FA Cup: Liverpool vs Manchester United, 18/02/06

Keane16 said:
Davo and Nate are being very reserved about this one...a bit standoffish, sombre almost. There being very level-headed about things....devoid of the usual rhetoric....I reckon they're clearly worried about getting a caning.
It's the strange rationale of the fan. They've been bigging it when they've been likely to lose - this time the world and his wife thinks they're gonna win - so they're cautious. From a neutral corner I think they're gonna thrash Man Utd's arse.
 
peterstorey said:
He doen't need to be on the pitch - it's his talismanic effect. You're dead meat.

feck you are right a 30 year old druggie that was released on a free by a shite club has a certain talismanic effect:nervous:
 
peterstorey said:
It's the strange rationale of the fan. They've been bigging it when they've been likely to lose - this time the world and his wife thinks they're gonna win - so they're cautious. From a neutral corner I think they're gonna thrash Man Utd's arse.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I'll admit the nerves are starting to kick in.

I can't sleep, for a start.

The missus reckons I'm crazy, but then she's 13 points up in a Mickey Mouse league.
 
jasonrh said:
I'll admit the nerves are starting to kick in.

I can't sleep, for a start.

The missus reckons I'm crazy, but then she's 13 points up in a Mickey Mouse league.

I'm still up too, 6 hours left now:nervous:
 
Richter said:
I'm still up too, 6 hours left now:nervous:
I'm not going to try to sleep now. It's 1:34 AM.

But then I woke up less than 12 hours ago, so I should be good to go.

I have an illness that causes me to be very achy and tired, so I've actually slept more hours this week than I've been awake! :eek:
 
Dunno how I feel about this one... all I know is my scouse cousin is comind down to watch it... dont wanna have to smack 'im :nervous:
 
Im1985 said:
Liverpool.jpg
vs
manutdaway06.gif

last time someone posted this we won...
dingy scouse shirt and pristine Manchester United shirt... hehe... :nervous:
 
Liverpool 1 - United 0

Neville OG 95th minute
 
ThomasM said:
gerrard is out of the game!!
appearantly he tried to steel the hubcaps from our bus and got arrested

Wouldn't suprize me he does look like a bit of a scally mind you 'they' all do!
 
Neville is living the dream - the FA should stay out of it
By Tony Evans
Times February 18, 2006
Our correspondent on why a little conflict should not stand in the way of emotion


IT IS Gary Neville’s 31st birthday today. Here is a present he never expected to get: backing from a Scouser.

Neville is up before the FA on Tuesday for a charge of improper conduct for celebrating Rio Ferdinand’s late goal in the 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford last month. His crime? Neville ran 60 yards to celebrate in front of the visiting supporters. Sixty yards? I would run miles to gloat in front of the Stretford End in a Liverpool shirt.

The subsequent outrage was astonishing. Liverpool fans called for action from the police and the FA. All because Neville was living a supporter’s dream. It is a sanctimonious loss of perspective to go squealing to the authorities over incidents like this. Wayne Rooney had a mobile phone hurled in his direction last year after taunting the Kop. That was reprehensible — but dialling 999 because an overexcited player annoys you is merely pathetic.

At a time when fans accuse players of caring only about money, in an era where the game is being globalised and prawn sandwich eaters fill the stands, this was pure, visceral emotion. Any supporter who does not yearn to lord it over their worst footballing enemy in a similar fashion should go and watch croquet. What next? Ban away teams from scoring because it upsets the majority of fans in the ground?

Some contend that Neville provoked trouble. There is bad blood in this fixture but the United defender cannot be blamed when some of it is spilt. There are complex social and historical reasons why relations between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester are strained. Neville or no, these games have needed careful policing for decades.

Yet it is hard to believe that a player’s crowing would incite an otherwise peaceful fan to violence. For the most part, supporters are not stupid but they can be a touch precious after a defeat. How many of the Liverpool fans who complained about Neville enjoyed Robbie Fowler’s five-fingered salute to the United end when he scored for City in the Manchester derby last month? That is football. Some supporters get elated, some disgusted. Take that out of the game and we would be well on the way to removing what thrills us — the passion.

So it is payback time today. Liverpool players should be primed to emulate Fowler and remind visitors to Anfield just how many European Cups reside in the trophy room. If it upsets United fans, who cares? That is what we crave.

This would mean no celebrations for Neville on his birthday but the occasion should not go unmarked. It would be nice if he received some cards — a couple of yellows and a red would be just perfect.
 
Fergie warns ref
MEN
February 18 2006


SIR Alex Ferguson has warned referee Howard Webb not to let the abuse directed towards Gary Neville affect his handling of the FA Cup clash between Liverpool and Manchester United.

On his 31st birthday, Neville is certain to bear the brunt of the hatred from the home fans at Anfield, who view the England full-back as the epitome of the club they despise with a passion.

As a born and bred United fan, Neville has never made any secret of his dislike for Liverpool either and is still to face an FA improper conduct charge over his wild celebrations of Rio Ferdinand's last-minute goal in the previous meeting between the sides.

Neville's shirt-tugging antics will only guarantee an even hotter reception from the Kop than he would normally receive.

But, while Ferguson has no doubts over the ability of his long-serving star to shrug off the taunts, he is concerned about Webb's ability to ignore it and ensure his decisions are based on the on-field action alone.

"It is obvious Gary is going to get stick," said Ferguson. "He has always got stick from the Liverpool fans and judging by some of the stuff I have been reading, he will do well to get out of there alive.

"It will be incessant and we expect that, but I don't think it will affect Gary. It will probably just drive him on more than ever.

"But I do hope we don't reach the stage where it starts affecting the referee's performance.

"Howard Webb is a very young lad and I know he is the big hope to replace Graham Poll as the best referee in the country.

Stick

"But this is a big test for him. It would be very easy to react to the amount of stick Gary will have to take.

"Handling the Gary Neville situation is one thing but he has to be 100% fair, otherwise all the talk about him may not be as hopeful as it should be."

Ferguson has already defended Neville's actions, citing goal celebrations of Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler as evidence the United man is not on his own in reacting to moments of high excitement in a potentially inflammatory manner.

"There is a lot of focus on Gary celebrating that goal because this game is so close to the last one," said the United boss.

"But too much has been made of it. What do we want our players to be, cold fish who just walk back up the park and tie their bootlaces on the halfway line as everyone else is celebrating?"

Once again, Ferguson will rely on a combination of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Louis Saha and United's other Anfield hate figure, Wayne Rooney, to supply the attacking threat.

"It is going to be very noisy, it is going to be incessant and it will directed at one man alone," joked Ferguson. "Wayne Rooney and myself are delighted.

"Liverpool has always been the biggest game for me.

"When I came down here, they were the number one team and I knew if I was going to be successful, the one thing I had to do was topple them.

"That was my target and that is what I achieved. But I will never forget the days when Liverpool were top and we were below them. That is why it is always such a special game."
 
Benitez wants Liverpool fans to lay off Neville
By William Johnson
Telegraph 18/02/2006


Rafael Benitez, seeking to become the first Liverpool manager to engineer an FA Cup victory over Manchester United for 85 years, last night urged his club's supporters to use their energy to back the Merseysiders rather than barrack the Mersey-baiters.

Meetings between these arch North-West rivals are invariably hostile but the rivalry is more intense than ever in the wake of last month's Premiership clash at Old Trafford when United captain Gary Neville was accused of overdoing the celebrations of his team's last-minute winner.

Benitez may be relatively new to the tribal warfare but he is acutely aware of the mood of Anfield's faithful and fears their passion will be counter-productive.

Appreciating that he can do nothing to stop the verbal attacks on Neville, who is regularly lauded by United fans for his "hatred of Scousers", Benitez declared that they would be more help to his team "focusing on the game".

The Liverpool manager said: "I know our supporters are the best in the world and they are also clever. They know it is always better to support your own team and not become distracted by other things."

Benitez has more direct control over his players and he is confident that they will obey his demands to behave themselves in what is always likely to be an explosive fixture.

"We have been involved in a lot of big matches and the players know how to deal with all kinds of situations," said the man who guided Liverpool to their unexpected Champions League triumph last season.

"I will tell them to be careful because there will be a lot of people watching and waiting for things to happen. But we have a lot of respect for United. Rivalry between teams and supporters is fine as long the respect is there."
 
Liverpool v Man Utd
Anfield
Saturday 18 February
Fifth Round
Kick-off: 1230 GMT (on BBC1 from 12.10)
Referee: Howard Webb (Yorkshire)
Replay: Wednesday, 15 March (2000 GMT)



Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez must decide whether to recall keeper Jose Reina or keep faith with Jerzy Dudek.
Peter Crouch (heel) is a doubt, Robbie Fowler is Cup-tied and Stephen Warnock (groin), Daniel Agger and Jan Kromkamp (ankle) are all fitness concerns.

Manchester United have reported a clean bill of health for the trip to Anfield, with keeper Edwin van der Sar and winger Ryan Giggs back in training.

Skipper Gary Neville is also available after missing the Portsmouth game.


KEY MATCH STATS


LIVERPOOL and Manchester United get the ball rolling on FA Cup fifth round weekend, with this Saturday lunchtime clash at Anfield in front of live BBC television "Match of the Day" cameras. The reigning European champions may have won the world's oldest football tournament six times, and been beaten finalists six times, but astonishingly, they've been knocked out on eight of the 10 times when pitted against the Red Devils. Indeed the Merseysiders have not beaten United in this competition since 1921.

The form of Rafa Benitez' Reds is picking up after a four-match winless League run interspersed only by victory over Portsmouth in the previous round. They beat Wigan away 0-1 last weekend, and Arsenal at home midweek by a similar score through a late goal from Luis Garcia. Liverpool have not been beaten at Anfield in a dozen League and Cup contests since Chelsea visited on 2 October. This is their first home tie in the FA Cup this season. Prior to the victory at Fratton Park in the previous round, they were involved in the most extraordinary match of the competition so far, winning 3-5 at Luton.

The Merseysiders are aiming to reach the last eight for the first time since going all the way in 2000/01. That was their only appearance in the showpiece since the final has been staged away from Wembley. It was a victorious one, beating Arsenal 2-1 in the first to be held at the Millennium Stadium. Gerard Houllier's charges pulled the game out of the fire with two late strikes from Michael Owen.

MANCHESTER UNITED must rely on an almighty slump by Chelsea if they're going to catch the Premiership champions. They've also had their European dreams dashed, so Sir Alex Ferguson's side are now relying on a domestic Cup double for silverware from this campaign. A visit to the Millennium Stadium to face Wigan in the Carling Cup next weekend awaits, but preceding that there is this testing task against the club just one place and three points inferior in the Premiership's top three.

The Red Devils have lost only twice in 18 League and Cup engagements. That includes the embarrassment of being held by Burton in the third round, but they atoned with a 5-0 success in the replay - one of six victories in their last seven outings. United eased past Wolves at Molineux in the last round, and are now setting their sights on knocking out Liverpool for the eighth time in eight FA Cup meetings since 1948 - two of which required replays. United have won three and drawn one of their last four matches against Liverpool in all competitions, and have been beaten in only one of seven - a Danny Murphy penalty separated the sides in the Premiership match at Old Trafford on 24 April 2004. The first of this season's League meetings resulted in a goalless draw at Anfield in September.
United won 1-0 at the Theatre of Dreams last month with Rio Ferdinand's 90th minute winner, followed by Gary Neville's controversial goal celebration. Neville will be 31 on match day.

Manchester United are the most successful club in FA Cup history. They've won the tournament a record 11 times and made 17 appearances in the final. Sir Alex Ferguson, in his 20th year in charge, has steered his side to triumphs in 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2004. He lost the final in 1995 to Everton, and last year to Arsenal when United became the first side ever to lose the final on penalties in what was the first such showpiece since 1912 to finish goalless after extra time.


HEAD TO HEAD



Comp Total Liverpool Man Utd Draws
League 146 49 54 43
FA Cup 14 2 8 4




FA CUP MEETINGS


Date Rnd Res
12 Feb 1898 R2 Newton Heath 0-0 Liverpool
16 Feb 1898 R2 R Liverpool 2-1 Manchester Utd
07 Feb 1903 R1 Manchester Utd 2-1 Liverpool
18 Jan 1921 R1 Liverpool 1-1 Manchester Utd
12 Jan 1921 R1 R Manchester Utd 1-2 Liverpool
24 Jan 1948 R4 Manchester Utd 3-0 Liverpool
30 Jan 1960 R4 Liverpool 1-3 Manchester Utd
21 May 1977 FNL Liverpool 1-2 Manchester Utd
31 Mar 1979 SF Manchester Utd 2-2 Liverpool
04 Apr 1979 SF R Manchester Utd 1-0 Liverpool
13 Apr 1985 SF Manchester Utd 2-2 Liverpool
17 Apr 1985 SF R Manchester Utd 2-1 Liverpool
11 May 1996 FNL Liverpool 0-1 Manchester Utd
24 Jan 1999 R4 Manchester Utd 2-1 Liverpool




LIVERPOOL
3rd PREM

Best FA Cup record
WINNERS (six times)

Date Rnd Res
01 May 1965 FNL Leeds United 1-2 Liverpool AET
04 May 1974 FNL Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle
10 May 1986 FNL Everton 1-3 Liverpool
20 May 1989 FNL Everton 2-3 Liverpool AET
09 May 1992 FNL Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland
12 May 2001 FNL Arsenal 1-2 Liverpool



Last season's FA Cup exit point


Date Rnd Res
18 Jan 2005 R3 Burnley 1-0 Liverpool



This season's Cup run


Date Rnd Res
07 Jan 2006 R3 Luton T 3-5 Liverpool
29 Jan 2006 R4 Portsmouth 1-2 Liverpool




MANCHESTER UNITED
2nd PREM

Best FA Cup record
WINNERS (11 times)

Date Rnd Res
24 Apr 1909 FNL Bristol City 0-1 Man United
24 Apr 1948 FNL Blackpool 2-4 Man United
25 May 1963 FNL Leicester C 1-3 Man United
21 May 1977 FNL Liverpool 1-2 Man United
21 May 1983 FNL Brighton 2-2 Man United AET
26 May 1983 FNL R Brighton 0-4 Man United
18 May 1985 FNL Everton 0-1 Man United AET
12 May 1990 FNL Crystal Palace 3-3 Man United AET
17 May 1990 FNL R Crystal Palace 0-1 Man United
14 May 1994 FNL Chelsea 0-4 Man United
11 May 1996 FNL Liverpool 0-1 Man United
22 May 1999 FNL Man United 2-0 Newcastle
22 May 2004 FNL Man United 3-0 Millwall



Last season's FA Cup exit point


Date Rnd Res
21 May 2005 FNL Arsenal 0-0 Man United AET
Arsenal won 5-4 on penalties



This season's Cup run


Date Rnd Res
08 Jan 2006 R3 Burton Alb 0-0 Man United
18 Jan 2006 R3 R Man United 5-0 Burton Alb
29 Jan 2006 R4 Wolves 0-3 Man United
 
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Kewell, Sissoko, Hamann, Gerrard, Crouch, Morientes

United team not presented yet.
 
bit of team news

LIVERPOOL: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Kewell, Sissoko, Hamann, Gerrard, Crouch, Morientes.

SUBS: Dudek, Kromkamp, Cisse, Garcia, Traore.


MAN UTD: Van der Sar, Neville, Giggs, Fletcher. more to follow..

SUBS: Coming up.........
 
--------vds------------
gaz--rio--wes--silvestre
-----fletch--smith------
-------giggs-----------
ronnie-----------------
----------------rooney
--------ruud----------

1-0 - gerrard with the winner
 
bobbobray said:
--------vds------------
gaz--rio--wes--silvestre
-----fletch--smith------
-------giggs-----------
ronnie-----------------
----------------rooney
--------ruud----------

1-0 - gerrard with the winner

is that confirmed
 
Is that the right team? Someone just said they had heard Vidic was playing.
 
This is Liverpool's lineup:

Liverpool, Reina, Riise, Carragher, Hyypia, Finnan, Gerrard, Hamann, Kewell, Sissoko, Crouch, Morientes.
Subs - Dudek, Garcia, Cisse, Traore, Krompkamp.
 
Nate said:
Is that the right team? Someone just said they had heard Vidic was playing.

I don't think he posted a official line-up.