2012-13 English Football Season

[Heath]

I'd just like to post an extract from one of my favourite BBC Sport articles in a while:

Steven Gerrard likens Everton to Stoke

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has likened Everton to Stoke, claiming their rivals used long-ball tactics during Sunday's Merseyside derby.

The Premier League match at Goodison Park ended 2-2 after Luis Suarez's late 'goal' for Liverpool was ruled out.

Gerrard, 32, said: "Every single time they get the ball to the goalkeeper it comes in long.

"There was only one team who came to play football and that was us. Everton are not better than us."

The statistics, however, showed that Everton enjoyed greater possession, made more passes and completed proportionally fewer long passes than Liverpool.

Given that going into this weekend we'd also registered the joint highest shots on target in the League, and had hit the woodwork more than any other team in the Premier League, I imagine Tony Pulis was quite flattered by the comparison.

Also what the hell, Reading. You were 4-0 up! How have you been taken to extra time? Dramatic last ditch goal by Arsenal though.

[charliepanayi]

Phil Dowd must have been refereeing our match this evening.

[Heath]

I don't want to speak too soon, but I think you might have just about got away with it!

Edit: Yeah, I think that 7th goal might just about do it! What a phenomenal result.

[Rocket Edge]

Incredible game. 7-5! Chamakh scored twice too, the shock and horror of it all.

[Old Manus]

CHICOOOOOO

[Old Manus]

0-0, 1-0 and 3-1. Swansea City confirmed for being Liverpool's bogey team.

[Cuchulainn]

I think we may have edged that game if Ferguson saw fit to play a defence that didn't consist of players who's previous first team experience (excluding Rafael) didn't collectively amount to about 6 games. Quick not, I'm not grumbling but 3 minutes of stoppage time were due. Chelsea get a penalty in the 4th minute. I wonder how many will moa about it.

That smurf the defeat came in the Reserve Cup and not where it mattered.

[Old Manus]

Well there's the first Mickey Mouse Cup comment - care to have a go BoB? Psychotic?

[Heath]

We got knocked out by Leeds in the previous round. Am I still eligible to make a Mickey Mouse Cup comment?

[Cuchulainn]

Well there's the first Mickey Mouse Cup comment - care to have a go BoB? Psychotic?

I'd love it to matter more. I'd love every team to play their first 11 and make it matter. However it's not my fault they don't. The fact is teams play their reserves or players needing games in this competition. That game ended basically Chelsea's strongest team against out kids, reserves & Javier Hernandez. It's really hard to take it completely seriouslty. I like when we win a game in it and when we lose I'm not entirely happy but it doesn't affect me the same way a defeat in Europe or the League does. Just the way it is mate, Reserves make up the teams & it's going that way in the FA Cup too.

[charliepanayi]

The fact the League Cup is low on the priority list for most teams kind of works in its favour. Teams just go for it and you get crazy, entertaining games like we had this week.

[Heath]

I think charliepanayi is right.

While I personally sometimes don't like the fact that the likes of Arsenal, etc field second string teams, I think it makes the League Cup much more open than the FA Cup and often has more upsets, like Bradford's result against Wigan yesterday. And while it might be frustrating seeing my team knocked out by lower league opposition (cf. Brentford and Leeds in recent years) when we do put out second string teams, at least it means the make-up of the subsequent rounds is a bit more exciting. The League Cup will never have the magic of the FA Cup, but I think it can be just as entertaining.

[Shoden]

If every team played their strongest 11 would we really see teams like Leeds and Middlesbrough to get as far as they have? Boro probably because Sunderland are actually pretty damn terrible at the moment and seeing the mackems get beat always puts a smile on my face so yeah, maybe Boro could but still...

Also the match tonight was hilarious, Nani's temper tantrums were worth watching!

[charliepanayi]

I think the League Cup would be better if it was just for teams who aren't playing in European competition - it should be noted that despite the top teams fielding youngsters and fringe players etc in early rounds, the winners of the League Cup over the last eight years have been by and large the usual suspects - Chelsea (x 2), Man Utd (x 3), Liverpool and Tottenham. If Arsenal hadn't been so useless against Birmingham, the list of winners in recent years would have been even more predictable.

[Loony BoB]

We deserved to lose because a young defence conceded penalties in a way that they will hopefully learn from very quickly. After it reached extra time, our poor fellas in central defence never had the legs to handle the fast players coming at them. I felt a bit sorry for them at that point, but remembered how obvious they made the penalties and took it back. Keane was great, though.

Still proud of the team and after the last two games and how exciting / entertaining they were, I just hope we get Chelsea in the FA Cup and Champions League, too. Fantastic games! Everyone at work was going on about the quality of the game last night rather than who won.