There is no discussion on who’s the favourite for this match. Chelsea would be really upset if they miss out on the first trophy of the season. The quadruple still being a possibility, Avram and Chelsea will go all out to retain the trophy.

There were rumours yesterday that Terry and Lampard will be dropped. Avram Grant’s eluding comments did not help the matter as he was reiterated on choosing the best team for the final, whatever that means.

My stance regarding the whole Terry-Lampard affair is that, we have a team that can win irrespective of whether Lampard or Terry is there. They have been fantastic players for us but we can still win big matches without them. On the other hand, the last thing I want is players and coach shooting off to the press asking questions and giving ultimatums, something like the Jens Lehmann / Gilberto Silva thing.

Grant’s very clear on what he wants to do:

I’m the boss and the nature of my job is that there are hard situations and decisions. I need to consider what’s best for the club – long term and short term. Sometimes there is rotation, but I don’t think that is the way. Sometimes you prefer certain players or you think they cannot play after injury. But this is not just about Frank and John, we have a lot of good players and, at the end of the day, I am the boss. I can only play 11 players.

Very well said. It’s easy to pick the best eleven based on form. What’s difficult is to manage expectations and disappointments especially that of the senior players, who are also performers.

Coming to talk of this match, as I said, Chelsea are the clear favourites. When Chelsea faced Arsenal in the last league cup final, we were the favourites. When we have a complete squad to pick from, Tottenham cannot fancy too much. See, this is not being arrogant, this is being realistic. While Chelsea had four days to rest, between their last match and this final, Spurs had just two days. Spurs can make an impression in one area, that is tactics. Ramos is known to be tactically superior to Grant. But the last we played Spurs last month, we completely outplayed them. That time it was at the Stamford Bridge and after that they have stuffed their arse rivals 5-1.

chelsea-team-vs-tottenham.jpgMy team and formation for this match would be this. Yes, I would choose Lampard and Terry for this match. Playing at Wembley in a final against a team from the English league, it’s hard for me not to pick them. I’d go for a 4-4-2 diamond for two reasons – one, we need to play a tactically sound and calculative game, two, that’s the best formation now to accommodate our match winners. It’s certainly Wayne Bridge for me. I wonder why Avram has been sticking to Ashley Cole, while he does not promise a place for Terry/Lampard, based on form (it can’t be fitness, as they are declared fully fit). Ballack is not quick enough to be the attacking tip of the diamond against a league opposition. Drogba and Anelka should pair up together unless Grant does not want them to pair for the first time in a cup final. What we have in abundance is the big match players. Cech, Terry, Lampard, Essien, Joe Cole and Drogba – they are all not only match winners but also show up in big matches.

BBC’s Mark Lawrenson predicts for a Tottenham win. Normally I see that Mark goes for the popular choice and hardly predicts for an upset. He also remarks that Spurs have beaten Chelsea once in 16 attempts. I’m sure that the number of attempts column would see a change rather than the number of wins column.

Two horrible things have happened in football this week – (i) some fools sending anti-semitic insults and death threats to Avram Grant (ii) Eduardo’s horrible injury. First the death threat. Though it turned out to be harmless, I hope the police take it rather seriously and bring those idiots to justice. I nearly puked when I heard that Escobar was shot. How can people do such ridiculous things and hope to stay scot-free. I’m sure that those anti-social elements would be punished accordingly. Next, the injury to Eduardo. I’m not sure if he would play the next season, leave alone this season. Such was the gory nature of the injury, none of the television channels would show replays of that injury, no videos and not too many pictures either. I really really really feel sorry for Eduardo. That said, I don’t agree with the knee-jerk reactions of Wenger for Taylor’s life ban. That’s nonsense. That was a badly timed tackle, just like Stephen Hunt on Petr Cech. It was more idiotic than intentional.

Arsenal have been held by Birmingham while Man Utd thrashes Newcastle again. Over two legs against Newcastle, Man Utd have scored 11 goals and conceded 1. Arsene Wenger must have started to feel the heat. Man Utd are just three points away from Arsenal and the Wenger’s team still have to play Chelsea and Man Utd away, and Liverpool and Everton at home. In just a couple of weeks time, Arsenal could lose everything on sight after all the hype.

Back to our match. I expect a 2-0 win for Chelsea. One each for Drogba and Anelka. And, no red cards please!

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