FA CUP FINAL - Everton v Chelsea: Countdown to kick-off

30 May 2009 14:45
EVERTON vs CHELSEA - 3pm 14.42 Z-Cars blares out around Wembley, causing some confusion for anyone who isn't an Evertonian and is under 40 years of age. For you youngsters out there, Z-Cars was a cop show in the days when coppers used to say 'ello, ello, ello, what's going on ere then'. And for some strange reason both Everton and Watford adopted the theme tune as their song. So now you know. 14.34 Louis Saha is appearing in his first FA Cup final in five attempts. The Frenchman, who some might say is a little injury-prone, missed one final with Newcastle and three with Man U - and a World Cup final to boot - through a combination of being crocked or suspended. In contrast Chelsea's Ashley Cole plays in his SIXTH final, and already has four winner's medals on show in his tasteful Surrey mansion - another will make him the first man in over 100 years to claim five. 14.28 It's getting hot, hot, hot out there.....it's already 36 degrees on the pitch - that just about 100 in old money.13.58 What a choker - everybody's favourite player, Michael Ballack, has been left out of Chelsea's line-up. The likeable German missed out two years ago through injury (and some would say he has been missing for most of this season as well). Now the midfielder who was banned for a World Cup final loses out again. John Obi-Mikel takes Ballack's place - so it looks like Guus Hiddink is ready for a war of attrition in his final game in charge of Chelsea. Nicolas Anelka will be part of a five-man midfield, leaving Didier Drogba on his own up front where he will either terrify the opposition or fling himself around like an hysterical schoolgirl. Marouane Fellaini is back in Everton's midfield after being rested for last Sunday's win at Fulham. The Toffees also only have one man up front, Louis Saha. 12.59 Good afternoon boys and girls - and welcome to football how it used to be. Once upon a time the FA Cup Final was always the last game of the season (because we never had any clubs involved in the Champions League final), the sun always shone on Wembley Way and there were scones for tea. And this year - owing to the fact the Cup Final is being played in the middle of summer - that's exactly what we've got as the blues of Everton meet the, er, blues of Chelsea. Forget the flair of Barcelona in midweek, this promises to be proper English stuff....power, grit and passion. It's just there won't be many Englishmen on show to produce it. There'll be 90,000 screaming Englishmen (and ladies) in the stands though - and judging by the look of them at mid-day most supporters will be slightly pink from a combination of sun and lager. And we are guaranteed to see an Englishman lift the Cup - either Chelsea skipper John Terry or Everton's Phil Neville. So all you need to to do now is settle down, crack open a tin of Aldi's finest and roar: C'mon you Blues.

Source: Daily_Mail