The FA have confirmed that this season’s FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea will be played at Wembley Stadium, kicking off at 17.30.
This has become the default start time for the final in recent years, moving away from the traditional 3pm kick-off that so many of us grew up with.
Fans lucky enough to get tickets will be treated to the show of a lifetime, which will include:
- Terrible pop music played really loudly
- Faux atmosphere
- Balloons
- Fireworks
- a VERY SHOUTY ANNOUNCER guy
- Overpriced food and drink
- A programme that costs as much as I paid for my first car
- Terrible transport links and ridiculous queues for trains
- Massive hype from BT Sport and the BBC
- The possibility of Chris Sutton and Robbie Savage on TV
Oh, and a football match, but that’s by the by.
The final will take place on Saturday, May 27th – the day after Friday May 26th which happens to be the landmark 28th anniversary of Anfield 89, and the day before Sunday, May 28th which is being marketed as Ibuprofen Sunday, because whatever happens there are going to be some sore heads.
I don’t mind this, just depends if we win or lose. However gives fans a chance to drink a lot beforehand.
….And after too
….and I’m guessing the clubs will get a small allocation of tickets, the FA wouldn’t want actual fabs watching their team trying win a trophy would they?
To be fair, Chelsea don’t have very many real fans to allocate tickets to.
I believe the allocation is 28,500
Fabs? What would an ice cream want a ticket to a cup final for>?
…I’ll get my coat
I have to say, with Mourinho gone, Cashley gone, Terry now just an ornament and Cesc just a bit part it’s getting harder and harder to dislike Chelsea in quite the same way as in recent years, especially with a reasonably likeable manager such as Conte. Having said all this, I still want them to be weeping inconsolably on Saturday 27th May, just like the last cup final I attended in 2002, between the same teams when Ray Parlour’s piledriver gave me my first ever orgasm. Also, regardless of what Wenger does after that date, I really really want this… Read more »
Don’t get too excited – it’s only Ray Parlour
No, any team that doesn’t play in red and white and are called Arsenal are always worth disliking.
And called c***s
Well, the only team standing between sp*rs and the title can’t be all bad.
I think Costa should still muster an appropriate level of dislike for Chelsea. But that’s only me.
While we’re on the subject – Hazard, much as he’s a talented player, he strikes me as quite an unpleasant little twat!
And Courtois too
And that prick who knocked bellerin out cold while scoring
I have to say the ineradicable stench of their fans, infused with the stench of Mourinho, Cashley, Terry and partly a bit of Cese, still remains to dislike.
Here here
Where where?
Well I, for one, still despise them with a passion. The way they cheat whenever they feel they can get an upper hand – feigning injury, diving, shouting in the ref’s face, desperately trying to get players sent off, complaining about every decision that goes against them, etc. – is shameful. Of course they also think they’re alwyas in the right – the incident when Alonso went elbow first through Bellerin’s head, knocking him out cold, and then wouldn’t even apologise to his compatriot was just disgusting. And if people are calling the Leicester City players snakes then I don’t… Read more »
Conte seems like a nice enough chap, Costa and their racist fans less so.
Thoroughly agree, and I think hazard is my favourite player in the world to watch- ignoring my arsenal bias. Shame most of their fans are so hideous. They look a lot more beatable now than they did a couple of months back too.. Surely we’re long overdue some joy against them at Wembley.
Our adoption of 352 verses Chelsea, the masters of the formation, reminds me of that bit in Happy Gilmore (sorry blogs) where we see Shooter McGavin in the woods attempting, and failing, the famous run up Gilmore tee shot.
Yeah!! Given the ‘Hobson’s choice’ of them or Spuds for the league, it’s COYB.
For me its not so much the players and manager that I dislike about Chelsea – its their fans. Like I hate them. I hate Chelsea fans potentially more then I hate Spurs fans. They are some of the worst humans on the planet. Their greatest ever player who won them the Champions League, and various league titles was from the Ivory Coast, yet Chelsea FC are banning fans from Stamford Bridge for making monkey noises as recently as 2012. They also had that collection of fans involved in the racial tube incident in Paris back in 2015 when they… Read more »
It’s also 2 days before the “landmark” 32nd anniversary of the Heysel Stadium disaster, which for some unknown reason, will barely get a mention by the lovable good natured Scousers.
The whole purpose being so they can cram more rubbish in before the game, what a fucking joke. And on another note, the semi finals shouldn’t even be at Wembley, it just takes that magic and prestige away from the being in the final. You shouldn’t get to play at Wembley for making a semi final. Before you know it, quarter finals will be at Wembley too, fuck let’s just play all the bloody games at Wembley why the hell not.
Rename it to FA Wembley Cup
Works great for me – nice 9:30 am kick-off. It’ll be pleasant to watch Arsene’s Magnificent Seven-th without having to get up before the birds.
I’m not completely against the time. The main problem is the amount of shit you get subjected to in the build up to the game on TV will last even longer.
Seriously, what’s stopping you tuning in 30-60 mins before the KO then? You don’t have to watch it all.
The KO time is obviously the the American market. It’s where the money is… the FA will follow that every time.
I always find it funny that John Terry’s name rhymes with “cunt”.
It does in my mind anyway…
Love the way you think, truly Original. You have a talent not yet fully recognised.
When I checked the fixture list on the Arsenal site in August I thought: Fuck, FA cup final is on my wedding day! Three months ago I thought – Shouldn’t be a problem, our form is shit and we’ll never make it. Leaving Wembley on Sunday I thought – Houston, we have a problem!
Congratulations?
This day only comes around once in a lifetime. There is nothing more sacrosanct. A day to cherish for the rest of your life. The FA cup final at Wembley!
Good luck! I got married on Cup Final Day in 1998. Consideration when booking the date the previous August was avoiding the World Cup Finals. Little did I know we’d be wrapping up the double! Went for a midday ceremony and had radios on the tables at the reception. Wenger, Overmars and Anelka all merited mentions in my speech, and luckily no one had to find out the extent to which a defeat might have ruined my day.
This happened to me in 1971! Arsenal 2 Liverpool 1, Charlie George, etc, etc. I married a Scouse girl in L’pool that day.
Sounds like poor weather is forecast for the game. Maybe Cech can score a goal with clever use of those high winds, though.
That’s 1.30am for me I shall be completely cunted by then
Shame for those of us in Australia. Leaves the kick off at 2.30 am rather than the midnight we all love. With many major cities having stupid lock out rules will be hard to get in to venues to watch with other fans
I guess a 2:30am kickoff my time isnt that bad… just gotta reduce my SAT night alco intake a bit so I am still awake. The 2 previous finals were at similar times no?
all very well for you at home but that means a 1am kick off here, so thanks FA for doing FA for overseas fans
F*cking great! Assuming i get a ticket (FA’s family of football obviously have to come before the season ticket holders of the two clubs), the wife is going to love this!
Cunts I live in Singapore. Now it’s gone from a semi night to hard all night.