12/21/24
December 03, 2002
Worthington Cup: Burnley v Man Utd (8pm GMT/2pm EST/11am PST).: [ Live radio | Live text ] Formerly known as the League Cup, this knockout tourney is the "ugly sister" to the English FA Cup. Today's fourth round clashes feature First Division Burnley against Premiership giants Man Utd. Aside from providing extra money for the teams, and a place in the UEFA Cup for the eventual cupwinners, this tourney (and the FA Cup) provides us fans the prospect of seeing players that may not get as much playing time in the league, as well as the opportunity to witness giantkilling opportunities (when lowly teams, say Burnley, upset behemoths, like Man U). Go Burnley!
posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 11:24 AM - 13 comments
Try these: FA Cup and Worthington/League Cup.
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:18 PM on December 03, 2002
Burnley are most definitely capable of an upset tonight, especially if Glenn Little is playing and on form.
posted by Fat Buddha at 01:29 PM on December 03, 2002
Glen Little is playing, tho Man U have Van Nistelrooy and Forlan starting, with Silvestre in midfield! Very adventurous. Almost half-time and still 0-0. But BBC has had nothing going on their live text commentary. Zero.
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:49 PM on December 03, 2002
Oops, looks like I goofed on the time difference. The game just started and I'm listening to it on BBC Five Live. Burnley are looking lively.
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:09 PM on December 03, 2002
Forlan scores again! I hate that guy!
posted by StarFucker at 02:49 PM on December 03, 2002
2-0, I know nothing.
posted by Fat Buddha at 04:14 PM on December 03, 2002
We were hoping against hope, no? The quality of Man U's players trumped Burnley's heart. The BBC Five Live fellas said it best, "How must you feel when the other team takes Solskjaer off, and replaces him with Ryan Giggs? ... Talk about rubbing salt into the wound."
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:03 PM on December 03, 2002
Well, it's on to Liverpool vs Ipswich tomorrow. And this time, StarFucker and I are not looking for an upset.
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:04 PM on December 03, 2002
Well Dudek is already upset. Old Houllier is a bit ruthless. One misplaced pass from Ginola and that was it, his international career was over and he was branded a criminal. We already know how Westerveld feels. Gerard looks quite urbane and kindly but he's a bit unforgiving. I am not so sure that it is a good thing.
posted by Fat Buddha at 05:54 PM on December 03, 2002
I don't blame Houllier for his treatment of Dudek, altho the press is having a field day with both of them. As manager, it's damned if you do, damned if you don't. Blooding Kirkland in a League Cup match is surely a low-risk (and appropriate) approach to solve the goalkeeping problem. He was probably going to do it anyway, even if Dudek was playing well, to give him a break. If Kirkland plays solidly, he'll get his chance against Charlton on the weekend. If he screws up (please don't!), who knows, Dudek may just be back in it. Having been knocked out of the Champions League and suffering two straight Premiership losses all in the last three weeks, Houllier has to make some radical changes to make. Of course, it extends beyond the goalkeeping, but Dudek is not exempt. Ferguson, Wenger and Taylor may be lauded for sticking with their keepers but they don't exactly have Houllier's choice of two world-class keepers. Maybe we should sell Dudek and buy Robinson from Leeds. (Just kidding.)
posted by worldcup2002 at 07:04 PM on December 03, 2002
OK, maybe I was a little too harsh on Westerveld. He gets his rant on about Houllier's treatment of him, but has nice things to say about everyone else at Liverpool. The most interesting part was this:
"Houllier has to accept that goalkeepers will let in goals and - yes - make mistakes. Especially the way he likes to play: Liverpool's style makes things even more difficult for a keeper. Being so defensive, so solid, means you don't see much of the ball and keeping your concentration is tough. Plus, anything you do wrong is fatal: mistakes rarely get compensated by goals at the other end. A striker can miss lots of chances but it's still 0-0 and then he scores and he's a hero. With a goalkeeper, it's the reverse."He does make a good point about Liverpool's style of play and how it punishes keeper's mistakes vs striker's mistakes.
posted by worldcup2002 at 11:25 PM on December 03, 2002
Worldcup, you better quit joking about Dudek... That was a great article about Westerveld....i was really impressed with his overall perception of the situation.
posted by StarFucker at 11:06 AM on December 05, 2002
Do you know where to get information on how these Cups get started?