FA Cup 5th Round Draw: Chelsea Get Birmingham At Home
Chelsea have drawn against Birmingham City in the 5th round of the FA Cup, giving the Blues a relatively straightforward home match against a Championship side to get to the quarterfinals of a tournament that we could well be the favourites for at this point. Unlike the last round, there is at most one all-Premier League draw (depending on the eventual outcome of Sunderland vs. Middlesbrough), so it's going to be relatively quiet.
That's ok, though. Better to get a relatively straightforward tie against the likes of Birmingham than to have to travel to Anfield or something. The quarterfinals should be fairly juicy - you'd expect Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur as well as the Blues to each be involved at that stage, but we probably shouldn't be counting our velociraptors before they're hatched.
Full draw after the jump...
Millwall or Southampton vs. Bolton Wanderers
Sunderland or Middlesbrough vs. Arsenal or Aston Villa
Norwich City vs. Leicester City
Stevenage vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Crawley Town vs. Stoke City
Chelsea vs. Birmingham City
Everton vs. Blackpool or Sheffield Wednesday
Liverpool vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
Nothing to see here, move along.
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Oh good, so another opportunity to play a full-strength side against shitty opposition! Yey!
Also, c’mon Brighton!
I think AVB's just trolling us at this point
We may have to kill Torres to get Lukaku some time
by Graham MacAree on Jan 29, 2012 4:32 PM GMT up reply actions
NOOOOOOOO!
Just stash him away in my basement. Duh!
No...
the basket seems reserved for the youth players that deserve time on the pitch. The basement is where I keep Torres when others want to put a hit on him, and we pull the youth players out of the basket to finally play. I just have to get to installing some creative restraints in the basement. :)
I really wish we hadn't played him this season.
Then we could have loaned him out.
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 4:39 PM GMT up reply actions
I'm actually glad he stayed here
I imagine a year of training with Drogs and playing very little will likely benefit him more than a year starting at a smaller club in the long run.
by Stephen Schmidt on Jan 29, 2012 5:20 PM GMT up reply actions
Or not, depending on how suited he is to that style of game.
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:22 PM GMT up reply actions
Sure
it will cost you £50m (dude… just found the keystroke for the pound sign on my macbook… this is much better for everyone here).
Is it option + #?
I have to press option+£ to get #, so it would make sense to be the opposite in the US
No doubt there's some esoteric reason for this (like for QWERTY)...
…but the progression of the currency symbols on the US-spec keyboard is all kinds of nonsense:
Shift+4 = $
Option+3 = £
Option+Shift+2 = €
I guess the cent symbol is also under the 4 (Option+4 = ¢) so that jives with the $ symbol. But otherwise…
Yeah.. that's too much work
I’ll have to stick to £ and $, then. If something is in Euros, you are maybe lucky if I use “E”.
So, uh...
Arsenal 0 – 1 Aston Villa.
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
I should have taken my advice about counting velociraptors
by Graham MacAree on Jan 29, 2012 4:38 PM GMT up reply actions
Iroincally, velociraptors were basically evil chickens.
They had feathers and were tiny. Michael Crichton thought they were identical to Deinonychus, and the producers of the film version of Jurassic Park didn’t want to correct him.
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 4:41 PM GMT up reply actions
No, Velociraptors were significantly bigger than chickens
Adult Velociraptors were between 2-2.5 metres long (depending on species), although fairly light at 30-55lbs ish, and Deinonychus was a tough over 3m but much heavier. Jurassic Park actually used Utahraptors, the biggest known Dromaeosaurid.
Told y’all I have a thing for evolutionary biology ;)
by Graham MacAree on Jan 29, 2012 4:45 PM GMT up reply actions
Dammit. I knew that, but was myself confused.
That’s the problem with anecdotes about someone not remembering something. Sometimes, you misremember them, or combine them into one super-anecdote of shame. : )
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 4:52 PM GMT up reply actions
see, this would never happen on a man u blog
That’s why I love y’all. UP BLUES!
by dojothecat on Jan 29, 2012 4:59 PM GMT via mobile up reply actions
Nah, they were too heavily built to be flyers
Dromaeosaurids were probably secondarily flightless – like emus or whatever. Feathers mostly for display and insulation.
by Graham MacAree on Jan 29, 2012 4:47 PM GMT up reply actions
My favorite dinosaur as a kid
was the iguanadon, because it looks like it was giving a thumbs-up. And that is all I know about that.
Mine was the triceritops (sp?)
not sure why though
by dodgerboy03 on Jan 29, 2012 7:07 PM GMT via Android app up reply actions
/female ones
I believe that the Triceratops claim actually comes first, too
by Graham MacAree on Jan 30, 2012 2:30 AM GMT up reply actions
Anybody realize that Sabrina isn't around? Lol
by dodgerboy03 on Jan 29, 2012 7:09 PM GMT via Android app up reply actions
I know =/
I posted that before I got to the bottom of the comments and saw the result
by dodgerboy03 on Jan 29, 2012 7:20 PM GMT via Android app up reply actions
You cheer up
Arsenal got the worst draw.
by Sabrina Dessipe on Jan 29, 2012 8:39 PM GMT up reply actions
To be honest, both of the Villa goals were impressive.
The corner for the first one was pretty tricky.
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I love how FOX are promoting the pre-Super Bowl United-Chelsea match with...
…Nando’s overhead kick, but without showing it hitting the bar.
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
Funny
because they’ve stopped mentioning him as the name offered up with “The Blues”… which is a good thing, really. It was getting embarrassing for them to continue with that, especially when he wasnt even in the line-up of the matches they promoted that way.
Now it’s Frank Lampard… which is also silly, because he may not even be ready to play by that game. They probably won’t be doing Terry, because of his court case, and Danny is not famous enough. Mata isn’t a household name yet, either… and Drogba’s away. Guess they gotta hedge their bets on Lampard being fit.
We really don't have any household names who play enough, do we?
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:43 PM GMT up reply actions
Well...
Torres was one that they pushed in the States earlier in the season… he’s better known here than I thought, but probably now, more so because of his failed attempts than anything. At the Spain v. USA game he was received really well, given his slump. Rooney is like the second coming, if you ask anyone who even knows what soccer or the EPL is, but doesn’t actually watch with any frequency. It drives me mad that ManU is the one that has marketed themselves the best over here, which is no doubt, helped by our friend Beckham’s move to LA. People root for them just because they know the name. They couldn’t tell you anyone on the squad now, aside from Rooney.
Lampard, Drogba, and Terry would really be the Chelsea names that are best known here, I think. But… in advertising, everyone loves a goal-scorer… so it isn’t surprising to see them use Lampard.
Also...
I’m thinking that if Chelsea do reasonably well this year, and Mata keeps up his work rate (even if he doesnt come across as being as stellar as the beginning of the season), that he should become the name for the “next generation” of Chelsea’s success. He’s already getting shouts as being one of the best players in the EPL, and everyone seems to recognize that he doesn’t have quite the same squad fluidity and talent that City does. Some people (whether agreed or not) seem to think that he could be even better than Silva, given the right circumstances.
I'm not sure about Mata.
He’s not flash enough to really be a popular player outside our fans.
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 6:46 PM GMT up reply actions
Hmm
I figure with his goal-scoring, assisting, and moves, he could get there. Not sure if it will be as soon as I’d like, but I think he produces flashier “moves” than Silva, and the latter is picking up steam as a name amongst anyone that is familiar with the EPL.
He's not a dick, though.
All stars are, on some level, insufferable dicks.
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 7:15 PM GMT up reply actions
Even your own Torres?
;) I would say a lot of them can be dicks, but not all of them. I suppose Liverpool fans would agree. I never much thought of Messi as a dick. Or Iniesta. Kaka was more annoying (with all that perfection, much like a Tebow character) than a dick.
None of them have the "star quality"
Even Messi, despite his being the best player, isn’t as widely known as Ronaldo. Torres, at his best, wasn’t as well-known as, say, Rooney or Drogba.
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 9:59 PM GMT up reply actions
Hmm
not in these parts, but in other areas of the world, I’d say that isn’t completely true. And Ronaldo isn’t famous over here for playing football… he is famous for having dated Paris Hilton and being on the Simpsons. Of course he’s a twit. Rooney is only famous because he is English and scores goals, and it is too complicated for most Americans to look at teams that aren’t the USMNT, England NT, or in the Champions League final. I’d definitely think that in some other countries, and especially their home countries, they are treated as stars.
Now, if we’re talking household names for us Americans… yeah, Chelsea hasn’t many, but I think Mata could become that, given a little time. That, of course, depends on whether he stays at Chelsea or not… he could become a star for some other team, with the way contracts and transfers are these days.
In my country
Beckham is the most known player.Everyone knows Messi as the best footballer but most of them don’t even recognize him.
Half time
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 4:57 PM GMT up reply actions
If it ever happened, which it won't, Pepe would be the first Chelsea player...
…I’d actually hate.
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:06 PM GMT up reply actions 1 recs
I believe that's Joe Mourinho
Not sure anyone here would offer themselves up for that job. I don’t think apologizing for his benavior would cut it.
Yes
Because I cannot type. I need to double check before I hit Post.
I am also trying to determine
if that is a reference to the “red headed step child” or me :) I’ll choose the latter just to flatter myself a bit.
Pfft
I give you this song instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2HLuwF76eU
Crap… took me awhile to think of that one… I knew there was some other song from my childhood that used that term.
Childhood is right!
Are you one of the, maybe, 3 people here that might be older than me?
But, but...
I just wanted to sell you some candy bars so my softball team could buy uniforms!
Pepe is like a crazier, more violent David Luiz without any of the redeeming factors
by Graham MacAree on Jan 29, 2012 5:09 PM GMT up reply actions
David Luiz defends brilliantly when he's not being insane
by Graham MacAree on Jan 29, 2012 5:14 PM GMT up reply actions
He really isn't
Pepe’s a complete liability in defence for me
by Graham MacAree on Jan 29, 2012 5:29 PM GMT up reply actions
Well if thats the case
I wonder while RM are still holding on to him…I mean they can easily afford a new defender ?
I honestly
have no idea why they keep bothering with him. It’s one of the many puzzles of football, as far as I am concerned.
It’s almost as if they just hope he kicks the shit out of the opposition enough that, even if he is sent off, he takes out the other team’s best player. In fact, I can think of a recent incident that almost fits that bill perfectly.
Hmm
Close… but this would imply he has discipline. Maybe Brazilian street fighting would be more appropriate for him? Definitely not Capoeira… too much coordination.
Exactly. Not to mention there's a high probability he would shame our club name.
That article is ass backwards by the way. Surely it’s RM who are offering Pepe for DL, not the other way around.
RVP penalty Arse 1-2 Vile
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Are we having a troll-exchange program.
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:16 PM GMT up reply actions
ManU fans?
Or myself… I am still no fan of this combined team. And why does Arsenal get their full name in the combined name? Chelsea’s only worth the Ch? Should at least be Chelsenal. Or better yet, Chelseanal…. haha… that last part looks dirty.
I used "Charsenal" as the most natural portmanteau of "Chelsea" and "Arsenal"
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 6:02 PM GMT up reply actions
I approve of this one
Anything that keeps something about “butts” in there… because that’s how I feel about combining forces with Arsenal :)
by alynne4307 on Jan 29, 2012 6:20 PM GMT up reply actions 1 recs
Wait Arsenal are tied?
This is what I get for focusing on my lesson plan and not the FA Cup match.
Editor at SB Nation's Philadelphia Union blog, The Brotherly Game. Follow me on Twitter.
Birmingham, eh?
Maybe we got a chance to advance.
1970 - 1984 - 2010
"Vamos Fluzão, vamos ganhar
Eu sou do clube tantas vezes campeão!
Vim pra torcer, vim pra gritar
E por você a vida inteira vou cantar!"
by trOOly on Jan 29, 2012 5:20 PM GMT via mobile reply actions
Arse get another penalty!
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
The first was clear cut
Second was dodgier
by Graham MacAree on Jan 29, 2012 5:26 PM GMT up reply actions
They've been utterly deserved
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:25 PM GMT up reply actions
This. Is. Really. Fucking. Annoying.
Stupid penalties. Stupid defending. One absolutely heart-broken kid, breaking my heart.
This
just happened:
@ChelseaFC: Scans confirm Ramires suffered a medial ligament injury to his right knee in the game v QPR. He is expected to be out for 3 to 4 weeks. #CFC
I’ll post it in the other thread when I head over there, if someone doesnt beat me to it.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Chelsea+fixtures+2011-12
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:49 PM GMT up reply actions 1 recs
It's Everton and Bolton.
Possibly WBA in the first part of March.
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:50 PM GMT up reply actions
It's a little mean, but I think it's funny. : )
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:54 PM GMT up reply actions
Exactly. A two week injury would have had him walking off himself.
I feared it was a season-ender with the way he was stretchered off.
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:45 PM GMT up reply actions
Definitely not good news
no matter what, in the sense that we’re without him with some tough games coming up. But, you are right… could have been much much worse.
What’s up with Mikel, at this point? I didn’t think his injury was supposed to be this bad, but he’s still not ready? He’s been training regularly with the guys, as far as I’ve seen.
On the other hand
Ramires gets injured a lot. Thank goodness they aren’t of the large variety, but all those little knocks seem to add up. That boy needs some something… I dunno what, but there has to be some supplement or training work he can do that helps him with this sort of thing, no? Or maybe we’ll need to pad him up like Arsenal need to do with RvP.
I think it's just bad luck.
This one was caused by taking a powerful shot to the ankle. It could have happened to any player.
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:48 PM GMT up reply actions
Yeah,
but in general… he picks up knocks in a game like it’s in style. I worry about our marathon runner! Then again, could just be his tactic to spend more time with Dr. Eva.
Wow, Villa
Why did you clear it IN FRONT OF YOUR GOAL!?
Err
scratch that… apparently I had my Tivo on “rewind” and I’m like a half hour behind. That was regarding Arsenal’s second goal.
Go Villa! Only for this moment.
There's another goal coming soon!
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by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:44 PM GMT up reply actions
It's not, but she's half-an-hour behind, so it's the second penalty.
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
by Kevin Kostka on Jan 29, 2012 5:45 PM GMT up reply actions
Yeah, I fast forwarded now...
and right through that one. I didnt want to watch the comeback happen. Ugh.
If you think it's tough being a Chelsea fan
Just watch a Villa match. Ye gods.
My heart goes out to any out there directly suffering from/in this match.
Well,
Chelsea did their part to help their fans out plenty, this holiday season. So I don’t feel too bad.
Though, they do remind me… if America has one decent soccer export, it is goal keepers. Surely the England Squad youth scouts ought to come pick our boys up and get them to live the 6 years or whatever it is in England that is needed. That, or hope that they can clone Joe Hart.
Genetics
USA exports goalkeepers, Brazil will soon export kickers to the NFL
1970 - 1984 - 2010
"Vamos Fluzão, vamos ganhar
Eu sou do clube tantas vezes campeão!
Vim pra torcer, vim pra gritar
E por você a vida inteira vou cantar!"
by trOOly on Jan 29, 2012 5:57 PM GMT via mobile up reply actions
Already in the works!
A good portion of American football kickers are former soccer players. Would be nice to bring in kickers with some size and technique. If Brazil, wants to supply them, I’m for it.
I remember there being talk a little while back
That Jonny Wilkinson might try to become an NFL kicker when he gets too old for all the running involved in rugby. Seems, however, like he’s gonna play forever.
TH12 coming on, as well as Sagna.
Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!
Clark was wrongly called offside...
terrible decision according to @skysportsmobile on Twitter…
by msreya on Jan 29, 2012 5:50 PM GMT via mobile reply actions
MEHHHH
Damnit Arsenal… though, Villa is surely not doing much to deserve a comeback at the moment.
Birmingham was my second team last year.
It would be sad eliminating them but it would be even sadder if they eliminated us. I wish they played against Liverpool and won.

















