48 hours: Complaints against Blackburn all real bar one

Blackburn had one legitimate complaint stemming from their 3-0 FA Cup semifinal defeat against Arsenal.

They were undone early on by soccer's sticking point, the incorrect offside call.

They may have been denied a goal which could have put yesterday's match - which had a special interest for New Zealanders - on a different course.

Referees and linesmen struggle to keep up with the speed and angle of players ripping past offside traps. The game will be immensely better off when attackers are fairly judged.

Apart from that, however, yesterday's match gave major cause for complaint against Blackburn.

They were a negative, foul-intentioned mob who would have disgraced rather than graced the final - also at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium - on May 22.

There is disappointment that Ryan Nelsen will not become the first New Zealander in an FA Cup final, but given Blackburn's performance it would have been an even greater shame if they had made it back to Cardiff.

There had been so much to anticipate, even if the FA Cup is not what it used to be.

Manchester United put the famous cup in its place a few seasons ago when they decided not to defend it. And if you have lingering, overly romantic notions about the FA Cup that need snuffing out, try Roy Keane's biography.

Keane slags off cup final day with the sort of ferocity he has used to scythe down opponents.

However, it is not just Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United who have done the old trophy down.

The rise and rise of the premiership (which has swamped other sports in England) and the number of European players in it, combined with the increasing emphasis on Euro-competitions, have turned the FA Cup into a backstop.

It's the go-to trophy for the big teams when they have dipped out elsewhere, the place where managers of multimillion-pound squads look for refuge.

In these circumstances, it has taken on a new if less fascinating romanticism - a chance still for relatively smaller clubs to kick the giants in the ankles, although they hardly ever make them bleed.

Blackburn were doing the kicking all right, although unfortunately it was literally rather than figuratively.

How disappointing, given Nelsen's involvement in the game and the significance for New Zealand soccer.

This of course was not Blackburn manager Mark Hughes' concern, but he apparently has no regard for anything other than ensuring his team remain snarling battlers on a premiership survival mission, even though it has probably already succeeded.

A silly little FA Cup semifinal certainly wasn't going to ruin Hughes' battle plan, which in Cardiff looked more like a pointless and phoney war.

At least Nelsen was not a central figure in the bad-tempered mess. By far Blackburn's worst was their captain Andy Todd, for his act in smashing a shoulder into Arsenal replacement Robin van Persie's face just after the young Dutchman had scored his second goal, in the dying moments of the game.

Van Persie enlivened the semifinal with two sparkling goals. Todd's act looked like frustrated retribution against van Persie for having embarrassed his defence. It was a shameful action, although of course Hughes has already leapt to his defence. More shame.

By halftime alone, Blackburn had committed 18 fouls, including a series on Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira which led to bookings.

Blackburn's approach is epitomised by little Paul Dickov, more a striker in the physical sense than the goalscoring one.

Rarely have I been more disappointed by a sporting experience, and this wasn't helped by the distant sound and camera work, plus bleached-out, fuzzy TV picture quality. It was difficult, for instance, to track Nelsen's involvement at times.

I recall watching an FA Cup final years ago at the home of our soccer team's coach, when the satellite feed went bung leaving a still photo on the screen.

Given the way we played, it may still have looked like an action shot to us, but it was still a deflating night.

Blackburn's semifinal assault however was worse, an insult.

Since taking over at Blackburn, Hughes has built a defensively minded side designed for premiership survival.

Transferred into a cup semifinal though, his packed midfield and foul-footed troops were completely out of place.

In 12 completed seasons of the premiership, Blackburn are the only side outside of Arsenal and Manchester United to have won a title race that is watched with fascination and dedication around the world.

Backed by the money of the steel magnate Jack Walker, they made record signings and triumphed a decade ago.

Blackburn can no longer afford and attract players of extreme class. But they could still have shown some class.