League Cup: Hull City 0 - 4 Chelsea
Match reports
The Guardian, Louise Taylor: “Jose who? Admittedly it was against a Championship side in the Carling Cup but a vibrant Chelsea performance suffused with goals and improvisational attacking suggested that there just might be a life for the Blues post Mr Mourinho after all.”
The Times, Matt Hughes: “Avram Grant must have feared being fed to the sharks in the nearby aquarium after sitting through 36 scoreless minutes, but to his intense relief Chelsea’s misfiring players finally showed that they, too, possess teeth. Scott Sinclair, Salomon Kalou and Steve Sidwell all scored their first goals of the season before the Ivory Coast striker added another to bring a satisfactory end to one of the most turbulent weeks in the club’s history. After scoring only one goal in their previous four matches, any evidence of cutting edge is to be welcomed, though it would be wrong to assume that a comprehensive win over a team seventh bottom of the Coca-Cola Championship represents some sort of panacea.”
The Independent, Jason Burt: “This was … not just a would-be banana skin for the new manager, coming to grips with his elevation, but a whole crate of fetid, stinking fruit that could have been poured over his head with anything short of a resounding win.”
Daily Telegraph, Tim Rich: “The “Special One” banner that Chelsea’s supporters had rallied behind at Old Trafford on Sunday was not at the KC Stadium last night but the first and last chants were all about a man whose ghost dominates the club he has left in the way that Brian Clough and Kevin Keegan haunted Derby and Newcastle. At the Baseball Ground, Clough’s successor, Dave Mackay, coped; at St James’ Park, Kenny Dalglish did not. With the pick of Europe’s coaches, from Guus Hiddink to Marco van Basten, standing in the shadows, Grant still needs more than 4-0 wins over sides who are 18th in the Championship.”
Official Chelsea FC Website: “The recently goal-shy Blues had found no problem finding the net against lower league opposition. Now more of the same in the top flight on Saturday is the order.”
The good
- Our first win in five games; three and a half quality goals; we’re still in the League Cup (the last time we were holders we lost in the third round to Charlton); overall a promising performance.
- First senior goals for Scott Sinclair and Steve Sidwell. Jose Mourinho is said to have singled out Sinclair for special praise when he made his final farewells at Cobham last week. “You can be a star,” he told him. Sidwell’s goal capped a fine performance, so much so that we didn’t seem to miss Frank Lampard, probably for the first time since he got injured.
- Juliano Belletti. If Avram Grant is serious about playing attacking football this season, then Belletti needs to start the majority of games.
- John Terry. A commanding display at the heart of defence, albeit against weak opposition.
- Wayne Bridge’s return from injury. Great to see him back.
The bad
- Salomon Kalou. Yes, he scored one good goal and was on the scene when a Hull player headed into his own net, but everything else he did was poor. Crap ball control, weak crosses and final balls, persistently offside - really frustrating to watch. I’d rather have seen Andriy Shevchenko huffing and puffing upfront, even if he can’t run any more.
- The injury to Shaun Wright-Phillips. It would be cruel on Wright-Phillips if he was to miss a chunk of the season after the start he’s had. Let’s hope it’s not too bad.
Man of the Match
Steve Sidwell.
Final thoughts
It was vitally important for Avram Grant that we won this game convincingly. Not only has it eased the pressure on him, albeit temporarily, but it will lift the spirits of the players and the fans. It certainly feels good to get back to winning ways, though Saturday’s visit of near neighbours Fulham promises to be a far bigger test: lose our unbeaten home record and the pressure on Grant will increase tenfold.
Related links
- Posted at 01:55 AM · Permalink · Print · 3057 views · Last indexed by Google on the 12th May 2008
- Tags: Andriy Shevchenko, Avram Grant, Chelsea, Hull City, John Terry, Juliano Belletti, League Cup, Salomon Kalou, Scott Sinclair, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Steve Sidwell, Wayne Bridge
To all you doubters take note, the quadruple is on. ManUre fans can’t say that.
Yes nice to get back to winning ways it will only improve the confidence of the players. Although Jose had singled out special praise in the past for Sinclair, apart from his goal he had a poor game last night, and was easily tucked up in their defenders pocket.
Lets hope the performance continues against Fulham on Saturday, which is going to be a different challenge altogether.
Man of the match Sidwell?
Did you realize that save for the goal. He caused a lot of fouls, does not play positive football i.e. he never plays the ball forward when build up is beginning…. Man of the Match? Oh please well that is your opinion. He also did make very poor passes.
Kalou I believe troubled the Hull defence quite a bit. He was flagged offside quite a bit but I loved his build up play with Pizzaro.
Sorry mate do not agree with you analysis here. I think my Man of the Match would have gone to Pizzaro ahead of Sidwell or Belleti because of those dangerous runs or to Sinclair for the tenacity to keep running at players…
By the way I preferred this brand of football to the one under TSO. I think I like what is coming up and not to mention we did not have Alex, Ballack, Lampard and Drogba in the line up. It was beautiful stuff.
Game 2, eight more games before I give my assessment of Grant.
Great display of football - yeah, one could argue it was against a Championship team, but ManU lost 2-0 to another Championship team… at Old Trafford!!!
The good: we won 4-0!
The bad: the moron Chelsea fans that keep embarrassing themselfs by singing about Jose under whom we probably would’ve won this match by 1-0! or 2-1! Or even worst… lose it on penalty shots.
Grant might surprise many! Lesser men would not have coped with the crap he had to put up with since the great departure of Jose. He certainly didn’t deserve that. He didn’t appoint himself!
I will be the first to say… well done Avram! Keep it up and keep my Chelsea winning in style!
Go, Chelsea!
up the blues!
it does not matter against whom, it is always great to win after such a tumultous week. lets hope its a precursor to greater wins against greater teams.
to every blue fan….lets stick together comrades, for the club, for the players, for the team, for Abromavich who saved us from small team universe, and above all for the history that we have with this club. let the Mourinho hang-over subside, its time to support the team now, after all, we are right in the campaign.
You say you preferred this brand of football….
Is this team any different to the one JM would have picked or did they play any differently?
The sole difference I could see is that maybe he would have brought Maka on earlier to shut the game down.
For half an hour it looked like Rosenberg all over again. The only difference this time after that is that we didn’t hit the post twice or narrowly miss the goal or concede from a set piece due to a defensive error.
Kalou, for me, is one of our most frustrating players. I spent most of last season whingeing about his tendency to get caught offisde. The same again last night. The thing is these are not even “difficult” offsides. He’s invariably in line with the back four and he *always* goes too early.
I was a bit disappointed with the midfield performance of both Essien and Sidwell. Why? because I felt that Pizarro and Kalou were having to drop back into midfield to pick the ball up far too often - they were playmaking rather than being on the end of opportunites that others are there to provide.
Scott Sinclair was good in parts but to be fair he was often tracked by more than player and Ashley Cole had a shocker. Still he scored a good goal.
Not sure I could single out a MOTM - a good team performance and four goals - I’ll settle for that.
P.S. Great to see Wayne Bridge back. Combined well with Joe Cole for the 4th.
Now that would be interesting if he was to lose our home unbeaten record….
Personally i would be surprised if he lasted 10 games. A couple of future succesive losses in the PL and all of a sudden we are fighting for champions league..
i can’t see Roman risking a Champs league place just to keep grant in as coach..
Having said that, i stil think the team is quality enough to do well. Besides with the new freedom now that the ruthless special one is gone, maybe a few players will find their flair..
Still, i’d rather Jose at the helm..
Haven’t seen it but very happy with the win. Great Sinclair started. He will need harder tests than Hull before we know whether he has what it takes to be a success in the high pressure environment of Chelsea. Useful ahead of the Fulham match who of course got knocked out last night aet. Daily Star reports today that Arsenal paid just £2mil for Diarra. Seems they got another bargain if it’s true.
Thank goodness there’s no banana skin in Hull. Now I fancy Chelsea playing Luton Town in the next round! :-)
Jose
I agreed with Sidwell as MoTM because he made very few errors, looked solid and scored a great goal, linking well up and down the pitch. I think you’re evangelist specs are kidding you dearly. Kalou was pants for much of last night, constantly offside and yet again giving the ball away or failing to get past players. He thinks he’s Thierry Henry whereas I think he’s more Peter crouch. He may have a bright future but he needs to get his arse in gear and start proving his worth.
And let us not forget, this was only Hull. 4-0 would be what I’d expect as a minimum. Nice to see some confidence returning but it wasn’t any real test.
Jose Musumba,
Chelsea have only defeated a poor Hull side and this is only Grant’s second game and you’re already preferring his “brand of football†to Jose’s? So, Jose’s Chelsea have never beaten teams like Hull or better by four goals and looked good while doing so? I think you’re jumping the gun in your attempt to legitimize Grant. Don’t be in so much hurry. We all have no choice but to give him and the real manager-behind-the-scenes time. Be patient and watch for sometime, because in football your words can come back to bite your butt. So, relax, let’s see what happens in the next few games at least.
Great piece Nick.
Agree with your thoughts on Kalou - being caught offside that much is just school-boy stuff.
Yeah Sinclair had a touch of naivety about him, losing the ball a few times and bad touches, but he’s 18 and hardly played. At least he looked unpredictable and was causing the Hull defence problems, with a few tricks.
Kalou is so one dimensional it hurts. On the rare occasion he manages to control the ball, all he does is punt it past the defender in the hope of beating him for pace, invariably watching it go out for a goal kick.
Was impressed with Sidweel, thought he showed the fight and tenacity we’ve been missing recently.
The only player I thought was poor was Ben Haim. Would have preferred Alex to play.
Kalou brings to mind that old Fergie nugget about Inzaghi - he was born offside…
Sinclair did well for a while - Hull defence wised up to him and seemed to be doubling up on him after the goal. Took his goal well though.
Only real complaint was that we gave the ball away too often - better teams would be far less forgiving.
Something that I feel was overlooked (even by me in my earlier post) was, yet again, an abysmal refereeing performance.
Winning 4 - 0 is a treat, but that would be to overlook the blatant handball in the first half (which the ‘referees assistant’ also missed) and the rugby tackle on Pizarro in the second half.
Yes, it matters little, but things are still going against us.
JD - interesting you bring up the Fergie comment re: Inzaghi and liken it to Kalou. I’d add ‘and without ability’ in Kalou’s case…
Look out fulham thatwas a good game for Avram He should keep playing Belleti as much as possible!
Think Kalou has the talent, but it’s the application of it that’s missing. Needs a Joe Cole style makeover / arse-kicking - sadly, the man to administer it ain’t around anymore.
Still think Kalou has something to offer. Certainly don’t think he should be written off quite yet. I mean, he wasn’t as bad as Ben Haim, who really should be doing a lot better.
Higlights,
Were can i view them?
Soemthing that was pointed out during the highlight on ITV last night - we had five players in or almost in the box during the kalou goal. Something we would not have seen before.
That to me is a promising sign.
Agreed about Benhaim, with so much prem experience he looks uncomfortable, especially in the air - His nationality is getting him a first team place without question.
And how can anyone say Kalou has no ability? He can be something special, just needs to knuckle down a bit.
For those of us getting excited already, it wasn’t a good performance. We played pretty poorly, letting hull have the midfield for a lot of the game, and apart from the goals we hardly loooked threatening.
The first half saw one shot from kalou saved and the goal, that was all there was to show during the highlights!
BTW great to see Joe Cole on for SWP. There’s been so much undeserved praise for SWP it’s unbelievable. He does not look a Chelsea first team level player.
I thought it was down to confidence and not getting a run of games but he’s had lpenty ofgames now and from his own admission he has regained confidecne. So WTF??? WHAT HAS HE DONE?
The ball never looks under his control, and when he is presented with a chance you could bet 9 out of 10 times he’ll fluff it.
You see glimpses of incredible ability with him but, his incompetence stands out like Phil Thompson’s snout.
Well here is a surprise
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/h.....012337.stm
We all know the outcome now… guilty as charged. The FA are really a sad bunch of wankers, they should just fine us a silly ammount of money and relegate us to the Conference and be done with it.
Wasn’t able to see the match but from what’s written here sounds reasonably positive. Would’ve given the team a bit of confidence ahead of Fulham which is a sterner test and Valencia which will be the real test of whether AG is capable enough.
Someone in another post mentioned that AG looks like the leader of the Gungans from Star Wars - that’s hilarious.. we’ve gone from an urbane, charismatic leader to Boss Nass! Still can’t see him as the new-undiscovered-wenger but will be happy if I’m proved wrong.
I hope Ben Haim is pulled if he’s not performing, from what I’ve seen of them both so far I’d prefer Alex. Good to see Carlo get a game and a clean sheet, at least he didn’t have Wind Ass to torment him. Bridge returning is good news, and I feel more optimistic knowing that Carvalho/Lampard/Drogba and yes, even Ballack are all to come back yet.
Jonathan…. now, that comment about the man who could’ve kicked Kalou’s ass in gear being gone, was hilarious! Are you drinking and writing? ’cause that would explain many of your views.
Kalou was a Jose favorite! Where have you been all last season? You didn’t notice how many games did Kalou play? So, I guess, if you have a beef with the way Kalou plays you should be very disappointed with his previous couch!
Avram Grant
http://www.starwars.com/databa.....vie_bg.jpg
guru,
I know Kalou was a Jose favourite; but he was always work in progress and is still pretty young - given a bit more time, I think he’d have had a good shot at making him a better player.
Simple, innit - even you might understand that…
Yes, Jonathan, even I would understand that… or would I… :-)
I’m in a good mood right now, so let me explain it to you so you can look a bit smarter next time you open your big mouth in the pub…
Kalou wasn’t exactly “work in progress” in Jose’s book… Those considered by TSO “work in progress” were doing the “progressing” in training not during official matches! Ask Joe Cole, SWP, Diarra and the rest of’em! They’ll tell you how “the work in progress” works.
Oh dear…
Great news for the blues everywhere!!! Even those who slept through out the game or were watching ER….
Having a low ender 2nd Div team beaten by a top flight EPL club is cause for celebration however for moderate and cautious assumption on what we wish to take away from this win; For starters I would take optimism shown by AV and team spirit shown by the boys. AV coming out and supporting statements which show that he might be able to do something with his different style of designing the team play did show some flashes too however having him as a long term solution doesn’t make sense as he would never get the respect of the players as they got more EPL or big league experience than AV…this game also wasn’t such a huge deal anyhow however every win without Jose is an injection to our confidence….let it remain a fact that JM needs a worthy replacement for multiple titles…we have been missing big name strikers finishing first Sheva & now Pizzario…
Secondly Man utd crashing even after such a fan fare for the lill boys before the match was real fun to see…redemption maybe but reaction more so…what did it mean to me it meant that complacency can be killed by a mosquito…
Thirdly I was so glad to see that even if you keep AV for long term we have a passionate Chelsea loyalist in the form of Clarke…The charges against Steve are a testament to his non-fearing love for wining…Good going there when ever I see passion even in the form of abuse to officials for my blues makes me feel certain for a brighter future along with a glimpse of the SPECIAL ONE…
Fourthly I am still unable to understand why Roman does not come out in the open and discuss with the critics what his visions are, what has happened, what will happen or when is it going to happen…. Too much speculations surround him, he would be reading a few comments here and there on his Blackberry (even if he is not logging onto the web)….First Van Basten and now Hiddink, wisdom suggests that he should at least look into addressing some sort of speculation even if it all about denying something or Roman likes to be known as the “mysterious one” whose actions are underground… As in my opinion any worthy replacement for JM at this moment is none other than Klinsman and he makes himself available for EPL so don’t let the Spurs get him while you need a manager as good as him….He is a real long term solution at an age that you can carry on with for years to come…I guess sanity will prevail when threats would reach there limits….So Roman you go the money & the love for the club so make one good choice and they are going to sing for you…
I just hope we don’t end up with a huge name and no place to play him, aren’t we just flooded with such players….I will park it here…
GO on Blues you can do it!!!!
A simple “thank you” would suffice!
The eye rolling looks better on women… if you get my drift.
Playing devils advocate here for a moment. I’ve given a lot of thought to my feelings on Jose’s departure and can’t escape the feeling that his departure will in the years to come be seen as the end of the most successful period in the clubs history, however…..
Think on this. Unless you invent cold fusion or the windows operating system or some other revolutionary device, you don’t get to be the 10 th richest man in the world without being a pretty good judge of characteur. Really powerfull men do not appoint sycophantic incompetants positions of importance - it reflects badly on them. What I’m saying is that Abramovich must have spotted something in Grant to pluck him from virtual obscurity and parachute him in to possibly the hottest seat in club football. I for one am giving him the benefit of the doubt … at least until christmas.
guru said
“The bad: the moron Chelsea fans that keep embarrassing themselfs by singing about Jose under whom we probably would’ve won this match by 1-0! or 2-1! Or even worst… lose it on penalty shots.
Grant might surprise many! Lesser men would not have coped with the crap he had to put up with since the great departure of Jose. He certainly didn’t deserve that. He didn’t appoint himself!”
Lets look at those 2 very points.. Moron fans you say, who are embarrassing themselves. Well there are going to be a lot more of them at the Bridge on Saturday doing just that. Come along and a point that out to the vast majority of them, and just remember it’s the Chelsea die hard supporters that travel to these away games every other week. They can sing what they want, they pay enough for the privilege.
Yes you’re correct Grant didn’t appoint himself, but he certainly engineered his way into a position of power. He knew exactly what was happening, as Roman is his mate afterall. Why did he contact the Israeli FA about getting his coaching licence sorted out? a week before he got the job.
But that’s history as they say, so yes Chelsea will move on as will the supporters and fans eventually.
And as for your comment about only probably winning 1-0 or 2-1 under Jose do we now go directly to the final because we won 4-0? A win is a win and I for one don’t really care how it’s achieved, when you’ve followed this club for as long as some people on this blog, you savour every success and win like it’s going to be the last.
I was there when we were Shit!
Clive;
Aren’t the fans supposed to be there to cheer the team and support it?
After the (deserved) respect shown to JM during the ManU game and maybe, juts maybe during the first few minutes of the Hull game… what’s the purpose of it? Do you suppose it helps the player’s concentration being reminded every second that they’ve just went through a horror week?
Tell me how do you envision that chanting TSO’s name is helpful?
Of course everyone is entitled to sing what they want and in can’t be stopped because I say so… but that doesn’t make it any less moronic.
Well said Clive - guru (sic?) you should note that some of us have been there through thin and anorexic times over many years so none of this is a surprise. To call us “morons” is disingenuous at best especially in light of the FACT that we have kept the club alive when others were chanting the last rites by paying money to watch them and buy their overpriced mechandise. Ken Bates was probably the best highway robber I’ve seen and despite his utter contempt for the fans I did not budge in my love for all things Chelsea. As a season ticket holder I have paid my money for the right to both support and criticise in equal measure.
SB will be full on Saturday and yes guru, a lot of people will chant Jose’s name because before him success was sporadic and cup related. The chants will be a tribute to the greatest manager in our history in his absence and the fact none of us got the chance to say goodbye (unlike Ranieri was granted). This is a title that will remain for some time and is highly unlikely to be usurped by AG. In fact I’ve got more chance of getting a wank off The Pope than AG emulating Jose’s success.
In the distant future they will have to erect a statue of Jose outside the ground as up until now he is our only Shankly/Clough/Ferguson type of manager. Single minded, focussed, obsessed, arrogant, egostistical, selfish, autocratic, passionate and untrusting. Yep, ticks every box in the “criteria for being a success” application form. Look at successful businessmen and they are the same. They are NOT nice guys.
TSO put a lot of faith in Kalou, mainly because of Robbens fragility and Joe Cole’s injury issues. If both had been fit all season how much match time would Kalou have seen? I don’t deny he may have a bright future, but he has progressed minutely in comparison to SWP, who if nothing else has been unswervingly loyal to Chelsea and is seeing that repaid by regular selection which in turn he repays by playing better and more confidently. My mate ChelseaBob reckons Kalou is a future Thierry Henry, but unless he gets his arse in gear then I think that will only happen in his next life.
Guru, your comments are welcome but wrong, so very wrong.
Fulham is going to get just as bad of a beating as Hull got.
What are you guys going to say then?
I tell you right now why that will be possible. Because the players will no longer be scared to make runs that they feel they could but wouldn’t have made before because they could’ve been 10 yards out of the positions drawn in TSO’s game diagrams. And such anarchy would’ve been punished with a worm place on the bench!
Go, Chelsea! Play beautifully!
Yes players making runs and putting themselves in positions to attack and score goals. There are going to be a lot of good teams and players that’ll quickly exploit that flaw and give us a hammering.
But it’ll be great football to watch, the press will love us, but we’re likely going to win fuck all, a bit like the old days really… ah well!
Tony, I would never argue that TSO deserves a statue at Stamford Bridge. Yes, he deserves one and I hope he will get one!
But if you are honest with yourself you will know deep inside that the departure was inevitable and mutually beneficial!!!
The team hasn’t played anything since November 2006. For the second part of the 2006-07 season TSO got away with the very valid excuse that he had no keeper and center backs. That’s why he didn’t get caned at the end of the season. He wouldn’t have been caned even if he would’ve lost the FA cup final.
But this season he started just as poorly as he ended last season. It was time to move on… as hard as it was and unfair as some might see it.
Take the good, the 2 titles and few cups and be happy. Also know that our players are fully capable to entertain us while crushing oppositions!
I am frankly sick of seeing games shut down as soon as you get one goal ahead! I want to see my team going after the 2nd, 3rd and more. Why not?
If you really love Chelsea you should be happy! Roman is still here and motivated. That’s the only thing that matters.
I’m happy that you like my new screen name (guru) - it is sic, indeed!
We used to have “The Special One”….. and now we have the ‘Guru”!
Nuff said, me thinks.
Should be enough, sure, Andy!
Just try to take it all in! Will do you good, make you look and feel smart. The way a Chelsea fan should be…
A point about Kalou being caught offside so many times.
Over the past few seasons Chelsea players of the time in a 50/50 on or offside position are 99% of the time are flagged offside by flag happy linesmen. Or is ther something more suspicious going on. The same goes for opposition players more likely to be given the benfit of the doubt when attacking the Chelsea goal. (this includes teams looking for free kicks in those dangerous areas).
I know this may sound like a conspiracy theorist making excuses for a player, but I started to think this WHen Hernan Crespo was in his first season with us. It got worse in his second spell with us. Time after time when he was level with the last defender…he was flagged offside. I know we can;t get paranoid …but ipay more attention to the descisions that go against us. Perhaps one of the reasons for so many decisions going against us, may be that the refs and linesman also read the press and are the somehow subliminally affected by the institutionalised envy and hatred of Chelsea. And before anyone mentions the Liverpool penalty (which was a gift), that may have had more to do with Rob Styles refereeing the previous year Sheff Utd v Team American Franchise Los Liverpool (As I read someone calling them) when Gerard dived for a penalty. So for me, Kalou has a few more games. And besides if Ruud Gullit endorses Kalou and thinks he is going to be a great player who am I to argue. So I am not going to get on any payers back. Now is not the time for that. If there is anybody on the field that I am going to use ‘foul and abusive language’ on , it will not be a player in a blue shirt . It will be for the bastard in black.
PS Apologies for typos above. It must seem as if I am an illiterate Arsenal fan.
Tony,
You’ll know I’m not, and never will be, Kalou’s biggest fan.
But this made me laugh. A lot : “My mate ChelseaBob reckons Kalou is a future Thierry Henry”.
Did your mate Bob mean Terry Henry who plays Sunday mornings for Ralgex Rangers ???
always thought it rather presumptuous when certain ‘fans’ think it is their place to tell others how they should be supporting their club and that they aren’t ‘real’ Chelsea if they don’t follow that particular doctrine. all very odd.
Fifty
It made me laugh as well, which is why I responded with the “only in his next life” comment. To be fair ChelseaBob is a long term fan of over 50 years but his hit rate on forecasting stars is no better tha anyone else’s I’ve met. He also has a tendency to predict 4-0 for every game we’ll play, so he does get one or two right per season!
….or perhaps he meant Paul Henry - the bloke who played Benny in Crossroads!
Guru I labored once to make a point to some”Chelsea Old Folk” on this site and got no where.
TSO is gone and the sooner we realize that this team is not about individuals the sooner we will become a big club. No one will dispute the respect and hate that TSO brought us. We took it all on our chins but hey reality check…He is gone so let us deal with it…
And on the Sidwell case, We might have attacked better but our midfield was still piss poor…Someone mentioned that Pizza and kalou had to pull back for the balls because…Sidwell was busy playing a triangle always to a player behind them…MOTM… I have watched great midfielders create and if you mention his performance as MOTM quality I wonder how you interprete the game of football.
TSO would have probably won this game 4-0 probably but it would have been a strangulation rather than a quick repeated thwashing and stabbings for increased pleasure viewing. many of the blokes arguing JM’s case were the same against his brand of football. Grant has offered two games and in both games there is an incisiveness about the attack. In both matches our play has broken through the middle to the oppositions box something that only the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona have mastered over time. It is however given an extra spin with supportive wing play from the right back and full back…I think we did see the flighted ball for A. Cole against ManU. The football is different and I think am enjoying this brand a little better.
TSO was good but even good things come to an end. Stop feeling sorry for yourselves and place your support in the right direction. Like Guru has put it…you lot are embarrasing us and we are bigger than that…at least I think we are…
IF Grant can present a united front - not impossible, but certainly not easy given the deep divisions in the camp - he could well be AN answer, but I doubt very much he is THE answer. As long as Shevchenko is there, I think we’ll struggle to have a happy dressing room.
Jose’s skill was getting the team out of tight spots with clever tactical changes and substitutions, but if Grant plays a more straightforward ‘just go out there and play’ game, there’s a chance we won’t need that sort of bail out against the lesser sides.
But JM had a great record against the bigger sides, where you need a bit more nous to get results - his records against Fergie and Wenger are outstanding and he didn’t do badly against Rijkaard - and I doubt Grant will have that ability: see his rubbish like-for-like substitions at OT and the team’s obvious lack of heart after half-time, understandable maybe, but sad compared with Chelsea at the Emirates in very similar circumstances. (Not sure how Jose Musamba saw us breaking through the opposition like Barcelona in Manchester when we didn’t get a shot on target.) Here, Grant simply cannot compete - few can - but, as I say, his simpler approach may be a boon against run-of-the-mill opposition.
What this means long term is a top four spot, good cup record, but no chance with the PL or CL.
Of course, we’ll know a lot more after Fulham and Valencia.
What alarms, though, is that if the club has decided to follow the European model of a normal coach with the Chief Exec/Gen Man doing the transfers, they need to display a lot more moxy in the latter area: the rumours are that the club over-ruled JM on too many occasions and in the process made a LOT of mistakes, including flogging Diarra to the Arse where they are now talking about him as a replacement for Gilberto, not signing Micah Richards for peanuts, flogging Gallas and Robben while giving JT a nine-year contract just as JM was starting to question his long-term fitness.
I’m happy for the coach to coach, Arnesen to develop youth and everyone to work within their departments, but I’m very worried as to who is going to take charge of transfers and contracts cos whoever has been doing it recently patently ain’t no fucking good.
>>
Paul Henry - the bloke who played Benny in Crossroads!
that did raise a chuckle on a grey Friday morning Tony…!
JOSE WAS GOOD YES BUT HE DID NOT KNOW WHO HIS BEST PENALTY TAKERS WERE ?IT WAS SO EMBARASSING TO SEE THE WHOLE LOT OF CHELSKI PLAYERS MISSING PENALTIES…..IT HARDLY SUPPRISES ME HE MADE THE SAME MISTAKE IN THE OPENING DAY OF THE PREMIERSHIP IE CHARITY SHIELD AGAINST MANCHESTER UTD….N AT LIVERPOOL CHAMPIONSLEAGUE…LETS JUST HOPE THIS TIME GRANT DOES NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE …AS JOSE
Stop bloody shouting! Caps lock OFF please…
Bloody hell I’ve heard it all now, get rid of your manager because we can’t win penalty shootouts. I haven’t laughed so much in a long time!
If not Paul Henry then maybe he’s the next….Lenny Henry?
But even he’s not that funny with a ball…….
All this mention of Paul Henry as got Wenger in on the act http://www.myfootballnews.co.u.....ory=757137
Nice to know he’s reading our blog ;)
The point isn’t whether we’re playing better/worse/differently with a new manager, or whether José was or wasn’t perfect, or whether fans are right or wrong to chant his name. None of that is the point.
The point is that José got canned because Roman wasn’t happy with him. Which means that the owner is meddling with footballing matters. Which means that unless it stops, we’ll end up with a situation like the Lithuanian* loony up at Hearts. Trigger-happy owners make it impossible for a team to build stability and continuity, develop a good relation between youth, reserve and first teams, etc. etc.
If he wasn’t happy with José, who’s he going to be happy with? He wants to win everything for the next hundred years, *and* play football that makes hacks coo in public, *and* be loved.
I wanna pony! I wanna pony! Waaaa!
* (or is it Latvian?)
Jose Musumba once again slips his blue-tinted glasses on and dismisses the experience of us long-term fans. Jose, mate…let me explain again. 37 years man and boy supporting a club that for the best part have been bit part players and living in the shadow of Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and for a period of time Tottenham, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Blackburn and Everton in terms of winning the Big One (the EPL). Come to think of it when it comes to the CL we haven’t even got the records boasted by Man Utd, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
What those years give us is experience.And what most people do is learn by experience. I’ve seen good and bad managers come and go and what “experience” tells me is that AG will not be in the “good” category. Of course, it’s not an exact science and if I am proved wrong then I’m in the glorious football fan position of happily hearing the Humble Pie lorry drive up to my front door for me to eat a big slice but frankly not giving a shit because we’re winners. If I’m right then I can bask in the smug and warm “I told you so” glow. In either case my support for the club and team is undiminished.
What’s that old saying Tony “Ah youth… it’s wasted on the young” and as far as us old folk who are embarrassing you Jose, well let me tell you again and make it a little bit clearer.
I WAS THERE WHEN WE WERE REALLY SHIT!
And if you think that I or anyone else wants Chelsea to fail because we have Avram Grant in charge then you really are way off the mark. Like Tony I will eat a huge helping of humble pie if he becomes a winner. But don’t ever make the mistake that I’ll jump ship just because Chelsea have currently made themselves look like fools to the footballing world.
Blue till I die, which could come a lot sooner than anticipated at this rate ;)
Great performence Hopefully Sinclair will play against Fulham aswell. BLUE TIL I DIE!
Always worth remembering that in general the British will ultimately develop a fairly pathalogical hatred of winners - irrespective of the ’style’ they might win in. Will Roman ever be happy? Will he baulk at a European Cup win on penalties after a tight game? He may well have fallen in love with football after watching Real Madrid, but acting like them is another thing entirely.
When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain etc…
Jose M - you really are at your most pathetic and patronising today - other fans ‘embarrasing you’ because they happen to have a different viewpoint? You idiot.
I’m Just watching Sky sports news and a report on Milan Manderitch slagging of Leicester supporters for chanting the Name of the Previous manager-Martin Allen. How long was he there and what trophies did he win. Now that is a reality check.
That’s why I don’t think aversion to our style was the prime reason for Mourinho’s departure - it was as much about JM’s outspokeness, his treatment of Shevchenko and the obvious personality clash between Roman and JM. We saw this many times with Bates, and there really isn’t a lot of difference - we were a ‘toy’ then and we’re a ‘toy’ now.
Style of play only compounded the other problems. They fell out, they briefed against each other, JM got the fans on side, RA sabotaged JM’s transfers and so it went.
Jonathan, buddy! Now who is “pathetic and patronizing” here….
By pointing out that a small and ridiculous bunch of (so called) fans are acting embarrassingly is one thing and part of ones freedom to express a point of view!
Jose Musumba expressed his point of view and by calling s situation or an act “embarrassing”, he (and myself for that matter) wasn’t really insulting.
By calling him “an idiot” just because you are not capable of coming up with reasonable arguments, indicates that if you’re looking for an idiot you should pick up a mirror! That would do!
You and your “old” friends Tony and Clive should get off those high horses and smell some freshly ground coffee!
37 or 107 years of supporting a team doesn’t have a direct equivalent with understanding the game and will never mean that you “get it”.
So, please, try to keep the language to a civil level.
After all we are all cheering for Chelsea. No need to insult each other over the way we see things.
Drogba showing he’s a lot more sensible than most of you….. very long term (37+ years) supporters are!
CHELSEA’S Didier Drogba has performed an incredible U-turn and pledged his total commitment to Avram Grant.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts.....-in-U-turn
Your comments are civil are they guru, no need to insult each other, we’re not sensible or reasonable… Oh dear (rolls eyes.)
Well as guru and Jose seem to be the only voice of reason on this blog I stand corrected and JD, Tony and probably Nick you should follow suit, our new special ones have spoken!
Clive,
being condescending toward what i perceive as misguided opinions is not quite as calling you “an idiot”, now is it?
And yes… little that you know… I am special, very special, indeed!
Guru said….
“37 or 107 years of supporting a team doesn’t have a direct equivalent with understanding the game and will never mean that you “get it—
Errr….I think it means I “get it” better than someone who jumped on the GloryWagon when RA came in. And probably more than someone who’s followed the game for 20 years. Look up the word “experience” in the dictionary……never mind I did it for you
1 a : direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge b : the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation
Again, not wanting to ram the point home. You’re wrong.
Tony,
By your “logic”, and I don’t mean to be disrespectful, you should be happy as can be with Grant as Chelsea manager. He is 8 years older than Mourinho and therefore has an extra 8 years of “experience”!!!
Or did you miss that?
“We… are… fa-mi-ly!” Oh, I like that song from Sister Sledge! :-)
guru
You’re becoming quite tiresome and behaving like an adolescent. I’ll just accept we agree to disagree, I’m sure you’ll want to have the last word so go ahead and have your say.
I will certainly not be responding to, or even reading any comment you put on this blog, best all round I think.
I think Mr Grant is a nice person, I probably like him on personal level. The problem is: he is too bloody nice to be a football manager in England! Coaching Chelsea is just a training course for him! Anyway, I don’t want to worry too much now; as I trust the quality of our Chelsea players can overcome any of his shortcoming. Hopefully Chelsea can hold on one Cup and a CL place this season.
May I remind you that Henry was as crappy as Kalou now is, until he was 22 or 23. He may not have too many good memories of Monaco and Juventus years.
Kalou is now only 22. Atleast Kalou has a better record for Henry had at 22. Allow Kalou to grow up. He’ll be right up there. Henry was never a prodigy, he became a genius by hard work, grooming and guidance. Jose would have helped Kalou achieve that, but unfortunate Kalou!
For those who were shouting that Jose off mean us playing attacking football are all speechless. Even the Arsenal’s performance was not as classy as usual…
I am very disappointed, not a great pessimistic but I reckon woes are ahead of the schedule I am afraid
this is not the chelsea of 2 years ago.To be successful over many years you need to be humble. You need to let others do the talking whilst you do your talking on the pitch like liverpool did for 20 yrs and man utd for over a decade. I think for chelsea to reach that level of success jose had to go,talk can only get you so far actions will take you all the way putting pressure on yourselves through chat makes a hard job even harder
I wish Chelsea would not drop any more points.
I think we are having a crapy season folks. And the most important thing that pisses me off it is not even the fact that Mourinho left, no!!!It is the fact that Abramovich hasn’t prepared plan B. How on earth you sack your manager without planning for the successor. Please do not tell me that seriously thought that Grant can be as good as T.S.O.? he must be lunatic ravaging lunatic!!!!
Just come back home from the game, and all I can say is, this is only going to get worse!
Bereft of ideas, bereft of inspiration, and bereft of tactical intelligence.
I hope Roman wakes up soon, otherwise Sven is going to pip us for 4th spot. We need a manager as Jose would say who’s not “One of the bottle”
The only consolation is our home record is still intact.
I am getting mental to the idea to lose the Champions league spot. It’s not out of real as we are playing scrap. Everybody’s not motivated and you are right Clive. This is only going to get worse!! Oh my goodness, I thought Scheva will be performing after TSO’s gone. But he’s even getting worse… Chelsea are in the mess. We have to focus on winning the Carling Cup, we are winners and we can’t accept a season without a single trophy. I am not discourage but rather realistic and there’s no way I can’t see us winning neither the Premiership nor the Champions League. I am worried!!!!!!!!!
If 20% of this story is true it shows we are in deep deep trouble…
http://www.myfootballnews.co.u.....ory=757635
I am worried a lot, but let’s hope we do our thing.
Clive, I agree - that article is very damning. It looks grim and today’s fare was pretty dismal. My review will be on here tomorrow but it doesn’t make for comfortable reading.
Attend the next couple of Champions League home games, gents!!!
They will be the last ones we see for a while at The Bridge, on yesterday’s performance.
Our only hope now is to retain the League Cup while Mr Nice Guy is still in charge… Are we Spurs in disguise?