http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=169791&cc=5901

quote:

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Mighty Manchester United face the humiliating prospect of an FA Cup visit to Exeter on January 18 after the plucky non-leaguers wrote themselves into the history books with a goalless draw at Old Trafford.

...

In all likelihood, Sir Alex Ferguson's side will still go through, but 9,000 jubilant Exeter fans will always be able to say `they were there' the day United were humbled.

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And just to clarify, Exeter is in the Conference League, which is the 4th league below the Premiership where ManU competes.

It was a bad day all around for the town of Manchester because Man City lost 1-0 to League One side Oldham.

This is the beauty of the FA Cup.


[This message has been edited by sixiron (edited 1/8/2005 1:29p).]

Yeah, that was pretty bad.

Arsenal rally from a goal down to advance today. The draw's for round 4 is tomorrow. Is it time for the annual Arsenal/Chelsea FA Cup battle yet?

"We don't believe in moral victories." - Chris Walker

it looks like the Exeter/ManU draw also helped Exeter out big time financially.

quote:

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Cash-strapped Exeter City have landed another £150,000 windfall following confirmation that their FA Cup replay with Manchester United will be screened live on BBC.

The tie has now been put back to Wednesday, January 19, with a 7.45pm kick-off, allowing the nation a chance to see whether the non-League minnows can dump Sir Alex Ferguson's side out of the competition.

The extra cash means Exeter will have generated over £750,000 through their two meetings with United, enough to wipe out their entire debt.

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per http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=321486&cc=5901

[This message has been edited by sixiron (edited 1/10/2005 10:07p).]

just an update: ManU won in the 2nd match with Exeter 2-0. Goals in the 9th and 87th minutes...if i remember correctly. the articles on soccernet are reporting that Exeter's effort was "fantastic" and "heroic".

The British press is a joke. I think they would rather see a team lose gracefully than win. They fall in love with the idea of a potential story and then create the conditions for that story to exist. For example, I watched the replay last night on FSW and ManU dominated the play yet every time Exeter managed a bit of possession in the attacking third, the commentators started going off as to "how brave they were playing" and even the most hopeful cross was met with "ooohhh, what if that had turned into something." They even intimated that Howard was shaky in goal and not confident on occasions where (in my mind) he couldn't have played crosses more perfectly.

I give Exeter tons of credit for keeping the scoreline down but ManU was never in doubt during the match and the British press still deserves the title of "Best Manipulator" in my mind.

Dre,

that's kinda what i figured. i only noticed the headlines.

ManU is really starting to come into its own. They've almost completely sewn up second place.

Really, it's amazing that despite the 1 point difference, you can just tell that ManU is going to pull past Arse for good before it's all said and done.

If you're in D-FW and want to meet folks who enjoy watching soccer, here's a group to meet up with www.tx-blues.com although I don't suggest you wear red at the Dubliner when they're there.

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"When I look to this lion it looks arrogant, it is aggressive, it is powerful. He is proud of being a Chelsea lion." -- José Mourinho

[This message has been edited by BBRex (edited 1/22/2005 8:52p).]

wow, the Dubliner is very close to my apartment. i might have to check that out. although i'm not a Chelsea fan, i do have a Chelsea cap...but i've been a Gunners supporter for years.

Look for Beth, if you go. I haven't met her in person yet, but I've worked with her on some stuff online, and she's a really cool person.

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"When I look to this lion it looks arrogant, it is aggressive, it is powerful. He is proud of being a Chelsea lion." -- José Mourinho