FA Cup Final 2008 Preview: Defoe Misses Out Again

You’ve got to feel at least a little sorry for Jermain Defoe. The striker has played for both Spurs and Portsmouth this season, and both teams have made it to cup finals. But when Spurs won with Carling Cup in February, Defoe had moved on to Portsmouth. And now Portsmouth are in the FA Cup final tomorrow against Cardiff City, Jermain Defoe is cup-tied because he already appeared in the competition for Spurs. Talk about bad luck. He’s missed two trips to Wembley in one season.

So Defoe will be a spectator for tomorrow’s final, just like the rest of us.

Hoping not to be a spectator is Cardiff’s Robbie Fowler. The ex-Liverpool deity has just recovered from a hip injury and is hoping to get involved at some point. But it’s likely Bluebirds boss Dave Jones will start Fowler on the bench. At least that sets up the dream final for neutrals: Fowler off the bench to score the winner for Championship team Cardiff. Coincidentally that would also be a nighmare scenario for the English FA: a Welsh team representing England in Europe next season.

You should know plenty about Portsmouth’s players by now: Niko Kranjcar and Nwankwo Kanu provide both the skills and the hard to type names, Sol Campbell does the defending. David James is mostly reliable in goal. Apart from when he isn’t.

But Cardiff may be a little less familiar.

As well as Fowler (he isn’t what he used to be, if we’re brutrally honest) they’ve got the firepower of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, the left foot of Peter Whittingham…

… and the much admired talents of Aaron Ramsay. Not only is the 17 year old Welsh midfielder wanted by Man Utd, Arsenal, Newcastle and Everton, he’s also extremely confident. According to The Sun, here’s what Ramsay wrote on his Bebo page recently:

“What scares me? Nuffin. I’m hard as nails. Hmmm well sum say I am. But I wouldn’t like to cum that close to tarantulars – if that’s how u spell it”.

Well, he’s got a point. They are pretty scary.

Whatever happens (and let’s hope it doesn’t involve scary spiders) we’re going to have an FA Cup final that matters. After 90 (or maybe 120) minutes at Wembley on Saturday it won’t be one of the big four casually accepting the trophy and wishing it was something else (Champions League, Premier League etc) it’ll be either Portsmouth or Cardiff celebrating one of the biggest days in the history of the club. And Jermain Defoe dressed in his civvies.

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Category: World Football