League Cup: Everton 0 - 1 Chelsea (1 - 3 agg)
Match reports
Daily Telegraph, Tim Rich: “Avram Grant’s attempt to convince the world that Chelsea were not especially bothered by the Carling Cup sounded false from the moment it left his lips. Not since Don Revie constructed his all-white machine at Leeds has there been a club who have set out so remorselessly to win everything. ‘The Special One’ did not get his name by picking and choosing his trophies and nor, it seems, will his successor.”
The Independent, Ian Herbert: “While [Everton's] chances were marginal, Chelsea’s were clinical, clear cut and could have elicited more goals. Avram Grant, the Chelsea manager, was probably being disingenuous when he said on Tuesday that the Carling Cup did not matter to him. Chelsea are now in their third Carling Cup final in four years and the side Grant fielded demonstrated that he wants the trophy much more than Manchester United and Arsenal. Anelka was a constant threat, Wright-Phillips troublesome and energetic and Claude Makelele created a spine with Ricardo Carvalho which maintained the side’s shape. Everton never looked like reversing the 2-1 first-leg deficit after the initial blood and thunder.”
The Guardian, Andy Hunter: “Everton’s Latin motto translates as ‘Nothing but the best is good enough’. As their dreams of a first Wembley appearance for 13 years floundered on the rock of Chelsea last night, it was exposed as patently untrue. The best David Moyes’ side could offer could not deny Chelsea their third Carling Cup Final appearance in four years, as Joe Cole’s clinical strike confirmed that while Everton have designs on breaking the elite in England there remains a gulf between expectation and reality.”
The Times, Martin Samuel: “Cole, outrunning Joleon Lescott, took the ball down with one touch and then finished it with a flourish, a right-foot shot that beat Tim Howard at his near post, more with the element of speed and surprise than perfect placement. And that was all that was needed, really. On a night when Everton promised so much, David Moyes’s team for once disappointed, lacking the cutting edge that could have put Chelsea under pressure given that a 1-0 home win would have seen them Wembley bound.”
Official Chelsea FC Website: “It was a second leg smash-and-grab expertly performed. Chelsea, for the first time under Avram Grant, are going to Wembley!”
The goal
The good
Well, no real comparison to the wunderkind of Arsenal jumping out of their prams and fighting each other as the older kids from up the road handed out a spanking, but still a compelling game with Everton coming out all guns blazing and then slowly but surely losing hope as Chelsea took control and squeezed the life from their game.
- Shaun Wright-Phillips. Ankle injury? My arse! This midfield role will surely cause us some issues later on but if ever a cap fitted then here’s the example. I never doubted him. *hopes no-one reads any past posts*
- Ricardo Carvalho. Give him your boat Roman, chuck the girlfriend in as well for some hanky panky (just to keep a certain Carry On theme from the match preview going), buy him Buck House… whatever it takes keep him at Stamford Bridge. The man is a defensive god.
- Petr Cech. Congratulations to the big… er… Czech on entering the world of fatherhood at 06:19 Wednesday morning. I had planned to joke about him dropping the baby such has been the frequency of errors lately… but tonight he was sheer world class with four utterly magnificent saves. On this form I could drop kick the baby to him and he’d juggle it twice before chipping it into the air for a clean catch.
- Juliano Belletti. The driver of the Humble Pie lorry is getting rather sick of delivering huge slices of it to me for what I said about him at the start of the season. Currently the best right-back in the country if not Europe.
- The goal. Joe Cole wasted passes and gave possession away too cheaply for my liking and 10 minutes into the second half I remarked to Mrs Glover (no really… she makes me call her that) that if it was me I’d take him off. Then on 70 minutes he collects a pass from another enigma (on the night) shows a truly Maradona like touch to control the ball and slams in the eventual winner. If it had been Arsenal then no doubt the collective ejaculation from Fleet Street would have kept Paris Hilton going for an hour or two.
- Nicolas Anelka. He didn’t score but he should have. His first touch is better than Drogba’s, his pace is scintillating and like all great players the space he makes for himself mystifies defenders. His ability to stop and hold is awesome. When he does score the floodgates will be open. He doesn’t defend like Drogba… but then who does?
- The result. Yet another final and this time it’s against the other North London club, Spurs. By the time the game is played we might have a good collection of our players back. I didn’t think this was a priority competition, and if it’s all we win then that will be disappointing after the last three seasons’ achievements. But despite my ongoing misgivings about Avram Grant, king of the catwalk, results don’t lie and maybe, just maybe this could be the springboard back to winning the Premier League and… more?
The bad
- I can’t think of anything for this section from the game. Not even Claudio Pizarro, despite missing two clear chances.
Player ratings
- Petr Cech: Get your money ready Pete, kids cost loads! - 9/10.
- Juliano Belletti: It’s like someone actually invented the perfect right-back despite forgetting about his looks - 8/10.
- Alex: Seriously good tonight… can he really keep John Terry out? - 8.5/10.
- Wayne Bridge: By heck… if he decides to move to the land of crop tops and mini skirts where it’s often -5 degrees they’ll have one hell of a left-back. For once - 8/10.
- Ricardo Carvalho: Kidnap him and chain him to the chair in Roman’s box at Stamford Bridge. He must stay! - 9.5/10.
- Claude Makelele: Somehow still looks the complete clumsy bastard at times, still gives away silly free kicks in silly places. But he’s like the Terminator. He never gives in. Ever. When he finally quits I dream about having to crush him in an old factory until the red lights in his eyes go out. And still he’ll keep coming. I’m scared - 7.5/10.
- Steve Sidwell: Very ginger. Very slow. Confidence is low. Tried hard. Not good enough yet - 6.5/10.
- Joe Cole: Prone to giving the ball away but the goal was Rooney-esque. Or maybe Rooney’s goals are Cole-esque - 7.5/10.
- Florent Malouda: Weirdly anonymous and only occasionally showed his pace and ability, but I can’t deny the ball to Joe Cole for the winner was as good as anyone could deliver - 7/10.
- Shaun Wright-Phillips: The injury was obviously as big a lie as Bill Clinton’s claim about not having sex with Monica Lewinsky. Are we getting sneaky and engaging in Spooks-like disinformation? - 9/10.
- Nicolas Anelka: Quality oozes from every pore - 8.5/10.
- Claudio Pizarro (sub): Lumbered on, lumbered around, missed a sitter. Nearly scored from a shot outside the box but really nothing to scare anyone - 6.5/10.
- Ashley Cole (sub): Not on long enough to do anything good or bad - 6/10.
- Overall team performance: Totally professional and even when Everton had the upper hand we didn’t flap and, unlike Arsenal, no rattles or dummies were being thrown around. Not a nappy or romper suit in sight - 8.5/10.
Man of the Match
This was between Cech and Carvalho, with Belletti also in with a shout. But who am I to argue with the choice of Ray “Tango Man” Wilkins and Peter “Cheer Up” Reid in the Sky studio.
I want to be his doormat. I want to polish his shoes. There’s so much I want to do to make him stay… hell I’m even thinking of selling my eldest daughter to him once she’s eighteen. Riccy Carvalho, you were magnificent. A giant amongst… well a lot of tall men (no offence to Wright-Phillips!).
Final thoughts
How many finals is that? I’ve lost count. Everton played a committed game but in the end just didn’t have enough quality. They have a bright manager and I’m hoping they get fourth place ahead of the side also in the area whose name I can barely mention. That would cap my season just knowing that Rafael Benitez and his gang will be in the Euro Vase next year.
Everton fans will be disappointed but proud because their players didn’t let them down, they were just beaten by the better team marshalled by a defence and goalkeeper that’s looking tighter than Dolly Parton’s bra strap.
A brief story. At the Chelsea versus Arsenal FA Cup final in 2002, both sets of fans are gathered at the coach entry point to the Millennium Stadium. The Chelsea coach arrives and the Chelsea fans cheer and sing. The Arsenal fans politely applaud. The Arsenal coach arrives and the same happens in reverse. Ten seconds behind the Arsenal coach is a dust cart with four hairy-arsed, beer bellied, tattooed bin men hanging off the back and another three in the driver’s cab. Cue both sets of fans, spontaneously and in unison.
“Are you Tottenham, are you Tottenham, are you Tottenham in disguise?”
Well… I guess you had to be there, but it’s Chelsea versus the Bin Men, ironically the very day after we were scheduled to take three points off them at Three Point Lane. Bring it on.
“Que Sera, Sera, whatever will be, will be, we’re going to Wemberlee, Que Sera, Sera.”
Says it all really.
Keep the Blue Flag Flying High!
Related links
- Posted at 12:44 AM · Permalink · Print · 2221 views · Last indexed by Google on the 14th May 2008
- Tags: Arsenal, Avram Grant, Chelsea, Claudio Pizarro, David Moyes, Everton, Joe Cole, Juliano Belletti, League Cup, Nicolas Anelka, Petr Cech, Ricardo Carvalho, Roman Abramovich, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Spurs
Terrific performance from the boys, can’t wait for Wembley again! We surely do have a squad full of winners, as tight-knit group as we could hope for. Avram will definitely have some selection headaches when injured/African players return over the next few weeks!
Fair play to the Chelsea fans who outsang the scousers most of the way through - allbeit with the help of a microphone in our end (particularly enjoyed the songs about the younger of the two Ugly Neville sisters!).
I agree with most of your review Tony, but I must say I thought Sidwell had his best game for the club - he made a couple of mistakes but his all-round play was good, and he didn’t give the ball away as much as usual.
By the way, I like Avram’s look when in kharki:
http://www.n24.de/sport/fussba.....eId=158867
Bring on the yids!
Since IKEA opened in Edmonton Spurs fans have had little reason to travel to Wembley. February will be a pleasant excursion for them but they are as likely to get a result as they are to buy a flatpack with the correct number of allen screws.
Once again we made Everton look ordinary as we did for both their visits to the Bridge. When I heard Ballack was out I feared the worst but the boys showed the spirit and energy that’s required to win. I was a little concerned that we failed to score despite the number of fantastic counter-attacks, even Ricky spent most of his time in the Everton half, but eventually we scored a sublime goal that will need to be inserted into the pre match video at the Bridge. Coincidentally as Tony was mentioning to his wife that Cole should come off I was saying to mine that Malouda should come off for Ashely Cole and push Bridgey forward. Malouda seem to lack the commitment to go into the final tackle or to beat a defender but two minutes later he made the pass of the night – so what do I know.
After the game I watch a bit of Chelsea TV and many called to praise Avram and admit that they had rushed to a false judgement. Indeed one caller, Terry from Swindon, felt bad that the crowd don’t sing a song for Avram and gave a rendition of his hastily constructed lyrics.
Anyhow I have to confess to being old enough to have been at Wembley in 67 for the FA Cup Final. My dad made us leave before the end when we were 2-0 down but in the distance as we trudged down Wembley Way I heard the belated roar as Bobby Tambling pulled one goal back. Maybe it’s the effect of this result, or my age, but I also confess to wearing a vest under my shirt on colder matchdays, whilst in the summer my open neck shirt displays discrete tufts of silver chest hair. Either look attracts wistful glances from the female fans so I think Avram has pitched his look just about right.
I’m still worried about who will dress him for the showpiece final when he leads the team out. We’ll be a laughing stock if he looks like those binmen!
On saying that a commanding performance,and oh boy is AG going to have a selection problem with all our players fit and back from the ACN. The thought of Drogs and Anelka playing up front in a 4-4-2 formation will give me stirrings in my nether regions, and I should imagine most defences in the prem and Europe won’t fancy playing against them either.
Spuds defence certainly won’t be able to handle them Clive - especially as Ledley King will probably be injured again by then, and hopefully Paul Robinson will have forced his way back into the team!
Seriously though, the only bad thing about playing Spurs in the final is the annoying abundance of old shite Chas’n'Dave songs floating around - they need to remember that there was only one true ‘Ossie’ and he was the King of Stamford Bridge - and his knees did not go ‘trembley’ at the thought of playing at Wembley.
the only problem with Anelka, like you pointed out and I hope he works on, is his defending.
I don’t expect him to run around the pitch like Drogba, but if he loses the ball at least attempt to chase it.
I think there were a few times when he was tackled at the edge of the box and the defender mustn’t of been more then a few feet away and he just turned and started to walk up the pitch, rather then chase the ball.
Good to see Cech back, especially impressed with his juggling on the edge of the box infront of the oncoming Everton striker (AJ perhaps?)
Talking of AJ, he looks like an average Championship player.
There are some players that are mercurial…they do the dirty job but are sometimes not noticed or properly appreciated until they are no longer there…Makalele! He may be old, but i just dont care cos he DOES the job and well too…
I shudder just from thinking about him not playing, especially now that Mikel is not around… For me, the guy’s experience is almost invaluable…
Happy for SWP too…. the guy seems to be rediscovering himself and enjoying his football…I can only see a brighter future for CFC, the squad is getting better with almost everybody playing at some time or another…
Watch out united, the boys in blue are coming back for the cup that you ‘borrowed’ last season…just look into their eyes, and you’ll see that its true….
By the way, very nice piece Tony…You guys really handle this blog well, and we do appreciate your efforts…i hope the Dolly P’s bra strap comments wont start another round of inuendos…(or maybe i hope it does…lafs)
Always Blue!
What an awesome, solid, confident, professional, performance! Teamwork in team without untouchables! Just awesome! I agree with Tony and Mark, if this game was played last year J Cole would have been out some time before his magic moment, so would have been Moluda, may be? Would have Alex playing central forward and not sure if Anelka would be in the team! Would have to hear how many lieutenants and generals are missing (with is trough) and would have one better dressed gentlemen on the bench, but to be honest the dress sense of the people on the bench did not disturb me too much and if Avram does not to shoot few adverts I could live with that, as long as the team play the way they did last night! Future is bright and blue! :)
Didn’t see it (no Sky) so thanks for the great report. I mostly check in to the reports for away games to make sure that either Belletti or Riccy are still on track for Player of the Season.
There’d been a lot of stuff in the press about Everton being the most impressive team around at the moment when you factor in the resources-to-success ratio, and they seem to be well on the way to being everyone’s second favourite team. Beating them away in a game that mattered *hugely* to them, and with Sidwell in the starting XI, is pretty impressive.
Check this guys
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A31499427
I think the situation regarding subs last night, whether Malouda/Cole would have been left on regarding a certain ex manager, I think are a little misguided. Considering our options on the bench three defenders, a goalkeeper, and one supposed striker, there wasn’t much choice to make any major changes. I think the term threadbare is appropriate.
I am having a splendid time…There is a nutter on this blog that keeps having a go at Avram…
Please do come forth and eat your pie!!!
@Tony
You need to watch your weight…the rate at which you are going to have to eat this “humble pie” is bound to be too regular.
Splendid display by the boys and not mentioning that we were playing with a “depleted” squad…
On Sidwell I think it is time he made a baby…seems to have worked for Cech ;-)
Tony,
You seem to have forgotten TBH made it on for, what, 30 seconds last night. Deserving of at least a 6 IMO just for maintaining the clean sheet ;)
I’m in agreement, I dont think there was anything negative from last night. A better performance than some recently, a clean sheet, another trip to Wembley. Happy Days.
Cech needed to have a confidence booster sooner or later, and last night will have worked wonders, I hope he’s getting back to the exemplary from we’re accustomed to. The defence looked solid and Anelka was mightily impressive. Would have been nice to have made those 3-on-2 and 4-on-3 counter attacks at the end count - Pizarro did miss a sitter - but there was no reaction of surprise or anger from my sofa, more a sigh of acceptance.
AG deserves more credit than I think he gets, not only for the results and maintaining that winning mentality, but the decisions he’s made. Playing SWP in the middle 3 of the 4-3-3 is something I dont think I’d have considered (hence I’m not a Premiership manager).
Things are good at the moment, with a trip to the rugby stadium Saturday tea-time and a date with Calamity Bramble to look forward to. Play like we did last night, and Anelka will surely be off the mark.
Finally Mr Sidwell. Solid if unspectacular last night. As Tony alludes too ‘very ginger’. Which can’t be helped by the lightning-neon yellow kit, which drags more attention to his head. The away kit makes him look more ginger. He kind of resembles those neon socks that were all the rage in the 80’s……
@Fifty
If you recall SWP was played in the middle before with JM, the Spuds cup game was one and I think there were a few others.
@ Fifty
TBH - 6/10
Yep, forgot all about him but I’m sure for those 30 seconds he worked his socks off.
@ Jose - I fear the weight issue is already spiralling out of control!
How the mighty have fallen - I hear Jody Morris is having a trial at Yeovil having been released by Millwall last year. What a waste.
Absolutely superb performance. Those match reports make amusing reading - hacks who turned up expecting a fairy tale and instead came across one of the hungriest teams I’ve ever seen. They were exceptional from top to tail - really can’t fault anybody. And our away support might have been small, but they still outsang the scousers!
Team of the season so far:
Cech
Belletti
Alex
Carvalho
Bridge
Mikel
Ballack
SWP
Kalou
Drogba
Cole
Which means that when/if everybody is fit, Avram is going to have to deal with a lot of bruised egos…
Indeed - it’s almost benefiting Avram to an extent that he hasn’t got much room for movement in terms of players available; necessity being the mother of invention and all that. Signs thus far are very good that we will get through this patch unscathed and be even stronger come end February-ish.
And hands up who’d split the Alex / Carvalho (who was doing a fine Beckenbauer impression last night) partnership at present? Not me, for one…
Agree JD Alex/Riccy is as good a pairing you’ll see anywhere, and Ballack to remain captain until the end of the season. Yes lots of bruised egos!
JD i agree totally - Riccy and Alex look very good. Alex is just getting better and better. I would send Terry and DD to barca and gladly take messi back this way.
And yup i am aware this is becoming an obsession - i blame fifty whole heartedly.
I also agree. Are we weaker due to
Terry > Alex
Lampard > Ballack
Essien > SWP - in midfield I think SWP’s forward passing is better than Essien
Also seems to be lots of praise for Anelka but has anyone told him this is not the Soccer AM crossbar challenge but real matches?
The problem I see is that when everyone is back, it will create a negative vibe as there will be people who are disappointed at being left out.
At the moment, with very few options, the mood is good and you can see that from the spirit on display.
As soon as DD gets hooked a few games in a row, or Lamps once again mumbles about not signing a new contract, or TBH doesn’t get a sniff when JT’s back - that’s when AG will really have to earn his corn.
Terry definitely shouldn’t be considered until he is 100% fit and ready to come back, and not patched up as previously - the fact that Alex is playing well means we shouldn’t need to push JT back early and risk him again. If we do get to the business end of the season with an eye on some more silverware with key games to be won, there aren’t many players you’d choose over a fully fit and hungry JT.
SWP has played well, but a fully fit (and in form) Essien is vital for games where a bit more power is needed; SWP is proving that he could be an excellent option for ‘plan B’ off the bench though if the former gets his mojo back.
Lampard / Ballack - for the sake of everyone’s sanity… let’s not even go there!
I resent the usage of Shrek Rooney’s name in describing Joey Cole’s goal. Joe Cole’s way too good to have his name even mentioned in the same sentence as Shrek.
Did some one mention Lampard…
Just checking…
;-)
JD i would prefer ballack in that role.
Lamps can go.
My wife says if I whistle “Carefree … ” one more time I’m going to get a smack.
Back in your cage Jose - nothing to see here :-)
@Mark
Your wife seems a sensible woman, don’t let any of us stop her!
Give her a burst of celery. That always does the trick.
I tried the celery trick but that didn’t seem to work. Are you meant to put batteries in the celery?
Oh, very good sir.
All he’s missing is a Fez!
http://www.myfootballnews.co.u.....ory=794166
You may have hit upon something there Mark; if Peter Kenyon reads this page I’d imagine he’s already started product development on CFC’s rival to the Ramapant Rabbit. Any colour you like, as long as it’s green, as Kermit once remarked…
We seem to have moved on from the Carry On theme to the Confessions of a ….theme. Anyway, surely cucumber is easier?
I find cucumbers a bit big Tony… I don’t know about you?
Probably Tony, but you can’t throw a cucumber at football. Whereas celery - aah, hang on…
Yes, a very solid display, and I too initially thought the absence of the recently imperious Ballack would leave a hole, but the belief was there and the fight to go with it. I’m happy that the players currently in the team are doing well, and agree that there is no need to rush any of the injured back and jeopardise a proper recovery. I think the Alex/Carvalho paring has worked well and can only get better, but then there’s Ivanovic as well, so I’d rather have a fully fit JT for the run-in than a patched up version and with Ballack performing like he has been then Frank can take his time and be right too. Almost feels sacrilegous to be so relaxed about not having such talismanic individuals at the core of the team, but I’ll worry about the selection issues when they arise, and as Clive said above the thought of Drogba and Anelka in a 4-4-2 sounds an exciting prospect.
@ Mark
It’s funny you mention the 67 Cup Final, that is my earliest memory of being really disappointed as a kid, I’ve never forgotten that gutted feeling, even with the recent years of domination over them. Deeply scarred by the taunts of the Spurs fans at school, never tempted to ease the suffering by wearing a vest though =) Never mind the awkward looking outfits, AG should go the Demis Roussos route and just opt for a big kaftan.
Hey!!! pls… anybody seen my buddy ‘Marco’?
Been a while i heard from him…pls tell him to at least say ‘hi’…we’r missin him here
marco marco
Anyone seen a Marco???
Great match to watch.
Anybody else wondering if Lamps is regretting not signing that contract?
And that Walcott fella… must admit that I was gutted when he went to the Arse. Just goes to show what I know. If Wenger can’t get the best out of him who will? All that hype for nothing. A real disappointment. I’m hoping Sinclair gets the opportunity to prove he’s a better prospect.
*Mark - Whistling Liquidator always cheers me up and annoys my office mates no end!
Well, it is nice to have a selection issues because of players available, not because of a shortage. I’ll not go to who should be preferred between above mentioned pears. I think this should depend on the condition before the games, opposition, and tactics and so on. Will be cruel to break Ricky – Alex (makes me wonder why JM was reluctant to bring him in) partnership, yet will be cruel to leave Terry out. Agree that no one should be rushed back until 100% fit. But the good news is that, the way the new and “second†choice boys perform, is sending clear message to the rest: No one should hold the club to ransom, refusing to sign contracts and so on…because the new management could easy decide to cash, on some of the so called “big egosâ€.
Who would have believed that we could play and get results with all those names missing? I feel more confident now than most of the last years…wonder why?!
@Bacon
That Walcott looked really classy at Southampton and I was gutted as well when he went to the Corporate sell-outs. Must be very difficult for a young English kid to settle at a club like Arsenal where he has nothing in common with the lifestyles of his foreign teammates. I just can’t imagine it being that much fun for him at his age - because communication & laughs & jokes would not come naturally when he is the odd one out.
Hey, any of you gents able to explain why Anelka wasn’t cup-tied for this cup? Is it simply that he didn’t play any CC games for Bolton?
I thought he’d injured his foot… not his head!
http://www.goal.com/en/Articol.....oId=557893
Now I know why Petr Cech had a bad spell prior to the Everton game. He was busy worrying about his pregnant wife and was worried all the time that she could go to labour anytime. So that’s why he had poor performances because he couldn’t focus and concentrate during matches. And now that she had safely gave birth to their baby girl, he can stay focus during matches. I am sure now that the Petr Cech that we all know and love is back and will be better then ever. He is the best goalkeeper in the world. Congratulation to him and his wife and of course see you all at Wembley!!!!!
I`ve just been disturbed somewhat by Clive`s article..Carragher? Best defender in the world?! Either J.T is delivering that statement very tongue-in-cheek, or he`d had too many shandies to come up with such an outrageous comment! Quote; “Carragher was overlooked by McClaren in favour of the likes of Wes Brown, Ledley King and Sol Campbell”..and there was me just thinking he was shite!! Shouldn`t the self-obsessed twat of realised how bad he was the moment McClaren replaced him with Brown anyway? I know i`d take offence at being replaced by Brown! That bloke`s about as useful as a pair of glasses on a man with one ear!! I`d say our lot take some beating in the defending stakes, i`d also go as far to say Micah Richards and Richard Dunne come a very close second…
I was unlucky enough to miss the game yesterday but couldn’t be more pleased with the result. Off to Wembley we go!
Always Blue.
It’s so lovely going to Wembley again… and again hopeful in May; but that black shirt of AG really gets on my nerve, I bet he wears it because he doesn’t have to wash it so often! Why can’t he wear a bloody blue shirt for a change? Anyway, I think our lads are under auto-pilot of winning mentality; and with the Lady Luck on our side, we can still win four shiny trophies! (with or without AG)
I think it’s revisionist nonsense but it seems worthy of posting:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sp.....mouri.html
I agree with the sentiment of the article which is: who the hell saw that coming from Avram Grant? He’s been much better than so many of us thought he’d be and when you think that we’ve lost only two games, away at United and away at Arse, he’s really done some pretty stunning things. But the idea that this club is somehow better off without Mourinho (as if Mourinho was some sort of weight dragging us down) or that Avram’s silence is a calculated endorsement of his players, I don’t buy it. The simple difference is that Avram has gotten his players and Jose did not.
I always find it funny when journalists write about how catastrophic our Christmas was last year and how Mourinho brought us down and forget that we were in with a shout in 4 competitions in April.
AG’s doing a much better job than any of us thought (more than that, he’s proven himself to be a good manager of this team) but let’s not proclaim him miles better than Mourinho quite yet.
JT…. Carragher!! Seriously, somebody give that man a slap…. I think he might have had one sherbet too many at Christmas.
Really professional performance from the boys last night.
I for one loved the ‘attractive football’ Avram said we played….
AG has done a great job in keeping the boys on track with all that has been going on, but it really is time to stop the pretense that our football now is any different from that under Mourinho.
The only person he seems to have convinced is our very own Jose, who seems delighted with the progress!
One thing I will say though, is that it is great to see others getting on the scoresheet, in the absense of Frank and Drogba.
@PeeDub,
Correct. Bolton never picked him for their Carling Cup games.
He’s also available for us in the Champions League as well I believe.
@simon - off to Wembley with or without Mourinho :). By the way I do not think there is such a thing as “autopilot wining mentality”. Failure or success should have the same address, not like - if we loose blame AG and his black shirt, if we win is autopilot :) - does not sound right, yes?
Oh. My. God.
As pleased as I am JT is England captain, I can understand why this may change under Capello, but I can’t see a genuine contender to replace him.
So this story catches me somewhere between bemusement, horror and side-splitting laughter : http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t.....248261.ece
Rio ‘Jar Jar Binks’ Ferdinand for England captain ??? Do me a favour Red Nose. He couldn’t captain a toy ship in the bath-tub.
@Jose Musumba
Hello Hello Hello
I thought you were going to ignore me.
Yes I did not have the chance to go Liverpool and watch the match live, as I like it so much, in order to comment the game.
But I watched the DVD, and as I wrote above, I predicted the result, because, in my opinion, there are this season 3 only 3 teams equally matched, in terms of players,
Below the 3rd, Chelsea, they all fight for a UEFA place, so it is no surprise that Chelsea won.Only the fanatics and not see that sometimes castles are built on sand.
I also predict that Spuds will be wiped, yes wiped by Chelsea.
Now about the game, and bear in mind I watched on DVD, very different from live in the stadium.
What did I see?? A solid performance, but a solid performance in the defence, because when Everton start attacking Chelsea like headless chickens, typical of all heart and no head, hence the reason they never disturbed Cech, also thanks to, arguably, the best central defender in the world, at least since 2004, Ricardo Carvalho, this guy with his vison and reading of the game may well become a very very good manager in the future.
Hmmm I think this is going to be long, I’ll try to make short though Jose.
Chelsea played as Chelsea has been playing for the last 3/4 seasons, containing the opposition at an arms length,and they do that very well.
They did very well and I congatulate the players, because Jose dont fool yourselve, there is very little influence of AG in the manner Chelsea is playing, he (AG) tries, or better still tried, to get the credit with his after matches comments, but as an intelligent man, he stopped that, he realised he could not fool anyone..
Jose did you read the Joe Cole’s comment after Birmingham?? where he said after thegame, “We are good at winning matches”.
He said “we are good” not “NOW we are good” read between the lines,this in my poor english, makes me think that it is a spirit installed over time, not recently.
What used to annmoy me about AG, was his comments, the last one being “long balls”, now was did Malouda do? was it a pass or a long ball?? if it is a pass was not close to the ground, if it is a long ball must go over the defence, and in my opinion was a long ball kicked from about 40/45 metres.
Hey Jose before I go, did you know I was invited to write comments on Sportingo?? LOL LOL and the invite came from an address in Israel, LMAO, now do they appreciate my comments or do they want to convert MOI?
Sorry for the typos Jose
Stowe - revisionist nonsense is right. Some of the contortions Hytner has had to put himself through to make his point should be embarrassing for a professional journalist. Is he really comparing a Champions League semi-final with a Carling Cup semi-final? I think he is.
Yes I think he is as well, the only similarities between the two is, that they we’re played in Liverpool… and that’s where it ends.
@Jiko
Yeah, damn right, we’re off to Wembley without Mourinho, and the winning mentality did not just evaporate overnight because of the change of personnel. To me AG is just a media-friendly figure installed by Roman, and a “grand-pa” figure to the players! I did not really notice any warm rapport between him and the Chelsea players apart from polite handshakes. When Chelsea players were interviewed, they often talked about themselves, and rarely mentioned their boss AG. AG has had two real tests so far and lost (to ManU and Arse). We shall see how he handles Champions League where the real tests are. Whatever, I wish him luck, of course! :-)
Can’t believe that Guardian article; just a dreadful piece of writing and the worst example of a hack coming up with superfluous nonsense to justify a pre-conceived point. Awful.
> Simon T…
So every other match AG has led the team to were not ‘real’ tests?…how convenient for you to pick the matches AG lost (1 of which was his 1st match in charge, in the midst of team-turmoil and at old trafford) as his ‘real’ test…
Wake up man and get more objective…i guess our loss to villa away was also a ‘real’ test for the team eh?…or performing so well despite the obvious depletion in the squad is not a ‘real’ test…
And talking about champions league where ‘the real test are’…hope u recall that JM failed thrice in succession…{falling twice to the looserpool (our familiar foes) in the process}…
Just enjoy the ride my friend…many teams wish they are as strong as us, mentally… Believe me, if you relax and enjoy the good ride now, you’ll be in a better frame of mind to balance your emotions if/when the bad time comes (like they did in sept when JM left)…
Looking forward to downing wigan this weekend…
Always Blue!
@simon you are right we lost 2 main tests against MU (day after Jose left and took all the paper work he was paid to do, with him), then we had “well deserved” sending off and “clear penalty” against us. Just imagine what the Jose reaction would have been :))). Then we have Arsenal game nice clean challenge on Terry, so Ben is in, then we have Cech mistake, not to mention all injuries and “deserved” red cards in the season so far…so I hope we are due some luck when those 2 visit us at the Bridge.:)
I do not know what exactly is going on inside, but the atmosphere seems ok, so I am quietly confident the season is not wasted :)
It’s official….we have signed Franco Di Santo on a 4.5 year deal…just announced.
He’s a tall so and so perhaps we should now have special teams like they do in the NFL… so he can mark Peter Crouch at corners and other set pieces.
Just found this
http://www.recontragolazo.com/?p=660
Some grainy footage of Di Santo. Not sure if he’s one to rave over from this, and the club he plays for is only a Chilean first division club…which is hardly top level, so presumably one to develop then.
Hardly David Villa though is it (Fifty) ?
Perhaps they bought him so he can reach those hard to reach places when doing a spot of cleaning or decorating. So yes Tony he looks like one to develop.
He might be useful for helping SWP get his bags out of the overhead locker on flights to Euro aways.
The link to the Sky Sports story has a (very un-flattering) photo of him :
http://www.skysports.com/story.....58,00.html
He looks a bit like Ronaldinho in it.
Poor bugger……
Maybe a little unflattering.
It seems clear that Chelsea fans now want players, and especially managers, recruited for looks rather than their performance.
Bring back Micky Droy I say.
>> He looks a bit like Ronaldinho in it.
But without the ability to eat apples through a tennis racket…
It is not David Villa, but so is the price not :)). Fact is Fergie and Rafa are been after him. Now they all claim we are trying to by success again… the morons. I think they are all scared…Avram is coming after them. Other news not related is that: The Undertaker is going to retire from wrestling and do some soccer school… It is all good fun!
Bring on Wigan!
“He might be useful for helping SWP get his bags out of the overhead locker on flights to Euro aways.”
No JD I think SWP can use his new mate Lescott for that, he was more than helpful a few weeks ago
I just know that thousands of scousers are going to just love this… I can hear them all screaming “carm down carm down”
http://www.skysports.com/story.....72,00.html
“It seems clear that Chelsea fans now want players, and especially managers, recruited for looks rather than their performance.”
That Cristiano Ronaldo’s a pretty penny. Maybe we can prise him from United? Haha.
Well guys, here is what the Irish press is saying about Grant and Chelsea, worth to check bear in mind that they have had some what different opinion about Chelsea some time ago:
http://www.independent.ie/spor.....73436.html
Re: The JT story about Carragher.
Sorry, chaps, but I have always rated Carragher and felt the only reason he wasn’t a regular for England was because he was too similar to JT. Would I be correct in saying he is the only centre half in the country that has kept the Drog quiet?
Shame he plays for the thieving gits though.