CARLING CUP FINAL

[Randy Marsh]

I do think it's a bit suspect that so many from the far reaches of the globe have been able to secure tickets to a cup final, many of them having never been to a match before, yet locals and uk fans who have been most weeks haven't been able to get sorted.

 

I'm not getting at the foreign supporters because I know it's a sign of the clubs size and standing on world football. I also appreciate the lengths and expense involved in them attending matches. I just find the whole situation a bit curious , given that the club supposedly sell these tickets based on their criteria of loyalty. Hmmm

[Liverpool lad]

First match I have been to this season, can't wait

[Liverpool lad]

I do think it's a bit suspect that so many from the far reaches of the globe have been able to secure tickets to a cup final, many of them having never been to a match before, yet locals and uk fans who have been most weeks haven't been able to get sorted.

 

I'm not getting at the foreign supporters because I know it's a sign of the clubs size and standing on world football. I also appreciate the lengths and expense involved in them attending matches. I just find the whole situation a bit curious , given that the club supposedly sell these tickets based on their criteria of loyalty. Hmmm

 

Unless it is an Everton forum on a windup

[xerxes]

There are two issues here.

 

Firstly the League cup final offers more tickets to the finalist’s fans than any other competition. Anyone who watched the Channel 4 documentary on Viagogo (still available on i player) who was previously unfamiliar with the premium ticket market will now have been brought up to speed.

 

For several years now (unfortunately we have not had the opportunity recently) finalist clubs who have an excess of demand over supply have been taking advantage of the agency market. Put simply, they will pay upfront, say £200 for a £100 ticket, in bulk, and then sell on at a further premium. Birmingham City did just that last year – and raised an extra £200,000plus by selling 2000 £90 tickets in bulk to an agency. Anyone wondering how foreign fans are getting their hands on tickets need look no further.

 

Secondly there is the issue of what a “real fan” is. Fortunately i am able to attend most home games, and some aways, and have done so for decades. That is a combination of opportunity, desire , commitment- and circumstance. But is the child who lives in Kuala Lumpar, who watches every game on TV, buys the short, watches the forums and devours the news any less of a fan – but without the opportunity that some of us have? Now of course regular match goers should have priority, but I have no problem with people who may spend thousands on a trip to London getting to see the game if they can. And what about fans who are just as Red , but can’t afford to go regularly or have moved away? Whilst not suggesting they should get priority, or even an equal chance, I do think that there is a case for the Club keeping back say 500 tickets for a straight forwards lucky dip ballot, to give those who cannot regularly get to games a (small) chance without resorting to the black maket which currently sits at around £1000 a pair.

[JohnnyH]

If Bellers scores, he's better celebrate. None of this Denis fucking Law sanctimonious bullshit of respecting the feelings of your fromer fans. I never had a problem with a former player celebrating scoring against us in the past: Beardsley, Collymore etc.

 

It's Wembley ffs!

 

I can understand Bellamy not celebrating if he scores. He's from Cardiff, his entire family support them, his life long ambition was to play for them - which he did, so its a bit different to Collymore scoring against us. I expect Bellamy to give 100% to win the game for Liverpool, and i fully expect him to do that - and if he scores, i would expect him not to go overboard with the celebrations. No problem whatsoever from me. Carry on.

 

Who cares? Couldn't give a shite if he breaks down and cries if he scores, as long as he scores!

 

Never understood why people give a shite about that stuff. Look at the footage of jimmy case going mad when he scores against us for brighton in the cup in 1983. Bet no one moaned then? Or when fowler scored against us and celebrated. And if you don't want to celebrate, then don't. It's utter bolox and you should be able to do what you want without gobshites getting sand in their vaginas.

[Preston Red]

Just seen this on Faceache.

 

25,000 Don't Buy The S*n posters have been printed and will be allowed into the ground.

 

20,000 for us

 

5,000 for Cardiff.

 

STATEMENT FROM THE HILLSBOROUGH JUSTICE CAMPAIGN // The Anfield Wrap

 

[Guest]

I feel like a bit of a tit posting this under people's stories of missing out on tickets for the final and now a Don't Buy The Sun post too, but anyway.

 

I've written a wee cup final preview piece for When Saturday Comes website if any of you fancy reading it. I've asked Dave if he minded me posting a link and he said no, so here goes.

 

When Saturday Comes - The Half Decent Football Magazine - Can Liverpool start a new decade of success at Wembley?

 

It just had to be Cardiff. Eleven years ago, Gerard Houllier took Liverpool – then without a trophy for six years – to the Welsh capital to face Birmingham City in the final of the Worthington Cup, the first League Cup final to be played at the Millennium Stadium. Over the next five years, Liverpool would play another four finals and two Community Shields at the same venue. In the build up to Sunday's Carling Cup final against Cardiff City, many commentators have noted that Liverpool’s first visit to the new Wembley is a long-awaited return to the place they used to call “Anfield South”. But for any fan of my generation, that moniker is spoken with a particularly Welsh accent.

The last decade was good to Liverpool. Istanbul goes without saying. There were the Chelsea wars and Athens in 2007. There was a UEFA Cup win. There were Michael Owen’s dramatic late goals against Arsenal to win the FA Cup in 2001 and Steven Gerrard’s heroics to help scrape past West Ham on penalties and land the same trophy five years later. There were second-place finishes in the Premier League in 2002 and 2009.

 

These are the more famous triumphs and near-triumphs, but it all kicked off with that first win against Trevor Francis’s Birmingham. Now Liverpool find themselves in a very similar situation. Without a major trophy since the aforementioned "Gerrard final" in 2006, the club is in need of tangible success.

 

The Cardiff native Craig Bellamy, who scored the winning goal in the semi-final against Manchester City, may think finishing in the top four is the priority, but silverware is what fans remember. Qualifying for the Champions’ League only really matters if you win the thing.

 

I know all about the financial implications and the attraction to the best players of being in the biggest cup of all. But being behind the goal where Owen scored the second of Liverpool’s goals against Manchester United in Cardiff in 2003 will remain a personal highlight of mine, no matter how hard I try to erase him from memory. That was the most recent of Liverpool's record seven Carling Cup wins.

 

Arsenal found themselves in a remarkably similar position to Liverpool ahead of last year's final. Overwhelming favourites to end their own trophy drought by beating a side who were eventually relegated to the Championship at the end of the season, the Gunners self-destructed. Their wait goes on.

 

If Kenny Dalglish's side can emulate Houllier’s, it could be the start of something bigger. Rafa Benítez’s first final as Liverpool boss was in this competition too, in his amazing first season. Gerrard will have less happy memories of that one as his headed own-goal just minutes from the end of normal time led to Chelsea’s triumph. The match was perhaps best remembered for Jose Mourinho hardly endearing himself to Liverpool’s travelling contingent, not for the last time.

 

One common theme running through all of these finals is how tight and tense each encounter has been. Nearly all of them were decided in the closing stages or in the drama of a penalty shoot-out. My own memories of them all are vivid.

 

In contrast, my recollections of Liverpool’s trips to the old Wembley are altogether less colourful, only partly due to age. A fairly routine 2-0 win over Sunderland in the 1992 FA Cup final conjures only the memory of manager Graeme Souness convalescing beneath a blanket after his heart surgery. Steve McManaman lit up the 1995 Coca-Cola Cup final win against a plucky Bolton Wanderers side that included the future Spice Boy, Jason McAteer.

 

Which brings me to the white-suited elephant in the room. Liverpool last played under the Twin Towers in 1996, in a final that pitted them against their rivals from the other end of the East Lancs Road. This one will forever remain firmly buried in the basement of my memory bank, beneath a collection of Emile Heskey misses and Filipo Inzaghi deflections.

 

It is time to write a new chapter in Liverpool’s history at the new Wembley. Once again there will be a distinctly Welsh flavour to the occasion. I’m hoping that the Cardiff native Liverpool's ranks isn’t celebrating on Sunday – not because Bellamy’s hometown club will have shattered his (apparently lacking) dreams of silverware, but because he has already said he won’t celebrate if he manages to score against them.

[JaminKibbler]

Working all day Sunday, no chance i can even get a chance to see this till atleast 10 o'clock, pretty gutting. Hope we smash 'em 3-1, Gerrard, Suarez and Carroll in on the goals!

[Scott_M]

Quality from the HJC.

 

Well fired up for tomorrow, wish I was going down tonight now.

 

C'mon Reds.

[xerxes]

Who cares? ......... if you don't want to celebrate, then don't. It's utter bolox and you should be able to do what you want without gobshites getting sand in their vaginas.

 

I agree.

 

Professional footballers are paid to score, why shouldn't they celebrate?

[Reacher]

There are two issues here.

 

Firstly the League cup final offers more tickets to the finalist’s fans than any other competition. Anyone who watched the Channel 4 documentary on Viagogo (still available on i player) who was previously unfamiliar with the premium ticket market will now have been brought up to speed.

 

For several years now (unfortunately we have not had the opportunity recently) finalist clubs who have an excess of demand over supply have been taking advantage of the agency market. Put simply, they will pay upfront, say £200 for a £100 ticket, in bulk, and then sell on at a further premium. Birmingham City did just that last year – and raised an extra £200,000plus by selling 2000 £90 tickets in bulk to an agency. Anyone wondering how foreign fans are getting their hands on tickets need look no further.

 

Secondly there is the issue of what a “real fan” is. Fortunately i am able to attend most home games, and some aways, and have done so for decades. That is a combination of opportunity, desire , commitment- and circumstance. But is the child who lives in Kuala Lumpar, who watches every game on TV, buys the short, watches the forums and devours the news any less of a fan – but without the opportunity that some of us have? Now of course regular match goers should have priority, but I have no problem with people who may spend thousands on a trip to London getting to see the game if they can. And what about fans who are just as Red , but can’t afford to go regularly or have moved away? Whilst not suggesting they should get priority, or even an equal chance, I do think that there is a case for the Club keeping back say 500 tickets for a straight forwards lucky dip ballot, to give those who cannot regularly get to games a (small) chance without resorting to the black maket which currently sits at around £1000 a pair.

 

Fuck me, I actually agree with something you've posted ;)

 

Some good points made there.

[PaulMcC]

Gutted i couldn't get a ticket.

 

I'll watch it in town a few mates.

[shanks69]

I agree.

 

Professional footballers are paid to score, why shouldn't they celebrate?

 

yes they are paid to score,they're not paid to celebrate.if he doesn't want to celebrate thats upto him,as long as he gives 100% thats all that matters.

[Glen C]

Got my ticket and can't wait. Will be in wembley since midday.

[Guest LFD]

Excited!

[Guest ShoePiss]

Quiet night tonight I reckon, out for dinner then home to bed. Tomorrow up at 7.15 and down the pub for 7.45. 8am kick off isn't too bad, coffee and then breakfast at half time. Should be full for this one, can't wait.

[zuluwhiskybravo]

I do think it's a bit suspect that so many from the far reaches of the globe have been able to secure tickets to a cup final, many of them having never been to a match before, yet locals and uk fans who have been most weeks haven't been able to get sorted.

 

I'm not getting at the foreign supporters because I know it's a sign of the clubs size and standing on world football. I also appreciate the lengths and expense involved in them attending matches. I just find the whole situation a bit curious , given that the club supposedly sell these tickets based on their criteria of loyalty. Hmmm

 

What's the club's allocation ?

[STARDELTA]

ya, but it will be a ball

breakin afternoon. cardiff are good. cant wait to see the reds walking onto the temple of football turf in golden embroided red trackie tops! pure classic Liverpool FC

[the walsh]

cant wait watching it in the boozer tommorow with mate,s cant wait should be good

[lifetime fan]

I do think it's a bit suspect that so many from the far reaches of the globe have been able to secure tickets to a cup final, many of them having never been to a match before, yet locals and uk fans who have been most weeks haven't been able to get sorted.

 

I'm not getting at the foreign supporters because I know it's a sign of the clubs size and standing on world football. I also appreciate the lengths and expense involved in them attending matches. I just find the whole situation a bit curious , given that the club supposedly sell these tickets based on their criteria of loyalty. Hmmm

 

Like ST holders that have moved abroad, sale their tickets at inflated prices all season the come over for a 'holiday' and attend a cup final you mean?

[Anubis]

Like ST holders that have moved abroad, sale their tickets at inflated prices all season the come over for a 'holiday' and attend a cup final you mean?

 

Initials RN?

[lifetime fan]

Initials RN?

 

I have no idea if Nick does it mate, I do know of at least half a dozen blokes I've had tickets off in the last few seasons that are turning up for tomorrow though.

 

We spent four evenings going across to Cardiff to go round the pubs trying to get 3 tickets in their end pretending to be Cardiff fans. You try that with a Bristolian accent and then feel guilty when you get tickets at almost double face value.

 

Bollocks am I going to feel guilty for getting tickets.

[Anubis]

Anyway, be safe tomorrow.

[lifetime fan]

Anyway, be safe tomorrow.

 

On the train with them on the way up, sat in with them for the game then stuck on the train with them on the way home.

 

No colours and no over the top celebrations, hopefully we have a comfortable aftrnoon as if it's a last minute winner, well...

[lifetime fan]

Got my ticket and can't wait. Will be in wembley since midday.

 

You wont get much to drink then mate.