Finally! Someone actually praising Mourinho and his tactical nous for getting the job done with the players at his disposal. If he had a Ronaldo or a Rooney no doubt he would change his tactics but he doesn't so he won't. Mourinho has to deliver EVERY time and this with a boss who appears to want to turn the club into an English version of Real Madrid. Thanks to Mourinho's continuing pragmatism and intelligence for reading the game there is one more bit of silverware in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet and the Chelsea fans and history will not care how it got there if they are honest about it. I really admire his totally unapologetic attitude towards his critics, champagne football is all very well if you have a patient boss prepared to indulge. Fergie, Benitez and Wenger have that largesse apparently granted to them each year. Mourinho cannot so induldge himself and should not be blamed in letting his pragmatic and cautious instincts come to the fore in games such as this.

Jacqueline, Mandurah, WA,

500 Million people tuned in for that!!
Is it really just about winning?
Was the purpose of spending 100's of millions on players to end up with
performances like that?
The Leeds team I saw on TV in their last European campaign were far better and more entertaining than Jose's bores on their best day!!
Manchester United are an excellent team but they were smothered and drowned by the 'grindmasters'.
Chelsea play like a team who can only afford average players and play to contain superior opposition.
It was woeful, and extra time was adding insult to injury!

Henry V Lewis, Bury, Lancashire

As a Manchester United fan of more than forty years I have to say that while I do not always agree with Tony Cascarino he boasts considerable insight. No-one excused United's failure to win last year's title because they lost Scholes and Keane before Christmas and for the rest of the season (surely the equivalent of Terry and Cech, who did at least return to action). Nevertheless United flatter to deceive and some of us know it. Ferguson has never been great either tactically or in the transfer market. He is just a force of nature. A force of nature depends on inner fire however, and with age and accomplishment that fire is dying. Champions or no it is time for change at Old Trafford.

Ed Leary, Lincoln, England

Someone tell me please, how many times has fergie beaten jose? Every man and his dog knows how chelsea will play so why hasn't fergie, that master tactician, figured out a way to beat him.Fergie can't because jose is the better tactical manager.Do you really think jose would not have devised a plan to stop kaka if he were facing ac milan.? Fergie did nothing, twice.Man u kill off weaker teams better than the other big teams, but against the big teams they cannot do it.take off the blinkers lor.

dwight, london,

No. He does not deserve praise. Chelsea play boring football. " One - Nil to the Arsenal" no more.

Varun Mahan, Singapore,

good analysis, but why the cheap shot at leeds? wilkinsons title winning leeds side had creative players like strachan, mccalister and cantona, only arsenal scored more goals that season.

Ian, Leeds,

So where were Mourinho's tactics against Liverpool in the Champions League? Or against Newcastle,Bolton & Arsenal when he needed to win a game in 90 minutes?
Could it be that he just got lucky against a tired, out of form team with only one goal in five games ? To claim that this victory is down to Mourinho's tactical genius is quite frankly laughable.

Ian Edwards, Manchester,

Finally! Someone actually praising Mourinho and his tactical nous for getting the job done with the players at his disposal. If he had a Ronaldo or a Rooney no doubt he would change his tactics accordingly but he doesn't so he won't. Mourinho has to deliver EVERY time and this with a boss who appears to want to turn the club into an English version of Real Madrid. Thanks to Mourinho's pragmatism and intelligent coaching there is one more bit of silverware in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet and the Chelsea fans and history will not care how it got there if they are honest about it. I really admire his totally unapologetic attitude towards his critics, champagne football is all very well if you have a patient boss who doesn't continually want to meddle. Fergie, Benitez and Wenger have that largesse apparently granted to them - Mourinho cannot so induldge himself and should not be blamed in letting his pragmatic and cautious instincts come to the fore in games such as this.

Jackie, Mandurah, WA

Mourinho has constructed a team to stifle talented opposition players. That isn't tactial nous thats wimbledon relocated to stamford bridge. You spend X million on players and are happy to win in the 116th minute? This isn't pragmatism, this is the most expensively assembled team of all time waiting for penalties. Chelsea have failed to impress all season, and could not beat a man utd team at home with a combined worth of a fifth of chelsea's "reserves"? It is not just trophies that count. you remember how they are won. Arsenal never mention their fa cup win in 2005, because like chelsea they never attempted to win, they contained and just managed to succeed. While even those who weren't alive acknowledge the ckill and flair that led to Real Madrid's assembly of Eurpoean Trophies. Barcelona and Madrid's allure is based on their style and tradition, what allure does chelsea have? What tradition are they creating now they have won a fraction of what Manchester United have won?

Piers, Sheffield,

tony, as always, i enjoyed your analysis very much.

chelsea hit a post, had more shots, more possession, better goalkeeping, better midfield play, and scored the only goal. they were the rightful winners.

speaking about boring football, did i miss something, or did chelsea score more goals in the league than every other team save one? as for depressing, united scored one goal - from the spot - in their last five games. i have thought all year that the united manager and players have carried themselves as true champions, more so than any of their three main rivals. but the aftermath of this game was very disappointing. so many complaints: giggs scored, essien fouled him, mourinho intimidated the referee, the grass was too high. did the dog eat their homework, too?

united won the league clearly playing the best football in england. let it speak for itself. there is nothing else necessary to say.

barry, kansas city, usa

if I were manager of chelsea, I wouldn't be complaining about the limited talent available; I'd have bought better players. and if I were the manager of united, I would never shackle great players with those tactics (and fergusven is a repeat offender). in the end, steve bennett decided the game, failing to spot that giggs had scored and then imagining a foul by smith which led to the chelsea goal (amongst many other mistakes, all of which favoured chelsea). however, the truth is there is absolutely no excuse for either team playing the way they did. if united had won 1-0 instead, it would still have brought no joy. the first half was as dire as any game I've seen.

jem, london, uk

Finally! Someone actually praising Mourinho and his tactical nous for getting the job done with the players at his disposal. If he had a Ronaldo or a Rooney no doubt he would change his tactics but he doesn't so he won't. Mourinho has to deliver EVERY time and this with a boss who appears to want to turn the club into an English version of Real Madrid. Thanks to Mourinho's pragmatism and intelligent coaching there is one more bit of silverware in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet and the Chelsea fans and history will not care how it got there if they are honest about it. I really admire his totally unapologetic attitude towards his critics, champagne football is all very well if you have a patient boss who doesn't continually want to meddle. Fergie, Benitez and Wenger have that largesse apparently granted to them - Mourinho cannot so induldge himself and should not be blamed in letting his pragmatic and cautious instincts come to the fore in games such as this.

Jacqueline, Mandurah, WA,

Anyone can put 10 men back to defend and stop the opposition from playing - I could do that. I thought that the FA Cup Final was a forum for entertainment but obviously not in some eyes. Still, if unlimited money means to go out to win at all costs we'll need to brace ourselves for more of the same unimaginative rubbish in the next few seasons as well. And I believe that people actually pay top dollar to go and watch this - amazing!

Peter Kelly, Beverley, UK

lorraine from oxford. stop listening to the media and watch for yourself. the team playing the long ball were united with no of diagonal passes for rooney and ronaldo. he mentioned those two games as examples of wonderful games with chelsea. the equivalent would be say that united' season was encapsulated by two games with copenhagen and celtic. there were many poor games with united this season and that is mainly the case with any team. what about your turgid games against liverpool , chelsea, fulham and boro (where the referees saved your bacon by not giving stonewall penalties). dont just have selective viewing and think that skytv (aka mutv) are not biased for you.

if rooney had scored that goal that drogba did you and rest of the media would have ooh-aahed about the one touch football and deft finish and said that was the difference between the teams. instead you vent your frustration by not appreciating the true moment of brilliance which separated the two teams

Paul, london,

Utd lost two games against Arsenal this year and the final against Chelsea to goals in the closing minutes, and to me this does not suggest superiority on the victor's behalf. Games turn on moments, and as much much as Giggs' goal perhaps shouldn't have stood, it was a legitimate shout and could've gone either way, and the ref seemed to confuse the issue by not giving a foul. It was also a potential penalty.

The reason for playing Rooney up front alone is clear, Chelsea have a stronger midfield. Scholes is class but can't tackle, Carrick is good but not a heavyweight. Utd's preferred tactics would've always to have had Rooney behind Saha, but that didn't prove possible, and perhaps Fergie has lingering doubts over Smith - remember he played against Roma because Utd were already a goal behind from there first leg. One up against Milan and starting 0-0 in the final, Fergie stuck Fletcher in to bolster the midfield. Had Giggs been more clinical, Jose's tactics would have been academic.

Jay, Dublin, Ireland

We have a top class striker he has just been injured. Injuries, yes do you realise we have had those as well? What about discussing Chelsea's exit to Liverpool in the Champions League semi? Do they need a top class striker or a different system as well? If JM is so fantastic why did they not win that game? Please explain. Oh yes and Porto that wonderful team who played to their strengths - diving (ask any Celtic supporter.)

Any Man U fan will tell you that in the last few games (since Ac Milan) they have looked completely and utterly washed out. Simple really. The flair is there and the system works because they won the Premier League, got to the semis of the Champions League & the final of the FA cup. Not bad for a team many had suggested would struggle to get into Europe this year. It has been a brilliant season for them and I have enjoyed watching them. If you like the pragmatic way Chelsea play fine but it would never ever be acceptable at a big club like Man U

Whitey, Surrey,

Excellently balanced piece and spot-on analysis. All the more powerful, because it's not often that a columnist raises their head above the parapet with constructive criticism where Man U are concerned. Valid comments re Chelsea too.
The sycophantic Mr McIlvanney should read and inwardly digest.

Marcus, Richmond upon Thames, UK

At last! An unbiased assessment not only of the final, but of the relative qualities of the top 2. Well done, Tony.

Gary Walker, Johannesburg, South Africa

Interesting that Tony Cascarino classes Roma as a 'weak side'. That's a side that came second in Serie A and only a week or so after being thrashed by United, themselves thrashed Inter - the ultimate champions - 6-2 in the Italian Cup Final.

The same Roma side who, lest we forget, had previously beaten United.

What can I say, Roma are a weak side in a weak league; the whipping-boys of Europe.

Rick, Newcastle, Newcastle,

I love the idea that Chelsea 'lump' the ball to Drogba when the goal creating pass from Lampard was the most delicate touch of the game...after Drogba's give and go....If United are such free spirits, why was Rooney playing on his own?

Peter Bench, London,

Well said Lorraine! If commentators like Cascarino continue to prase 'The Special One' for delivering wet blanket football, he, and other slike him, will be heartened and the beautiful game will become ever less alluring as a result.

Tom, Scarborough,

It was the most boring game I have seen in a long time, if that is what the beautiful game is to become you can keep it.

Ossie , London, England

I find it difficult to disagree with anything Tony Cascarino says in this article. Managers are paid to win.
As a United supporter, I applaud his comments about the Sven/Alex tendency to waste Rooney's fantastic abilities by playing him upfront alone, where he runs himself into the ground often to no avail. On song, United play the fluid, fast game best, that football fans love everywhere – and for which they are historically admired – and that requires Rooney to have the support of a Saha or van Nistlerooy, so he can run at defences with the ball, instead of playing with his back to the goal.
Sir Alex has every right to experiment with tactics – and his record is second to none. Howwever, in recent one-off FA Cup and European Champions League games, the conservative approach has not paid off, with defeats by limited opponents like Porto, Leverkusen, Lille and Benfica.

Stephen Ron Picard, Waiheke Island, Auckland, New Zealand

Lorraine - were you one of many United fans who had 'double 07' on the backs of their shirts at Wembley? open your curtains and look up in the sky - you'll see it's blue a glorious cup winng blue.

You've failed to mention the fantastic goal which was the move of the game.

Fergie are you listening, you better keep our trophy glistening, we'll back next may to take it away, walking in a Jose wonderland....

Paul, Ealing, England

What rubbish about Howard Wilkinson. What is that dig about Leeds Utd at the beginning? We had Strachan, Batty, McAllister and Speed in the midfield at that time! Stick to your Radio show Cascarino.

Mark, Kington, UK

Saturday.

Mourinho tactically Alexander the Great.

Ferguson tactically General Custer.

Jeremy, Farnham,

So in your view playing two half decent games this season proves Chelsea aren't a boring team, do me a favour. They went out on Saturday not to lose that game. They put 10 and sometimes 11 men behind the ball and when they managed to get possession, lumped the ball up to Drogba. If you want to praise Mourhino go ahead but don't expect the rest of us to follow suit. I wouldn't open my curtains if they were playing in my back garden to watch such a negative, depressing team.

Lorraine, Oxford,