When you think about it, it’s the dream final that all of us have been wanting. If it was Chelsea against Man United in the final, everyone would be complaining about how predictable the FA Cup was. But yet, even with the rarity of Pompey playing Cardiff at Wembley, I can’t get excited about it.

Why I can’t muster up much enthusiasm for one of the oldest cup tournaments in the world has been bugging me. The ridiculous charge of $25 to watch it live on pay-per-view (10am ET) isn’t a barrier. Sadly, even if the match was shown for free, I wouldn’t rush to the television set in great anticipation. Sure, I’d watch it but not as intently as a Champions League Final.

I finally figured out a few reasons why I’m not so bothered about the final this year:

• There’s little to no build up. As reader AtlantaPompey mentioned, it seems that podcasts and sites are ignoring the final. What would help get me in the mood is if Fox showed a documentary about the history of the FA Cup on its network, or some of the best FA Cup Finals in history. I’m missing the hype and feeling no buzz.
• There are too many distractions. The Champions League Final is getting more attention this year than in previous years because two Premier League clubs are in the final. If the UEFA final was between Lyon and Roma, most of the anglophile bloggers, podcasters and journalists would find a new topic to discuss. Plus on top of all of this, the hype is already beginning for Euro 2008.
• It’s hard to get excited about Pompey and Cardiff. No offense to Portsmouth fans, but the team in recent weeks has been practically invisible. The entertainment value from the Fratton Park side has disappeared so there’s little momentum going into the match for neutral followers. Plus there’s not much to hate about Portsmouth, if anything at all, so it’s not like we would love to see them lose either.
• Portsmouth against Cardiff is not David versus Goliath. If Cardiff shocks Portsmouth on Saturday and becomes only the second time a Welsh team has won the FA Cup, it’ll be a surprise to many fans but it won’t send shockwaves around the world. Now, if Cardiff City was playing Manchester United this Saturday, I honestly feel that more neutral fans would be interested in watching the match. That would be a true David versus Goliath spectacle.

Sensing that there were other soccer fans out there that may have shared a similar feeling to me, I posted a poll yesterday and asked how readers would be experiencing the FA Cup. The results, as of press time, showed that the majority of people weren’t planning on watching the match live, but would watch the highlights on TV later. The second most common answer was that soccer fans would be passing on the FA Cup Final completely this year and presumably have no plans to watch it on replay or the highlights.

Here are a few other related posts you might find interesting:

• Why This Welshman Will Be Supporting Portsmouth In The FA Cup Final
• Setanta Sports Gets FA Cup Coverage For 2008/09 Season: Interview
• FA Cup Final: Portsmouth v Cardiff On U.S. TV

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Thanks to the Football Shirts web site for discovering the picture.

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So far, ESPN hasn’t made a wrong move in their preparation for their live TV coverage of Euro 2008. The network has announced that the vast majority of Euro 2008 matches will be shown in HD. Plus, in the buildup to Euro 2008, ESPN Classic will be showing the European Championship finals from 1972 onwards each night from May 26 to June 5. Bravo ESPN (seriously).

Here are a few other related posts you might find interesting:

• ESPN Announces Euro 2008 Broadcast Schedule
• ESPN & ABC To Televise Euro 2008 Matches in US
• ESPN Responds to Criticism
• ABC/ESPN World Cup Coverage Does US No Favors
• Interview with ESPN Commentator Derek Rae

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The fixture schedule for the 2008/2009 season will be announced during the summer, usually in late June or early July.

Stay with EPL Talk throughout the summer as we bring you the latest Euro 2008 news and analysis, as well as all of the news you need to know about the upcoming EPL season.

The August 10th Community Shield date is mentioned on the FA’s site. However, Sky Sports has just released a new advert (thanks 101greatgoals) that says that football will return on August 9th? I guess Sky is promoting the Coca-Cola Championship League which typically starts one week earlier than the EPL.

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But for those of you who can’t wait for Euro 2008 to begin, be sure to bookmark the Euro2008statistics.com site, which features a blog, statistics, matchtrackers and more.

In the meantime, if you plan on being in Vienna during the Euro 2008 tournament this summer, please contact me at thegaffer[at]epltalk[dot]com so I can enter you and four of your friends in a 5-a-side contest!

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By Milo Hewitt

First, thanks to The Gaffer I had the opportunity to attend this one-off exclusive show, a must for any Arsenal fan. My friend and I arrived at Fountain Studios in Wembley at approx 5:45 pm. While waiting in the queue we saw Paul Merson and Michael Thomas waiting by the stage door. Shortly after, Philippe Senderos arrived followed by Nicklas Bendtner.

Due to poor organization on the production team’s behalf we were waiting for what seemed like forever. After waiting some more, Arsene Wenger arrived and swiftly entered past the stage door. To make a long story short we didn’t get into the studios until 8pm.

Once in, we had to gather in a foyer area where we were given drink tokens and wristbands. There was a Pro Evolution Soccer tournament where the winner would face Cesc on the show. After that ended we were let into the main studio where there was a mad rush to get the best places (it was an all-standing show). After about 20 minutes of the production team shifting everyone around so they had the best camera angles, the show was ready to begin.

Our hosts for this evening were two guys. I cannot remember their names except for one guy’s surname was Goldstein. They cracked a few jokes with the crowd which was at or over capacity, I think. Then out came Cesc Fabregas to a huge applause and chant of “We got Cesc Fabregas, We got Cesc Fabregas.” The show kicked off with the presenters asking Cesc about how he started football and how his career progressed from Barca to Arsenal, and then we were shown a video package about where Cesc grew up. We then had our first guests of the evening, Francesc and Nuria Fabregas, his parents. They were asked questions about his life; his father couldn’t speak any English so Cesc had to translate for him in comedic style.

I glanced around to the side of the stage where there was seating for the guests of the show and I saw Cesc’s sister who is a double of him and his girlfriend sitting next to her, as well as his grandparents. The next segment involved a replica set of his bedroom when he first moved to London. It was very basic. The bed had an Arsenal duvet cover and there was a poster of his hero on the wall. I can’t remember who it was but it was a footballer. Also there was a tube map on the wall as when Cesc first arrived in London, he relied on the tube to get around and he told us a funny story of how he got lost in London and had to ask a stranger to take him home. Then back on the main stage there were more questions for Cesc and after that there was a comedy sketch featuring Paul Kaye as an American commentator.

It was then time for our special guest. Surprise, surprise… Arsene Wenger came out to the cheer of the Arsenal fans. He looked very happy and kept on smiling. He was asked questions about Cesc and then gave a theory on how footballers progress, his method from what I can remember is that a footballer is like a house and they have to start from the foundations and must end up with a roof. He went into detail but you will have to watch this on telly to see it. It was then time for him to leave again to the cheer of the Arsenal supporters and there were shouts asking him who he was going to sign. Some people shouted David Villa to which Wenger smiled and laughed.

By this point my feet were really hurting having been standing idle for over 3 hours. We were shown some more videos and then it was time for the winner of the Pro Evolution Soccer tournament to face Cesc. Chris Kamara was the special guest commentator. Cesc Played as Arsenal and the other guy played as Barca, with Cesc winning 3-0 much to the delight of everyone in the studio. Back again to more questions and then a game where Cesc had to face an aspiring young footballer who was selected by some footballing organization based on his all round skill. Nicklas Bendtner came out and was the judge in this game. The person who could control the ball the most within the small circle would win. Nicklas declared Cesc the winner.

After that we had the final segment involving Paul Merson, Michael Thomas and Philippe Senderos. Paul and Michael talked about the physicality of today’s game and how much more demanding and fast paced it is now compared to when they played. Paul Merson said that Cesc is a vital part of Arsenal although some have left like Flamini (to which the crowd jeered) and some of the crowd shouted what about Hleb and Cesc turned round put his finger to his lips (shhh) and smiled.

The final game of the show consisted of a large goal with a holes cut out for the ball to go through. The task was for Cesc to score a goal with his head through one of the holes, and if he did it everyone in the studio would win the new Arsenal kit. At this point everyone was ecstatic and gathered around the goal to watch. After about four attempts he finally scored and everyone ran up to him and cheered. I can’t wait to get my free Arsenal top Gaffer! Thank you EPL Talk!

That about sums up the show, we taped some more little pick ups for TV purposes and then we left the building.

Please view the slideshow featuring photos from behind the scenes at The Cesc Fabregas Show.

Editor’s Note: Milo was one of the two winners of tickets to the Cesc Fabregas Show. Congratulations Milo and thanks for the review! The show will debut on Sky Sports on May 19, 2008 at 6:30pm and 9:30pm.

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Although the new sites are busy, they do offer plenty of features for soccer fans. Examples include a streaming feed of Setanta Sports News, links to the Setanta Sports Podcast, the latest I’m On Setanta Sports episode, soccer news and more.

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Now, the timing is better than ever for Fulham to visit the United States this summer for a preseason tour. Fulham owner Mohamed Al-Fayed needs to capitalize on how his club has won the hearts and minds of so many neutral American soccer fans. If Fulham doesn’t visit the United States this summer, they’re missing out on the best opportunity the club will ever have to increase its fan base stateside.

The club has a wonderful opportunity to play in front of packed stadiums in the large cities in the U.S. With American players such as Kasey Keller, Clint Dempsey, Carlos Bocanegra, Brian McBride and Eddie Johnson, no other team has so much American presence in the Premier League. And with the U.S. economy down the toilet, now is the cheapest time in decades for an English club team to fly to America (plus American Airlines is a sponsor of Fulham).

The temptation for Fulham will be to fly to Asia for preseason friendlies, but the west London club would be in a long line of sides battling for the interest of fans in China and East Asia. Instead of doing that, why not be one of a small handful of Premier League clubs to invade the U.S. and to take advantage of a blossoming interest in your club? We wouldn’t mind being taken advantage of — trust me.

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The striker who wowed fans at Celtic, Manchester United and Barcelona, is one of 5 strikers named in the the team and is looking forward to another tournament for his nation. Larsson has been in fine form for Helsingborg this season, with 6 goals in 11 games so far and realises the size of the task ahead of him. “It will be tough to make the first team but I’ll do my best, We’ve been playing well in Helsingborg, playing in the UEFA Cup in the autumn and also playing good football in the Swedish league and playing football that has given me a taste for more. Larsson was suprisingly named in the Euro 2004 Swedish squad and ended up being the Swedes top scorer with 3 goals.

Meanwhile, the Dutch camp is in shock after Clarence Seedorf’s decison to quit the national team for Euro 2008. Seedorf spoke to Van Basten over the phone on Monday evening and announced his decison which stunned the Oranje’s coach. “I did not expect this at all,” he said. “I told Clarence I have a lot of respect for him as a person and as a football player, but his mind was already made up.”

Seedorf has released a statement saying “It is a decision that comes after serious consideration and months of reflection. Since my return to the national team, the right conditions have not been created to let me perform at my best and to effectively excel as the team member I always strive to be.”

Suprisingly, Seedorf has refused to quit international football and may seek a fresh start when new Dutch manager Bert van Marwijk takes over after the finals. Of course, this is nothing new to the pairs relationship as Van Basten jettisoned Seedorf from the squad prior to the last World Cup. Discussing this ommission in an interview with World Soccer in June’s edition, he was as honest as always. ” I was sad to have missed the World Cup, I don’t know why I wasn’t picked, I assume it wasn’t tactical or technical looking at the other players who were chosen. But there’s no point looking back.”

Van Basten may be looking back at his own decision to recently bring Seedorf back to the fold as another major tournament begins with issues around the Dutch squad without a ball being kicked.

Finally, Pavel Nedved, one of the Europes top players over the last decade, has turned down the managers offer of joining the squad to replace Tomas Rosicky, out with a knee injury. Nedved retired after Germany 2006 and speculation had been rife in the Italian media that he would answer Karel Brückner’s SOS to return to the Czech squad.

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