Gutted

What a horrible afternoon. So disappointing. Congratulations to Chelsea, this seasons FA Cup Winners, for their 1-0 win earlier.

Such a shame that with all the talent on dislay; Ronaldo, Drogba, Rooney, Makele, Giggs, Terry, Vidic, Lampard et al, that the difference between the two teams was this man.

The game was not the exciting game many expected, but these two teams are so evenly balanced, they were always going to cancel each other out for the bulk of the game. Vidic and Ferdinand kept Drogba and Cole (and later Robben) quiet for almost all the game, as did the Chelsea defenders with Rooney and Ronaldo. Fergie got his tactics wrong playing a far to defensively minded team from the start, and Fletcher in place of Smith was a poor decision on his behalf.

The referee got most crucial decisions in this game wrong. He missed the penalty, he missed the first goal scored, and not given, in a game where one goal would be enough. A booking (deservedly) for Scholes that kept him subdued for the remainder of the game, yet not for Ferraria for an almost identical tackle minutes later, leaving him free to make crucial tackles later. Joe Cole's unpunished ugly, two footed lunge early on, that didn't warrant even a talking to. A perfectly timed tackle by Smith given as a free kick which led to the only allowed goal, with this man stood 5 yards away. It's not just footballers who cheat.

It's hard enough to lose a Cup Final, but to lose as a result of the referee makes it even tougher. Maybe being a referee makes me more critical, but Mr Bennett's performance was well below par.

But hey, we were there and there was nothing between the two teams, and consolation can be drawn from that, even though we didn't win. Penalties would have been a lottery, so anyone could have won that. And, overall, United have overachieved (in my opinion) this season, by winning the league, so today's result should bring things into perspective for the fans and players alike.

Bring on next season!!