Carling Cup Final

First Cup final of the year Liverpool v Cardiff

What are your thoughts ?

For me a trophy is a trophy id rather win something then finish 4th .

I'll be gutted if we mess this up and lose, in both cups we've been quite good at respecting the lower sides without being too complacent, or too cautious, so more of the same in the final.

I'd play this team:

Reina

Johnson
Skrtel
Agger
Enrique

Henderson
Gerrard
Adam

Suarez
Carroll
Bellamy

Subs: Doni, Carragher, Kelly, Downing, Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez

If we had been against bigger oppositition, I'd have dropped Adam and played Spearing, but we need to really take the game and play our best and most in-form players which is that team. Kuyt doesn't offer enough, particuarly pace. Our back four needs to be at its best, so no mistakes, which means playing the regular back four. Downing is far too inconsistent to be risked.

I think we should win, and we should win comfortably. I don't think I could bear it if we struggle to finish our chances and end up losing it.

Crimey wrote:Downing is far too inconsistent to be risked.

Good thing you did play him!

You're right, he did have a good game. No coincidence that he played on the left and played well, he looks a bit lost on the right.

Henderson was awful though, he plays better centrally, but he has no excuses today. Not one good bit of football from him, I think he needs a bit of time out of the starting line up, he's only young.

Skrtel was my man of the match though, played really well in defence and got us a goal as well as having a few good chances. I don't really think too much blame can be put on him for the goals.

damn i was hoping cardiff would win lol..

anyway well done liverpool.

KingKenny7Heaven wrote:For me a trophy is a trophy id rather win something then finish 4th .

Seriously?? I'd take Champions League football over the CC any day.

i agree GG.

For Liverpool its worse to win the cup than finish 4th, they lose ground on the teams finishing in the top 4 each each, yes the money from the American's for now helps with attracting players but they will never be back to one of the best teams in england until they get back to being consistently in the champions league and able to attract the best players possible to the club.

To be honest there was more quality football in the Falkirk v Celtic Scottish League Cup semi than in that game.

Liverpool fans keep banging on about this cup win and i dont understand it. Firstly its the worst cup of the season. Secondly you struggled to beat a championship side with a full strength side and lastly your 6th in the premier league again failing to qualify for champions league football next season.........Yes well done liverpool

It's not how you win, you just have to win. Liverpool Football Club exists to win trophies. They won another yesterday. They are quite good at doing so - or at least were in the past. That's 41 major trophies now.

Some fans go through a lifetime without their club ever winnning anything.

Like Dalglish said, a taste of success breeds a greater desire for more success. Therefore this will hopefully be a stepping stone to greater levels of success in this season and the future.

Imagine for a moment that we manage to reach the final of the FA cup this season, think how much confidence we will be able to take into that game knowing we have already played and won at wembley this season.

I am gutted

City did well though

You would swear Liverpool had won the Champions League the way they were acting

I used to be neutral when they played Man Utd and that but now I hope they lose every game

I know that sounds bitter but after the way they acted yesterday its what the deserve

John wrote:Liverpool fans keep banging on about this cup win and i dont understand it. Firstly its the worst cup of the season. Secondly you struggled to beat a championship side with a full strength side and lastly your 6th in the premier league again failing to qualify for champions league football next season.........Yes well done liverpool

John, we're 6th. They are 7th.

John wrote:Liverpool fans keep banging on about this cup win and i dont understand it. Firstly its the worst cup of the season. Secondly you struggled to beat a championship side with a full strength side and lastly your 6th in the premier league again failing to qualify for champions league football next season.........Yes well done liverpool

i agree lol.

Steffan wrote:I am gutted

City did well though

You would swear Liverpool had won the Champions League the way they were acting

I used to be neutral when they played Man Utd and that but now I hope they lose every game

I know that sounds bitter but after the way they acted yesterday its what the deserve

Yeah, I mean who wants to see a team celebrate after they've won their first trophy for 5 years? Come on Steff you're better than that. Cardiff gave it their all and I hope their players take a lot of heart and confidence from that game, the defended superbly and I'd be backing them for promotion this year.

Regardless of what competition it is you play to win, fans of other clubs who say it's only the Carling Cup are the same fans who would be celebrating and saying what a great victory it is had their team won it. It's a ticket in to European football next season and that shouldn't be forgotten.

Although success breeds success, to suceed at the top you generally need the best players and if Liverpool aren't in the CL for yet another season they are only likely to pick up the same quality players they picked up in this close season - Adam, Downing and Henderson, players which have underperformed and not justified their price tag.

Thats the big risk with not qualifing for the CL - you loose ground on the teams around you and have to catch up each season - regardless of if you won a trophy.

Though winning any kind of trophy if really good...

Help find the Liverpool fans who did this:

Spoiler:

How do you know it was a Liverpool fan? Haven't heard of any trouble before or after the game.

hampo171 wrote:How do you know it was a Liverpool fan? Haven't heard of any trouble before or after the game.

My mate knows the guy. He got jumped by about 5 Liverpool fans

the people that did that need to be found!

Steffan wrote:Help find the Liverpool fans who did this:

Spoiler:

You sure he didnt just fall over

haha! yes sorry king beer, we're 6th your right! god tht 2-2 peed me off!

John wrote:haha! yes sorry king beer, we're 6th your right! god tht 2-2 peed me off!

Yeah me too.

He better get them fired up for Sunday. I'm already nervous.

Back on topic, Cardiff were brilliant, Hudson and Turner were outstanding and showed what it meant to them.

Kenny's reaction and his overall demeanour towards Cardiff just made me hate him even more. Disgraceful excuse for a human.

John wrote:Liverpool fans keep banging on about this cup win and i dont understand it. Firstly its the worst cup of the season. Secondly you struggled to beat a championship side with a full strength side and lastly your 6th in the premier league again failing to qualify for champions league football next season.........Yes well done liverpool

It would be different if it was Newcastle picking up the throphy though John. When was Newcastle's last success in any domestic competition?

King Beer wrote:Kenny's reaction and his overall demeanour towards Cardiff just made me hate him even more. Disgraceful excuse for a human

I think its generally accepted nowadays that Kenny and Liverpool fans are not the nicest bunch of people you would want to meet in football

Steffan wrote:

King Beer wrote:Kenny's reaction and his overall demeanour towards Cardiff just made me hate him even more. Disgraceful excuse for a human

I think its generally accepted nowadays that Kenny and Liverpool fans are not the nicest bunch of people you would want to meet in football

Kenny is a disgraceful human! If you need to sort your bitter and twisted heads out. Fine if you hate Liverpool but to say that about a man who you obviously not feck all about is a disgrace.

LivinginItaly wrote:Like Dalglish said, a taste of success breeds a greater desire for more success. Therefore this will hopefully be a stepping stone to greater levels of success in this season and the future.

Imagine for a moment that we manage to reach the final of the FA cup this season, think how much confidence we will be able to take into that game knowing we have already played and won at wembley this season.

I wonder if that is the same stepping stone for the team who won it last year. They went on to great success after winning this trophy.

King Beer wrote:

John wrote:haha! yes sorry king beer, we're 6th your right! god tht 2-2 peed me off!

Kenny's reaction and his overall demeanour towards Cardiff just made me hate him even more. Disgraceful excuse for a human.

Why because he celebrated, stopped, congratulated Makay on the game, and put out a full strength Liverpool team? Don't see how he's done anything wrong, big teams have a history of putting out "weakened" teams against lower league clubs which rarely gets criticised yet Kenny has done wrong by playing the first team?

I'm also yet to see Kenny say anything bad about Cardiff, all he's said is the players where a credit to their manager and the club.

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

John wrote:Liverpool fans keep banging on about this cup win and i dont understand it. Firstly its the worst cup of the season. Secondly you struggled to beat a championship side with a full strength side and lastly your 6th in the premier league again failing to qualify for champions league football next season.........Yes well done liverpool

It would be different if it was Newcastle picking up the throphy though John. When was Newcastle's last success in any domestic competition?

Well we won the Intertoto cup back in 2006 . To be honest even if Newcastle had won the league cup, I wouldnt be going crazy over it because of the following reasons

1. Our side would be recognised as 'good' and then our top players like Ba, Tiote & Krul would be snapped up by the top 4 or in Ba's case PSG
2. To win the league cup means european football which results in playing more games (thursday/sunday). This would be a big problem for our current small squad and therefore pardew would have to sell a tiote for e.g. to fund £25m so we could go and get 4 or 5 squad players to handle the fixture demand.....something stoke have witnessed this season n struggled.

Thats all i was saying

hampo171 wrote:

King Beer wrote:

John wrote:haha! yes sorry king beer, we're 6th your right! god tht 2-2 peed me off!

Kenny's reaction and his overall demeanour towards Cardiff just made me hate him even more. Disgraceful excuse for a human.

Why because he celebrated, stopped, congratulated Makay on the game, and put out a full strength Liverpool team? Don't see how he's done anything wrong, big teams have a history of putting out "weakened" teams against lower league clubs which rarely gets criticised yet Kenny has done wrong by playing the first team?

I'm also yet to see Kenny say anything bad about Cardiff, all he's said is the players where a credit to their manager and the club.

It's just any excuse to belittle Liverpool hampo. Probably because the Championship is the only thing Newcastle has won in the past 55 years.

John wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

John wrote:Liverpool fans keep banging on about this cup win and i dont understand it. Firstly its the worst cup of the season. Secondly you struggled to beat a championship side with a full strength side and lastly your 6th in the premier league again failing to qualify for champions league football next season.........Yes well done liverpool

It would be different if it was Newcastle picking up the throphy though John. When was Newcastle's last success in any domestic competition?

Well we won the Intertoto cup back in 2006 . To be honest even if Newcastle had won the league cup, I wouldnt be going crazy over it because of the following reasons

1. Our side would be recognised as 'good' and then our top players like Ba, Tiote & Krul would be snapped up by the top 4 or in Ba's case PSG
2. To win the league cup means european football which results in playing more games (thursday/sunday). This would be a big problem for our current small squad and therefore pardew would have to sell a tiote for e.g. to fund £25m so we could go and get 4 or 5 squad players to handle the fixture demand.....something stoke have witnessed this season n struggled.

Thats all i was saying

So the same mentality if you won the FA Cup?

Apparently the Cardiff fan who got attacked was walking through the Liverpool end of Wembley trying to find his seating block. Liverpool FC and the police are meant to be looking into it

Itl probably come out that the Cardiff fan attacked the 5 scousers or something. Liverpool fans are always the victim and that. YNWA bla bla

No because F.A Cup is special and holds a significance to the history of english football, I would celebrate it heavily. However, I would know that there was a high probability of losing the top quality players that won it for us in the immediate aftermath of winning such a trophy, thats the problem with a team outside the top 5 or 6 of winning such a cup.

Steffan wrote:Apparently the Cardiff fan who got attacked was walking through the Liverpool end of Wembley trying to find his seating block. Liverpool FC and the police are meant to be looking into it

Itl probably come out that the Cardiff fan attacked the 5 scousers or something. Liverpool fans are always the victim and that. YNWA bla bla

Scousers or Liverpool fans? There is a difference these days, unfortunately

How is it the "worst" trophy? Liverpool had to beat City, Chelsea and Stoke away to get there. Their FA Cup run in is easier if anything, only having to beat minnows like Brighton, Oldham and United ( ) with many "big" teams now out of the competition.

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Scousers or Liverpool fans? There is a difference these days, unfortunately

Tell me about it. Worst thing is there are some Liverpool fans from south Wales who acquired tickets from contacts within Cardiff City FC and sat in the Cardiff end with Liverpool tops on. The cheek of it

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

hampo171 wrote:

King Beer wrote:

John wrote:haha! yes sorry king beer, we're 6th your right! god tht 2-2 peed me off!

Kenny's reaction and his overall demeanour towards Cardiff just made me hate him even more. Disgraceful excuse for a human.

Why because he celebrated, stopped, congratulated Makay on the game, and put out a full strength Liverpool team? Don't see how he's done anything wrong, big teams have a history of putting out "weakened" teams against lower league clubs which rarely gets criticised yet Kenny has done wrong by playing the first team?

I'm also yet to see Kenny say anything bad about Cardiff, all he's said is the players where a credit to their manager and the club.

It's just any excuse to belittle Liverpool hampo. Probably because the Championship is the only thing Newcastle has won in the past 55 years.

His actions during the Suarez/Evra were despicable.

This is a guy who manages what WAS one of the most respected clubs in the world, yet his actions and those of his players have led to his club being widely regarded as 'The Racists'. He should be held just as accountable as Suarez. He is the manager of the team and should show the correct leadership.

I've had nothing but hatred for the granny faced pleb since he tried to ruin Newcastle all those years ago with his horrific brand of football and his actions during the Andy Carroll saga.

Wouldn't spit on him if he was on fire.

EnglishReign wrote:How is it the "worst" trophy? Liverpool had to beat City, Chelsea and Stoke away to get there. Their FA Cup run in is easier if anything, only having to beat minnows like Brighton, Oldham and United ( ) with many "big" teams now out of the competition.

But thats just the luck of the draw who you get, the League Cup is still the worst trophy out of the Title, Champions League, F.A Cup & League Cup on offer. FACT. The history of the F.A cup compared to the Carling Cup and the great matches that have been witnessed over the years in it, make it such a special cup to win. Of course money and the incentive to prioritise champs league qualification over the F.A Cup have damaged its reputation over recent years but to label the carling cup a more important and significant trophy than the F.A Cup just because you won it is ridiculous.

King Beer wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

hampo171 wrote:

King Beer wrote:

John wrote:haha! yes sorry king beer, we're 6th your right! god tht 2-2 peed me off!

Kenny's reaction and his overall demeanour towards Cardiff just made me hate him even more. Disgraceful excuse for a human.

Why because he celebrated, stopped, congratulated Makay on the game, and put out a full strength Liverpool team? Don't see how he's done anything wrong, big teams have a history of putting out "weakened" teams against lower league clubs which rarely gets criticised yet Kenny has done wrong by playing the first team?

I'm also yet to see Kenny say anything bad about Cardiff, all he's said is the players where a credit to their manager and the club.

It's just any excuse to belittle Liverpool hampo. Probably because the Championship is the only thing Newcastle has won in the past 55 years.

His actions during the Suarez/Evra were despicable.

This is a guy who manages what WAS one of the most respected clubs in the world, yet his actions and those of his players have led to his club being widely regarded as 'The Racists'. He should be held just as accountable as Suarez. He is the manager of the team and should show the correct leadership.

I've had nothing but hatred for the granny faced pleb since he tried to ruin Newcastle all those years ago with his horrific brand of football and his actions during the Andy Carroll saga.

Wouldn't spit on him if he was on fire.

You said his demeanour towards Cardiff though, his attitude towards Cardiff has been nothing but respectful. I understand he made a mistake over the Suarez situation and it won't be forgotten, John Henry himself has stepped in there and made his stance on the situation very clear. Anyway that's a different discussion and one that has been done to death on here.

hampo171 wrote:

King Beer wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

hampo171 wrote:

King Beer wrote:

John wrote:haha! yes sorry king beer, we're 6th your right! god tht 2-2 peed me off!

Kenny's reaction and his overall demeanour towards Cardiff just made me hate him even more. Disgraceful excuse for a human.

Why because he celebrated, stopped, congratulated Makay on the game, and put out a full strength Liverpool team? Don't see how he's done anything wrong, big teams have a history of putting out "weakened" teams against lower league clubs which rarely gets criticised yet Kenny has done wrong by playing the first team?

I'm also yet to see Kenny say anything bad about Cardiff, all he's said is the players where a credit to their manager and the club.

It's just any excuse to belittle Liverpool hampo. Probably because the Championship is the only thing Newcastle has won in the past 55 years.

His actions during the Suarez/Evra were despicable.

This is a guy who manages what WAS one of the most respected clubs in the world, yet his actions and those of his players have led to his club being widely regarded as 'The Racists'. He should be held just as accountable as Suarez. He is the manager of the team and should show the correct leadership.

I've had nothing but hatred for the granny faced pleb since he tried to ruin Newcastle all those years ago with his horrific brand of football and his actions during the Andy Carroll saga.

Wouldn't spit on him if he was on fire.

You said his demeanour towards Cardiff though, his attitude towards Cardiff has been nothing but respectful. I understand he made a mistake over the Suarez situation and it won't be forgotten, John Henry himself has stepped in there and made his stance on the situation very clear. Anyway that's a different discussion and one that has been done to death on here.

I thought his demeanour on the touchline seemed very negative towards them. Correct me if i'm wrong but i don't recall him commiserating the Cardiff players.

If he did then fine, i retract my comment about his demeanour (i was half asleep).

However, if he didn't i find it disrespectful given that alot of those players will never earn the millions that his squad are payed, they will never reach the dizzy heights he's experienced and yet, they pushed his multi-million pound squad right to the limit. They deserve more praise than any of his squad.

I can't understand the criticism of the players for celebrating winning a trophy, it's ridiculous. If they hadn't celebrated, they would have been criticized for not respecting the trophy and should be grateful to win anything etc. etc. It would have also been slightly disrespectful to Cardiff who put their heart and soul into the match to try and win it, if the players had then acted like it was no big deal.

I also have to agree that we had to beat strong Chelsea and Manchester City sides to reach the final of the Carling Cup where as the only big team we have faced so far in the FA Cup is Manchester United, so if anything the Carling Cup has been a hard competition to win.

To be honest, i think Liverpool have beaten the best sides to win it, but after the season they've have and the issues around the club, i would say they are the last team i would ever want to see winning a cup.

That's a personal opinion.

I'll give them credit in the sense that it's good to see a PL side take it seriously and treat it with prestige.

could it maybe be said that alot of premier league clubs underestimate the quality of the teams in the championship now?

There are a lot of quality players in the championship who could easily make the step up to premier league level, and often now we are seeing the promoted teams do well in their first season, often without changing their sides drastically (Norwich are an exception, but have still retained championship players in their starting side)

I'd say there is minimal difference, if any, from the bottom 8 in the PL to the top 8 in the championship.

I'm just happy to see us win something .
I was brought up wanting to see the teams i support win things not settling for 2nd 3rd or 4th place (and yes i realise we wouldn't of won our 5th European cup without that) .

Any true fan wants their team to win trophies .

Missed the match unfortunately but caught the highlights on the LC show. We had a ton of chances to build a decent lead but weren't able to make the most of a of of them, and all credit to Cardiff City, they were tough in defence and gave their all.

Disagree with the detractors on here, some may say "oh its only the league cup" but a trophy is still a trophy. I'm with KingKenny7Heaven, as fans you'd want your team to get as far as possible in everything its involved in. Lifting silverware for the first time in six years will give Liverpool a great confidence boost for what lies ahead.