The Chelsea Weekly Times: facts, gossip, rumours, trivia and salacious lies
Monday, 27 April 09, 04:47 AM · Comments (60)
Well, here we are again for edition number two of the weekly roundup of facts, gossip, rumours, trivia and salacious lies surrounding our beloved Chelsea FC.
It’s a funny thing being a football fan don’t you think? You choose your team through some sort of lucky chance, or the influence of an overbearing fanatic parent, or the peer pressure of school friends when you’re young and from that day onwards, in the case of the true supporter, you’re forever wedded to that team in some sort of bizarre mutual stranglehold until the day you die. Only it isn’t mutual really. Let’s face it, if you decided to move onto... Arsenal for example and wrote to the club resigning your ‘fanship’ they’re hardly likely to reply, and even in the unlikely event of a reply it would probably just be along the lines of ‘toodle pip then’.
During the length of your support you may even wobble and find your eyes cast elsewhere, envious of the success of others, or persuaded by peers (especially those at school) that if you don’t you’ll be one of life’s eternal losers. In this instance it has to be said you’ll be damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Changing teams publicly is tantamount to a form of heresy that many would think hanging too good a punishment for. On the other hand all things tend to even out and changing teams is akin to changing lanes in a traffic queue because the one next to you is moving whilst you sit there fuming quietly at the injustice of it all. What happens within 10 seconds of moving lanes? Yep, the one you’re in will grind to a halt and you’ll sit there watching all the grinning fools who were sat behind driving past you with even bigger smugger grins. It’s the same with football. If you changed from Chelsea to Arsenal circa 2004 then you’ll know exactly what I mean. Even then I reckon the person who ‘crosses the floor’ will always at their very core have the original team’s ghostly presence in the background.
Often this team changing affects the younger female population more as their fragile young loyalties are tempted away from Dad into the younger, skinnier arms of young beaus who are not even thinking 30 minutes into the future. Such is life and I often wonder if my own Daughter Number 1 will return on one of her brief ‘hot water’ or ‘hair straightening’ visits to the house adorned in the treacherous red and white Gooner shirt of her boyfriend, Marine Boy. And people wonder why I worry.
In the devious world of men and those becoming men, almost all those I know and have known have lied in some way in order to seal the deal on the young lady within their sights. Especially when frequenting target rich environments such as discos... I believe they’re called ‘nightclubs’ nowadays. You know the ‘Of course I love you... now let me just put this in here...’ or the ‘Yeah, qualified as a fighter pilot today, flying my first mission next week, love... now any chance of a night at your place before I fight for Queen and country?’ type of thing, but never, ever would I entertain the thought of pretending to support Liverpool just to get a leg over... sorry... a night of fireworks and twinkling lights as we feast upon the passionate fruits of our young lust. Nope, in my world she’d just have to lose out.
Anyway, Chelsea are my team and have been for 37 years now, so let’s get on with the news.
After the thrills and spills of the previous week (see Chelsea Weekly Times passim...) the rumbling noise that could be heard around Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening was the sound of our juggernaut crashing back to Earth in an uneventful 0-0 draw against our FA Cup final opponents Everton. Let’s be fair here, this was always likely seeing how this season has unfolded for us so far, but the difference is under Scolari the Everton game might have been a home defeat, whereas after last season’s home results and this season’s earlier fixture against the Toffees, a dour 0-0 draw probably featured fairly high up the bookies list of likely outcomes. The biggest plus for me is that it extinguishes any more talk of us winning the Premiership this year, allowing us to concentrate on bagging an FA Cup and perhaps even a Champions League. Personally I’d settle for either if not both, and then the serious business of recruiting the next coach can get under way. Is it Ancelotti? Is it Rijkaard? Is Moyes the man? Who knows? The press are throwing out Ancelotti as the favourite but my guess is that those statements are about as educated as Alastair Darling’s on the economy.
On Friday we witnessed the remarkable Frank Lampard call into LBC and speak to their host James ‘O Brien, yet another presenter in the Jeremy Kyle ‘judge and jury’ style. It’s all over the internet and if you haven’t heard it then I’m sure our kind and benevolent editor, Nick, will happily post a link. It's rousing stuff and Frank acquitted himself superbly against a professional broadcaster who really had no place to go and started to backtrack furiously. Kay Burley then interviewed ‘O Brien and also had him back-pedalling, and if I’m not mistaken squirming a bit before he started to change the story and act like some sort of pompous, pious paragon of virtue. Sorry mate, Frank owns you now.
On to Saturday and the march into Zola’s kingdom at plucky West Ham, a team seemingly constantly under missile attack either from the FA, the Premier League, the press or the banks. Of course it was important to win, but ultimately one couldn’t help but wonder how many eyes were cast towards the Nou Camp for Tuesday. Luckily it was not the case. Lucky Guus made five changes from Wednesday's team selection and by all accounts a routine win was forthcoming with the startling news that Cech actually saved a penalty. And did so rather well. This win is slightly tempered by the news of Zola and Clarkey signing four-year deals with West Ham thus removing them presumably from any potential manager hit list sitting on Roman’s desk.
So what do we have to look forward to this week then. Hmm. It looks pretty standard fayre to me, a Champions League tie away against Flamenco Footballing Kings, Barcelona on Tuesday, a home tie against our nearest geographic rivals, 'a small team in Fulham’ called... ahem... Fulham, resurgent under Roy Hodgson and vying for a Europa League place themselves next year. Fulham themselves are also one of the biggest party poopers for us recently and managed to get a 2-2 draw at their place with an equaliser right at the death, which amongst many other draws this season, and like last season, have been very costly in the race for the title. This is of course followed by a hum-drum home tie against the Imperious Iberian Emperors of Barcelona again. All in a normal April week for Chelsea these days.
Some facts, gossip and lies with my very own Bullshit Rating alongside where 0 is fact, 1 is possibly true and 5 is a heaving smelly dung pile of utterly rotten putrefying bullshit.
"Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho wants to go back to his former club Chelsea in order to sign midfielder Deco." TGBS Rating 4/5 – Yeah he’ll want him because he was so keen on him when he left Porto wasn’t he? Although in one way I hope it is true and he does take Deco... far far away from us.
"Chelsea have succeeded in their attempts to bring in AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti as their next manager after he agreed to join the Stamford Bridge club." TGBS Rating 1/5 – Despite the fan polls showing him to be highly unpopular it does seem likely Roman favours him heavily despite the apparent language/culture barrier.
"Forward Andriy Shevchenko wants to stay at AC Milan for the long term despite being used mainly as substitute this season after moving back to the San Siro from Chelsea. 'I am reborn and I would like to stay,' the Ukrainian told reporters after scoring twice in a midweek practice game." TGBS rating 1/5 – Good. Stay there. Be reborn as a sub then. Better that than warming our bench and doing the pro-celebrity golf circuit.
"Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko will return to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season because AC Milan will not pay the £9m fee to turn his loan deal permanent." TGBS rating 3/5 – Yeah, just what we need, a striker whose legs have gone.
"The Blues are willing to listen to offers for striker Nicolas Anelka at the end of the season and hope to recoup most of the £15m they spent to sign him from Bolton." TGBS rating 3/5 – Five in, five out says Buck and maybe Nico is one. I like him but there’s no doubt he’s gone off the boil since being overtaken as first choice by Drogba. Most other teams would kill for a striker like Anelka though so this does seem a tad bizarre.
"Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne has emerged as a shock target for Real Madrid." TGBS rating 5/5 – Total and utter bollocks.
"Ashley Cole wants to stay at Chelsea and win more trophies with the Stamford Bridge outfit. The left-back has two years remaining on his current contract, but has been linked with a summer move to Manchester City." TGBS Rating 2/5 – I hope this is true – voted for him as our Player of the Year.
"Chelsea star John Mikel Obi has been banned from driving for 15 months after admitting drinking and driving." TGBS Rating 0/5 – Sadly true, but he won’t be the last young well off man to fall foul of the law. It’s hardly fighting in a nightclub is it?
Here’s to a good week people.
Keep the Blue Flag Flying High!
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60 Comments · Add yours
Nice one, Tony.
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Just to let everyone know that OleOle will be offline from midday (BST). They are moving the whole shebang to a new hosting platform. Expected downtime is 2-3 hours, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's longer.
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Reply to @Aravind (from previous post): "Nick, do you have a twitter account?"
I've had the chelseablog Twitter account for nearly two years, Aravind, but as yet I haven't used it. I intend to soon.
A quick word prior to shutdown...
Marvelous, got a couple of hours 'minding the shop' for a colleague and no ole, so will need to find something productive to do.
This roundup is a good idea but some of these rumours are likely to re-surface more often than Croydon Highways Dept.
I understand why Acelotti's not many peoples first choice, but I can't see why we're so set against him and he'd certainly be my pick in front of most of the names currently mentioned.
Also, cannot see an unproven manager ever getting the job before we get that CL title which is RA's primary target.
Maybe once that's collected he'll go for someone younger with a long term plan.
Afternoon all,
Just before we 'go dark'...
Nice one TG; found all the Lampard / talk radio hoo-ha quite interesting; good to see him give a decent account of himself, although the sad thing is that O'Brien has had himself several days of top-notch publicity as a result, which is a shame.
(Incidentally, one to discuss over a beer, but I thought Kay Burley blew it a little bit as she went on - started well, but then could barely restrain her urge to tell him that "I'm a serious journalist and you're just a ****". Thought he came away from that encounter reasonably well, even if he did get a little too close to losing his rag at times).
@FSTS
Ancelotti just doesn't 'feel' right; we all stand to be corrected, of course but there seem to be more minuses than pluses. Experienced and very Champions League savvy / good at getting the best out of 30-something players which would seem to be useful for us in the short term, but the lack of any ambition to leave Italy at any point during his career is a concern. He may be thinking 'now or never', but it's almost a bigger risk than Scolari in some ways.
Again, the worry is how long will he get to adjust (if he needs time, of course)?
@KJ
Yes, I can see all the negatives, but there aren't any really standout alternatives. e.g., when we got Jose there was also Capello just itching to work in the UK too.
I think Zola and Clarke coming back to the Bridge has been more of a sentimental hope than a practical one over the last few months. In a way, their staying at West Ham is better - let Franco get another few years of experience, probably in Europe, then as usual, we can nick him from them and benefit from the fruits of their labour.
Is anyone else incredibly jittery about tomorrow yet? Our biggest game of the season so far against the best attacking side in Europe this season. I just hope we don't concede an early one like we did to Liverpool. Otherwise, I might need a stiff drink in order to sit the game out!
This is the team I'd play:
My hopeful lineup:
Cech
Ivanovic - Alex - Terry - Bosingwa
Ballack - Essien
Belletti - Lampard - Malouda
Drogba
However frightening the front three are, they're not going to want to track back in order to win the ball, so our best chance is cutting off their supply from the centre from Xavi and Iniesta. I'd prefer Belletti wide in this sort of game over Kalou or Anelka for his ability to help out defensively.
Bosingwa at LB should hopefully be able to manipulate the space that Alves leaves behind when he tries to overlap with Messi to help us have some chances on the break, but I'm unsure if I'd be slightly happier risking him on the right against Henry and leaving Messi to Bane.
Setpieces will be crucial for us, particularly corners, as they were at Anfield, hence all our big headers: Drogba, Terry, Alex, Ivanovic, Ballack...
While I was tempted to stick Essien on the right and put Mikel in the centre, I realise our best chance is actually to get at them rather than try and contain them, as we are more likely to bust through than Lyon or Bayern were. A 2-2 draw would be an excellent result to take home.
If they knock us out, then I'd love them to win the final. I couldn't stand United winning it again, or the Arse becoming the first London club to get it. That honour has to go to us.
Reply to fansincethesixties:
Very true - and I think this is the problem; Mourinho was the right man at the right time when he came here, but there doesn't seem to be that kind of option around now - the concern is that we're going to fall into the 'well, he's very experienced' trap rather than going for the 'he could be one of the best in 3-4 years' option.
Difficult decision for the club, ultimately; with the number of well-funded teams that could potentially take 4th place, the worry must be that dropping out of that top 4 bracket for a year (or possibly more) to rebuild could cost us dearly in the longer term.
Reply to Peregrine:
It's interesting that we've got quite a settled side now - there are only one or two positions that would prompt any real debate these days.
Reply to KaiserJonny_II:
Yes, and not just financially.
There's so much competition for top players that not being in CL makes it difficult to get or keep the sort of talent that we need.
One difference now is that Scolari's do it my way stuff probably won't be tolerated again so if we can continue improving then the next manager will have something to build on and continue with.
So we might already have started our investment in the future.
Reply to Peregrine:
Oddly unjittery, maybe because I never expected us to get this far this year.
As for the new coach........I'm firmly in the young, hungry and willing to be a long term option camp.
Reply to ChelseaTony:
Probably got another 24 hrs before any jitteriness sets in. Even then, it'll probably be decided at the Bridge.
With you on that Tony. Long term is crucial now, but I agree with fansincethesixties that Roman's focus is so on the Champs Lge it might take winning it before he does the several year re-build scheme with a young manager.
I am bullish in public about tomorrow night because up here I'm getting a pretty constant stream of put downs. You know the sort of thing: smiling colleagues rubbing their hands with expectancy as they remind me that Messi will score at least twice. Northerners. Pah! They can't wait for us to get beat. Mostly Blades with a fair smattering of plastic Mancs...odd that Sheffield and Leeds, both Yorkshire cities, should have so many. I cheerfully remind them that, as with spiders, we probably frighten the Catalonians more than they frighten us. Which I sort of actually believe. I do have the jitters though and will have to find some mantras to repeat to keep myself calm throughout tomorrow. Keeping it all in proportion is a kind of mental tactic I try to employ. Never works though...once the game starts I'll be a mess. Now, repeat after me: It's only a game/it's only a game/it's only a game...see what I mean?
Just reread the email from OleOle. Site's not going offline until 12 A.M. I read it as 12 P.M. D'oh!
Yes, jittery. I quite like Peregrine's line-up. Belletti's looked pretty good in midfield in several games this season. Also, I'm sure he'd like to play against his former club. I used to have small bets on players returning to former clubs and scoring against them. Might have a £5 on Belletti if he starts (a screamer in the 92nd minute would be nice, as long as we're not 4-0 down by then).
Reply to chelseablog:
Almost complained that they were taking us down during the day but figured I'd only sound like a grumpy old football manager...
Apropos of nothing really.....Omid Djalili performed in Beirut last Friday night. He got around to football and how he was an obsessive fan and as I was near the front and knowing he's a Chelsea fan, I shouted out "Chelsea!!". He smiled and said that, yes, he was a Chelsea fan at which point there was an astonishingly large chorus of boos from the 2,000 or so strong crowd.
He told them to fuck off in no uncertain terms, but I was really surprised at the vitriol from some of the crowd, mostly Man U & Pool fans judging by the catcalls. It wasn't even good-natured heckling but downright abuse. Shocking.
As one of only 3 Chelsea fans here (that I know of!), it's nice to know that becoming a red fan wherever you are must automatically induce a state of what is best known on this blog as the copyrighted "utter cuntery".
anyone seen this? Link from the telegraph of all places!
LINK3516816%7C%7C1%7C%7C|o|1|4
very furny - i love lamps a lot more now - good old boy - he has wound them up so much.
Never seen the word c**t used so much on one page before! lol
Reply to Dezmond:
methinks that a UC score of at least 8.5/10 is required before an application for membership can be considered.
Sounds like they stick to those criteria wherever you are.
Jittery? In Norwich, today of all days?
No chance, it's like working in a ready-made jelly factory with all the wobbling I'm having to put up with.
The poor bird in occupational health is bricking it at the prospect of the Canaries fluffing it tonight, she'll be inundated with grown men crying like babies in the morning.
I get stared at in funny ways if I even mention the 'quandry' of facing Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final. That's not real football in these parts apparently. None of the City fans seem to see the hilarious irony in the fact they lent a striker to their main rivals for relegation - he scored the goals that got Barnsley 4 points this season and he's now back at Carrow Road ready to 'rescue' Norwich.
Glenn Roeder has a lot to answer for. If NCFC go down, he'll be a marked man more than ever.....
Reply to Fiftee:
One of my mates is going to that tonight too. He told me he's not been this nervous in years.
I really hope they get the win, not only because he's a decent bloke and incredibly passionate about his club (like all City fans), but because it's against Reading who I still haven't forgiven for crocking the best keeper in the league and consequently wrecking our title bid.
Now that Wolves are definitely up, I'd like to like to see Sheffield United and Cardiff join them. A Welsh team in the Prem would provide something different from the usual Lancashire/London/Birmingham games, while the Blades obviously have some unfinished business with West Ham...
Reply to Fiftee:
Afternoon Fiftee
Shall also be rooting for the Canaries tonight; have a good mate who is a long-suffering but extremely dedicated fan - been to a few away games with him and they're a top set of of fans; odd to go into a London pub with a group of away fans and have the landlord come and tell them they'd be welcome back any time. Went to the play-off final against Birmingham a few years back - terrific atmosphere.
Add to the fact it's Reading and Stephen *unt they're playing - bring it on...
I realise I'm clearly alone in having Reading sympathies on this site, due to having many mates among their fans. I grew up in the Thames Valley not far from there, in Nick Hornby territory. My story is quite similar to his, only with our respective dad's taking us to different teams to set the lifelong support in motion. Though I have never forgiven Stephen Hunt who seems unrepentant to this day, and who definitely did direct his knee into Petr's head. But I'd prefer Blades to go up, because I've got a few of their supporters up here now cheering us on as what they call their Sky team, and this city - being the historic home of football (Fifa recognise the old Sheffield FC as the first ever official club) - needs a Prem club.
Just a few points:
Really like Peregrine's team. Have rated Belletti for a long time and he might have a score to settle with Barca. Like the thought of having Frank marauding up behind Drogs with Essien and the Kaiser behind him.
I really feel it will come down to whether cunning old Guus will outwit Guardiola. If we get the away goal we will go through.
And NO! not Ancelotti! He is now an established loser since AC let the Hubcaps in from 3-0 down.
Maybe Roman can get the Mafia to provide the Russian FA with an offer they can't refuse?
Reply to ChelseaTony:
I'm firmly in that camp as well. We were most successful when we hired a young tyro that punched above his weight. Man Yoo have had tons of success by hiring... a young tyro that punched above his weight. Arsene wasn't big time either before coming to Arsenal.
What I worry about is a Scolari/Wendy Ramos redux- where the "right" manager qualifications wise just doesn't fit into the team.
Oh, and we need to buy Gourcuff this summer.
Another vote for the "young and hungry" camp, though I feel my vote is as likely to influence the outcome as was that of a supporter of Mr Tsvangirai.
I'm entirely relaxed about tomorrow. Beating Barca would be great, losing would spare us the grimness of an (admittedly winnable) final against an English team. And as with Tony I think we've already done well in this competition. When we were drawn against Juve I believe I was far from the only one here thinking that we were unlikely to get past them.
What does make it interesting is that for once we are clear underdogs. It's almost like the old days, when you never really expected Chelsea to win any given game.
Can't wait for tomorrow's game. Have been watching a lot of Barca this year, I live in Spain, and they have been unstoppable, but they have been playing some 'caca' teams. Messi is the one to watch, if Bosingwa and Essien can sort him out then maybe Chelsea could get away with a draw, but it's gonna be a tough titty. I'm hoping for a 2 v 2 draw. Bring it on.
I'm shitting my pants. I really want to win this one, meet the mancs in the final and do them after last year. JT to score the winner in the 90th min from a penalty. Would be beautiful.
I'm really enjoying the way all the media are talking about is Messi vs Bosingwa.
They're forgetting about Drogba, Lampard etc, the threat we pose, the threat Bosingwa could pose down the left with Malouda etc. etc. Absolutely no pressure on any of our players.
Only problem is I wish they would talk more about Barca's other threats, of which there are many.
Clearly tonight we need Ivanovic to be strong on Henry. I think we should be OK on this one, Ivanovic is strong and quick and can do a good job.
JT & Alex on the other hand are a worry against Eto'o with his trickery and pace.
As the Championship reaper hovers the hammer over the final nail of the Norwich City coffin, today will not be a good one.
Not only will I be doing my best Florence Nightingale nursemaid (albeit not in uniform) impression to attend to the wounded Canary soldiers, I can't watch the Blues tonight as it's my last footy match of the season. Playing at a ground where they dont even have running water, so any sort of live football on TV is clearly out of the question....
Surprisingly for me (being #1 pessimist) I'm quietly confident that come what may tonight, we'll progress. I think we'll lose tonight, but only by the odd goal, so I'd take a 2-1 or 3-2.
Reply to Fiftee:
My mate's comment this morning was 'whatever will be will be, we're going to Shrewsbury...'
Love the gallows humour of football fans.
*paaaarp*
Nerves kicking in nicely already....
Reply to Fiftee:
I would challenge your #1 Pessimist slot but all I can see is black.....black.
I see a red door and I want to paint it black.
Pessimistic enough for that slot?
I too think we'll lose but not by more than the odd goal.
Reply to ChelseaTony:
None more black.
Black turned up to 11, if you will.
Smell the (goalkeeper's) glove.
It's going to be one of those days, isn't it?
Reply to KaiserJonny_II:
Brilliantly, some of the fans here are happy that they have a good chance of a trip to Wembley now. In the Johnstones Paint Trophy......
Current NCFC fan status - realistic. They dont even think they'll bounce straight back. Half the playing squad are loan players (including our own Ryan Bertrand) while the better players will be sold to raise money that wont get spent on new players. It'll take them a season or two to get back, but they'll be back.
Nice!! Loved it!!!
I can't remember being this relaxed about a big European game, ever.
Maybe it's the lowered expectations of Big Phils time, or perhaps it's the knowledge that there is a cup final in this season, come what may.
It may also have something to do with being brought back to earth more recently by the Tots and Toffees.
Whatever the reason, I'm looking forward to a great game of football in the tradition of real European matches: contrasting styles, willingness to go for it, and some of the best players in the world on show.
Make no mistake, we can beat them in Spain, just as surely as they can come back and give us a hard time in the return.
Although the hype surrounding these matches is often a contributing factor to their disappointment, this one feels different.
The sheer number of excellent players and depth of tactical awareness must surely deliver something special, whether it be fast, slow, end to end, or the proverbial chess match, it's what we've waited almost a year for.
Let's break out of the lethargic state we were in pre-scousers. I said then we should be more upbeat and so it proved.
Come on the Chels!
Off topic, looks like I've scooped a seat in the posh box for Fulham on Saturday which given my record from the comfy seats means a guaranteed away win. Head down the bookies now!
Following Tonys introdustion to this newsletter I was wondering last night, while watching Newhassle descend even further into the smelly stuff, what's the difference between being a fan and being a supporter?
Most people around these parts 'support' Crystal Palace. We don't all go round in their livery or even attend many games, but we wish them well and hope to see them succeed, i.e., we support them and their efforts.
If the word fan comes from fanatic, presumably you can only be a fan of one club, and most of us in South Croydon also have one such club too.
Going back to Tony's intro, I can remember 'supporting' Kevin Keegans badgers in their efforts to take the title ahead of SurAlF.
There was also a match when every right minded footy fan in London 'supported' Arsenal and their two goal triumph at Anfield which effectively halted the Poo dominance of domestic football, although they did manage one more title, their day was over.
I can also recall Tommy Docherty's United with some affection, as an ex Chelsea manager and with an attacking style that left everyone with a chance of beating them, they were always worth a watch.
This is one area where Chelsea is quite unique among the top flight.
We really do hold our past players and managers in high regard even when they take the field against us.
Unlike the sad b'stards we played these last two Saturdays.
@TG
"I see a red door and I want to paint it black."
Ah yes, but is the finish to be
1. Matt - absorbing all light, all hope, just dull
2. Silk - a smooth silky finish, pleasing on the eye
3. Gloss - Reflecting the light, in fact everything is glossy and shiny and bouncy.
Well done to yourself and Nick for your reportage and commentary.
Slightly shocked that the Chelsea Weekly Times should have been issued on a weekly basis, far too disciplined (must be the Guus effect).
On the managerial debate, Sid Lowe has written a couple of things in the Guardian about Guardiola's success and contrasts his attitude with the inability of Rijkaard to instill discipline in the dressing room to the frustration of players like E'to. Bearing in mind our recent problems regarding training regimes etc. that's a worry if he was to come.
Reply to BlueBayou:
My feeling for tonight is
2. Silk
The CWT actually being weekly at the moment is luck more than judgement. There's time for the old Chelsea inconsistency to turn up there as well.
I think on the coach front, you'd find any number of players in any squad unhappy with the boss. Joe Cole was allegedly pretty pissed of with TSO, as was Ashley Cole with being ordered to be purely defensive. If I recall, Van Nistelrooy wasn't over complimentary on Sir Purplenose on leaving either. I just think that as long as he has learnt lessons from it then it won't do him amy harm. What is they say? Those who never fail never do anything?
Errr......phew. Just 45 to go then.
Just how attractive is 0-0 looking now then?
Well that was close! Don't now how much more of this my old ticker can take. What was wrong with Frank???
Reply to ChelseaTony:
As attractive as you Tony, err that came out wrong. :-)
It was a good game ...Messi was invisible what was great ...we limited their attack ...Alex...i thought he was useless piece of fat, but I was wrong. Strong and sacrifices himself for the team
...Same for our whole defense who looked very solid, made few mistakes but really ...tactically, we were better ...
Malouda was good, and in couple matches before, but I still think he should leave...!
If we fix some mistakes that happened today (Cech, although he had a good match , made some mistakes, sometimes defence didn't concentrate and we need to be a little bit more secure upfront) ...Barcelona will be invisible.
Guardiola has a great team, but he is not a great manager. Yet. We have a great team, and a great manager!
KTBFFH
A few thoughts.
1) ITV is shite -- and this time because frankly they were pathetically one-eyed in our favour. We did extremely well, but in precisely the same way that Hull did extremely well against us when they drew 0-0 at the Bridge. We couldn't keep the ball for more than a few seconds, we came purely to defend, and Bosingwa's tug on Henry was an absolutely clear penalty. ITV seem to have orders to crawl up the bottoms of the English teams no matter what happens.
2) Ivanovic -- along with Essien, a player we should be building our future around. Nerveless, errorless, brilliant.
3) Hiddink -- clever fellow. All the stuff about how "we have to go there and try to score" was just what the meejah expected, and of course nothing to do with how he organised the team. Mourinho-like in the clarity of his tactical understanding and his ability to get the whole team to play according to the desired system.
4) Bosingwa vs Messi -- total non-event. Messi just looked like a good winger, and Bosingwa looked entirely happy and professional.
5) I still think Barca are favourites. We can't play like that at the Bridge, so they're going to score, and you'd have to guess they'll probably score at least as many times as we will. But an excellent result and a terrific performance from a lot of players (Cech, JT, Ivanovic, Essien, Drogba for his constan
Reply to limetreebower:
1.) Agreed but not for those reasons. I thought they were almost at premature ejaculation stage over how wonderful Barcelona's football was and it was only when it was looking more and more likely that we would groind out a 0-0 draw theat they started to change their tune. No, the biggest failing was Plankton Brain Ryder's anodyne shite, Townsends face looking like he'd licked a Bulldogs arse with the runs. Bolo was OK though. No post match reaction from Hiddink......of course not, the news of 2 Scottish people with flu is far more important......
2.) Agreed, utterly magnificent. Big pals with Vidic and something tells me they are from the same footie school. Simple men, focused on one job and doing it relentlessly.
3.) A text from me to KJ_II mentioned it being Mourinho-esque which is a massive compliment. I never thought for one minute we'd go for it unless we conceded.
4.) Bosingwa looked a bit bewildered in the first half but tracked him well in the second. I think Ashley will enjoy playing him like he does against Ronaldo.
5.) Agreed. it was a bit of an injustice tonight if we're honest. Barca had 70.5% of possession over the whole match and 10 shots on target to our two, but hey, I'll take that luck. More Allardyces Bolton than Hull for me, but I'll happily take that and it does at least show a willingness to use whatever ztyle or tactic is required. Something we got used to under Mourinho.
6.) Alves. What a cheating playing acting cunt of the highest order. How the fuck did he stay on the pitch waving cards around and crying like a fucking baby when losing the ball. Cunt is actually too good a word for him.
7.) Ancelotti has categorically stated tonight that he will be with AC Milan next year.
LINK
8.) Roll on next week. A different game altogether.
That was too stressful
Just read back my comments - it sounds like I'm being a bit disingenuous and wasn't actually meant to sound like that.
On another night I think Barca might have got a couple, had they put their shooting boots on. But it may have been in the mould of a George Graham side, but it was still magnificent rearguard display from us, with Cech also being in superb form tonight.
The only below par performances for me were from Lampard who was strangely subdued and Drogba who should have scored and didn't seem able to hold the ball up like normal or hassle the defence like we all know he can.
Oh, and Iniesta looks the bollocks doesnt he?
Reply to Clive:
I always knew you cared really.
I agree with you guys... Ivanovic is ,together with Essien and I would say John Obi MIkel are players who have great future!
And of course...Dani Alves is one big cheat and a great actor...
Just for an information... Ivanovic played for OFK Belgrade and Vidic for Red Star :)...both of them played in Russia, so they are from similiar ''schools'', but not same :) .
A fucking magnificent performance; Barca were rattled, no question. Get them on a smaller pitch with their creaky defence and add the fact that they are very jittery without the ball, I think we'll take them next week - they didn't enjoy tonight at all.
Cech, Ivanovic and Malouda deserve a mention in dispatches but they all did well tonight. Lampard was 'quiet' but ran his legs off for the cause and helped restrict Xavi and Iniesta. Terrific stuff.
And Barca really are a bunch of fucking tarts - moan, whine, whinge, book him, don't book me and so on. We can intimidate them into submission next week - cunts.
Reply to KaiserJonny_II:
Precisely, but Alves was the worst of them. An utter cunt to be exact.
Reply to ChelseaTony:
I think you'll find the expression is 'utter cuntery'
And I claim my royalty payment... :-)
Shower of shit the lot of 'em - we can beat them mentally inside of 20 minutes next week, no question. Rarely I am this bullish, but I'd stake hard cash on us beating them.
Reply to KaiserJonny_II:
I am certainly more upbeat about next week. We have a superb home record in Europe, and yes the smaller pitch will help us. As will the closeness of our crowd in comparison to the Nou Camp Cavern. I'm not there next week but I reckon we can create the same sort of 'hothouse' claustrophobic atmosphere like we did in that famous 4-2 win.
Yep, their 'galacticos' were rattled, but good pro's can rally and learn. However, the doubts in their minds must loom larger than any we might have. This is why playing European teams is the real measure of quality in Europe.
I applaud your bullishness squire.
Just got home from the game. Couldn't see much up in the clouds, but I was severely annoyed at how many fouls we had against us. Alves should have been sent of, and we probably should have lost 2-1, but 0-0 was hard earned in nearly every area of the pitch. Our right wing was strangely absent all game, but no matter, I suppose.
You'll all be pleased to know that no matter how much the home crowd sang, the away fans were always singing as well. We exchanged various hand gestures of greeting and affection with a few gentlemen a few rows below the away cage, and generally enjoyed ourselves. We even sang through most of our personal 45 minute extra time, when the Barcelona security kept us locked away while the other fans filed out. We bounced a bit, and there was a small fight, but everyone when home in a good mood.
From the Desk of a concerned Doctor Bayou
Medical fact: Barca are easier to stop than the spread of Swine fever. And who’d have predicted that?
Who’d have thought it, but come back from your honeymoon with a bit of a cold and you get another week in bed at the taxpayers expense and your picture in the papers. Contract a serious bacterial infection in one of our own hospitals and you die without troubling the photographer.
But I digress…….
The plus points
We didn’t concede.
Malouda has got the beating of Alves.
They may have other defensive problems for the return, with Marquez injured and Puyol out (who should have had a second yellow).
Boswinga got away with the tug on Henry in the box – we finished with 11 on the pitch (is that the first time ever?).
Hiddink appears to be quite able tactically for a Dutch bloke.
We can’t piss away a 2 goal lead.
The downside
We didn’t get an away goal
I can’t believe they will be any less threatening at the Bridge.
Alex and Ballack on yellows will miss the final with one more card.
We didn’t use the ball at all well when we broke up the play.
Can we really hold out for another 90 minutes?
Can we take penalties?
Can Cech really save penalties?
My old mate Danny Baker still wont give us any credit
Reasons why Sid Lowe is always worth reading .
“Guardiola's method is characterised by the asphyxiating pressure on the opposition. The whole team push forward, chasing every ball in packs......The pressure begins with the forwards. This team is built from the front. Henry, Messi and Eto'o have all committed more fouls than centre-backs Márquez and Carles Puyol. "Our defenders are our attackers," says Alves. "Pressure is the key." The benefits are not just defensive. "The closer we are to the opposition's goal when we win the ball, the easier to score. There's less distance to cover, fewer players to beat and normally the other team's out of position," Alves explains.
The thing that impressed me most about Barca is the speed of the press and how high up the pitch they play it. Although it was irritating, Hiddink had obviously dictated that we didn’t play the ball around in our own half. When we did it invariably gave them chances. Hence the constant back passes to Cech.
I was disappointed how often we lost the ball but equally impressed at how well Barca seem to get a foot in, particularly in one on one situations, Malouda on Alves being the exception. I suppose with their minds so set on keeping shape and defending in depth we lost any chance of playing our own game but there were numerous occasions when we gave the ball up too easily or misplaced the pass.
Of course we’ll gat a slagging for being the death of football, whereasw hen Manure or ‘Poo do this in Europe it’s just tactical brilliance. But I think Italians will be nodding in quiet appreciation.
So while the defensive work was great and the pundits will say there is more to come from Barca, I think the same could be said of us.
“He should have gone to Specsavers” moment.
Not the Henry penalty shout, he was always going down. It’s the Alex booking. Yes he was stretching across Messi, but he made contact with the ball. I believe this was called tackling in the old days.
Reply to BlueBayou:
Just testing one of these and noticed that I'd kinda repeated your Henry going down words.
Still trying to get this /images/smile_confused.gif to work
And again //www.oleole.com/images/smile_confused.gif
and
maybe :D