First match report i read and i welled up what a tart. This bit really got me. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...eetered-brink-awful-finish-Arsenal-reign.html A few yards to his left, Steve Bruce was trying hard to restrain his celebrations. Physically, the two men could scarcely be more different; Wenger tall, austere, loftily professorial, Bruce effusive, plumply gnarled, Les Dawson reincarnated. But the Hull manager is a seasoned pro and a worthy foe. His preparations are famously meticulous and, season upon season, he has worked hard and well to turn unconsidered performers into authentic achievers. Hull City represent stirring vindication of his abilities.
Just been watching Sky's Sunday Supplement and I can't stomach any more of the sycophantic arse licking these hacks are saying about Arsenal, was there another team playing at Wembley yesterday or was it just Arsenal by themselves? I was hoping for some even handed discussions but instead all I got the same old same old bias against Hull City by hacks who if I didn't know better thought they were on the Arsenal PR committee.
I'm just going to watch that now. http://www.theguardian.com/football...ce-couple-decisions-loss-arsenal-fa-cup-final
This one will get ya fatty. The only one i've come across from our perspective. http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/may/17/hull-city-fa-cup How depressing to think that there are people who exist, people who matter and hold influence over the way football is run, who believe that the FA Cup is insignificant. These are the kind of grey, faceless people you can find in the boardroom at Newcastle, who were busy pushing the line last week that trying to win a cup is too big a risk to take when it can lead to relegation – the horror – and that their supporters should think about the all-important bottom line instead. Romance is standing still, finishing 10th year after year, never dreaming, always choosing the pragmatic option. Although supporters are not stupid enough to be that easily brainwashed by the corporate-speak, it is utterly soul destroying. As Danny Blanchflower said all those years ago, the game is about glory – and there is not a Wigan Athletic supporter who would have swapped their remarkable victory over Manchester City in last year's final for Premier League safety. Those are the days you never forget, and they do not come around very often for fans of some clubs. Hull City, for example. When you have waited 110 years for your first FA Cup final, and never had a sniff of success before, it simply makes you determined to enjoy the occasion, whatever the outcome. Although their wonderful journey ended in the ultimate heartbreak – and they will take a while to recover from the disappointment of relinquishing that 2-0 lead – their part in this gripping final should never be forgotten. Their players were broken at the final whistle – some lay dejected on the Wembley turf, others wandered around with a faraway look in their eyes, unsure of where to go – but, when the dust has settled, they will come to appreciate their achievement this season. Not many promoted sides stay up and reach a cup final. Steve Bruce deserves immense credit for the imagination he has displayed this season. Hull were never overawed by the occasion and they will always have the memory of those preposterous opening eight minutes, when they gave Arsenal an almighty scare. Hull failed to score in either of their league defeats by Arsenal this season and were overwhelming underdogs, but that lack of expectation, the chance to play with freedom and adventure, suited them. Arsenal's technical ability far outstripped Hull's, yet that was irrelevant during the breathless early stages. Hull took the game to Arsenal from the first whistle and here was evidence of Bruce's newly developed tactical flexibility. Any preconceived notions that Hull would sit back and let Arsenal dictate the game were busted during that incredible opening spell, when goals from James Chester and Curtis Davies gave them a lead to protect. It was the quirkiness of Hull's system that unnerved Arsenal. Instead of picking two strikers, Bruce left Matty Fryatt on his own in attack and selected five defenders – but this was not a case of parking the bus. The wing-backs, Ahmed Elmohamady and Liam Rosenior, were resourceful in their efforts to provide width, while a midfield diamond allowed Hull to counteract Arsenal's individual brilliance, movement and one-touch triangles. Tom Huddlestone, booed by the Arsenal fans because of his Tottenham Hotspur past, was an effective shield at the base of the diamond, David Meyler and Jake Livermore buzzed with energy and purpose, and the diminutive Stephen Quinn was a constant source of danger in his free role behind Fryatt. It was Quinn's corner that led to Chester scoring after four minutes and, five minutes later, he was twisting and turning on the left before sending in a cross that ended with Davies finishing from close range. Arsenal's worst fears were being played out and soon Kieran Gibbs was clearing an Alex Bruce header off the line. That reprieve jolted Arsenal into life and, shortly after Gibbs's game-changing clearance, Santi Cazorla pulled a goal back with a free-kick from 25 yards out. The ball flew into the top corner, but the sight of Allan McGregor kicking a post in frustration was proof that Hull's goalkeeper felt he should have saved it. Although McGregor got fingertips to the ball, he dived too late to make a difference. Cazorla's goal altered the mood inside Wembley and, although Arsenal were rarely at their free-flowing best, Hull had too long to hang on. The warning signs were there. They dropped too deep, retreating into defensive mode as their threat on the break diminished, and Laurent Koscielny's equaliser – with 20 minutes to go – had been coming, even though the corner from which the Arsenal defender scored should not have been awarded. Losing Alex Bruce because of an injury was unfortunate and Hull's three centre-backs struggled to deal with the sheer nuisance value of Yaya Sanogo once he was introduced alongside Olivier Giroud. Hull were dead on their feet and praying for penalties, but there was no coming back from Aaron Ramsey's winner in the second half of extra time. There were tears in their end and they will agonise over what might have been for weeks. What if Alex Bruce's header had beaten Gibbs? What if McGregor had saved Cazorla's free-kick? What if Sone Aluko's shot had drifted in near the end? What if …? But Hull made a city proud and no one can ever take that away from them. Defeat stings, but they have come a long way since the days when the threat of extinction loomed large. Remember this final the next time someone says that the FA Cup does not matter.
It was exactly the same on the radio on the way down to the final and on the way back. Arsenal this, Arsenal that, reality is they are some distance from being a title winning side IMHO - the fact they haven't won anything for 9 years is reflective of how far their stock has fallen versus Man City, Liverpool etc. They are, for now, just a cup side. We gave an amazing account of ourselves yesterday.
Got in about 1:30:am and put Sky news and BBC news on just to see what they said. Where Hull City even playing? Hardly any mention of us. This morning my daughter told me that everyone she knew were complaining about the commentary on the TV yesterday and watching the highlights on ITV player I know what she means. It was just this absolute certainty they had that Arsenal would win even at 2-0 down. The world of football media just will not stand any team breaking into their exclusive little circle of "Big clubs". Yesterday I didn't feel too bad at the final whistle cos the whole game had been like a daze with such a great atmosphere and I know that the players gave 150% and where dead on their knees at the end and we couldn't have asked for more. However after seeing it on TV I feel bad cos we really really did come close and those last 15 minutes of extra time our players were incredible.
it's hard to accept the defeat when all our players were performing at their limits, they get nothing for that but respect and love. In many ways they've won an awful lot for themselves and for us.
Not surprising that the papers haven't at any point picked up on the fact that we started the game with 6 English players, 1 Scottish, 3 Irish and 1 Egyptian with an English manager. Arsenal had only 1 English player in their starting 11, 1 Welsh,the rest were foreign plus only 1 English sub and a foreign manager. Not even sure what the difference in total cost of each team is.
Excellent point, thank you. Now when everyone goes on about Arsenal playing well to me, I know what I'll be pointing to.
Went to the final expecting to get beaten but praying not to be thrashed. What I got was a great display of football from my team. If I was an Arsenal fan on the other hand I would be embarrassed of the show my team put up. They dived that much I expected them to be in diver's suits after halftime. Every tackle they rolled about like a load of Jessie's to get a free kick I have seen lady footballers with more balls than that lot. I always thought Arsenal where know for pretty football, it was lacking yesterday.
Really got to me yesterday as I stood in a sea of black and amber and remembered when a trip to north London meant Barnet away with 250 fans, and when I thought of my dad who took me to Boothferry Park in the 70's and never got to see times like these, and when they started to play "Wise men say..." a massive lump in my throat prevented me from joining in with the other 24,999 City fans. Never been more proud of the team or the fans as I am now.
Just like the build up was largely about Arsenal I suppose the post-game stuff will be as well, so I haven't bothered reading it. This result was obviously way better than a hammering some (not me) predicted. But maybe a narrow 1-0 defeat would have been rather easier than a 2-0 lead gradually ground down to a defeat over about 110 minutes. As good as the effort was the story will end up being about the comeback.
Mesut Ozil at £42.5 million cost three times the amount of our starting line up.Puts it in perspective ,doesn't it?
It also shows how ridiculously unbalanced the top tier is. I thought this league was supposed to be hip internationally, where are all the foreign billionaires to buy up the other clubs to make it more competitive?
Thought he maybe cost about twice what our team did but three times as much is huge. Wonder what the total cost of their team is. Might work it out later. Bet it's a scary figure. Even scarier for them is the fact they only managed to get into a winning position with 11 minutes to go. We held them for 109 minutes. Not bad for our first attempt at a cup.
