Premier League: Sunderland 2 - 3 Chelsea
Sunday, 24 May 09, 06:16 PM · Comments (118)
Match reports
The Guardian, Louise Taylor: "This was quite an afternoon by the sun-dappled Wear, containing a resignation, a celebration, a farewell and a world-class goal from England's newly anointed Golden Boot."
Daily Telegraph, Rob Stewart: "Frank Lampard may have been left at home to get some well earned rest but his absence did nothing to prevent Chelsea dominating their lowly opponents even though Guus Hiddink’s side may have the FA Cup on their minds."
The Times, George Caulkin: "Chelsea ... reached the end of an era. This was Guus Hiddink’s last league game in the dugout for Chelsea, although there is a small matter of next weekend’s FA Cup Final to come."
Official Chelsea FC Website, Andy Jones: "We didn't have it all our own way on a bright day in the north east, but never looked like being beaten against a Sunderland side still playing to secure their survival."
The goals
47' Anelka 0-1
53' Richardson 1-1
74' Kalou 1-2
86' A. Cole 1-3
90' Jones 2-3
The prelude
Sitting down to watch Chelsea today had a rather strange feeling about it. I had just enjoyed another glorious Jenson Button victory in F1, this time in Monaco and now it was time for the main event – another splendid Chelsea performance. Well that was the plan. Firstly, I had to endure the excruciating spectacle of listening to that monkey Richard Keys bleat on about how great Sky Sports are. Seeing Keys, Norwegian racist Mr. Redknapp and master of exaggeration, Mr. ‘Take a boo’ Gray in their darkened studio on ‘Survival Sunday’ was a hilarious experience. It started with some bollocks about the survival of the fittest, when the reality is that those who survive on the last day of the season are only marginally less awful than those who go down and then we heard some random heart monitor soundtrack to highlight the supposed tension of the afternoon and it was all topped off by Keys’ bragging about the Champions League final: “You’ll be watching the three best teams in Europe, United, Barcelona and Sky Sports!” Yep, it really was that embarrassing a line. But I got through all this, found my red button and sat down to the Sunderland – Chelsea game, a rather meaningless match as Sunderland were all but safe and we were thinking of Wembley. Of more interest was waiting for the updates as to who was going down - the spray-tan, vain, sit-down team-talk, “look at me” loser that is Phil Brown or the Geordie army following the ‘massive club’ of Newcastle - who would I be hoping would get demoted? Well I hoped both of them would go but Southgate’s mob is so pathetic only one could fall and in the end I was hoping the Newcastle myth would be shattered and ‘the best fans in the world’ would finally accept that they’re following the newest incarnation of the Leeds nightmare.
The team
Would Guus follow Fergie’s lead and rest our big hitters ahead of a final? Well not exactly. Anelka turned up to try and claim the Golden Boot, Terry was firmly in place as captain and all the other first teamers were in place apart from Frank, perhaps tired from spending £3m on buying his ex a new pad in Chelsea and Alex who was rested ahead of the Wembley showdown with Fellaini.
The game
A potentially rather meaningless match as I alluded to earlier and the first half turned out to be exactly that. I tried as hard as possible to stay devoted to my task of being the blog’s match reporter but at some points the temptation to play with my remote was just too much to withstand and I just had to flick over to Villa Park. But all of us would accept that the first half was shocking at the Stadium of Light. The game was played at such a slow tempo you wondered if we had suddenly been transported forward in time a few weeks and we were in the US playing a bunch of American nobodies in pre-season? (I’m sure that remark is bound to cause some uproar amongst our American readers judging by their response to Tony’s claim about visiting Hicksville in preseason.) But one of the first things I noticed was Chelsea’s rather strange kit policy. I presume that last week’s kit launch and unveiling against Blackburn was such a success that they’ve wrapped it in cotton wool, all ready for Wembley but today we had resorted to our ‘old’ 08/09 kit. Either someone had forgotten to pack the new kit or someone has binned it and we’ve all wasted £50 on a new shirt? But apart from that, the first half was a snoozefest. Everyone was walking about lazily and for those of you trying to spot the runner in a blue shirt, you could only look to Ashley as a source of any effort and pace. The rest of them were strolling around, keeping possession with ease and just waiting to see if a chance cropped up. On a couple of occasions Didier would threaten goal with optimistic chipped or volleyed efforts and the half ended with Malouda smashing a brilliant drive against the bar after some slick and incisive passing but that was about it in terms of chances.
The second half was a much brighter event. After laughing myself silly at half time watching Hull and Newcastle’s efforts to stay up, the second half began with some proper football. Guus obviously told them to start running and Anelka immediately responded. Receiving the ball on the halfway line, he turned and beat two men before unleashing an unstoppable, swerving drive into the top corner. Quite a way to claim the Golden Boot but after that goal we resorted to typical Chelsea mode, sat back, fell asleep and conceded a goal. A looping Sunderland cross evaded Cech and ended up at Richardson’s feet who swept the ball into an empty net. A silly goal to give away but no-one in blue really cared and for the next 20 minutes Guus made a few changes and tactical tweaks ahead of the cup final by taking off Essien for Kalou and Mikel for Mancienne and switching to a 4-4-2 formation. Kalou then brilliantly scored our second by striking, Lampard-esque from 20 yards into the top right corner. With the game drifting to an inevitable Chelsea win, another personal favourite Ashley Cole strode forward and volleyed the ball home with his right foot after a Sunderland mix-up at the back. There was still time for Jones to head home, unmarked from five yards but the game finished in a rather subdued manner on our side as our players applauded the travelling fans, handed over a few shirts and trudged down the tunnel, to get ready for yet another final.
The good
- Anelka. A pathetic first half like the others but a wonder strike in the second gave him the Golden Boot. The rather surreal nature of supporting Chelsea means it would not be a huge surprise if we sold him in the summer. Selling the league’s top scorer? Well that’s Chelsea for you.
- Ashley. Raided the left wing all game and was glad that he got his goal. Perfect way to end his best ever Chelsea season.
- Ivanovic. A rock who just loves to head the ball. The perfect squad player.
- Mancienne. Just nice to see him on the pitch. Ancelotti does like having some young, home grown players in his side despite the OAP loving stereotype and he looks our best prospect since Terry, although that’s not saying much when you look back on our academy record!
The bad
- First half/general laziness. Not surprising but not exactly great viewing for those who travelled all the way up to Sunderland.
Player ratings
- Petr Cech – 6/10 – Didn’t have much to do but did have a few nervy moments with the high ball and needs to be at his best to combat Cahill and Fellaini next week.
- Season rating – 7.5/10 – Despite the media reports of his helmet acting as a security blanket and that he’s never been the same since smashing his skull, he’s had a great season for us and with only two dodgy performances, it’s been a good effort from Big Pete.
- Jose Bosingwa – 5.5/10 – Harsh maybe but he kept giving the ball away and never seemed to beat his man. His final ball was also poor.
- Season rating – 6/10 – Personally, the jury’s still out on him. In my book he’s just the new Glen Johnson i.e. a defender who can’t defend. He arrived in a blaze of glory with his attacking raids and goals thrilling us but just like Scolari he was found out and his lazy and casual defending infuriates me. Still expect him to be here next season but with Carlo basing his team around a tight defence I wouldn’t be shocked to see him sold to make way for Ivanovic and/or Mancienne at right-back.
- Branislav Ivanovic – 7/10 – A rock who can “head the ball further than some can kick it” (Brendan Rodgers, 2008).
- Season rating – 7.5/10 – Hasn’t been a regular but he’ll always be a fans’ favourite thanks to his Liverpool performance. Would keep him ahead of Ricky and his versatility will prove invaluable.
- John Terry – 7/10 – Fell into the casual trap like many others but at least he was up for the battle with Jones. Another steady performance from our Captain Fantastic.
- Season rating – 7.5/10 – Some say it hasn’t been his best season but he’s played more games for us this season than any other since Jose’s first and his comeback from the Moscow nightmare has been great. He will lift the Champions League one day but it just wasn’t to be this year.
- Ashley Cole – 8/10 – Another great game and a goal to round it all off.
- Season rating –9/10 – A brilliant season from the world’s best left-back and a new contract awaits in the summer. Who’s laughing now after the Gallas-Cole swap deal?
- Juliano Belletti – 5/10 – Lasted 20 minutes and hardly touched the ball.
- Season rating – 7/10 - A very useful squad player whose long range efforts have lit up the season. My bet is that this was his last league game for us and after a disastrous opening to his Chelsea career at right-back, his resurgence in midfield has been a revelation.
- John Obi Mikel – 6/10 – Strolled around like many others but without Lampard he was given the opportunity to stride forward. Unfortunately he looked as lost and confused as always as he approached their box.
- Season rating – 7.5/10 – Filled in brilliantly for Essien but the Bison’s return has exposed his inexperience and immaturity. A breakthrough season for sure but next season he has to show he has the nous of Makelele or the attacking ability of Essien and Lampard to get into the side.
- Michael Essien – 6.5/10 – Didn’t do much but he did put in marginally more effort than those around him.
- Season rating – 9/10 – A 9 for two months' work? Well his impact has been immense and his performances in Turin, at Anfield and goal against Barca sum up how great he is. A future Chelsea legend alongside Zola, Lampard and JT in my book.
- Nicolas Anelka – 7/10 – A great goal gives him an extra two points which would have given him a 5 which is an accurate reflection of his impact apart from the goal.
- Season rating – 7.5/10 – Golden Boot winner, 25 goals in all competitions but strangely none of us would rate him as world class. Still goes missing in big games if we had to keep one of Didier, Anelka and Di Santo in order to raise funds and make space for some new arrivals then I’d keep our pantomime villain every time.
- Didier Drogba – 6.5/10 – Still finding his feet in this new age of no diving and he was rather anonymous today. Did like his shouting at Bosingwa in the first half though for pulling out of a challenge.
- Season rating – 7/10 – Love him or hate him we'll always need him if we carry on with Jose's 4-3-3. Ancelotti may change that with a new system and a new strikeforce but this season was very Didier; goals, injuries and controversy.
- Florent Malouda – 7/10 – A lovely first half strike and another neat and tidy performance. Not at his best but another encouraging showing.
- Season rating – 8.5/10 – Can’t give a 9 thanks to his Scolari form but under Guus he’s looked world class. His left foot gives us width and balance and he now seems certain to stay.
Other season ratings
- Alex – 8/10 - I’ll happily admit that I was wrong about him. His early days exposed him as a slow and cumbersome elephant but under Guus he’s lost some weight, given a run in the first-team and now looks great. Still worried about an Alex-Terry partnership against a pacy and tricky forward such as Villa or Aguero but if you believe the papers then they’ll both be leading the line at the Bridge next season, so Alex looks to have a bright future in the first team.
- Michael Ballack – 6.5/10 – I’m a fan of his experience and class in the big games but with only two goals (I think) to his name I’m not sure if he’s worth a new £130k/wk contract.
- Frank Lampard – 9.5/10 – Just imagine if we refused to give him his £140k/wk contract in the summer! Another brilliant season from the media’s Robin to Stevie G’s Batman and if we can get another midfielder to fill that troublesome Makelele role (Gareth Barry perhaps?) then Super Frank and Essien can lead us to glory in Europe.
- Salomon Kalou – 6.5/10 – A problem season for him. Shows flashes of brilliance and when given a chance in the first team he can get into double figures, goal scoring wise, but I fear his erratic nature may cost him in this summer’s cull.
- Guus Hiddink – 9.5/10 – Apart from Jose (will never stop supporting him), is there a better manager in world football? A brilliant tactician and man-manger who was robbed of a glorious double (potentially) by a Norwegian clown. Only negative is his loyalty (unfortunately for us it’s to Russia) and his inability to make late substitutions to waste time.
My Chelsea awards
Superhuman award for general amazingness: It could only be Frank Lampard.
Frank apart, my player of the year: For me it goes to Ashley. Hated by some but loved by me.
Biggest flop: Anyone surprised to see Deco’s name? Well that’s what you get for an over-the-hill, Barcelona reject who likes to party and just to add to this glowing recommendation, smokes (according to Jose anyway) a lot.
Worst signing of the season: Big Phil “Plan A is the only way” Scolari. Could not get a more inappropriate Chelsea manager.
Most improved player: Florent Malouda. A late renaissance has saved his Chelsea career. Was booed by some early in the season but should survive our revolving door this summer.
Breakthrough of the season: Branislav Ivanovic. Chelsea fans always had faith that he’d show his true class when given a chance and thanks (through gritted teeth) must go to Avram for getting us the best young defender in Europe as he was described at Lokomotiv.
Young player of the year: Michael Mancienne. A future Chelsea star who should be given a run next season.
Most typical Chelsea moment: The second leg against Barca. The Champions League is the Holy Grail for us and this match had everything which sums up what being a Chelsea fan is all about. Glorious goals (yep including Iniesta’s), feelings of pain and ecstasy in equal measure, power, passion and above all controversy. It was all typical Chelsea which made the outside world hate us even more and that’s just the way we like it.
Special recognition award: Must go to Guus Hiddink. Again it’s typical Chelsea that we’ve found another Special One but just at the wrong time. Hopefully he’ll win the World Cup with Russia but for what he’s done for us, he’s already become a Chelsea legend.
Conclusions and predictions
Looking into my crystal ball I have to say that Carlo Ancelotti should be our new manager and for all the criticism he’s faced from some on here, when he does arrive he should be embraced. It’s Roman’s turn to pick a manager as Kenyon picked Jose only for Roman to back Avram and then Kenyon chose Scolari but was reliant on Roman’s mate bailing him out. Roman obviously wants Carlo and is willing to back him. I fear for the likes of Ricky, Belletti, Kalou, Anelka and possibly Bosingwa and Didier but with the likes of Villa, Aguero, Young, Kaka, Barry and... Beckham being linked with us, this summer will definitely be an exciting one.
I’ll leave it to others to do a proper season review but looking back on another rollercoaster journey, one has to say that it’s again been typical Chelsea. We appointed a useless doughnut only to find the manager we’ve been searching for all along was residing in the snowy wastes of Russia. We looked a shoe-in for the title (for six weeks at least) until Liverpool burst our bubble and at the end of the campaign, controversy, anger and pain has engulfed us all. An FA Cup triumph will provide a great ending but looking back it must go down as a season of if-onlys. But what we must thank Guus for most is the fact that he’s brought back the real Chelsea. Next season it’ll be us against the world and that siege mentality should serve us brilliantly along with the return of Beckham!
So that’s me over for the season. Off to enjoy a couple of weeks away until the start of preseason and another crazy Chelsea summer.
Keep the Blue Flag Flying High!
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118 Comments · Add yours
Chelsea players have scored many great goals like the ones Anelka and Kalou scored yesterday. And bloody BBC's MOTD did not nominate any Chelsea's goal for the Goal of the Season! So bloody ridiculous!
Some one on facebook mentioned that we've two similar seasons in succession, and i couldn't agree more. WE could have won everything this year just as we could've last year, but for our bipolarity. Why can't we hit the ground running, and just keep going? I'm pleased that our standards are still high and prospects bright. I hope next season will be better than this one.
I managed to miss Sky's over-hyped intro to the day but thought our match commentators were down there vying with Sky/ITV's worst.
Alan Parry [I think] desperately trying to give significance to our first goal and their equaliser as massive swings in Sunderland's Fate, until David Platt rather embarrassedly pointed out it hadn't changed a thing as long as Newcastle and Hull were losing...then Platt ludicrously trying to argue that Sunderland were controlling the 2nd half - almost until we went 3-1 up.
I'm still intending to watch on Wednesday - but it will definitely be on mute whichever channel I watch on.
Great Match and Season Report, mate. Perfect. I, erm, agree with everything there, particularly preferring Nico to be sold and Drogs to be kept at our club.
Cant wait for the Cup Final next week!
KTBFFH!
Well selling, as some suggest, the "Golden Boot" player, seems little bit myopic to me (I talk about Nico).
Sell Anelka?! That's crazy.
If we want to renew the squad we need to survive some sacrifices... I think we shouldn't sell Anelka he proved to be great player and doesn't have any problem of warming the bench . He really gained my respect.
I think Drogba needs to leave...
LINK
Is this possible?Makelele is my favourite player and I think Mourinho respected him very much and their respect was mutual. But might he be right?
Only one thing to say about "The Champions League is the Holy Grail for us". Well, it isn't for me, nor anyone I know.
Sure, it's Roman's holy grail. Kenyon's too. A lot of players may be thinking that way seeing as we're regularly so close to it. But it's not a holy grail at all. It's a big money-making corporate event that rewards corporates and sponsors by having a global advert for their products.
I attend every home CL game and a few aways to keep my hand in, but I didn't go to Moscow, nor did I especially want to, and as much as I know we deserved to be in the final this season, I wouldn't have gone to Rome either.
First up is the FA Cup final. 2nd will be the inevitable appointment of Ancelotti, like him or not. 3rd will be the general juggling of the player pack to increase the quality and lower the age profile.
4th will be whether fans support the CL games next year, whatever price they charge. That's not just attending games, but chosing to avoid any companies and products who sponsor Uefa. It's now becoming a big issue.
I would certainly take domination of the PL everyday of the CL, it's a much better barometer on how good a team is.
Unlike the potential lottery of the CL playing a handful of games, and sneaking wins on penalties, or away goal rules.
On saying that it would be nice to win it at least once, considering we've come so close on so many occassions.
Yet another ace report and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors to this Blog for another seasons hard work.
As someone who works away most weeks of the year, I have to rely on newspaper reports about 80% of our games (I do manage to get to some). It is always a joy to come on here and read the reports plus thoughts of the regular contributors.
Thank you, guys ............ just one more report to come and lets hope tis a happy one!!!
LINK
Do we really need him???
Breaking News
FC Twente and Austria winger Marko Arnautovic has agreed terms on a deal with Chelsea, but the clubs are yet to agree a fee. (AFP news agency)
LINK
Reply to Enigma:
Well perhaps Villa can wait. Hope he's not the next kezman or kalou i.e. a dutch sensation who flops in england.
Reply to haberdashers:
I don't really see Kalou as a flop Habs..... He was playing well a month or so ago, and can consider himself a little unfortunate to have been dropped.
Sure he can be erratic, but he wouldn't be on my list of those to move on.
Reply to Greenlight:
perhaps i was a little harsh on kalou but the dutch league doesn't exactly inspire confidence when it comes to transfers apart from Robben.
Reply to haberdashers:
I hear you....Winston Bogarde...Khalid Boularouz....!
I didn't watch the game on Sunday because, let's face it, the weather was just too good to ignore.
MOTD showed me it's usual bare minimum (and no Chelsea goals in GOTS is an insult) but pleased for Nico to have scored the one that won him the Golden Boot - he's played well all season but, like most, seems to have flourished under Hiddink. Also glad Ashley nothced as I have him and Nico in my FF team at work and could be in line for a few quid now.....
The whole Ancelotti thing seems done. But what worries me is we're waiting to announce his appointment because he still hasn't confirmed third spot, and he's not even qualified AC for the Champs League despite the players at his disposal all season. Struggled in the UEFA Cup were they lost to a decent Bremen side.
My question is - why is he seen as so special? Nothing tells me he's been amazing this year, yet we're waiting on tenterhooks for him to deliver a 3rd place finish before we hand him the reins.
Morning all
Do wonder exactly what is going to transpire re Ancelotti; the pessimism gland is working overtime and thinks that we're going to enter June with no manager and the powers that be scrabbling around trying to find another quick fix.
Have to say I get the feeling that Kenyon could be on his way if Ancelotti does arrive; think it is clearly Roman's choice which does leave him out in the cold a little (especially as he was also fairly instrumental in getting Scolari).
Still... not long 'til Wembley...
Reply to KaiserJonny_II:
Morning all, the longer this goes on, the more inclined I am towards the 'dis-information' theory. It seems bizarre that the club, and someone as wealthy as Abramovich would allow themselves to be portrayed as the eager dog waiting for the juicy bone to be thrown. I'm more and more convinced that if we'd wanted Ancelotti then AC Milan would be more than happy to let him go, or even announce his departure sooner rather than later.
And I'm with Fiftee....why is he seen as so special? I still think Moyes would be a great appointment, I mean what else does he have to do to prove his Premiership worth?
I'm sorry people I just don't see why Ancelotti is the apparent chosen one. Employing someone who may be about to finish 3rd in a poor Italian league, possibly being sacked for not being good enough in a crackpot like Berlusconi's eyes, with nothing more than an alleged rudimentary command of English, with zero experience outside of that league, who allowed his team to blow a 3 goal lead in a final against a team that had finished 20 plus points behind us......... it just doesn't add up.
And for those who think we should sell Anelka and keep a guy who has arguably cost us 2 Champions leagues and who's mood swings change on a seemingly hourly basis should come and sit in Tamblings with me prior to a game and see what people really think. Selling the leagues top striker, a man with a proven track record , who scores ate every club he's been to, in favour of someone who has only performed on a handful of occasions in 2 years......get a grip.
Whoever the new man is needs to do some ruthless pruning. Sentiment, as Sir Purplenose has often demonstrated, is bollocks.
Reply to ChelseaTony:
Morning TG
Suspect that Ancelotti's attraction is his record in the CL; and not much else.
Don't think we should completely dismiss his record; a very able coach who has done fairly well on a (relatively) limited budget in recent years - the issue is whether he will adapt to a new league having been fairly institutionalised in Italy for so long. Felix Magath proved again this weekend that he is an exceptional manager by taking Wolfsburg to the Bundesliga title; a feat that could have got him a move to pretty much wherever he wanted, but he's going to Schalke - he's never left Germany and shown little interest in doing so. Could he make the move to another league - can Ancelotti - who knows?
There is one reason we should be grateful to Ancelotti, though - he had a player that he couldn't fit into his system when he was at Parma; played him out of position and eventually sold him; one G. Zola...
Reply to KaiserJonny_II:
Guessed as much, but as I've stated before, as it stands only 1 man in 56 years has won 3 CL's.....Bob Paisley, and whilst plenty are in the 2's club that stat alone suggests just how difficult such a feat is ....even if Purplenose does it on Wednesday then that's 2 in 57 years and as paisley was about in the 70's/80's it doesn;t suggest that it's likely to happen for a 3rd time soon. Thats statistics for you though.
If it is him then we'll know soon enough what he can do.
I'd take Drog over Anelka every time, but given that they are both staying (thankfully), what's the problem?
Reply to ChelseaTony:
Does this make Ancelotti 33% more likely to win a third, or 66% less likely...? :-)
Bloody statistics. Apparently he's just been quoted as saying he'll stay at Milan if they want him to. I think we're being dicked about here.
Is it too cynical to think Ancelotti's comments about his willingness to stay at Milan are about safeguarding his entitlement to payment for the final year of his contract with them or compensation if they sack him?
Why give this up just because Roman is offering him more millions....
I'm starting to dread these managerial appointments more and more. We're being told time and again we are tightening the purse strings when it comes to player acquisitions, yet we'll happily chuck millions to buy managers out of their existing deals, they invariably go to pot, so we chuck more at them to pay up their contract with us and the process starts again.
Bloody statistics indeed, KJII.
Statistically, 6 out of 7 dwarves aren't Happy.
Ou est mon anorak?
I think we have a solution for manager right under our noses. So a big congratulations to BBD for topping the Chelseablog League, he obviously has an eye for talent, and made some good tactical substitutions throughout the season.
I will add that my team suffered from some unlucky injuries, and some very dodgy refereeing decisions every week.
Reply to Clive:
Thanks for your kind words, though I think I won only by being persistent enough to actually stick with what is undoubtedly the most abysmally designed Fantasy Football game I have ever played. I guess Habs in particular appears to have given up around Xmas when I think he was in the lead - or perhaps he felt duty bound to keep Scolari as his manager to the bitter end.
It seems incumbent on me in turn to offer congrats to KJII for winning the Grauniad game - though I feel duty bound to point out he used a disgusting number of Poo/Arse/ManUre players - including even The Winker for a few games, while I kept to our unofficial "No Reds" policy and still finished only a creditable 220-odd points behind him.
Reply to blueboydave:
On that basis alone BBD I think we can class JD as unscrupulous, and he should be disqualified. It's akin to MP's saying that their claims were within the rules. ;-)
You are the moral victor Sir!
Reply to Clive:
You are the moral victor Sir!
That's what people keep saying to Mr. Wenger...
:-)
If it's any consolation, I started to include the big guns to keep pace with the other league I was in - and still got whipped into second place by about 300 points!
Makelele on Jose in new book just published in France:
"For two years we lived like a gang of mates who eat together, get out of their heads together, train together the next day, and win matches together." The solidarity of the Chelsea squad between 2004 and 2006 was exceptional. Mourinho destroyed that unity by getting rid of certain elements in favour of new players considered to be stars. Certainly, he made it clear that he was not in favour of all the new recruits. But if that was the case, he should have gone ...
"Very early in the 2006–07 season he became distant from the players. At a stroke, a split opened in the spirit of brotherhood which had united us with him. Then he got involved with Abramovich. When the president asked for his champion players to express themselves more freely on the pitch, Mourinho obstinately refused to change his methods ... Something was broken at the top and we, the players, finished up suffering for it ...
"During the third and final season under that regime, I was shocked to see how Mourinho forgot the vital role of the players and took just about all the credit for himself ... For him, it wasn't the individuals who made the team work but the methods he had put in place. Towards the end, he really gave the impression that he felt endangered whenever a player took the attention away from him."
Nothing we didn't guess already, I suppose. But if true it does confirm the potential dominance of the Prem was surrendered by the ambitions of Roman for a Galactico-style team, clearly at odds with what had won two titles in a row.
It is relevant to the current discussions on here about Ancelotti. I think it shows that the Champs Lge is the focus, and that the big name, glory-style is the objective and that Roman believes he is the manager to deliver it. Whereas, most fans would prefer the focus to be on the Prem, with a team built for winning it regularly based around a squad built by a manager like Moyes.
"It is relevant to the current discussions on here about Ancelotti. I think it shows that the Champs Lge is the focus, and that the big name, glory-style is the objective and that Roman believes he is the manager to deliver it. Whereas, most fans would prefer the focus to be on the Prem, with a team built for winning it regularly based around a squad built by a manager like Moyes"
Hear hear. If/when Ancelotti turns up I will give a guarded welcome, but will not be surprised if it's goes a similar way to the Scolari experiment. I really think that by not getting Moyes we could be missing out on the next Alex Ferguson.
Reply to dannybrod:
I Think It speaks more of TSO's Arrogance than anything else.
The hype about Moyes on this blog reminds me of the same theme on Hughes during the search for our last manager...
He's (Hughes) gone to a bigger club (city) with money to spend and some relatively better players at his disposal, but has failed to prove his mettle...
Some guys are just better managing average clubs and cant handle the consistent pressure in the big clubs...Not saying Moyes is one of those types, just asking that we keep some things in perspective as things sometimes dont appear as they seem...
By the way, nice review Habs...I like the season rating part only that I would not score Bosingwa 6 and Ashley Cole 9, the gap in their contribution to the team’s cause is not that wide. More like 7 & 8 respectively for them.
Ballack & Kalou would get 7 each from me. Ballack for his fighting spirit in some of our crucial matches, and his versatility in midfield (defensive and offensive). Kalou for his goal scoring ratio attacking threat.
Should be a good match 2moro…should have been us beating manure (I’m sure we would have beaten them by at least a 2 goal margin with Guus in the dugout). I’ll watch with no tension at all, but I know it would be hard to forget that it should have been the blue shirted Drogba having a go at Vidic/Ferdinand & not Eto’o…..or Anelka/Kalou and not Messi on that right flank against Evra…
Always Blue!
Reply to mike12:
Well documented that Jose was an arrogant bugger, but this line concerns me more than any other:
"Then he got involved with Abramovich. When the president asked for his champion players to express themselves more freely on the pitch, Mourinho obstinately refused to change his methods..."
Roman was poking his nose in - far more of a concern than how much of an ego any manager, past, present or future might have.
I will not watch the final,it feels skewed towards UEFA FC,s favour .I would rather watch wild animals mating across the savannah or bears on the polar ice caps hunting than these 2 "finalists" .I CANT TAKE ANY CRAP PARTICULARLY FROM UEFA AND PLATTINI.
Reply to prodicky:
Amen to that. Couldnt care less who wins. It makes me feel sick that cunts like Platini and Blatter and in control of football.
Reply to 13joe13:
Agreed. Ideally they'd both lose; failing that I'm hoping for a boring, badly-refereed, poorly played 0-0, with lots of player misbehaviour and the Harlem Globetrotters winning on penalties, with the winner converted by Eidur.
Reply to prodicky:
Al-Ittihad vs. Al-Shabab
Al-Ettifaq vs. Pakhtakor Tashken
I am going to watch this and play some FIFA 09!
Personally i'm rooting for Barca. I know we should be there instead but it wasn't their fault that we were cheated out of the final and losing to the winners is a much better outcome than Fergie claiming a dodgy quad. And as a Federer fan i'd love to see Messi overcome Ronaldo to show that genius can outshine power on some occassions.
Reply to KaiserJonny_II:
Exactly, exactly! That's the real story here. It's the only explanation for the appointment of Uncle Avram as well -- as many of us thought, he really *was* teacher's pet.
Those who live by the billionaire owner shall die by the billionaire owner. As I think it says somewhere in Leviticus.
A great story on how Roman works and how he still strives to make us the best in the world:
LINK
LINK
Quaresma has moved on to Genoa..... Shame we didn't get to see more of him, but I guess we have to trust Guus' judgement on this one. If nothing else, his arrival has somehow turned Malouda into a footballer again!
Reply to haberdashers:
Interesting read Habs....... Not sure what Mr Lampard would think of playing alongside Alonso next year!
It seems though from the quotes in the autobiography that we are going to get Ancelotti this Summer, subject to AC Milan extending his contract and begging him to stay. And I can't see that happening.
Reply to Greenlight:
Yeah, Nice article. Not really sure what to think about Ancelotti. Hes only won 3 things in 8 years but he built a formidable team that destroyed United in the CL. I hope to god we dont sign Alonso, That would be ridiculous. I feel that if Milan dont want him anymore then why should we a far more ambitious club that have won alot more than Milan in the last few years try and get him? I dont know but personally I cant see anyone else taking over.
We won't sign Alonso, which Lamps would be thankful for, but it's a further sign that Roman and Carlo are looking at signing better and younger players than the likes of Deco last season.
A fuller account of his 007 mission is in the Times:
LINK
Nice one Habs. Like I said it looks to me like hes already our next manager. Ill be shocked if its anyone else.
As for the players he wants to sign and Carlo labelling our team as "very physical", I do not see many areas of the side that need strengthening. I mean ive always thought watching us this season that we need more pace in the team but who do we need to replace? In the last couple of months Guus Hiddink has shown that the team is good enough to beat the best in Europe, Liverpool 3-1, Le Arse 4-1 and if it wasnt for UEFAs corruption we would also be in the CL final.
You look at the players we have missed for alot of the season, Essien and Joe Cole. They are two of the quickest and energetic players in the side and their injuries and therefore lack of pace and quickness in our team cost us dearly in the league.
When it comes to new players im not sure. Im under the impression that we shouldnt buy any striker unless we sell DD which I believe would be a HUGE mistake and would come back to bite us in the ass. Im curious to know what other people think about new recruitments. Every team needs new signings but Im not sure who we should replace and I certainly dont think we should buy people to warm the bench. KTBFFH
LINK
Another great article by Martin Samuel....First half gives a very accurate description of Barca, including (finally) a bit of praise for Chelsea.
The second part gives a very different spin on the Habs link above relating to the meeting of Ancelotti and Roman. As a very private person, I agree with Samuel when he points out that Abramovich will be none too pleased with his new boss' new autobiography. Maybe he won't be arriving after all!
This quote ends it all for me :
"This is the man that Chelsea wish to make their new manager, a man who is believed to have discussed the future with Frank Arnesen, Chelsea's director of football, in Rome this week."
WTF is Frank Arnesen still doing at the club? He's delivered precisely fuck all since we got ripped off by the Spuds for him, save for being promoted to DOF despite un-earthing absolutely no-one who's made the first team. What a shambles.
And, as Greenlight says, can't imagine Roman will be too happy reading all this today!
Reply to haberdashers:
This backs up my comments of yesterday regarding Roman's focus for the club (see last para of @30 above). It is interesting how we respond to the information as fans. While Habs calls it a great story about how Roman is tirelessly pursuing the interests of our club, I think many fans - particularly older fans - would see it from an entirely different perspective. I've not entirely sure of how I feel about it yet. But I can't help thinking that Roman's somewhat over-romantic vision of what football is about could be the polar opposite of what most English fans want for their club. He's clearly buying into the myths perpetrated by clubs like Man Utd, Barcelona and Milan that graft extra-curricular narratives onto the achievements of successful teams.
But those glory narratives come after the fact and are largely the work of the media and pr depts selling the club to new fans and the wider public. You can't buy those narratives/myths off the shelf. You build the club through the squad and team and obtain success your own way and what emerges as your own particular myth grows from that.
For me, as an old supporter, I feel the Chelsea narrative anyway - and share it with others - but its a different myth from the one a man who can buy a Francis Bacon Tryptich (one of the greatest British works of art ever) for his girlfriend is going to be happy with. For me it is about Kings Road swagger, having a bubble and never, ever mistaking football for life itself (its not, that's for northerners who don't have much else). Carefree is our true anthem.
I feel this disparity between Roman's dream and the fans who joined since his money came into the club on the one hand, and the more traditional kind of fan (hate saying that because it sounds reactionary) is going to get more acute. Jose's success here was based on his appeal to the old English virtues of close-knit team and bond with the fans. That we've thrown that away in favour of impossible to achieve instant glamour is sad
Spot on Danny, an absolutely terrific post.
I still don't think Roman gets Chelsea at all. I hoped by now he might have worked out that we're not a glory, glory club, never will be and actually don't want to be.
I was thinking recently that the Barca game might have done him some good because he should have realised afterwards that it wasn't Mourinho that Uefa hated and feared, it was Roman himself. And if he accepted that, he'd learn to be a bit more Chelsea about Uefa - gave as good as he gets, take the punishment but go down fighting instead of apologising for getting mugged, which is what we're doing at the moment.
I quite like Ancelloti after reading this though (despite wanting to sign the horrible Alonso); he seems proper bonkers.
Agree PeteW about Ancelotti. Paradoxical isn't it? He seems more like the kind of bonkers manager we've grown to love. The subtext of his writing about the meetings with Roman is that he thinks the guy is a bit daft. So, maybe he's a man who could square the circle if you see what I mean.
Reply to dannybrod:
I like everyone else, am (and will be eternally grateful) for what Jose a achieved for the club, but was his success actually based on his bond with the fans?? He may have sought to position it that way, but I'm pretty sure his feelings towards supporters were inconseqential when he decided to engineer his dismissal.
I've posted it before, but it really is time to move on.
Even the Geordies are allowed more than on messiah.
Reply to Agh57:
sorry should have read "one" rather than "on"!
We all have moved on, it's not about that at all. It's just important to note that some managers/players/chairmen have an instinctive understanding/rapport with the club/supporters and others don't.
At the moment, nobody on the board does and we don't have a manager. And it can make a difference.
If Grant had understood Chelsea and had made more of an attempt to get the fans behind him (admittedly, a very tough ask but one he never even tried to achieve), perhaps there would have been more belief from the fans and we might have won at least the Coca-Cola Cup final!
Getting the fans onside is crucial, Jose knows that. It makes your own position safer and helps build crucial bonds that allow you to overcome tricky periods.
For those of you who don't subscribe to The Times daily football e-mail today's has a classic boo-boo - or been sabotaged by a Chelsea fan hiding in their techy dept:
AHEAD OF THE GAME
Alpha mail. The only truly useful football e-mail
Champions League final special
--------------------------------------------------Wednesday, May 27, 2009. 1300BST
After lots of Ronald v Messi woffle etc it gets to this:
Who will win?
Everyone is expecting a great feast of football, like the 3-3 draws we saw in the 1990s but I expect it to be extremely tight. I have a slight feeling for United, they are physically and mentally stronger and in a very intense encounter I think they could just come out on top.
-------------------------------------------------
LIVE: BARCELONA V CHELSEA
Follow the action with Kaveh Solhekol's live text commentary from 1930BST
...Oops!
Pete. I don't disagree with any of that. Although what you are saying could apply to the majority of Premiership clubs. I have to say Randy Lerner at Villa seems to be the best Chairman around at present.
Our situation isn't helped by the fact Roman is surrounded by so many cunts (Eugene Tenenbaum - as if he wasn't bullied at school and has tried to compensate ever since by amassing the world's largest collection of pornography) that Kenyon comes accross as the voice of reason.
I don't know what to make to the manager situation. I did mention to KJ II a week ago that maybe the Ancelotti thing is just a ruse so, if it doesn't come off they can claim there is no fall back plan and then Hiddink will have to stay (Fingers crossed)
Reply to Agh57:
My feelings as well. although like PeteW I do sense that a good majority have moved on. Guus Hiddink has played a major part in this for me by showing how a good coach, who can identify with the fans and can plan each game based on the respective strengths and weaknesses of the opposition can make a huge difference. For me he has buried the Jose ghost and so I am happy to see whoever is next re-shape us and give them the chance. I have my views on who would be best and why they should get the chance, but if it is Ancelotti then so be it. Like I say, we've moved on and the hoary old cliche about time being the best healer has once again proven accuartte.
I do find it odd that a few seem keen to persevere with the same squad when it seems such a good time for a refresh to start.
And on the Messiah front.....surely the banner of the weekend was the one at Villa Park thats sinply asked.........
"Who's your next Messiah? Ant or Dec?"
Looking back at my posts .....
It's time to resurrect my 'Mavis Beacon teaches typing for hamfisted numpties" software.....
I've pinched this from the Beeb's text update (Christ knows why they've been having a text update all day - 'Oh look, another pigeon has shat in the Trevi fountain') :
Chelsea captain John Terry on BBC Radio 5 Live: "I might flick and see the score at half-time or full-time. If I don't watch it then I'll probably bath my kids and have an early night I think."
I didn't really care what happened tonight (though a stray North Korean nuke finding the pitch in Rome would amuse me) but I now want it to go to pens just so someone gets to experience the shitstorm that JT had to. It must be running over and over in his head how close we were last season, or how thoroughly robbed of a place in tonights final we have been.
He better be bloody ready to lift the FA Cup on Saturday. I mean, we're going to win it. Right?
Reply to Fiftee:
I am going to Lords to watch cricket match. It probably tells you everything what think about tonight's game of "beautiful" football. And yes just like anyone else around, I believe, I do not care, if stray North nuke finds the pitch, or some other whatsoever straight into the that twat Platini box, bloody frog eater.
We must win on Saturday!!!
Keep The Blue Flag Flying High Brothers!!!!!!
Reply to Fiftee:
I fear even a stray North Korean Nuke would miss the stadium and somehow find itself lodged underneath Stamford Bridge just prior to a glorious CL semi final victory next year.
Well, if UEFA have anything to do with it that is.........
As for tonight, I understand JT's viewpoint. I'm not planning to watch it either. It's a good chance for me to catch up with the 2 episodes of Ashes to Ashes I've not watched yet. Or maybe last nights Holby City (my own ...ahem....little secret). Or some Songs of praise if the Video on Demand has any......or maybe there's some paint I can watch drying.....or some boiling kettles I can watch.....
You get the drift.
As for Saturday....blimey I'd been quite settled before you said that. To be honest I think Everton were as upset as us at losing to barca because I reckon they could see that as a distraction, but now....all they can see is ateam determined to win a trophy in order to remind themselves of the feeling, plus a team desperate to give Lucky Guus a decent send off and somethign to remeber them by.
I have this feeling we'll go hell for leather and bat them off by 3 goals......
LINK
Probably the biggest football howler ever!
Reply to Fiftee:
I am also hoping it will be 120 minutes of aimless boring football, with plenty of yellow cards, scuffles and referee abuse with few chances on goal and a penalty shoot out.
I want UEFA to see real anti-football and then see what Football Enemy Number 1, Platini, has to say about his 'beautifl final'
I really don't give a crap who wins today...
I mean, Messi...fine, I have nothing against the guy and C.Ronaldo really pisses me off. So, if winning the best footballer award requires CL trophy than I would rather see Messi than Ronaldo getting it.
I hate Man U more than any other club in the universe... And dislike Barca because the way they are constantly favorized in the world of football...
So...I will think about FA Cup final... something that is really important for us :) .
KTBFHH
Well I will watch, mainly out of morbid curiousity, actually I'm going to watch with a good friend who is a Utd supporter. Anyway I really hope for (like most of us) a dull tight affair, with the neutral loving penalty shootout.
Lets be honest, all the hype that's gone along with this as being the Hollywood dream final, it's bound to be dull, isn't it?
Afterall Hollywood has had it's fair share of blockbuster flops
Reply to ChelseaTony:
I'm with you on this (not to the Songs of Praise extent mind!) I may well avoid it by having to catch up with some work tonight having been off sick all weeks so far and off to France for two weeks from Monday.
Anyone else notice how the Media all day have been saying that this is the first time in history that a team will have the chance to retain the trophy? What about Forest in 1979 and 1980? Even the missus asked how they could forget this given all the stuff about Cloughie that they were showing a couple of months ago.
On a certain day mourinho was asked if he wanted to see a certain match knowingly he replied, that he was going to take his children and watch WWF.WWF is match fixed and well scripted , that is what modern football has become with a selected casts with roles to play.instead of watching this shit like UEFA circus in which platini has assumed the role of Vince Mcmann and his illegit sindrome x dwarfchild Hornswoggle is suppose to win the title.We are supposed to believe that this kid is the best in the world.if people feel honored to be cheated they can go ahead and shell out money.Mr abramo fight platini n stop wasting your resources building chelsea squad we are more than capable of winning anything.
I thoroughly enjoyed that. Nothing like watching the Mancs get a pasting. Barca were superb. It just goes to show how well we played against them. And at least we lost to the eventual winners.
Messi 8.5/10
Ronaldo 2/10 (petulant prick)
Iniesta - Awesome.
Based on that I think that makes us the best team in Europe.
Didn't see it (emotional scars still too painful!)
but followed it online. It does go to show how well we did but I'm not holding my breath for any retrospective credit. I wanted Man U to win as on the whole their fans have been okay towards us in recent years (unlike other the fans of another North West based team), but another part of me is glad that they lost just to see the media's reaction tomorrow.
Truly pathetic from the Mancs, who suffer from a collective delusion about their world beating, historic greatness. I hope this ends their incredible run of luck on the domestic front too - where fear infects so many who play against them. If we can refresh our squad and get some half-decent leadership from the bench they are there for the taking again next season.
KTBFFH
They haven't been that much better than us and we were useless from November until Guus pitched up! I don't know where all this "is this the best Man U squad/team ever" stuff came from.
Barcelona was superior and played nice football ...It just shows how well did we played against them...
Messi is going to be voted the best, but Iniesta was great, like some of you said... I think my emotional scars of the semi final are healing, because I didn't feel really sad that Barcelona won: for me its better them than Man United ...I know its not Chelsea fan like , but United are really going on my nerves ...
Since I couldn't watch Man United celebration last year ( too painful ) I watched Barcelona raising the trophy , Guardiola looking all happy and kinda noticed that Platini kissed C.Ronaldo on the neck... I mean, he was hugging and kissing everyone ...but neck? Suspicious it is ...
Reply to Agh57:
I agree. They really are there for the taking unless they significantly improve their defence or Ronaldo seems to start caring all of a sudden. Just makes me even MORE frustrated that we didnt get there because we wouldve pwned United just like Barca did.
On the other hand its good that they got owned because we can see how the media react. In the last week all ive heard is how this was going to be "the greatest final ever" because both teams "will be able to play". Utter bollocks. I hardly heard a word about the FA Cup final. But it doesnt matter really because we are going to enjoy it and thats all that matters really
After watching that it's quite clear why Pratini & Co didn't want us in the final to upstage their samba with a bit of rock n roll.
Still, it was quite a good game and apart from not getting the chance to prove that we're the best team in Europe, I enjoyed the spectacle.
I also wonder just how did Scolari manage to screw things up so badly? Without those miserable couple of months before he left who knows what we'd have achieved.
Anyway, at least we've got Saturday to provide the real curtain closer for this season.
Messi finally delivered something like we had expected and a few of the others were pretty good too.
If the winker still wants to play in Spain it will definitely have to be Real as he wouldn't make Barca's bench on tonight's form.
Loved watching Barca tonight who i thought were brilliant. They do play some brilliant stuff and a midfield containing Xavi and Iniesta always has a chance of embarrassing someone and in Rome it was Utd. I'm glad Messi outshone Ronaldo but Iniesta was the real genius of the night and it's no wonder that Lamps rates him as the best.
But Utd never turned up and the main culprit was Fergie himself. As Gullit brilliantly put it: "Did they not learn anything from Chelsea?" The panel in the studio were great at highlighting Fergie's errors and his decision to go head to head with Barca in a 4-4-2 formation was suicidal. Watching a final as a neutral was great and i was glad Barca won it so clearly. They are definitely the best team in the world at the moment and all that hyperbole surrounding Utd's "best ever team" has been exposed as bollocks. I was glad that the panel made reference to our brilliant efforts and the real dream final should have been us vs. Barca and Guus would have been a lot more cunning against Barca than Fergie.
Roll on wembley when we'll show the Fergie how to professionally win a final.
Forgot to mention that after the first goal the commentary was amazingly honest and fair with plenty of "Barca deserve to be in front" and "manu can't complain".
Pleat did try a few rousing descriptions of what was needed to turn the game for Fergieson's flops towards the end, but it was all a bit of an afterthought (maybe someone at the FA phoned in to rebuke them on their lack of jingoism).
I agree. They were really there for the taking tonight. Just makes me even MORE frustrated that we didnt get there because we wouldve destroyed United just like Barca did.
On the other hand its good that they got owned because we can see how the media react. In the last week all ive heard is how this was going to be "the greatest final ever" because both teams "will be able to play" and as for the most used bollocks of recent times "The greatest United team ever" well im almost glad they lost like that because the nature of the game exposed what these people have been saying as complete and utter bollocks.
During the last week ive hardly heard a word about the FA Cup final. You know the longest running competition in English football. Just proves they really dont care about us but it doesnt really matter because we are going to enjoy it (hopefully) and thats all that matters. I cant see the boys not turning up in GHs last game in charge. KTBFFH!
Oh sorry. I already posted this.
As good as Barca were last night, and Utd quite poor. Did they play any differently against us? It just shows how good a job we did over the two legs, and on that basis I think we could have done a job on either team in the final.
I just wonder if our media will heap some retro-spective praise on on us, I'm not holding my breath.
Fantastic stuff.
Messi was awesome, but Iniesta is so under-rated it's untrue.
Bizarre that we managed to keep a stronger Barca team quiet for 180 minutes, yet a weaker XI did for ManUSA - I get the feeling maybe the CL will forever be the one that got away for us.
And I hate all the gossip nonsense in the papers as much as the next guy, but the Sun claim today we've agreed a fee for Ribery. Would be very happy with him joining......
Reply to Clive:
Now now Clive....retrospective praise and current praise for us are both like rocking horse shit.
So far, we've heard across the media how....
Man Utd players lost with dignity (implication being that we didn't, maybe true in Drogba's case but then the referee didn't have the same negative influence last night)
Ferguson has been sporting in defeat (implcation being that everyone else isn't)
Chris Waddle saying that Chelsea bullied Barcelona and thats why we did so well, but 'Chelsea certainly never played football against them' (implication being that every team should try attacking football even if it means getting beat)
Barcelona are what Arsenal could be (apart from being owneed by members, and having a large proportion of local players come through the system and giving shirt space to charity)
Thus far not a good word to say about the team that didn't lose to them and restricted them to 1 goal in 180 minutes.
The status quo has been maintained.
And as for the Ribery rumour........I'll believe it when I see it.
"We have to give credit to Barcelona, but they were a bit lucky to be here because Chelsea did not deserve to lose and no-one has mentioned that.
"I have to congratulate Barcelona, they were better, but football is just like this: only the winners get talked about."
Unbelievably a quote from the winker.
LINK
Only watched the second half and couldn't believe what I was watching. United were dreadful, utterly inept, shit defending, incompetent in midfield and toothless up front. They looked like they were on tranqualisers. Even in terms of United's notoriously crap CL final performances, this was bad.
As most people have said, this puts our displays against Barca into perspective. We would have pissed this final.
United lost with dignity? Tell that to Scholes, Ronaldo and Vidic, all of whom committed dreadful tackles in petulance and frustration. Drogba is going to get a five match ban for swearing at TV camera; Scholes will get his usual rueful 'hey, that's Scholesy' pat on the back for one of the worst tackles I've seen in a CL game for a long time.
I've always liked that nice lad Ronaldo. Though you could argue that comment is rather undignified.
PeteW,
Good point on the Scholes tackle - and absolute shocker. For someone who's played the game for so long, it's absurd just how shit he is at trying to tackle - could have seriously done a number on Busquets (what a propsect he looks BTW).
I think what surprised me more than anything last night, after Utd conceded against the run of play, how many of their heads dropped.
So much for the famous Utd fighting spirit, they bent over just like Arsenal did in the second leg of their semi.
Yes the Scholes tackle was shocking, I thought that a red card was coming.
That was the only poor call the ref made all evening, kudos to him and his officials, he showed how a game should be controlled.
Paul Scholes - bad tackler or vicious ginger shitbag who succumbs to red mist too easily? Hmmm.
United were utterly rubbish - makes it all the more galling that we weren't there. Ho hum.
Could Platini have looked any more delighted last night when presenting Barca with the trophy? Corrupt ****.
The defending for the second goal was just atrocious. They gave the ball away TWICE, stood off and let the cross come in and then give a midget a free header.
Reply to PeteW:
Midgets have heads too!
*hunts down his old platform shoes*
Two six foot plus centre halves not even getting close to challenging a man smaller than Arnold from Diff'rent Strokes would be embarrassing on Hackney Marshes, let alone European football's showpiece event.
Point for discussion - was United's performance the worst ever in a European Cup final? Has to be there or thereabouts.
They might even have been worse than in 99...
So much for English dominance of Europe - three wins in 25 years.
Not buying all this Brilliant Barca crap, from what I saw they simply had to turn up and the win was in the bag.
I seriously almost wonder whether United were drugged or ill or something. It was extraordinary.
Reply to PeteW:
Some of the Mancs did have that air of Ronaldo circa World Cup final 1998 about them, it has to be said.
Think Fergie was pinning an awful lot on Giggs whose ageing legs just couldn't cope with their midfield.
As I said last night pathetic show from a seriously deluded team. Barcelona were much better than them but as we showed, not world beaters - unless we are, and none of us are THAT deluded. All in all though, it's all anarchic, a set of imponderable events that we graft stories onto after the fact. The ball breaks well for Etoe and he toe pokes it under Van Der Sar. From then on its all about controlling the game and Iniesta and Xabi are the best at doing that. The Mancs looked out of their depth because they rely on the overall fear factor and general ineptness of most Prem teams who write off the points against them before the season even begins. The evidence for that statement is in every pre-match press conference from managers who often state that they know it is not games like this that rely on to get the points.
From martin Samuel's column in today's mail LINK :
"What else was proven last night? Well, something about Guus Hiddink and Chelsea, that is for sure. Without setting foot in Rome, we now know that Hiddink was even more unfortunate than many believed to have lost over two legs to Barcelona in the semi-final.
Their supremacy here simply confirmed Chelsea’s success over two legs in frustrating Barcelona and bringing the carousel to a shuddering halt. They were never taken for a ride like United and the criticism of their negative tactics now looks even more misplaced. As United chased darting shadows across the pitch, Hiddink’s game -plan appeared smarter by the minute."
A voice of reason.
Sorry, seem to have lost my capital M button...
Samuels is the man. The ONLY national journalist who actually GETS IT.
There's is no doubting the Samuels is switched on with regard opinion and reporting. I don't think he has any particular axe to grind with any club, and he calls it has he sees it.
I suppose some of our observations on last night, might come across as sour grapes if any non Chelsea fan read this blog. But I feel even more of an injustice now, than I did on the night of the semi itself.
Reply to Clive:
Well said Clive,
Now that everybody can see what a great job we did on Barcelona, it really rankles. Of course, I don't think we'll be seeing any mea culpas from the press or any of the idiots that came on here. If our semi didn't have such rank refereeing, we would have easily taken the Mancs last night.
Still, if my my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle.
Reply to Dezmond:
Good article, thank you for posting the link.
well well, the greatest team in the world! how the media and FA have been made to look lke idiots. No wonder they have it in for them...they have swallowed the spin from the Man-U marketing dept with their connivance and all of them, media, FA and Man-U themselves looked so far away from the greatest team ever to grace the history of football utter rubbish and crap that I actually believe that it would have been better for Man-u not to have been in the final. This defeat and the manner is going to have I believe ground breaking repurcussions for not only Man-u around the world but also the premier league and it's marketing. Is Spain starting to challenge? is the premiership really the best (define best...)? I believe next year it will be between Liverpool and us so long as our next manager is okay of course. This defeat and its manner has exposed Man-U and "the peoples club" as the media was starting to allude to them recently as a complete fallacy and at worst a bunch of lies and connivance by the media to exclude any other club challenging in this country! i wanted them to beat Barca but now i have no problem congratulating Barca and actually feel quite good as a Chelsea fan about the outcome. Will advertisers pay more for Prem rights now or La Liga? Interesting is'nt it? The prem dominance by that result could have burst already and if it has it is squarely the blame of Man-U, the FA and the British media. Chelsea have a stronger squad all over the park. i really believe that. The emperors clothes! !!
This posting from Dannybrod (comment 95) states whats been going on perfectly . "The Mancs looked out of their depth because they rely on the overall fear factor and general ineptness of most Prem teams who write off the points against them before the season even begins. The evidence for that statement is in every pre-match press conference from managers who often state that they know it is not games like this that rely on to get the points.
Not sure that I'm in line with Samuel's assessment of the 'greatness' of Barca but he does seem to see more of what goes on than most.
The reality is that Manu just aren't that good and have been flattered in the PL with their home advantage which includes generous refs and managers who give up all too easily.
This is a double whammy as teams then try too hard to make amends when Manu visit and often leave themselves open to the red counter attacks.
Anyway, that's all done now and I'm more interested in what nasty surprises Mr. Moyes is cooking up for Saturday.
He'll obviously take note that attacking a superior team is not the best option (as if he didn't already know that).
They'll be tough and tight and I wonder who will be singled out for special attention?
My guess is Flo will be number one on their hit list.
We saw seen how lightweight he was early on this season under Scolari, and as our main creative force lately he'd be a prime target to get at.
Whatever happens, we may not have it as easy as Barca did last night.
A journo praising Chelsea? What next, Paddy Barclay going back on his comments that Barca deserved to be in the final as they would have been about 3-0 up before the ref started having a nightmre at the Bridge? I'm just glad that our tactics and performance haven't been forgotten and that's what made watching Sky's showing so great. Firstly they cut down on the ads unlike ITV so a bonus point to Sky. But their panel really was brilliant at exposing Utd and especially Fergie's faults. Souness and Gullit are a great CL double act and the way they cut into Fergie's suicidal tactics and the awful performances of Giggs, Rio and especially Rooney was hilarious. Even Jamie is coming along nicely as a pundit.
But hats off to Barca. They weren't at their 6-2 Real Madrid best but they didn't need to be. In the end Pep outsmarted Fergie with his tactics and the decision to play a 4-4-2 diamond in effect with Messi playing in the number 10 position and the team basically havng no centre forward was inspired against Fergie's idiotic 4-2-4.
Making a bold prediction now but after Carlo's 2/3 year experiment i do feel that we'll go for Pep as our manager. I know he's only had one season and using a treble winning season with the best Barca team in history as a reason to hire him sounds idiotic, but there's just something special about him. Apart from Jose and perhaps Bilic, he's probably the best young coach in Europe and with Kenyon getting the next pick in our managerial merry-go-round, i feel we'll go for him. After all he speaks english, is media savvy, has the tactical nous to outsmart Fergie and the prerequisite for a successful Chelsea manager; has the style and swagger to manage our Kings Road mob of egos. The new Jose perhaps?
"But I feel even more of an injustice now, than I did on the night of the semi itself."
Clive, that's how I feel, though I imagine us against Man U would have been approached differently and may have resulted differently as well.
Still, doesn't detract from us shutting them out for nigh-on two games yet they stuck two past an almost statuesque United defence. If only....
Having just read the Ribery stories (plus Deco's quotes that he's off to Inter so yay!) it seems like a bit of The Sun's mischief making. £40m for Ribery seems excessive even for Roman although i'm glad we're being linked with that calibre of player and not the Kevin Davies of this world like in January! But for £40m wold you take one Ribery or David Villa for £30m plus £10m left over to spend on an english player like Barry? Having watched Spain win the two biggest tournaments of the past year then i'd do everything to sign Villa and Silva off debt ridden Valencia and leave Ribery for someone else.
Thought I'd had enough of last night but this is quite amusing so I guess it's best to make the most of the fun:
LINK
What's the new word, SchadenFergie?
Pep is Barca for life in some form or other, can't see him swapping his beloved boys for us.
Reply to haberdashers:
Habs,
I really don't rate Barry as any better than Essien or Obi. I Would rather have Obi seeing as he is only like, 21. And I think the Aston Villa Fans would be insulted if you told them Barry was nly worth 10m
Reply to mike12:
Only, my bad.
In a small-minded way I'm loving the photos of the Mancs lining up to collect their losers' medals -- every paper seems to be running one on the front of its Sport section. No one does gormless despondency quite as expressively as Rio. And "SchadenFergie" -- marvellous suggestion.
I didn't watch the game -- still too depressed by the whole business -- but it sounds as if, astonishingly, the Mancs were stupid enough to swallow all the Barca bullshit about "two great attacking teams playing beautiful football". It really suggests that McFergie is losing it. If he wasn't prepared to deal with the kind of sh*tstorm we got for daring to try and stop Xavi and Iniesta running the game, then that must mean his idiotic ego and his vanity about "the biggest club in the worl" must have meant more to him than actually winning the trophy.
As someone rightly points out above, Moyes won't be so stupid. I expect a tough game on Saturday, but surely the players will be properly desperate? Everton are a good team but I don't think they can live with us if we really go after them.
Reply to limetreebower:
One concern I do have about the blue poo is that they might hit us hard early on, knowing how slowly we've been known to start at times.
I really wouldn't fancy watching them defend a one goal lead for the remainder of the game.
Reply to mike12:
Just thinking that we'll need more english players to fill Uefa' CL quota, he's only got one year left on his contract, plays well with Lamps and for me the jury's still out on Mikel. I'd definitely keep him but he hasn't developed his game as much as i thought he would have after that first Jose season. Seeing midfielders like Xavi and Iniesta who can defend and attack perfectly, Mikel in comparison looks like a lumbering idiot. He gives away too many fouls in dangerous positions and with Lamps and Essien (who may not be in Xavi and Iniesta's beautiful footall class but can defend and attack just as effectively) dominating our midfield for the next few seasons, i just feel we need someone of quality to back them up.
Reply to haberdashers:
I Just think that Barry would impair Obi's progress is all. And I think Obi has been great this year, aside from this last little end bit where he has been less than inspiring.
I also think he has great potential to become a new Chelsea Great.
Tony where is our Bi-Polar Express this week? The biggest cup game of the season is on Saturday, we need a preview. ;-)
Reply to Clive:
I think the BPE might be open to all this week, not just Chelsea fans, at least that's the way it looks after reading all the kick Fergie when he's down press coverage.
It's true that the stick manu are getting is well deserved, but the mainstream press are still the same sycophants who were going apeshite over how great the latest crop of Red herrings were, just yesterday morning.
The nearest analogy I can get is waking up with a hang-over and some old slapper in the bed and then screaming at her for being so ugly.
I'm almost feeling a little sympathy for the manky's.
Almost.
Reply to Clive:
Now now, regularity would defeat the object......
I'm doing something now.....
Gotta agree with Mike here. Obi isnt even in our starting XI so I dont see why we should get rid of him (hes a tremendous prospect and only 21) and pay something ridiculous like £10m for somebody who wont even be playing reguarly. Lets face it, Gareth Barry is never going to start over Essien so I just cannot see te point in signing him.
We do need more english players to fill UEFAs rules when they come out but hopefully young players will come into the side and do that not a 29 year old midfielder who does nothing better than the player we have that fills his role (Essien)