK done that one - pretty stiff opposition)

Then Luton ( OK done that one)

Then win against Manchester City (OK, did that one too)

Then beat Arsenal (blimey! we did it)

Then beat Chelsea (that's where we came unstuck)

Then beat Manchester United in the final.

I don't think that there is any disgrace in not making the final. That opposition list is formidable to day the least.

[Eddie]

Got your order slightly wrong though: it was City after Arsenal.

[broadsword]

Going to take me a while to get over that one.

Maybe we will win the FA Cup in my lifetime, probably when I'm 97 and peeing my pants sat in teh cheap seats at Wembley. I'll probably keel over just before the final whistle.

[SamTheShrew]

I was listening to the 606 show on wednesday night with ray stubbs at work, and there was a chelsea fan who rang in to say that he stood up about three times in the first half, trying to get the chelsea fans to sing, and at half time he was asked by the stewards to not stand up and sing as some chelsea fans behind him had complained about him...

HA. what rubbish fans.

[berkshireblue]

Five days on and can just about bring myself to write about it....

1) Gutted...so near so far

2) Nice to see Mr and Mrs 14May95 behind me..

3) Tugay t-shirt well received...noticed Jordan didn't have his on

4) Support was awesome

5) How we celebrated that equaliser

6) My £20 at 25-1 for 2 to 1 looked good when Gamst rose for the header!

7) Still in a beer garden in Cheshire at 3.40pm thanks to the Aryton Senna cabbie for getting us to our seats at 4.05pm

8) Too much beer and sun but what a day!

9) Home midnight after insulting every Chelsea fan on the M6 - Chelsea rent boys

10) Why so few trams post the game?

To the tune of Carefree at the tram stop

F88K Off CFC you've got no history

Rovers till i die bring on Europe again boys with 5 wins!

[thenodrog]

I'm not sure it's been mentioned on here yet, I've commented on it to a few mates...

To win the FA Cup we would have to beat Everton ( OK done that one - pretty stiff opposition)

Then Luton ( OK done that one)

Then win against Manchester City (OK, did that one too)

Then beat Arsenal (blimey! we did it)

Then beat Chelsea (that's where we came unstuck)

Then beat Manchester United in the final.

I don't think that there is any disgrace in not making the final. That opposition list is formidable to day the least.

If we had overcome Chelsea (as we so easily could have in that final 10 mins of the 90) nobody could have ever said that we were fortunate to be in the final........ but I bet some sections of the press and media would have tried bloody hard to find a way to ..... and would of course have immediately written our chances off against Man U.

[Finch]

Shevchenko's miss has just been on Taxi on Soccer am

[Glenn]

Added my pics (including loads from Exchange Square, where the tourists were taking picture of us like it was a zoo ). Click the gallery link at the top of the page.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Looking at some of those pictures and doesn't a week go quickly.....great memories!

If only eh..................

[CAPT KAYOS]

Meant to post this t'other week and last nights game reminded me.

At the End of the game when the Final Whistle went they played over the tannoy 'Blue is the Colour' ie the Chelski Anthem.

Do you reckon they would have had something lined up for us if we had won? (most probably 'Simply the Best')

[Ozz]

Strangely, thats just reminded me-before the semi, the PA at Old Trafford played Prince Busters Liquidator, a song played before every Chelsea home game. Did they play any of our songs?

[stuwilky]

Strangely, thats just reminded me-before the semi, the PA at Old Trafford played Prince Busters Liquidator, a song played before every Chelsea home game. Did they play any of our songs?

I have a recollection of them playing the wild rover.

[Ray-Von]

Strangely, thats just reminded me-before the semi, the PA at Old Trafford played Prince Busters Liquidator, a song played before every Chelsea home game. Did they play any of our songs?

The Final Countdown.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Strangely, thats just reminded me-before the semi, the PA at Old Trafford played Prince Busters Liquidator, a song played before every Chelsea home game. Did they play any of our songs?

One of my favourite tunes OJ

They used to play it at quite a lot of grounds in the eighties - think they still do as the main anthem at somewhere like Lincoln/Rotherham from memory. Can't remember it at Chelski though.

'Did they play any of our songs?' - no idea, but I saw on TV they played the '500 miles Bumley song' - and some fools decided to sing it? ( with Waggy on this - :which idiot decided on that tune )

[bluebruce]

Strangely, thats just reminded me-before the semi, the PA at Old Trafford played Prince Busters Liquidator, a song played before every Chelsea home game. Did they play any of our songs?

They played 'the wild rover'. Which is all they ever have for us. I remember being enfuriated at the semi against Arsenal in Cardiff, when they played about five Arsenal songs then gave us Wild Rover at the end of it. We don't even bloody sing our version to that beat in truth, it's not something we can sing along to. But of course it was all geared for Arsenal from the get go that day. Right down to the one-sided ref who put up with all that Arsenal diving (much like the one for this semi that put up with all the Chelsea diving actually)