No I don't mean the first game against a league 2 side for playing 17 year olds. I was just thinking as i read Martin Kelly's thoughts on the cup final this weekend and had to think to myself this cup final is just made to really make some guys careers and hopefully blood them to playing in big games at big stadia and again hopefully winning things. Lets just look at a list of never haves in our squad Kelly Skertl Agger Enrique spearing adam (i can't count st mirren medal sorry) downing carroll henderson Lucas reina got a 2006 fa cup winners medal Carragher and Gerrards medals need no introduction Coates and suarez have a copa america on top of other things Maxi is very experienced Kuyt has a couple of dutch medals and world cup heartache bellamy only has two scottish medals to his name glen johnson has one of every major honour in england lets face it guys...... this cup could be very very useful to give our guys expereince (and joy) of a big day with a winners medal in thier pockets. Being winners either makes you relax or makes you want more... I hope they all want a lot more of this and this will really be their first taste of the big time. You could not set it up any better, a championship opponent, the third ranked competition with a second chance down the road.... If they play as well as they can they should be celebrating on sunday night. I certainly hope it does point to real progress becuase its been a long road.
Winning a trophy can do wonders for some players and doing it early on in your career will surely drive you on to win more.
Its actually quite surprising that some of our best players have never tasted much success in cup competitions. Hopefully on Sunday that will be put right!
Bellamy's never won a medal in England, I was amazed to hear that the other day. Big day for him, hope he starts.
"I certainly won't celebrate. I tried not to against Man City [another former club; in the semi-final], I tried to hold myself back. Really I didn't celebrate that much but in the occasion and the moment you get a little bit carried away. I have no aspirations of celebrating. But I have to be on the pitch first and foremost before I think about scoring. "It will be a strange situation as it's the first time I've ever played against them. It's not something I've looked forward to doing, to be honest. My father's a big Cardiff fan and it's the club I used to go to when I was very young. I set one ambition in my life to play for them and I was able to do that."
Yeah great points MITO. We may well feel some benefits in a season or two when we are hopefully competing for the title around March/April. If we have that crunch game against Utd where the winner will have a huge advantage in wining the league title, it may pay to have players who have Cup Final experience. They should have experience of dealing with the pressure, and of winning at crucial times. It should also (providing, fingers crossed, we win) just breed good feeling and success in the squad. It'll help stop the likes of Reina getting itchy feet and keep our players' eyes on what they can win with us, rather than without us.
hopefully a guy like henderson can really come on from the experience. he strikes me as the type that if he gets a taste it'll really spur him on.
Yeah Henderson plays the game in the right way and i hope he fulfills his potential. He's the kind of player who, if he were perhaps of a different nationality, people would be saying how he just keeps the ball moving and plays give-and-go football. However because he's English even some of our own fans write him off as doing nothing. I think he could be key to our passing game as the seasons go on, and hopefully the Cup Final will speed his maturity.
It's a good job Robbie Keane doesn't have this mentality... If he did then he'd never play as every club's his boyhood club
The thing with Liverpool, is we have Lucas as a role model for all our British false starts and slow starts. Even if they are getting crap from some sections of the fan-base, everyone should realise that if they do turn it around, all will become sunny and the fans will adore you.
Fans were saying exactly the same thing (or worse) about Lucas for three seasons - look how he's developed. If Hendo comes on as well as Lucas, we'll have an exceptional player on our hands...
