2-1

Chelsea vs Liverpool

The Match

In what was a fairly unconvincing victory by Chelsea, who have now recorded 7 FA Cup victories in total, they once again found themselves turning to Didier Drogba as the match-winner for the London club. His early goal in the second half proved the difference between Chelsea and Liverpool after Ramires put Chelsea in front in the 11^th minute, a goal which Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina will feel he could have prevented. Drogba’s goal seemed to put Chelsea well and truly in the driving seat of the tie, however, substitute Andy Carroll’s goal just after the hour mark sparked the final back into life. Controversially, Carroll seemed to score another soon after and lead the Liverpool celebrations only for the referee to rule the goal out for appearing to not have completely crossed the goal line, and even after several replays and close analysis, the verdict remains inconclusive, which became another example of why goal-line technology should be introduced to the English game (and was in the 2013/14 season).

Chelsea managed to survive the remainder of the game and John Terry raised the trophy for the fourth time in his career.

The Writer

John King

Born

Slough, Berkshire

1960

Connection to Club

Novel – Football Factory

The majority of John King’s works centre on the rebellious nature of English society. His debut novel, Football Factory, received wide critical acclaim and is an example of King’s obsession with realism in his novels. Football Factory looks at the workings of a group of working-class men who follow Chelsea Football Club, and intentionally seek out fights with supporters of their clubs opposition, also known as a ‘football firm’. Location is important to the narrative as Chelsea Football club give these men a sense of identity within their ‘tribe’.

Find Football Factory here

King’s other novels include Headhunters, which is the second novel in the ‘loose trilogy’ of The Football Factory. This novel explores racism, sexism, patriotism and social class in England and the characters create their own league for football purists in opposition to social ruling. England Away, the final novel of the ‘loose trilogy’ sees the characters in the previous two novels come together for a tribal battle between England and Germany. King’s novels, especially The Football Factory Trilogy, demonstrate a reliance on a football club for a sense of social and individual indentity.