12/21/24
January 03, 2010
Leeds United Knocks Manchester United Out of FA Cup: In a stunning 1-0 upset, League One club Leeds United defeated Manchester United Sunday, the first third-round ouster and lower-division loss in Sir Alex Ferguson's 23 years as coach. Jermaine Beckford scored the only goal in the 19th minute for Leeds, a perennial top-flight English club that suffered a financial implosion in 2004 and were relegated twice.
I should remember to stay the fuck away from Sportsfilter until after these matches air in the US.
posted by Hugh Janus at 05:03 PM on January 03, 2010
Isn't it well known that Fergie doesn't give a flying fuck about the FA Cup and generally fields a squad of third tier players with one leg or similar?
Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm sure they didn't even bother entering a few years ago.
posted by Drood at 09:27 PM on January 03, 2010
You're joking right, Drood? There were a few questions concerning Fergie's team selection, but even so the players he put out there have played in Premier League matches this year, and there were several 1st team starters as well (the wages of Man U's strike force on the pitch is probably equal to the entire value of Leeds United). Now the Carling Cup (or League Cup) - that's the one they generally blow off, but not the FA Cup. Yes, these days it's not taken quite as seriously by the biggest clubs as the Premier League or Champions League, but there's still some major prestige with that trophy.
posted by sbacharach at 11:19 PM on January 03, 2010
I'm sure they didn't even bother entering a few years ago.
Well, that was bound up with the FIFA world club barrel-scraper. Still, this is delicious:
Ferguson was also furious at the failure to play more than the allocated five minutes of stoppage time at the end and risked a rebuke from the Football Association by claiming that the time added on was "an insult to the game and the players out there".In recent weeks, Fergie Time appears to have been running backwards.
Not that many upsets from the third round, alas, but it remains the best weekend in the season.
posted by etagloh at 11:43 PM on January 03, 2010
Not that many upsets from the third round
We managed to scrape a draw at Millwall, which compared to how we've been going, could be considered a huge upset result.
posted by owlhouse at 05:01 AM on January 04, 2010
You're joking right, Drood?
If he swears he's not joking. Which means he's never joking.
I was delighted with the result as before kick-off it would have been my second favoured end after "asteroid strikes field wiping out both teams."
I thought Owen had a reasonable shout for a penalty toward the end too, especially considering the venue.
As for Ferguson claiming five minutes of added time was an insult to the game and the players, he's just becoming a parody of himself now.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 07:28 AM on January 04, 2010
We managed to scrape a draw at Millwall, which compared to how we've been going, could be considered a huge upset result.
We shocked Blackpool to earn a glamour tie at Southampton and it only took the home side to go down to nine men and miss a penalty to make it happen.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 08:07 AM on January 04, 2010
Owen was tackled (not fouled) outside the box, but leapt like Mike Powell (only head first) into the box, protesting before he'd even hit the ground. As you say, Bismarck, at Old Trafford, that's usually a nailed on penalty.
I enjoyed the game (and, as a Liverpool fan, the result) and thought Leeds were more than good for their win. It all got a bit kicky at one point and I'm amazed both teams still had 11 men on the pitch at the end. If Scholes had been playing, he'd have lasted about 3.5 seconds before getting a straight red.
The way Leeds tried to take the game to United - keeping them honest and having to defend sporadic attacks - should be studied by newly-promoted Premier League teams and bottom of the table strugglers. I've never understood why more teams don't adopt an FA Cup mentality for their league games when newly-promoted, especially the teams that come up from the Championship ready-weighed-down with the expectation that they're heading straight back down again.
As a Liverpool fan, I can only ask why, if you decide to use Benny Moon as an impact sub you bring him on with only 8 minutes left in the game?
posted by JJ at 09:06 AM on January 04, 2010
The Magic of the FA Cup (TM).
Not that I like either club.