FA Cup Final - Liverpool v West Ham (everything)

redspider

Its Thur before the Sat of the FA Cup Final, and Liverpool's (and West Ham's) only hope of silverware this season and record book glory. On paper, Liverpool are favourites and bookies are giving Liverpool 3-10, West Ham 12-5. However, this is a final, and we know that anything can happen in a final, just ask Liverpool and Wimbledon about 1989! West Ham also have a good FA Cup pedigree and this season have been a footballing side, as Spurs also recently found out. They are far from pushovers.

So, who do you think will win?
And who do you think will play and what will the tactics be?


Some news on Alonso:
Rafael Benitez today insisted he won't take any risks with Xabi Alonso's fitness when he finalises his team plans for Saturday's FA Cup final.
Alonso is battling to be fit for the clash with West Ham after spraining his right ankle against Portsmouth last weekend.

Benitez is hopeful his inspirational midfielder will recover in time to start in midfield, but he won't be taking any chances with a major trophy at stake.

He said: "We need to see tomorrow. He was working with the physios and maybe tomorrow he can do some exercises and we can see what shape he is in.

"At this moment I do not know if he will be fit, but I will have a much clearer idea tomorrow. It depends what the doctors say whether we leave a decision on Xabi until the last minute.

"But I also have confidence in Momo, Stevie and Didi, and if it would be a risk with Xabi then maybe we would go with the other players."


redspider

Táck

redspider wrote:

Liverpool's only hope of silverware this season

apart from the super cup, obviously

http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Photo/competitions/SuperCup/330622_MEDIUMSQUARE.jpg

fade2black

T&#225 wrote: »

apart from the super cup, obviously

http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Photo/competitions/SuperCup/330622_MEDIUMSQUARE.jpg

Wouldn't that be an end of season trophy?

shatners basoon

Bit early for a thread methinks but hey its good to get the conversation going.
Naturally i'm hoping we hammer them! (sorry!) Don't think its going to be a walkover by any means though. We've beaten them twice this year already so thats a good sign but of course this game could be very different.

I think the midfield is the key area and thats where liverpool will come up trumps, West Ham have a very good midfield but i still don't think it can dominate in the same way as Pool's. I'm just worried that the strength of Harewood, Zamorra and co. could trouble us if they're given the opportunity but if the distibution is stopped i'd be confident of the win. Our forwards are scoring now too so im not too worried about putting a few past them.

Don't particularily like being favourites actually, i've got a tenner on the game with a mate tho so at least i've got better odds (no pun intended this time i promise!)

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

I think it'll depend on whether Liverpool can get an early goal or not the longer it stays level (or if West Ham score first) the more I think it'll swing towards the Hammers...

galwaydude

I hope liverpool can do it. West ham will be a tough game but liverpool are playing really well lately.

Liverpool to win 2:0 with gerrard and cisse scoring the goals. I will be watching the game in an irish bar in boston. Come on the reds!!!!

emc2

Has anyone heard the version of "ring of fire" that liverpool have out and where can i get it.

zAbbo

emc2 wrote:

Has anyone heard the version of "ring of fire" that liverpool have out and where can i get it.

Only from the official site i heard - www.liverpoolfc.tv

applehunter

Liverpool should power themselves to victory on Saturday.

Don't like West Ham or Pardew so hopefully Liverpool can give them a lesson.

3-0

Necronomicon

Even without Alonso Liverpool are stronger in midfield, West Ham are missing their anchor in Mullins so you'd expect them to overpower them in midfield.
Having said that, I think West Ham have as good a strike-force as Liverpool and they'll have to be careful of that. 90 minutes, cup final, who knows. I don't think I'll make a prediction!

fade2black

I couldn't call myself a neutral as such in this as obviously all my Christmases would come at once if Liverpool lost but I would love to see a decent end to end game and one where the winning team are throughly deserving of the trophy.

May the best team win etc and hope all the Liverpool fans have a good day out.

mike65

Ahem, Wimbeldon was 1988 actually! Oops!

Heck it far too early to be talking about this, I've not had time to ponder the winning formation with Luis Garcia off the park (damn)!

Rafa wants to win this every bit as much as Pardew does so I don't suppose any risks will be taken with the line up or formation.

Assuming Alonso does'nt make it

---

Reina
Finnan--Carra-Hyypia-Riise
Cisse---Gerrard--Sissoko-Kewell

---

Crouch-Morientes

With Alonso

---

Reina
Finnan---Carra---Hypia---Riise
Gerrard-Alonso-Sissoko-Kewell

---

Ciise----Crouch

Mike.

p.pete

Shame Fowler has to sit it out - Morientes can empathise I'm sure...

I'm expecting West Ham to get built down to be as hopeful of winning as Wimbledon were - West Ham are a lot better then that and are on the back of a fantastice season, and of course Wimbledon won!

Ronan|Raven

Will be a very close game I feel. People shouldnt write West Ham off there is pretty much no pressure on them and they will just go for it I imagine. Both teams have a few first choicers out. I woudlnt rule out an upset but I hope there isnt one!

redspider

mike65 wrote:

Ahem, Wimbeldon was 1988 actually!
I've not had time to ponder the winning formation with Luis Garcia off the park (damn)!

Yes, it was 1988. The pain is still there.
There was another disaster in 1989, when Liverpool gave the league title away to Arsenal. Who said that the 1980's were the glory years!

I would concur with your team selections Mike. I dont like to see Cisse out on the right, but we have few other options. Hamann may also be a player to get a game of some sort, and may be more stable, so midfield (without Alonso) could be something like:

Gerrard - Sissoko - Hamann - Kewell

with Cisse and Crouch up front.

Hopefully Alonso will be fit. It would be a big shame if both him and Garcia miss on this, as they are both 1st string players. Alonso has been doing trojan work, and Garcia is Garcia, inconsistent yet unexpected.

Its funny how Kewell is now more or less guaranteed a spot. Rafa's only option in this is to play Riise in midfield and Warnock at the back, but Warnock has not been consistent enough in my book. Unless he's thinking about a Traore, nah. It has to be Riise in the back line and Kewell on the left of midfield.

One big danger for Liverpool is the pace of their forewards like Harewood, who if left in a one-on-one situation with Hyypia would skin him for pace, in that big pitch and on a hot sunny day.

The FA Cup final is a match where all players feel the strain and where by and large teams under-perform, knock the ball about more safely for fear of losing, etc, and is usually why games can be close. Unlike a league trophy, a loss means that you are out.

39 hours and counting until kick-off .......

redspider

growler

Riise has a nasty habit of scoring early in Cardiff, on paper I would expect Liverpool to win this fairly comfortably, having watched cheslea's 10 men put 4 past them not too long ago I can't really belive that the hammers have it in them to do this, but it is the cup who knows... but for one day only I will be a west ham supporter.

mchurl

I have a feeling this will be a lot closer than some people think. West Ham are a decent side and have a very dangerous strike force. They are tough at the back as well, the only lace i worry is in centre midfield where liverpool are strongest, as i feel Reo-Coker may be slgihtly over-run in there. The atmosphere should be top class as well. I fancy a tight game and we could even see extra time. Liverpool to just sneak it though thanks to there midfield.

Also isnt it a disgrace the way the FA have handled the stolen ticket affair?

ianomccabe

Word coming out of Liverpool camp is Alonso is fit

mike65

mchurl, the FA truly screwed that up did'nt they? All that was required was to re-issue tickets in a different colour, anyway Liverpool have come to a partial rescue

Most of the Liverpool fans who had their FA Cup final tickets stolen will get to attend Saturday's game after all.

More than 1 000 tickets were stolen from a mail van in Liverpool last week, and Millennium Stadium officials refused to provide duplicate tickets for security reasons.

Liverpool said on Thursday that tickets originally set aside for a fan ballot would be used to replace the stolen tickets.

"We are confident the vast majority of supporters affected will be offered replacement tickets for the final," Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said.

"Obviously, those supporters who had applied for inclusion in the ballot will be disappointed, but we feel this is the best way to deal with a very difficult situation.

"The bottom line now is that 1 000 fewer Liverpool fans will be able to watch their team in the FA Cup final."

As for Westham, they are a good footballing side, no question. If the fowards get momentum they could be hard to stop. Just have to hope the occasion
plays on thier minds a bit in the pre-match atmosphere.

Mike.

TheMonster

mike65 wrote:

mchurl, the FA truly screwed that up did'nt they? All that was required was to re-issue tickets in a different colour, anyway Liverpool have come to a partial rescue



As for Westham, they are a good footballing side, no question. If the fowards get momentum they could be hard to stop. Just have to hope the occasion
plays on thier minds a bit in the pre-match atmosphere.

Mike.

Could be a cracker if West Ham score first. can't see anything other than a pool win but I can hope

PHB

I think it'll be a tight enough match, If I was to place a bet, it'd with with liverpool just cause Gerrard is playing, but it could go either way.

West Ham have a lot of pace and power up front, which could trouble Liverpool at the back.
Reo-Coker has the ability to keep Gerrard occupied, whether he can is another question.
As always, Liverpool are lacking up front, and their physical side can be handled by Ferdinand.

I'm gona stick my head out on this one and say 1-0 to West Ham.

PHB

I think it'll be a tight enough match, If I was to place a bet, it'd with with liverpool just cause Gerrard is playing, but it could go either way.

West Ham have a lot of pace and power up front, which could trouble Liverpool at the back.
Reo-Coker has the ability to keep Gerrard occupied, whether he can is another question.
As always, Liverpool are lacking up front, and their physical side can be handled by Ferdinand.

I'm gona stick my head out on this one and say 1-0 to West Ham.

HashSlinging

Liverpool all the way, I just rec'd my 1974 liverpool T-shirt and FA cup car stickers Agggh gonna be a great match.

Its a long way back to london ! mmmkay!

mada999

expect the pool to win! come on the red men!

Shaque attack

i think it will be an open game with both teams looking to attack. west ham know their strenght is going forward and conversley liverpool know west ham are weakest at the back so they'll both be looking to get forward as much as possible, liverpool more cautiously i'd imagine.

3-0 to the pool.

redspider

The 'indicative' Liverpool squad that was mentioned yesterday was:

Reina,
Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise,
Gerrard, Sissoko, Alonso, Kewell,
Crouch, Morientes

Dudek, Kromkamp, Hamann, Cisse, Warnock, Agger, Traore.

Alonso has a good chance of being declared fit if he passes a late fitness test, which I understand is taking place this morning.

A borrowed stat attack:

Liverpool's record in the FA Cup:

Pld. 389 Won: 207 Drawn: 86 Lost: 96 Goals For: 635 Against: 364.

FA Cup head to head: Pld 5, Liverpool 4 wins, West Ham 0 wins, 1 draw.

Previous FA Cup meetings:

1900-01 Qualifying Round West Ham 0 Liverpool 1.
1913-14 Round 3 West Ham 1 Liverpool 1.
- Replay Liverpool 5 West Ham 1.
1962-63 Round 6 Liverpool 1 West Ham 0.
1975-76 Round 3 West Ham 0 Liverpool 2.

Liverpool will be playing in their 13th FA Cup Final. Only Arsenal and Manchester United, with 17 each, have played in more though Newcastle have also appeared in 13.

In their previous finals the Reds have won six and lost six.

This will be West Ham's fifth Final appearance - they have won three and lost one so far.

In Round Three Liverpool won 5-3 at Luton and in the process scored five away from home in the FA Cup for the first time since 1947.

Round Four saw them defeat Portsmouth 2-1 at Fratton Park and a Peter Crouch goal was enough to defeat Manchester United for the first time in the FA Cup since 1921 in Round Five at Anfield.

In Round Six Liverpool's 7-0 victory at Birmingham City was the club's biggest ever away FA Cup victory and the biggest by any away team at that stage of the Cup for 116 years.

The semi-final saw the Reds overcome Chelsea 2-1 to preserve their record of never having lost an FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford.

The last Liverpool player to score a hat-trick in the competition was Stan Collymore whose three goal haul came against Rochdale in 1996.

Liverpool won the first FA Cup Final to be played at the Millennium Stadium. Could they be the last?

Of the team that won the Cup in 2001 only four men could be involved today - Sami Hyypia, Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann and Steven Gerrard. The cup-tied Robbie Fowler also played in the win over Arsenal.

Hamann could appear in his third Final having played for Newcastle in 1999 before his move to Anfield.

Liverpool have seen nine different players score in this season's competition. They are:- Crouch 3, Riise 3, Alonso 2, Gerrard 2, Sinama-Pongolle 2, Cisse 1, Garcia 1, Hyypia 1, Morientes 1.

Rafa Benitez is hoping to become the fifth different foreign manager to lead a team to FA Cup success following Ruud Gullit in 1997, Arsene Wenger (1998,2002,2003,2005), Gianluca Vialli (2000) and Gerard Houllier in 2001.

A Reds victory will also enter Rafa into the record books as the first manager in the club's history to win a major trophy in each of his first two seasons in charge following last year's Champions League success.


redspider

mike65

Fergies a foreigner in my book!

---

Reina,
Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise,
Gerrard, Sissoko, Alonso, Kewell,

---

Crouch, Morientes

Looks familair alright, I'm more interested in the Hammers line up right now.

Mike.

redspider

West Ham were keeping their cards much closer to their chest yesterday. They were only telling the players this morning, it seems, after their morning loosening up and in the tactics 'session'. They brought something like 23 players or something to Cardiff. They have a few options but their most dangerous suspects are likely to figure .....

Hislop, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Collins, Konchesky, Benayoun, Reo-Coker, Fletcher, Etherington, Ashton, Harewood, Walker, Scaloni, Ward, Dailly, Newton, Reid, Sheringham, Zamora, Katan, Ephraim.

Some injury worries:
"Alan Pardew has admitted that Dean Ashton and Matthew Etherington are facing a race against time to be fit for tomorrow's FA Cup final. The injured pair have been receiving round the clock treatment during the build-up to our momentous clash against Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium, but Pards has revealed that both are still yet to face fitness tests."


redspider

deman

My prediction - Liverpool will dominate the game and win it 4-0 (Gerrard, Riise, Cisse, Crouch)

mike65

Five Live says Alonso will be fit (according Rafa). Two injury doubts for West Ham look likely to start which is good news for Pool as they could be got at.

Mike.

el rabitos

liverpool to win fairly handily i reckon, 2 - 0

ullu

Fairly trivial question but what team is in their home kit today?

el rabitos

liverpool afaik

mike65

Alonso favouring right foot, Etherington limping.

Mike.

mike65

Cisse starts alongside Crouch.

The walking wounded start for West Ham.

Mike.

The Insider

3-2 to Liverpool in a cracking game, have €20 at 28/1 on this some come on the pool!!

Roddy23

Will be hoping West Ham win this. After cheering for them last weekend, I'll be supporting them again this weekend. I'd love to see West Ham win, sadly I think Liverpool will win 3-1.

KdjaCL

Lot of players slipping on the grass.


kdjac

Aquos76

Liverpool 0 WestHam 1 og from carragher

KdjaCL

1-0 West ham


Carragher OG

Nice pass leading up to it.


kdjac

PHB

Go on the hammers

The worst person it could happen to on the liverpool team was Carragher

----

Yes, it's two!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brian017

2-0 Ashton.

Mossy Monk

2-0

w00t

wtf was the keeper playing at

KdjaCL

Giving 3 goal head start again?






kdjac

PHB

Ha, Crouch was onside.
Disallowed goal

Cisse scores with the exact same thing as Crouch did, it's all about Scaloni again. Gotta sort it Pardew

besty

HAHA

Come on the Hammers. My Man United loyalties not acting up at all.

Ok, I spoke too soon, Cissé just scored. Great pass from Gerrard

Aquos76

2-1 cisse

Brian017

2-1 Cisse

Aquos76

Very entertaing first half. Looking forward to the 2nd. Liverpool look more likely to get the next goal.

mike65

At 1-0 down I sighed "it could happen to anyone" at 2-0 down the air turned blue and when Crouches good goal was ruled off-side I really thought it was going to be one of those days. Now there is hope though West Hams quick wide play down thier right is stil a definite threat.

Mike.

kaimera

Meh, after 2 down I was resigned to watching WH score a few more but pld Cisse.

Too much sloppy passing and poor touches [i'm looking at Xabi :mad:]

Very entertaining tho.