FA Cup Final review: Chelsea 1 - 0 Manchester United
Match reports
The Observer, Amy Lawrence: “After 116 minutes of uptight football, Chelsea delivered the FA Cup from the probability of its third consecutive penalty shoot-out. Didier Drogba, having lost out to Cristiano Ronaldo in the personal awards despite an exceptional personal campaign, stole the glory with a typically resilient example of the predator’s arts. A shrewd one-two with Frank Lampard befuddled his marker Rio Ferdinand, and the Ivorian pounced to flick home his 33rd successful strike of the season.”
Sunday Times, Joe Lovejoy: “The occasion apart, the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley will not linger long in the memory of the vast majority of its global audience, but for Chelsea aesthetic considerations are of secondary importance to their completion of a knockout double and their delight in denying United the classic League and Cup one. Undistinguished and unremarkable over 90 minutes, the final only took off in extra-time, when Ryan Giggs had a goal correctly disallowed for a foul on Petr Cech, and Didier Drogba won it for Chelsea by lifting the ball expertly over Edwin van der Sar after a neat exchange of passes with Frank Lampard.”
Sunday Telegraph, Roy Collins: “No dream final, just a dream finish, at least for the followers of Chelsea, who took 116 minutes to produce the one coherent piece of football that turned out to be all that was needed to deliver the 126th FA Cup on the day the old trophy finally returned to its spiritual Wembley home.”
Independent on Sunday, Steve Tongue: “Both teams had limped to the starting line after their exertions in chasing at least three trophies, and it showed. Cristiano Ronaldo failed to live up to the billing by the nation’s football writers and his peers as the outstanding footballer of the year; Wayne Rooney plugged away industriously, but overall defenders and the two goalkeepers, plus Drogba, could be proudest of their afternoon’s work.”
Official Chelsea FC Website, Neil Barnett: “We are the domestic Cup kings.”
The good
- The performance. Who cares if the game didn’t befit the occasion? Not me, that’s for sure. I would watch blue paint dry for 120 minutes if it resulted in John Terry lifting the FA Cup. Jose Mourinho got his tactics spot on and Alex Ferguson did very little to counter them. Perhaps Manchester United’s players were tired, but so were we. We negated any tiredness by controlling the game; we played efficiently at our own pace and nullified United’s trademark high tempo, something we’re very good at under Mourinho, whose job is to win trophies not build a team to entertain the masses. United didn’t press or have any of their usual zip and only the likes of Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, and Nemanja Vidic showed anything like passion; the remainder were listless. Ferguson was out thought and his team out battled by a fitter side with a winning, never-say-die mentality and great spirit.
- Didier Drogba. Fought another impressive lone battle up front. It was fitting that he scored the winner, his 33rd of the season and first against United, after such a magnificent campaign. Without him it’s pretty obvious we would have ended the season with nothing.
- Paulo Ferreira and Wayne Bridge. Ably supported by Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joe Cole and, yes, Arjen Robben, they effectively marked both United’s wingers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs, out of the game. In recent weeks Ferreira has rediscovered the form that helped us win two Premiership titles. He had a couple of iffy moments in this game but for the most part was superb. I stand by my belief that Bridge is a slightly better left-back than Ashley Cole, and he fully deserved to play in the Final after the season he’s had. We are fortunate to have two of England’s best left-backs in the squad.
- Petr Cech. Another commanding and brave display of goalkeeping. Stopped Rooney ruining our day on more than one occasion. Lifting the Cup was great reward for his tumultuous early season.
- John Obi Mikel. Another class, dominant performance in midfield. A few attempted killer passes went astray, but when he nails this aspect of his game he’s going to be a Chelsea legend.
- The remainder of the team. Not a single player had a bad game. Michael Essien was given a tough time by Rooney but coped admirably. Robben injected some much-needed pace and trickery into the game before Wes Brown tried to break his ankle. Even after that he was good in attack and defence. We also saw why Salomon Kalou needs to be used as a substitute for the foreseeable future.
- The roar fans gave Mourinho as he lifted the Cup. It brought tears to my eyes.
- We made history as the last team to win the FA Cup at the old Wembley Stadium in 2000, and the first to win it at the swanky new Wembley in 2007. We also became only the third team to win the domestic Cup double after Arsenal in 1993 and Liverpool in 2001.
The bad
- One hundred and twenty minutes of disparaging and snide remarks about the game from the BBC’s John Motson and Mark Lawrenson. I’m not sure what they and everybody else who has complained about the game being a “dreadful advert for English football” were expecting. The pomp of the day seemed to go to everybody’s heads. Pull them out of your arses and realise that Mourinho pulled a tactical master stroke with a group of exhausted players. And then imagine what the Champions League final would have been like in four days’ time if the two teams had won their respective semi-finals.
- It’s a shame Alex Ferguson and his yes-man Carlos Queiroz had to deflect attention away from their tactical shortcomings by complaining about the lack of a (very dubious) penalty for Ryan Giggs, and blame Mourinho for putting pressure on referee Steve Bennett (who had a good game). Sour grapes.
Men of the Match
Petr Cech, John Obi Mikel, and Didier Drogba.
Final thoughts
An eventful and exciting season is over. Whether it was successful is a matter of opinion. I believe, under the circumstances, that it was. The reported in-fighting and injuries to key players clearly hindered Mourinho’s efforts to win the Premiership and Champions League, yet he managed to fight till the very end in both competitions. Along the way he delivered the League and FA Cup double. The FA Cup completed his haul of domestic honours, taking his tally to six trophies in three years at Stamford Bridge.
What next? It’s clear Mourinho is staying, as are Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, and according to chief executive Peter Kenyon there will be no additional big-name signings. However at least three players will be brought in - a defender, midfielder, and striker - and three or four will leave. Bolton defender Tal Ben Haim is said to be on Mourinho’s radar, while Alex is set to sign from PSV Eindhoven. Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell is expected to sign on a free transfer in the coming days, and Blackburn’s Benni McCarthy, who played for Mourinho at Porto, is rumoured to be one of the prospective new strikers.
A summer of ridiculous transfer and contract speculation lies ahead. Kenyon’s assurances that John Terry and Frank Lampard’s contracts will be sorted as soon as possible will make little difference. The newspapers will print fictitious nonsense and we’ll lap it up and discuss it ad infinitum. What else is there for a football fan to do all summer?
The 2006/07 season will go down as one of the best ever. No-one in their right mind can claim that Chelsea were boring. Mourinho worked minor miracles and winning the FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium will ensure his efforts aren’t forgotten any time soon.
Keep the Blue flag flying high.
Related links
- Drogba puts gloss finish on dull final
- Why Didier deserves his place with the Cup greats
- World-class striker caps a hero’s season
- Reaction: Tired but history made at Wembley
- Chelsea’s priority is securing stars
- A dark age game for our bright new home
- Mourinho the pragmatist left to savour the joy of six
- Peerless Drogba has the first and final say
- Drogba’s inspiring words followed by performance to match
- Mourinho tactics designed to deliver
Sidwell agrees to join · Update
Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell has agreed to join Chelsea on a free transfer after his Royals contract expires on 1st July.
- Posted at 12:54 AM · Permalink · Print · 5402 views · Last indexed by Google on the 11th May 2008
- Tags: Alex Ferguson, Andriy Shevchenko, Arjen Robben, Ashley Cole, Carlo Cudicini, Champions League, Chelsea, Claude Makelele, Didier Drogba, FA Cup, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, John Terry, Jon Obi Mikel, Jose Mourinho, Lassana Diarra, Manchester United, Michael Essien, Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes, Paulo Ferreira, Peter Kenyon, Petr Cech, Premiership, Roman Abramovich, Ryan Giggs, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stamford Bridge, Wayne Bridge, Wayne Rooney, Wembley
[...] Already covered the Chelsea-United final and done the man utd review, so go read that. For a Chelsea perspective, read chelseablog’s review. [...]
Pretty much agree with everything you say Nick, although it’s a bit rich to moan about SAF and Queeros having sour grapes; TSO hardly leads by example in the losing graciously stakes.
Mark,
It is true that TSO is a bitter looser which is mentioned all over in each rear occasion. Now it is Fergie who is crying out loud, so why not to mention it?
Well Done Chelsea !!! We beat Arse-anal and manure in two finals!! Well done!!!!
Spot on as ever Nick.
As bad points go, I counter-acted number 1 by watching the game on the Murdoch network, I think they hate Chelsea ever so slightly less than the Beeb, although you can pick the bones between our allies being SWP’s Dad or Lamp’s cousin……..
I also managed to predict everyone’s favourite wino having a moan about Jose’s pre-match referee comment - not really rocket science.
All in all, just immensely proud. The so called wonder-boy of football hardly got a kick (is it me, or does he never perform on the big occasion - against us, or Milan etc;).
We beat Man USA. In the FA Cup final - that in itself is brilliant, but what really does it for me is that no-one will ever, ever win the last one at the old Wembley, and the first one at new Wembley, well not until I’m 6ft under.
I can’t and wont fault anyone for their performances as, well, we won the cup. What I will say is that I think we’ve seen Makelele’s last Chelsea game - Mikel must have won that position for himself now - 19 years old ?? Surely another fake African passport story is just around the corner…….
The traditional swell of ludicrous transfer stories is almost upon us (Alex, Claudio Pizarro and Sidwell already today). Saturday proved we’re criminally short of a further out-and-out striker, which is still the case even with Sheva (I’d take Pizarro from Bayern, he’s a bit like Berbatov). We also need another CB, althought the signing of Alex seems to be more when than if.
Finally credit to the NOTW journalist who made me laugh yesterday morning so much, I choked on my brekky - PSV will pay us £8.5m for Boulahrouz !!!!!!!
I was really annoyed at some of the remarks from John Motson and Mark Lawrenson. Although some of them were so stupid I could only laugh. Especially when Lawrenson, before half time, claimed that there was nothing tactical Mourinho could do. But on the other hand Ferguson could make the great tactical move of putting Ronaldo on the left and Giggs on the right…..hmmm not the most brilliant and original idea.
Not listened to a Motty commentary since the WC final in 2002 - he’s been sh*te for years now; Lawrenson thinks he’s a comedian but is about as funny as a burning orphanage.
Think my hangover has almost gone…
Well chuffed after that. Brilliant tactical performance, technically superb, great goal and, I thought anyway, a much better game generally than the coverage suggests, at least for the second half onwards.
Not quite up there with 97, but almost.
Can’t wait for next season!
I have read most of the comments in the news, and I believe the heat has affected most of the Journalists and opinion makers in England, I’m righting from Germany. Most of the pundits are unanimous, the game was boring and Chelsea is the one to blame for it because they just wan. They go on and on, like TSO and Chelsea were just interested on the victory rather then in a good display. How naïf or better delusion can these people be??? Does any one here know any Man-U fan that would prefer a better display than a victory? If yes, he must be short from killing him self, because they played pretty boring and still lost the game. So why give such an hard time to Chelsea? Just get over ittttttttttt. To be fair, both teams were exhausted….but the pundits only mention Chelsea…, there is two teams needed to play a Game …or??! About if it was a good season, you just have to make the account:
2 Cups + Semi-finals on CL + 2. on the PL, disputing it until the end.= Wonderful season
another day`s tabloids, another day`s complaints from Fergie and co about how “they were robbed of the goal that would`ve won the match” and how they were “robbed of a penalty”. for crying out loud!! it was NO WAY a goal, in my books it`s called “so desperate to get a goal of any sort that you`re willing to actually push the ball back over the line while it`s still in the goalie`s hands”. well done Cech for standing your ground! penalty? ha! someone`s having a laugh! what about Vidic`s obstruction on Drogba then Fergie? sorry?..what was that?..oh, right, no-one noticed that..WELL I BLOODY DID!!! at the end of the day, everyone at man u-re has got their heads shoved that far up their own backsides that they`re starting to believe their own hype. Ferdinand has been named man of the match in one newspaper today, God, how that one made me laugh!! he was crap! wonder boy Rooney, every shot/attempt at goal was offside, again crap!! Ronaldo..where do i start? how the hell did he win player of the year over Drogba? thery`re not even in the same league!! i mean, where was he on saturday? a few (usual, boring) fancy ball tricks and that was it, non-existent for the rest of the day. suprised he didn`t try for one of his trademark penalties actually, that IS something he`s good at!! great diving ability… you and your golden boys need to realise Sir Alex, you`re not actually that good, get over yourselves. you were beaten by a better team, get over it. oh, and hang onto that prem title while you can..it`ll be blue again next year..
After retirement from football Sir Alex should consider manage a school of divers….would be a successful one in did :-)
United were as much to blame for the tempo of the game as us. They packed the midfield with Scholes, Fletcher and Carrick on each other’s toes and only had one up front. We actually tried to use our wingers more than they did.
United still haven’t taken the game to us in three seasons - like Arsenal, they bang on about playing the ‘right way’ but can’t bring themselves to do it when it’s crunch time. Meanwhile, we’ve blitzed ‘em twice - something that everybody seems to have forgotten, surprise surprise.
Chelsea were brilliant!
Ronaldo should take up the job of a diver he’s rubbish at footy. I hope Mourinho doesn’t leave he’s a legend! We’ll win it again next season! Hurray! Chelsea are immense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
any comments on sidwell signing? usefull back up when we lose essien and mikel to African nations?
we need rplcment for Drogs, but spending 45 mil on villa - i dont think is the answer…
The best way to avoid the ridiculous commentary is to complete reduce the volume. I watched from 4′ to 116′ with only my brothers as commentators. I miss the crowd noise but sometimes things just have to done. I would love a game with no commentary. Honestly, how many of us actually have to be told what is happening? I have to believe that most of us would have noticed the Drogba winner even without the help of an announcer. and yet, the commentary of Essien over Arsenal gives me goosebumps every time. Ah, what a quandry.
Billy, Sidwell could well see significant time before the ANC. He played very well this year and seems to be quite versatile.
I like the fact that Sidwell was part of a reading team that had the highest efficiency by far of premiership teams in converting their chances for goals. That bodes well considering that he will presumably get a lot more chances now considering the difference in quality between his old and new team. Also I think that would address one of the more frustrating aspects of the season in that Chelsea seemed to squander quite a few chances in many games this year…
vik - Sidwell only scored 4 goals last season. Also I don’t think we squander too many chances - we simply don’t make enough chances.
It’s difficult to criticise the signing of Sidwell: 24 years old, quality player, free transfer.
It also seems likely that Maka will seek a new challenge, so Sidwell certainly won’t be surplus to requirements.
The era of fantasy football-like signings is over. It’s all about tweaking and nurturing talent these days.
Finding a quality striker is likely to prove more difficult.
Chelsea are bloody immense! They rule! Lampard! Drogba!
Classic boring game - but what does anybody expect from Chelski and the special one’s “they shall not score , even if its crap to watch”. As to watching blue paint dry - I guess your used to it.
£38 million nett, this season alone, for a piece of tin and (admittedly) a piece of silver.
Don’t think we’ll be seeing “Sir Jose” any time soon.
Never mind Wembley - when will you do the treble?
4 days for the first real bitterness to appear. Not bad I suppose…
Did anybody realise how effective Lamps is when the system is right for him? Hope JM goes back to 433 for good, that’s what made us be what we’re.
By the way, Carlsberg is my drink tonight, I think a scousers victory is our victory to. wish you all a good summer.
The next idiot that says we should be more exciting for 500 million should be strung up. For 500 million I expect an incredible season in which we compete until the last month for the quad. If you don’t like the manner in which it is achieved go watch the Gooners play some exciting 4th place football. For 500 million, I’ll take the wins, thanks.
“Boring†is the cry of the spoiled. Take the wins and thank the Lord that you weren’t born a Charlton supporter.
I know I posted this below but I thought I would reiterate it. We complain about boring and then complain about losing. Which would you rather do? If you open things up this team would not thrive as they have when the game is more buttoned down. A slower pace is what is best for our team. I know that when it comes to it we would all rather have a 1-0 win than a 4-3 loss.
Amen to that, fwembt.
Well I for one enjoyed my time as an AC Milan fan. They played the worst I’ve seen them play in a long while and still Liverpool couldn’t beat them.
Tubby Benitez probably had little choice at the time, but as soon as he substituted Mascherano I turned to my friends and said, “He’s just freed Kaka; just watch him win the game.” Lo and behold, up he pops, in acres of space, and plays the killer pass for the second goal. Oh how I whooped with joy.
Forza Milano!
Maybe there is a God - well done Milan!
just finished watching the champions league finale, it wasn’t a great game and moreover, looserpool deserved their nickname :)
let’s see now if the press will attack Rafa for not playing a beautiful game or will they defend him as usual?
Proud To Be Blue
Yes Nick, the Tactical genius that is Jaffa Cake Benitez!
I cried laughing at his master stroke. Oh and by the way Mr Parry, we haven’t spent 500 million as you claimed, and we won 2 trophies not the one.
No excuses next season Livershit, with all your dodgy Texan money (had to say that with all the dodgy russian jibes we get) you should be challenging or winning the Premiership!
ohhhhhhh Clive, that was a little harsh on the petite red one :)
Well I am not Milan supporter and not going to be one. However, I am happy that Liverpool lost this game. I do not have to listen tomorrow how great this Looserpool team is. To all bitter “real football” fans who shows up on this site F…ck Off!!!
Not particulary bothered with Milan winning but will gladly listen to the bitter pills loserpool have swallowed this night and saved the blushes of the media of how good bafa renitez tactics has been. alas, no trophy also for loserpool as the so called ‘most entertaining’ gooner who now regularly compete with spur and everton..
I don’t care who won, just so long as Liverpool lost.
As with Nick, it was Forza Rossonieri in my house last night.
The best thing about it ?? Not Liverpool finishing ‘runners up’, but the fact they lost to possibly the worst team I’ve ever seen in a European Cup final.
What hurts the most is the fact had we been there we’d have won it. Just the thought of SWP / Kalou / Joe Cole (maybe Robben) running at 4 people with a combined age of 863 makes it worse…..
Loserpool Loserpool…
Finally the joke is over. It has not really gone down with me seeing this pretending poorly setup bunch take the cup and compete yet again…comparisons were even made of this team with the Liverpool Greats of Old..Joke joke joke… I look through this Liverpool Team and the only player who could compete for a place on the Chelsea Team is Gerrard and I wonder what all the fuss is all about…The rest of the squad including the coaching staff do not make the Chelsea Grade…
We have spent how much? 500 million…wasn’t wembley built on 750 million…Just a thought could we buy Wembley such that we control the games played there and probably play our Champions League matches there??? Just a thought…
Thank you Milan…Good one there…
Just browsing some of the Livershit sites this morning and came across this site again…… http://www.kopblog.com/
If there was BAFTA for comedy/fantasy writing this guy Gerry would win it hands down.
They even have a blog on the cup final that didn’t even concern them…. wankers!
F**k Off Liverpool your team loosing brought me nearly as much enjoyment as us winning on Saturday.
Rant over!
I too enjoyed my night as a Milanesi. Even when Arsenal played Barcelona i didn’t celebrate the Barca goals the way I did last night. All in all the season has ended pretty well for us, Arsenal celebrating hanging on for a home draw against 10 man Chelsea (still for me the most satisfying moment of the season), Winning the FA Cup and ruining the end of UTDs excellent season and watching those arrogant tosspots from Mersyside leave Athens with nada and complete a season trophyless.
I was quite shocked how poor Milan were last night. Even with only half a squad and 3 days rest I still believe we would have beaten Milan had we been there last night. The scousers should have won - how often can you say that about their recent Champions league exploits?
I had Liverpool to win 33-1 £10 steak, from back in November.
I told as many Liverpool fans about this to impress them. I then hold them how much joy it would bring in my life if they lost to Milan. It was worth any winnings…
Really poor game. I’ve a few Liverpool fans so don’t take that much pleasure in their defeat, but will make an exception thanks to Rick Parry’s comments after the semi. Hubris mate, look it up. And note that gloating before the event will often make you look like a right prick.
Oh Dear there is no hiding place from Livershit’s defeat last night, even the main Chelsea site are having a dig…
http://www.chelseafc.com/xxche.....le_1029141
Happy days!
Hmmm, not sure that sort of thing should be on the official site. Although I agree with more or less every word - it was a Uefa Cup final in all but name, and technically it wasn’t a patch on the FA Cup final.
Ahem, fully concur with all the liverpool-bashing lads and lasses. Sanctimonious tossers, as ever.
But fact is, if they were so shite they couldn’t beat a very, very poor Milan team, what does this say about us in the semis?
And seeing how the same rossoneri team took apart the Mancs in the semis, does this mean the CL is doomed to remain a sideshow cup for well-rested teams happy to make third or fourth in their domestic leagues?
If so, UEFA has a genuine structural problem on their hands.
ps - Peter, spot on with the FA Cup comparison. A far higher quality footbally match, whatever the muppet punditry say. Liverpool/Milan a shambles by comparison to Mikel/Scholes/Maka/Lamps/Giggs/Rooney, etc.
Fletcher the only player to not look the grade on Saturday. Last night, you could have taken your pick.
Peter
I think the reason it’s on the main site is, because of Rick Parry’s remarks after the semi final. I know two wrongs don’t make a right, but they have left themselves wide open to any and all criticism.
I dont pay for Chelsea TV so dont know if that link covers everything in the interview with Jose, but what strikes me as weird is Jose’s apparent confirmation we’ll be back to 4-3-3 next season.
An admission to having players put upon him perhaps ??? Sheva and Drogba cant both play in that system, and neither can all of Essien, Lamps, Mikel, Makelele and Ballack (sorry, and Sidwell).
It seems like this years 4-4-2 has been proved as less effective, so we’ll revert to what we know and love. But who misses out………….
ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! what an absolutely fantastic game last night. i haven`t laughed that much since i heard Ronaldo was named player of the year!! absolutely hilarious! i`ve had a grin on my face all day at work like the Cheshire cat. oh, what big plans the scousers had last night, what they were gonna do milan, how they were gonna wipe the smiles off their faces, they couldn`t wipe their own backsides!! a pathetic show. only Pennant was doing anything. and Gerrard`s just been given a very lucrative contract..i`d seriously be doubting that if i were head honcho at Anfield..he proved to just about everyone last night what a load of shit he is, most over rated player in the premiership.always has been, always will be. how he missed that goal i have no idea…he was practically stood inside the thing!! USELESS!!! Carragher`s another, where was he all night? didn`t hear him mentioned at all. apparently them two are the backbone at liverpool, well Christ Almighty!! in that case, God help `em!! ever likely they`ve got nowhere or achieved nothing all season!! couldn`t help but think last night that if Chelsea had got to the final, i seriously think we would`ve walked away with that cup. Super Frank or Drogs wud`ve put goals in the net no probs. milan were just about the poorest i`ve ever seen them play. but we were robbed by stinking, filthy, scouse penalties. that`s the only reason that they won the cup 2 years ago, not that they played class football. liverscum are moaning in the papers today that the were robbed. (suprise,suprise) milan were offside. so was Kuyt, but that was conveniently overlooked. so, if that WAS the case, milan still wud`ve won 1-0 wouldn`t they? so what point exactly are they trying to make?! or would it be the 20 seconds of play that they were robbed of? er…you STILL wouldn`t of scored you losers!! liverpool, unbeatable force in europe? my arse!!
Neil Warnock said this on 14th May: “What goes around comes around (for disgraceful Manchester United and Liverpool), maybe Chelsea will win the FA Cup and AC Milan the Champions League.”… Very true indeed!
I guess they won’t be needing this now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fCf8RAco4o
And WE’RE arrogant?
Hi All, back from a brief holiday that included loads of warm sun, loads of French local wine and Cider, loads of scantily clad women, proper high speed trains that run on time and are reasonably priced, a stress free Cup Final (just got a call from the better half to tell me the news) and the joy of watching the CL Final live in a bar where myself, my bruv-in-law and another roaming CFC supporter from Wales were the only ones watching and actively wanting Milan to win. The rest of the bar was full of French football agnostics, and holidaying Brits who believed Liverpool were doing it for English pride. The same bar had some “cabaret” that included some very fit women doing some very alluring …..ahem…..dancing which was a major distraction, but I still managed to bathe in the reflected warm glow of Liverpool’s dismal and abject failure to collect a single trophy this year.
I alos watched the whole cup final yesterday including the BBC build up - you just know ITV will halve this build up time and flood it with ads and do their bit to demean the game don’t you. It’ll be SKY for me next year if we reach the final again, as the lesser of two evils. Anyway, in a nutshell I thought we were the better side as the stats indicated with the better chances and were good value for the win. It was obvious the sides were a bit knackered as the game did get close to walking pace at times, not helped by a piss poor pitch. Having said that , the level of anti-Chelsea bias that I read in France was hideous and more or less blamed us for the game being a bit underwhelming. Hmmm….it takes 2 teams to play a game doesn’t it?
As Meatloaf once famously sang “Don’t be sad, coz 2 out of 3 ain’t bad”
Roman has given an interview to Russian radio “Echo Moskvu”. This is in a way one of the best ans serious radio stations in Russia. He (Roman) has rubbished the rumors that he does not want to invest money into “Chelsea” anymore.
any transcripts of that interview or a link?
even if he is tamping down the transfer spending, i think we are in a better position than many realize with the way we are able to attract stars on Bosmans and the fact that we have a stocked pipeline (Alex, Sinclair, etc.)
Abramovich hints at more spending
It’s all well and good him saying he might fund transfers, but today’s reports seem to suggest no money for Jose, just a blank cheque for a new manager.
And ManUSA are trying to buy the title next season already. £50m spent on 3 players (only one of which I’d like - Nani). We are getting left behind already…..
A bit OTT there Fifty, you should know by now what the press are like in this country. Jose is still there, and until we see otherwise nothing has changed.
As far as accusing Utd of trying to buy the title is a bit silly, considering that’s the crap we’ve had to put up with for the past few years. We know money doesn’t guarantee success, and as far as being left behind.
The season only finished a couple of weeks ago, and I’m sure the players they want, and need will appear in good time.
Clive,
It was meant tongue-in-cheek. The whole point is we listen to the never ending drivel, if we dont sign anyone then the whole ‘buying the title’ garbage can be left at their feet.
I just hope Kenyon, Arnesen et al are busy in transfer talks, and not enjoying the shrimp buffet on holiday somewhere !!!!
United’s signings so far are actually great news - so many midfielders suggests they’re only going to play one up front, and we all saw how effective that was in the final…
Well it seems that we have got our three players! Pissaro moved from Munich to London on free transfer, Alex comes from PSV for one dollar and Sidwell already our player as well on free transfer. We have sold Cannibal to Bayern and I think that Geremy and Maka are going to find hew home for them selves.
Well done!!! From the first of July TSO can start to prepare to new season!!!
I havent seen that much of him, but for some reason I am really excited by the prospect of Pizarro signing (not that it’s confirmed yet).
Alex will be a quality addition, especially if he replaces the frankly inconsistent Boulahrouz.
Maybe Sinclair, Sahar etc will get more opportunities next season if Jose’s hands are tied in the transfer market.
The media is at it again! they must be such a bunch of anti-chelsea hating worms! Now Scholari is linked with JM’s job! Why do they keep on? They are so biased towards their own clubs that fair and just journalism has completely gone out of the window. I am seriously considering starting a website to oust these w%*^”!kers! every time they write, speak on TV their comments should be recorded and we could have a weekly worst of the bunch award! What do you all think?
great idea Dio, think it would catch on! you`re completely right, they all seem to of jumped on the man u-re and liverscum glory/bandwagon. any team that actually gives off the slightest hint of talent and success is berrated. the Sun newspaper is well known for it, in fact i can honestly say that i`ve never read a good comment about a chelsea player or the team`s performance as a whole in that rag that they call news. but God! if your name happens to be Gerrard or Rooney then you were most definitely sent down to this planet to teach everyone how to play football. my arse! two of the most overrated players in the prem, both play for teams that only got to finals on penalties, courtesy of us funnily enough. just goes to show they can`t actually beat us at the game! rant over for now, must get a a grip! Up the Chels! xxx
last comment was meant to say both teams got to finals on penalties meaning Liverscum reaching the Champs final courtesy of us and Man U-re just getting through a complete season through penalties courtesy of dancing boy Ronaldo, another overrated pile of shite!! rant definitely over, note to all, don`t type when tipsy! Up the Chels! xxx