FA Cup Final

As I've said elsewhere, I missed the FA Cup Final on Saturday while being a good dad and eating fish'n'chips.

The record books will show that Everton scored the fastest ever FA Cup Final goal but succumbed to an equaliser before half time and eventually lost 2-1. What the record books may also mention is that two of the match officials were from my County and I'm pleased to be able to regard both of them as good acquaintances.

The record books will probably not mention that the Everton goal could have been ruled out because of an alleged earlier offside offence nor will they mention the goal that never was. A shot from a Chelsea player struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced down. On their 43rd viewing of the slow motion replay, some have said that the ball crossed the line, others have said that the whole of the ball hadn't crossed the line. Either way, it still shows that even after 43 replays, goal line technology may not have all the answers.

It certainly would have required a lengthy delay to adjudicate on the decision. There would also have to be a decision made as to when the game was stopped/suspended to conduct this review. Finally, there would have been the question of the restart. In the end, the record books will still show the result as 2-1 to Chelsea and not 3-1. Roll on next season when the debate will have died away and the lobbying for goal line technology will have moved on to the next level.