Replay truly is a pain in the Arse

By: Martyn | January 26th, 2009

I’ll just come right out and say it. I would rather have lost yesterday’s FA Cup game against Arsenal than drawn it (0-0). Having witnessed what truly was a magical run to the final of this old and famous yet now rather moribund competition last season, I still have feelings bordering on ambivalence toward it. Primarily, this relates to the way our league campaign died with barely even a whimper as we sauntered our way to Wemb-er-leeeeeee last time out. Now I know it wasn’t so long ago blah blah blah that we were blah blah in the old division three (I was a regular attendee) and all that jazz, thus we should appreciate the fact we have a team who can reach cup finals and hold a team that includes Nicklas (resort) Bendtner and Emmanuel EbOOOOOOOOOOOOOOue to scoreless draws. But I think of the FA Cup like the service station on an away trip. Sure, it’s nice to get in there and have a piss without being rocked side-to-side and soiling your trainers. And sure, it’s all well and fun spending money in the Burger King and Marks & Spencer franchises that charge you Credit Crunch-inducing amounts for a packet of grapes or a small paper bag of fries that are more yellow than the C-pad buttons on my N64 controller pad. But ultimately, the journey doesn’t peak with stretching your legs at Membury. It’s about getting from A to B. From the Gabalfa stop where I get on at for away days, to the generic identikit stadium that is the home of that particular week’s opposition. Or hitting this metaphor nonsense on the head, from getting from one league to another. And that is why, ladies and gents, the idea of a replay doesn’t fill this City fan with an enormous amount of pride and joy. In my opinion, the Arsenal game was the third most important game we have this week, trailing behind tomorrow night’s clash with Coventry at the Chico Arena, and most crucially, Saturday’s home match with a resurgent Forest side. Bah ruddy Humbug!

That’s not to say of course that I didn’t appreciate getting my hands on a ticket for or enjoy the glamour tie I made my way to Ninian Park for yesterday. I think every one of us has a sneaky admiration for the boys in erm, yellow and the thought of bringing the Big Boys down a peg or two. This clash also carried an air of romance given that it was the North London side we beat to secure our one and only grasp on the trophy, way back when in 1927. Mind you, I’m certain that back in that twenties game there was wasn’t a Hungarian (Gyepes) marking a Togolese intruder (Adebayor)!

We veered between pressing Tottenham’s fiercest rivals in order to hurry them into sloppiness (cough, Ramsey, cough) and sitting deep and closing the space. I felt a lot more comfortable when we sat back because all too often you see teams run the soles of their feet off in a cup tie against bigger opposition, only to flounder hopelessly in their next domestic league game. What happens against Coventry City tomorrow remains to be seen… I digress. Back to the cup game, and Arsenal started to show their class in the second half (albeit due to some much needed substitutions) and find chinks in our wall. We certainly had a few chances ourselves however, but as has been the story of the 08 part of the 08/09 campaign, we failed to take them. This is why we haven’t scored more than two goals in any game all season and will struggle to amend that. Our solid backline once again bailed us out towards the end like they have all season in keeping us in with a shout (except of course when they take a nap in stoppages) in the play-off zone.

One interesting substitution took place towards the end of the game. Off came Chris Burke, on came left back Tony Capaldi. However, he seemed to play directly in front of the current left back Mark Kennedy. Uh!!?? Two left backs. Well, it had me puzzled for a little while (and Capaldi himself too, who had to remain in constant communication with Kennedy so as to work out where he should be standing/going) until all seemed to settle down. Dave Jones was using some TACTICAL INNOVATION. Trust me, Dave Jones switching formations occurs about as often as Coca Cola has changed its brand name. In effect, we seemed to be playing a 4-3-2-1 pyramid formation. The backline remained the same, while Capaldi, Ledley and Rae tucked in to put a wall in front of the wall. Then, McCormack and Parry operated as attacking widemen and and central AMF’s (the former when we had the ball), with Bothroyd defending/leading the line from the front. It was brilliant, and of course, worked in bolting the gate! Given the fact we’ve conceded so many late goals this year, more of the same please!

As for the atmosphere, it was a little subdued at times. Alas, the Grange End (City’s main singing stand) was given solely to Arsenal fans on Police advice, and thus where the atmosphere is normally generated by the home support was lost. Grange End season ticket holders were accomodated mainly in the Bob Bank Terrace which has no roof and leaks noise as a result. That’s not to say you could hear a pin drop or the grass blades talking to one another; there was a pleasing backdrop of noise that is absent from most league encounters. Bar some minor skirmishes in the one corner by the big screen at the end, the day thankfully passed by without any trouble. Given the way Milwall fans behaved the previous day up in Humberside, the media would have just loved to slaughter us had anything serious escalated.

As for the Goooooooooners team who found their way to Ninian Park on a chilly January afternoon, Nasri was the most impressive player. Tricky, quicky and quirky in attack, strong and resolute in tracking back. Wenger really did recover a gem when he raided Marseille for this boy. Even if he does look suspiciously pasty for someone from the South of France. Elsewhere, Diaby added some bite and urgency to the centre midfield upon entering the field of play. Robin Van Persie was as menacing as ever, while young Kieran Gibbs did an impressive job in shutting down Chris Burke. Between the Poles (I couldn’t resist a pun), Fabianski looked calm, collected and assured. Meanwhile Nicklas Bendtner, Emmanuel Eboue and Aaron Ramsey all had absolute stinkers. Former City player Ramsey in particular was woeful, terrible, futile (to come all over Brian Glanville!).

The boys in blue, how did they do?

Jay Bothroyd – Showed his class against his former class. The perfect link-up between the midfield and McCormack and surely an outside bet for Cardiff City’s Player of the Year award?

Joe Ledley – Are the cameras here? Yes Joe, yes they are. Are Premier League scouts here? One would imagine one or two are, aye. Is a world class manager who is yet to open his chequebook here? Abso-bloody-lutely Ledley! So yeah, Joe decided to turn it on. Footballer’s brains and priorities: You gotta love ‘em!

Peter Enckelman – Several wonderful saves, the pick of the bunch being a one-on-one strong palmer from Nasri. His kicking was a tad erratic mind you. Nevertheless, I was waiting for the chant of “FINLAND’S NO.1, FINLAND’S FINLAND’S NO. 1″ to break out. Yet to happen, funnily enough.

Gabor Gyepes – Strong and powerful. Can at times seem almost anonymous as he goes about his business, but whereas Johnson and Purse lunge in, Gyepes leans in but gets the job done.

Kevin McNaughton – Gave a good account of himself with a strong tackling, last ditch hurling in, no-nonsense performance. Struggled with the imperious Nasri on occasion, but never looked out of place.

Ross McCormack – I presume his favourite Snow Patrol song is rather obvious, given his ability to run, run, run. Almost won the game with a curling, dipping FK!

Roger Johnson – Your quintessential British lower league centre half cup showing. Bish Bash Bosh Clatter Head Hoof. Against Arsenal in an arses-to-the-goalposts job, necessary stuff.

Paul Parry – His delivery was pretty good, and Parry almost scored with a great chance. Nevertheless, he should have done more to get involved, even when it came to holding the line.

Gavin Rae – Battles like the Scotish stereotype has you believe, and gave his lungsa pounding. But lets himself down with a distinct lack of technical ability, composure and grace. He’s somewhere in between a bull and Stephen Fry in a china shop.

Tony Capaldi – Looked confused as to where he was supposed to be playing, but his experience in the backline helped earn the replay.

Chris Burke – So promising against Brum, but well marshalled and poor-ish here. His touch was heavy and he gave the opposition plenty of opportunities to get it off him as a result.

Mark Kennedy – Clever and canny at times, but his passing and crossing is atrocious.

Eddie Johnson – Put his shinnies on, tied his shoelaces, got a pat on the buttocks from Terry Burton, and that was it really. Has scored 2 in 2 for the reserve side recently. Wilko (reserve team manager) – feel free to keep him!