Stoke City v Manchester City FA Cup Final Match Thread

Please post anything to do with the upcoming tough match with Manchester City in the FA Cup Final in this thread please. Any other thread on the subject will be merged into this thread.

 

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11701_6923915,00.html?

Stoke winger Jermaine Pennant believes the majority of pressure is on favourites Manchester City ahead of the FA Cup final.

The 28-year-old thinks the Wembley clash against Roberto Mancini's expensively-assembled squad will be 'one of the toughest games of our lives', but is confident they will be able to compete.

Tony Pulis' Stoke have spent the last three seasons in the Premier League proving people wrong and upsetting the bigger clubs, which was highlighted by their 3-1 win over third-placed Arsenal at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday.

And although a one-off match at a neutral venue may benefit Manchester City's vast array of experienced internationals, Stoke showed with their 5-0 semi-final demolition of Bolton they can perform on the big occasion.

"We will be underdogs next week, there's no doubt about that, but people said we were the underdogs yesterday," said Pennant, who has helped his team to a five-match unbeaten run ahead of the trip to Wembley.

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"We like it that way. We always seem to be the underdogs but that title suits us, it takes a bit of pressure off.

Fine form

"In recent weeks we have proven that we can cut it against the top teams in this division.

"We held Chelsea to a draw and we beat a very good Arsenal side pretty comfortably, so we are in fine form at the moment.

"We need to make sure we keep going though. A lot of people asked questions as to whether the 5-0 win against Bolton would hinder our progress in the league but I think we have answered that with our performances.

"People keep asking questions of us and we keep answering them. We will need to do that again on Saturday because it will be one of the toughest games of our lives."

Although Stoke are looking to lift the famous old trophy for their first time in their history, Pulis believes the long-term future of the club will be linked to their Premier League record.

"People are talking about the weekend being the most important day in the club's history, but what we mustn't forget is that next season we get our fourth year in the Premier League," he said.

 

Well we are only 4 days away from our biggest ever game.We go into this game brimming with confidence but we wait anxiously on news on Matty and Huth.

City are strong defensively and have Silva,and the main man Toure in the middle who needs close attention.Don't know if Tevez is fit if he is it will give them a big lift as i rate him highly.

We wont get a better chance of lifting the famous trophy and it could come down to a bit of magic from either team to win it.but whatever happens TP and the lads have done us proud .

 

Cardiff fan in peace

I just wanted to wish you all the best for the cup final.
I've always admired Tony Pulis and after watching the way you destroyed Bolton in the semi and beat Arsenal last week, I see no reason why you can't beat Man City either.

Good luck guys.

 

Some worrying news for Stoke. Tevez looks likely to be on the bench tonight against Spurs so looks likely to be playing on Saturday. Plus, nothing really new on Huth, still sounds 50/50, same with Matty. I just hope it's a bit of bluffing and mind games from Coates.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13346941.stm

Stoke centre-back Robert Huth has flown to Spain to see a knee specialist as he battles to be fit for Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester City.

The German was substituted after suffering the injury during the Potters 3-1 victory over Arsenal on Sunday.

The loss of Huth would be a huge blow for Stoke boss Tony Pulis, who also has a major doubt over Matthew Etherington.

The winger tore his hamstring in the win over Wolves on 26 April, but has responded well to treatment.

The injuries to Huth and Etherington have compounded the disappointment of losing defender Danny Higginbotham and striker Ricardo Fuller, who have already been ruled out for the rest of the season with knee and Achilles heel problems respectively.

Saturday's final clash against Manchester City will be the Potters first FA Cup final appearance in their history and Stoke chairman Peter Coates said it will be a huge disappointment if Huth and Etherington miss out.

"They are amongst our very best players so we are going to miss them if they don't play," explained Coates.

"We are all trying to do what we can to get them to play but you can only do what you can."

As well as being an important player defensively for Stoke, former Middlesbrough defender Huth has proven to be a threat going forward, scoring nine goals this season.

Coates added: "Robert has been a tremendous player for us, a candidate for player of the season.

"He has had treatment, he has responded quite well but I think the view is he is still very doubtful.

"We are doing all we can. Anything we can do, we are doing, we are keeping our fingers crossed for him.

Meanwhile Etherington, who has scored six goals for Pulis' side during the current campaign, was expected to be out for four to six weeks but has made impressive progress.

"Etherington has got a chance," said Coates, "and we didn't think that would happen at one time. It would be great if they are available.

"They will be desperate to play and it would be great if they are because they have done so much for the club. We want them out there, if there's anyway of doing it.

"But if not it will be someone else's opportunity, people do sometimes step up and it can be cometh the hour, cometh the man."

 

Cheers mate

 

http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10310~2357924,00.html?

TONY PULIS has revealed that Stoke City will make a last-minute call on the fitness of key pair Matthew Etherington and Robert Huth as they battle to recover from injury in time to feature in the FA Cup Final on Saturday.

Pulis has reported that both players are making steady progress and stand a chance of making it back in time to play at Wembley.

Etherington's place in the Final was thrown into doubt when he damaged a hamstring in the Staffordshire derby against Wolverhampton Wanderers , while Huth suffered a knee ligament injury in the Arsenal game on Sunday.

"The two of them are now doing some light training, but it will go right to the wire, so we will make a last-minute call," said Pulis.

"They're both desperate to play and they're doing everything they can to get fit, but we will have to make a decision that is right for the team and indeed right for them. It will be a tough call, but we'll give them every chance.

"That means they will have a fitness test sometime before the match, either at the hotel or when we get to Wembley Stadium. So that decision will probably be made at two o'clock just before the team sheet has to be put in."

He added: "We said two weeks ago that we'd make a late call on Matty and he has made steady progress since then.

"It's now a matter of building up the strength in the hamstring, but the medical and fitness team we have here are doing a magnificent job to get him right, and they'll obviously have a big say in whether it's right for him to play.

"The same can be said of Huthy. He spent two days in Spain earlier this week having injections which should help to speed up his recovery and he's reported that his knee feels easier. But it's still too early to make a judgement."

 

Well I am pleased to see a wee bit of support from Cardiff. May a few more in Wales wish us well for the sake of TP?

 

Got nothin else to say treat us boys ... i will be there ,, the semi was amazing can we really do it ?

 

We’ve reached the end of the Road to Wembley. It started way back on the 14th August with an Extra Preliminary tie between Brockton and Coleshill Town and ends exactly 9 months later, on 14th May, as Stoke City and Manchester City meet under the Wembley Arch. With Manchester City securing a Champions League spot, Stoke will qualify for the Europa League regardless of the result.




The Road To Wembley …..


Extra Preliminary Round:

BROCTON 4-4 Coleshill Town
Replay
Coleshill Town 2-1 BROCTON


Preliminary Round:

Heather St. John’s 2-3 COLESHILL TOWN


First Qualifying Round

Evesham Utd 1-3 COLESHILL TOWN


Second Qualifying Round:

COLESHILL TOWN 5-1 Lincoln Utd


Third Qualifying Round

Nuneaton Town 6-0 COLESHILL TOWN


Fourth Qualifying Round

Workington 1-1 NUNEATON TOWN
Replay
NUNEATON TOWN 1-0 Workington


Round ONE

Lincoln City 1-0 NUNEATON TOWN


Round TWO

Hereford Utd 2-2 LINCOLN CITY
Replay
LINCOLN CITY 3-4 Hereford Utd


Round THREE

Wycombe Wanderers 0-1 HEREFORD UTD


Round FOUR

Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 HEREFORD UTD


Round FIVE

Birmingham City 3-0 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY


Round SIX

BIRMINGHAM CITY 2-3 Bolton Wanderers


SEMI FINAL

BOLTON WANDERERS 0-5 Stoke City


2011 FA CUP FINAL

STOKE CITY v Manchester City


Focus on Manchester City:

Man City are playing in their 9th FA Cup Final, with 4 wins and 4 defeats up to now. Their last final was in 1981, the 100th FA Cup Final, when they went down 3-2 to Spurs in a replay courtesy of ‘that goal’ by Ricky Villa. They last lifted the trophy in 1969, when Neil Young’s first half goal saw off Leicester City.

Manchester City’s cup run so far:

Round Three
Leicester City 2-2 MAN CITY
Replay
MAN CITY 4-2 Leicester City

Round Four
Notts County 1-1 MAN CITY
Replay
MAN CITY 5-0 Notts County

Round Five
MAN CITY 3-0 Aston Villa

Round Six
MAN CITY 1-0 Reading

Semi Final
MAN CITY 1-0 Man Utd


Last Season:

After wins at Middlesbrough and S****horpe, City went out in a 5th replay – to none other than STOKE CITY!


Random Fact:

City’s record attendance at Maine Road was 84,569 – in the FA Cup 6th Round in 1934.
Their opponents (believe it or not) were Stoke City! Man City won 1-0 and went on the win the cup, beating Portsmouth 2-1 in the final.

 

Yes we can.
Yes we can.
Yes we can.

Goarrrrrrrrrrrrrrn!

 

I'll be either at a mates or down the pub for this one, went the semi, promised the old man he could use my ticket if we got through. . . Regretting saying it now!
Still, I can't wait, still gonna make a proper day of it!

 

I love how Scunthorpe gets censored with the No Swearing filter (which keeps resetting back to "No Swearing" for some reason)

 

I'll be there with my brother this time, who's travelling up from S Wales for it

Soooo excited for it now. I had a day's holiday booked for Friday ages ago relating to another trip but obviously that got cancelled. Still taking the day off as would be useless at work anyway !!!

In case anyone's interested there's a big turnout planned at the Globe, Baker Street (as with the Semi, though Man City did the same apparently, and then Stoke have the pubs around Wembley Park Station along Bridge Road i.e Sports Bar, Torch, Wembley Tavern etc

Let's get it on !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

http://tinyurl.com/6fprz56 David Cameron is going to be at the FA Cup Final. I think i'm going to be sick.

 

The boys en route to Wembley. Apologies for the picture being sideways. I got it off Twitter like this.

please log in to view this image

 

If its anything like the green man pre match should be a good crack .Can't wait for it now looking forward to seeing our name on that cup final programme and its going to be a great build up lets just enjoy every moment whatever happens.

Got a feeling Big Huthy and Matty are going to be ok .

 

This is what makes the FA cup so special. Starting with Brocton.

And quite ironic Man city v Stoke that attendance of 84,000 in 1934

 

Not exactly a flash exclusive but someone on my Twitter who saw the players off at the train station today posted this:

@RSummers7
Super Jon
I think Huth will be fine. He was in the lounge sitting down, got up fine, walked fine, no limp, dropped something picked it up.

Another tweet, which hopefully is just down to precaution

@lauramaybbc
laura mcmullan
@johnacresbbc got everything crossed 4 stoke city #scfc unfortunately huth on crutches getting on train tonight.

 

Not sure how to feel right now. This week i've had mixed feelings, i've been excited, terrified and nervous. At the moment I think i'm a mix of all three.