Spudulike

For all the money that ITV must spend, their football coverage still manages to feel cheap. Bang on about the game Mac - end to end, genuinely exciting and a classic underdog performance.

ITV had a two year deal, from early 2012 I think. The deal finishes at the end of the 13/14 season. Is the FA Cup one of the sporting events that has to be on non-pay TV?

Hear hear

I don't think he'd even consider managing Manchester's second team. He'd only want Utd.

Jeez - how many teams have won cup AND possibly been relegated in same season?! Deserved goal.

Yep. Thanks for that comment Gem - defo wouldn't slag off CFC - virtually my second team and bear you no ill will.I can't complain if any stick does come my way - I'm on this site voluntarily!

Yep, I'd put money on it.

It's only a matter of time before half time is officially re-named 'it's bet in play time, nahw...'

ITV - using 'WTF' camera angles; City player waiting to play a cross into the box and ITV leaving the box itself out of shot. Good game so far.

Yep. It's a small minority but it's just embarassing. I'm hoping they're younger posters as the comments are childish, imo. Amazing comeback today from Chels - I thought you were down and out at half time. Doesn't look too good now for us but it's still possible, on paper...

1. Sorry re JT posts by some idiots on Spuds forums; 2. That young Lampard feller looks a good prospect...Many congrats to him (glad he got chance to get there); Stoke awaits...

I dunno. I tend to worry before games and, yep, a draw is no good to us, but I think we'll beat Stoke. I'm a lot less sure about Sunderland but we need for a top 4 place to be poss, when we get there. Hope Villa game goes ok for you guys - and that the Gunners drop the baton.

Fair point. I have been cocky there and commented when there was no need - this is a Chels site and I'll remember that, and will curb my enthusiasm.Stars - sorry for my comments, sincerely. I overstepped the mark.

Yeah. Just thought I'd spell out the huge flaw in his boast, to him. Probably been done before...:-) Also, it's not much of an exclusive. If he's going to make stuff up, at least make it interesting!

The point of having a confidential source is that, err... the source is confidential. IF you have such a source, you aren't doing yourself (or the source) any favours by saying to all and sundry, 'have I told you about my CONFIDENTIAL source?' !!! Also, IF your source is enabling you to place bets, based on his info, how wise is it of you to tell us?...

Agreed. What I meant to imply was that the largest audience for the FA Cup Final was the neutral Tv viewer. It's that neutral audience that is now fading, imo, due to people over-hyping things like the CL and giving less prominence to the FA Cup. Plus, there are so many other channels to watch/things to be distracted by, than in the 1970s.

You can look back to when I was a kid and there were fewer distractions, competing with the cup for our attention, than today. There were three TV channels only, with programmes being shown from about 3pm onwards and the channels closing down at midnight. Because of this, the televised sports were truly national - you could guarantee that everyone else would be watching what you were watching (also, Mars bars were only 5p - awesome, young feller me lad - though off topic).I think the other thing that's changed is that marketing people keep telling us what's big - the CL is shoved down our throats as being the pinnacle of club football and people believe the hype. Lastly, ITV can't publicise the final, over multiple media, in the way the BBC can. The FA cup does suffer from being on ITV.

Agreed re. ITV - shocking stuff - and MOTD. Apparently, the Radio rights are bid for. Radio 5 just renewed their EPL rights for 3 years, and the FA Cup and England International rights for 5 years. Radio 5 has no rights for some EPL games (Saturday late k/o and Sunday midday) and sonetimes decides not to broadcast other games they do have rights for. Talk Sport is really competing against Radio 5 and, if the cost of the broadcast rights keeps rising, I wonder whether they'll reduce the number of games they bid to commentate on? For radio broadcasts, stations bid to win packages of 30 or so matches. There are seven packages: the BBC has four. Hope BBC can stay in the game on the radio, at least.

Interesting story this as BT have raided Radio 5 Live: Darren Fletcher, Alastair Eykyn (Tennis/Rugby Union), Lynsey Hipgrave (Tennis) and Nick Mullins (Tennis/Rugby Union) are all off to BT (as well as Jake Humphrey from BBC TV). Imo, BBC have lost the will to compete with other channels/forms of media, in sport. I can even see a day when Radio 5 loses EPL rights - it's coming. V sad.

Jeez - if they don't start in the final then the stuff that's been said in the 'Axe to Grind' thread will be true. You need fighters in a game like Wednesday's - blokes who'll put themselves on the line for the club. Plus, they should both be there on merit, anyhow. There is a view that RB is poorly treated by fans. If he's planning this sort of sh*t, then he gets all he asks for. Edit: there's also a sort of duty in games like this, imo, to play those who've been good to the club. The team would be stronger with them anyway ; it would be the right, fair, thing to do.

I don't want to cause any Chels fans offence but, on Wed, the Chelsea subs were so hard to understand. For whatever reason they were made, they helped us back into the game and, whilst we appreciated that, part of me was thinking 'why on earth has he done that?' Spurs kept up the work rate and were obviously less tired, towards the end, than Chelsea, but we were going under at half time and you have to wonder how we got back into the game. Two points is two points.

Spot on. Moyes has gone from '...is he good enough for us? ...what's he won?...' to 'If SAF has chosen him, he's obviously top notch...' in the space of 24 hours. There's some Utd fans saying '...SAF will really be in charge, behind the scenes'.# fickle

I reckon that it's conceit on RB's part, not a plan. He's one of those managers who likes to avoid the obvious - he'd bring on Benayoun just (in his mind) to be proved right, to be seen (in his own mind) to be making so-and-so a better player. This type of manager will not always send on an obviously capable sub as, by doing so, he can't show how 'clever' he is. RB looks to me like one of those fuss-arsing, note-taking, tinkerers. If a game's going well, he can't always leave well alone.

Apology not needed mate. It's a Chels site, there's gonna be some anti-Spurs stuff and I accept that. I can't really hang around here and then complain!

I think 'would i have been ok with where we are, in August?'. The answer's yes for me. New manager and a developing team: good start and bring on next season. We can still get CL, need a lot of luck though.