A lot has changed in the world since the FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, began in 1871. But the magic of the tournament still remains. The prospect of non-league minnows upsetting giants. And the nostalgia of seeing matches played in front of standing-room only crowds in the heart of the English […]

Everton's Pienaar launched the ball into the box from the left side. Chelsea's Mikel got his head to it but could not clear. Fellaini headed the ball back into the danger area where Louis Saha waited, unmarked, uncontended. He spins into the volley to catch it perfectly with his left foot, catapulting the ball past […]

The last dance of the season, of every season, the FA Cup Final is the jewel in the English Football Crown. Last year's final between Cardiff and Portsmouth was arguably the exception, but this year's certainly isn't: Underdogs Everton come into the final for the first time in 14 years, since Joe Royle's infamous 'dogs of war' […]

I was completely seduced by last year's FA Cup. Barnsley and Cardiff City charged toward the final in a gripping giant-killing warpath. They toppled Liverpool, Chelsea and Middlesbrough in their wake. (Boro were still a mid-table Premier League side, so their undoing was still a feat.) While only Cardiff made it to the end before […]

  With the Premier League race done and dusted and the Champions League trophy spending the summer in Catalonia, there's only one more piece of silverware on offer in the 2008-2009 season, and either Everton or Chelsea will lay claim to it tomorrow at Wembley. Who's in and who's out – Frank Lampard, Alex and […]

Facing the sobering reality of a fourth season without a major trophy, Arsenal fans have been disappointed.  The disenchantment has created a culture of negativity around the club, which Arsene Wenger lashed out at on Friday. "When you look at people assessing the situations of the clubs, it has become ridiculous," Wenger said. "You sit […]

Reaching the FA Cup final was a long overdue reward for Everton manager David Moyes.  As the Premierships’ third longest serving manager, Moyes has brought consistent performances for a low budget club.  It is worth considering that at Everton he has been subject to budgetary constraints that perhaps much of his fellow managers at clubs […]

It's a busy part of the calendar for some squads, but the chance for FA Cup glory presents itself this weekend at Wembley in a pair of semifinal games. Arsenal and Chelsea won't have much time to celebrate mid-week successes in the Champions League when they square off on Saturday while Manchester United and Everton […]

And then there were five. With one FA Cup Quarterfinal yet to be played (Arsenal v Hull City, to be played on either the 17th or 18th of March per the BBC), Sunday afternoon the FA Cup Semi-Final draw was held. Both matches will be played at Wembley Stadium April 18th or 19th for a […]

It's the first of March and although there is everything to be decided, you can smell it in the air. This could be the year United do what hasn't been accomplished by a British club since Celtic in 1967: winning the League, FA, and European Cups, in addition to the Premier League trophy. Yet as […]

I'm happy Guus is not as thrilled about Chelsea's 1-0 win as I am. A bit of a side bar before I get into the news tonight. Chelsea are extremely lucky they are a goal to the good heading into their Champions League second leg. For starters, I don't believe Didier Drogba's goal should have […]

Is there anything Tim Cahill can't do? Tim Cahill's week defines the word jet lag. From Liverpool to Japan for a World Cup Qualifier. His performance for Australia wasn't exactly great, then again neither was Australia's. Cahill had to be thankful Everton's FA Cup tie against Aston Villa was on Sunday, I don't think he […]

Blackburn Rovers have to consider themselves fortunate they are looking at a Ricoh Arena replay instead of losing in front of the most faithful of the faithful at Ewood Park. After Roque Santa Cruz put Blackburn ahead inside of ninety seconds, two second half goals from the Sky Blues should have been enough. But the […]

The TV schedule for the fifth round of the FA Cup has been announced for the United Kingdom. And by looking at the schedule, we can also determine which matches will be on US television. The only question mark about US television is which 3pm GMT kickoffs on Saturday, February 14th will be shown (to […]

In a finer world, each football club would try to win every competition it entered. Only the biggest clubs, however, have that luxury, and managers of smaller clubs are forced to look at their fixture lists and determine what their biggest priorities are. Such is the case with Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill, who told […]