Bad Week for Football

Firstly it's been a bad week if your team has been beaten.


Secondly, David Norris of Ipswich Town for his 'handcuff' celebration after he scored against Blackpool.


Thirdly, Chris Morgan's elbow on Barnsley's Ian Hume which left Hume with a fractured skull.


Lastly, the coin throwing incident at Stamford Bridge when Drogba threw a coin back into the Burnley fans - sincerley hope no one was hurt - Burnley have today announced they will track down the Burnley coin-thrower.


What a bad week


Wonder what will happen tonight at Tranmere when Rovers take on Accrington Stanley, FA Cup 1st Round replay?

I Love the FA Cup

I love the thought of the David's taking on the Goliath's and the David's ripping those blonde locks out of Goliath's head.


When I was a kid I grew up loving FA Cup Final day, regardless of who was playing.


Me and my mates use to rotate our houses every year (for years) to gather round and watch the final.


There were some great finals, there were rubbish finals.


We use to have crisps, peanuts, sandwiches, hot-dogs, burgers and coke (before we were old enough to drink) and it used to be a 'real' football party.


Mates, football and FA CUP Final day.


The magic of the FA CUP has not left me since those times. I just love the FA Cup.


Year after year you are guaranteed shocks and surprises.


Take last year's competition for example - who would have thought that Havant & Waterlooville would go to mighty Liverpool and take the lead TWICE - 1-0 and 2-1?


Who would have thought Barnsley would go to Liverpool and win?


Who would have thought Barnsley would have beaten Chelsea and get to the semi-finals of the greatest Cup competition in the World?


I JUST LOVE THE FA CUP

A Tale of Two Nigerians

ODEJAYI VILLIAN

KANU HERO

Two Nigerian footballers plying their trade for Portsmouth and Barnsley respectively have 'stole' the FA Cup headlines this weekend when both FA Cup semi-final finals (sponsored by E.ON) were played at the 'new' Wembley for the very first-time.

Firstly Portsmouth's Kanu scored the only goal in their win against WBA on Saturday, controversary again that there was a handball in the build-up to the goal.

Secondly in today's semi-final the hero of Barnsley's battling quarter-final 1-0 win over Chelsea Kayode Odejayi, squandered a clear-cut chance when on a breakway and on his own, with only Cardiff's Enckleman to beat, beat Enckleman but also beat Enckleman's left-hand post.

How he missed only Odejayi knows and no wonder Barnsley's manager Simon Davey got the 'shrinks' in during the week to sort out Odejayi's head. Its obvious they didn't do a very good job!!!

So without extra-time and without penalties, both cup-ties were settled inside 90 mins by the same score, 1-0 and we now know that Portsmouth will take on Cardiff City at Wembley on Saturday 17th May 2008.

I wrote earlier about the Wembley 'corporates' bothering to turn up to both semi-final games - and they did in style. Saturday's game attracted a crowd of over 83,000 and todays crowd was just under 83,000.

So well done!

So now both Portsmouth and Cardiff fans will have to do battle to get those priceless FA CUP Final tickets when last year's finallists Chelsea and Man Utd only received 25,000 each!!

What a Great Weekend to Look Foward Too!!

Its FA Cup Semi-Final weekend and who would have thought that there would be only ONE Premiership team in the last four.

Both games will be played at Wembley and first up is:

WBA v Portsmouth - kick off 12.15pm

Then straight after from 3pm, there is a full League and Scottish programme. All scores including the first FA Cup Semi-Final will be LIVE on this blog and I WILL try and 'LIVE BLOG' the game at Wembley.

So if you can't get to a TV, radio or you are a wireless internet user on the move, let me keep you up to date with all the action tomorrow, Saturday from about 12.15pm (BST).

Then on Sunday from 4pm - Barnsley (the conquerors of Liverpool and Chelsea) go head to head against Cardiff City. Also in action on Sunday in the Premiership is Middlesbrough v Man Utd.

Steele is a Flat Cap and Whippet Man

Finally the situation regarding FA Cup hero Luke Steele is resolved. Remember at the beginning of the week I wrote he could be watching the FA Cup Semi-Finals at home on TV, well now he will be playing at Wembley.

Luke is still a Barnsley player albeit on loan from WBA but in the Summer he will join 'The Tykes' permanently in the Summer.

Common sense and 'sorting out the money' has finally prevailed.

Luke Steele - Barnsley, WBA or Limbo?!?!?!

Spare a thought for Barnsley's Luke Steele or is he now WBA's?. One of many heroes in Barnsley's defeats of Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea at Oakwell in the FA Cup, Luke looks destined to miss one of the biggest days of his footballing career

The reason!! His loan spell at Oakwell has ended and he has to return to his parent club, WBA.

By returning to WBA he cannot play in their FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth because he is cup-tied by playing for Barnsley and if he DOES have to return to WBA he CANNOT play for Barnsley either!!!!

Come on WBA let the boy have his day or are you frightened that he is that good he will stop you from winning the FA CUP? Better get past Portsmouth first!!!

FA CUP (Sponsored by E.ON) Semi-Final Dates Confirmed

The FA Cup (sponsored by E.ON) semi-final dates have been set and firstly let me offer my congratulations to the semi-final teams: Barnsley, Cardiff City, Portsmouth and WBA.

The schedule is as follows:

WBA v Portsmouth Saturday April 5th, K.O. 12.15pm

Barnsley v Cardiff City Sunday April 6th, K.O. 4pm

Both games to be played at Wembley

It is a major surprise that not one team from the elite's top four have made it to the semi's and with no disrepect to the four teams that HAVE made it because they made it with grit, determination, desire and a little bit of luck, my question is will Wembley's 'Corporate City,' bother to turn up not just for the semi-finals, but to the final itself?!

The capacity of Wembley Stadium is 90,000 and Wembley is really a fantastic stadium, I should know I have been there three times in the last year. Of the 90,000 seats available for both semi-final games, 33,000 tickets have been allocated to each club, which leaves a total of 24,000 seats to be accounted for.

17,000 seats out of those 24,000 have been brought by Corporate City over a lease period of 3, 5, 10 years and these are the seats that you see empty at the start of each game played at Wembley so far, mainly at the start of the second half.

At the Carling Cup final, Wembley, The Fooball League and the sponsors set a challenge called the 'bums on seats at the start of the second-half,' challenge where money would be donated to charity for every seat occupied before the start of the second half.

I have no doubt that each club will sell out their allocations, despite none of the four clubs capacities at their respective home grounds being 33,000, but we all know the 'pothunters' surface once there is a grand day out to be grabbed and a day out at Wembley to see 'your' team is not a day out to pass up.

I bet the FA and E.ON are are quietly mumbling in their respective oak-panelled boardrooms that the decision to play the semi's at Wembley may well backfire and they may well hope that 'Corporate City,' turn up and put 'those bums on seats well before the first half whistle and second half whistles blow.

I for one will be watching with interest.

BTW to the supporters of all four teams, make sure you bring loads of money on your special day out...... Wembley is so expensive..... or you could boycott every food and drink outlet, like Chelsea and Man Utd fans have done in the past.

Grant MUST GO

Bye bye Avram, bye bye Avram, bye bye Avram, bye bye (Shame he didn't show the same passion at Barnsley this evening)

What time is your flight back to Israel Avram?