Chelsea vs Tottenham | 30-Apr-2011 @ 17:30 UK
Do you remember this date? April 29th. The year was 2006. The day on which Chelsea successfully defended their title and for the first time in their history of more than 100 years became back-to-back champions. We had to draw the match to become champions again. And we beat them in style. 3-0. Right there. We beat the top dogs and won the title right in front of their eyes. To add insult to injury, few minutes before the final whistle, Jose went up to Fergie to shake hands so he can go to his players at the final whistle to celebrate. I went mental at the final whistle! What.A.Day!
Five years later, we see a possibility of Man Utd winning the title at Old Trafford against Chelsea. Just like the way we did against them in 2006. It could be a sweet revenge for Fergie. If we want to avoid this possibility, we should beat Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow. If we don’t win tomorrow, Man Utd winning the title at Old Trafford against us is a real possibility. I’d give anything to avoid this.
I tend to think that it’s a good thing that Arsenal is out of the title race by the time they play Man Utd. If they are still in the race, you can bet on Arsenal collapsing and handing it over to Man Utd. That’s how this Arsenal team responds to pressure. Now that they’re out of the race, and that they are playing for pride, they have a point to prove and all that, they can give a tough fight to Man Utd.
I was hoping for a Man Utd defeat at Schalke but that turned out to be something like a practice match. Man Utd were in full control and 2-0 was a massive understatement of their superiority on that night. If not for Neuer’s fine performance, the score might have been embarrassing for a champions league semi final match at home. They’re going to the finals, Man Utd, the team I’m gonna support in the champions league finals. Naturally, if it’s between Man Utd and Barcelona, for me, it’s a no brainer. Behind all my banter over Man Utd, I must say that I have this respect for them as a football club and their tradition and their great manager.
I’m never one to bother which tactic a manager chooses as long as he can win. Winning football, in my eyes, is entertaining enough. At least Man Utd will play fair and hard. They are not angels, neither are Real Madrid. For that matter, even we are not guardian angels of fairplay football. We all know that. But we have always played fair and hard. Barca doesn’t play fair. They couldn’t hide their disappointment of losing to Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey final and they have gone unbelievably low to win this match.
I’ve said a couple of blogs worth of content on this match in the comments section of the earlier post. In short, I’d say Real Madrid were cheated all through the match by Barca’s classless theatrics. Madrid wanted a draw. Barca wanted to Madrid players to get sent off and miss the second leg. Simple as. Pepe’s was not a red card. Check this link in the Real Madrid official website. Pepe did not even make a contact with Dani Alves. True. I thought it was a foul but not a red. Now it’s clear that Pepe didn’t even touch Dani Alves.
Honestly we shouldn’t be surprised. UEFA loves Barca and ensures that they have an easy passage. It works most of the except like the Inter at Camp Nou, where against all odds and a nothing red card at Camp fucking Nou, Internazionale showed them the middle finger and went to the finals. So, I’m not surprised. Same old Barca. Diving and bullying. Same old UEFA. Cheating and scamming.
Oh man! I feel so exhausted. The el clasicos are finally over except one which is probably a dead rubber. I really feel for fans, players and coaches of Real Madrid as well as Barcelona. This has must have been such an emotional trip for them. This is all so bloody intense. If I myself feel so exhausted, I can imagine how they would have felt.
Okay, back to the premier league action. We’re still the second favourites to win the title this season. If Man Utd were to lose tomorrow and if we were to beat Spurs, our win against Man Utd next weekend would leave both Chelsea and Man Utd at 73 points with just 2 games to go! From there, it would then be Chelsea’s title to lose because the momentum will be with us. Oh well, you can call me a day dreamer but look at this season so far. Can we beat Spurs? Hell yes. Can Man Utd suffer back-to-back defeats? Why not if they are against Arsenal and Chelsea?
Is this improbable? Yes. Is this impossible? No. Ask Fergie. He’ll tell you what this is: ‘football, ‘bloody hell!
Fabio Borini in fine form – 6 goals in 7 games for Swansea. But he’s unable to get a contract at Chelsea. Expect some big club to snatch him in summer. It’s a pity. I like this guy. Very alert and sharp – a constant headache for the defensive line. We’re missing out on him.
I hope carlo sticks to 4-3-3 …
Borini is definitely the next Inzhagi and I am sure Carlo knows that. We know Carlo knows how to utilise Inzhagi. Please wait guys, he needs to create his own team. Jose’s team is still in full effect. Lucas Piazon was bought as Carlo’s Zidane/Rui Costa/Kaká. Mikel is Pirlo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOSVVrj0WZo&feature=player_embedded#at=13
i like to see this formation vs spurs ?
–Ivanovid—Luiz—Terry—A.Cole—
Ramires–Essien–Lampard–Malouda
————Torres—Drogba————-
SUB:Turnbull,Bosingwa,Alex,Mikel,Zhirkov,Anelka,Kalou.
We could have a very young and promising parrnership in Sturridge – Borini. Instead we splashed 50 million on a 27-year old player on decline and rented both Sturridge and Borini even without giving them sufficient time to prove themselves. What a joke of a club we are! Sad, very sad.
Nope. I’m happy about Sturridge. I’m sad that we couldn’t hold on to Borini. Even if these are part of our plans, I’d have still bought Torres.
Torres is not just a football buy. He is an icon. He is one of the superstars from continental Europe. You heard David Luiz saying how he wants to convert the Brazilian football fans into Chelsea fans. That’s what would happen better with big players from different parts of the world. More people in Spain would follow his progress like many Italians following Chelsea’s progress due to our long Italian connection.
Torres, apart from being a fine striker, is an icon and he improves the profile of the club. There could be players that join Chelsea because of such deals. Plus, he can sell millions of shirts.
So, a purchase of a player is never just a footballing decision in modern football. There are various aspects and dimensions.
BC, I agree that purchase of a player is not just a footballing decision but you miss 2 points.
1) We bought Torres at the moment when we were in goal-drought thinking that he would reverse the situation, which means we bought him exactly for footballing terms. Yet we misscalculated the fact that he was already in decline and there were many young strikers better than him. Look at Suarez example from Liverpool.
2) Do you think that Torres is selling or will sell more shirts than Chicharito? How many of us knew about the Mexican before 2010? Not many. I mean we still can buy a star but a potential star like Chicharito or Suarez. We don’t have to jump at Shevchenkos and Torreses who have already past their peak. We don’t have a right trabsfer policy, just admit it.
“thinking that he would reverse te situation”. That’s what I disagree. That’s not why he was bought in my opinion. He was bought to lead our attack for the next three seasons minimum. Players like Chcharito prefer to play for Man Utd for their success and legacy. They want to play for Arsenal so they get some playing time. Chelsea is not any youngster’s first choice club. In order to change this, the profile of the club should be improved. It’s happening slowly nut surely. We have a top Italian manager, top Spanish striker, strong Brazilian contingent, great English talent – we are slowly there. For our model, we need big name players. In my humble opinion, we can neither be an Arsenal or a Man Utd or a Barca in terms of player development nor be a Real Madrid where you hardly have a truly home grown player (except Casillas). We need to be get the best of both worlds. I’m totally in favour of buying big name players like Torres and also developing players like Josh.
Also a big name purchase sends out several messages. At some point a couple of seasons before, we were only picking up free players and budget buys (esp when Jose locked horns with Roman). During those times, there were several rumours about Roman’s commitment to the club. Media said he was getting tired of football, he’s gonna sell the club and all that.
With the British record purchase of Torres, Roman has sent out a message loud and clear – Roman is more committed than he ever was. No amount of press conferences persuading the media to believe this message would have worked. Even players are sometimes in the dark. These are not questions one can ask on Roman’s face. But when he makes a British transfer record to buy a top quality, premier league proven Spanish striker, every single person associated with the club gets the message that THE BOSS IS HERE TO STAY!
Should this purchase have been Torres is another question. I think Torres is a great buy. We are too early to knock him and this transfer down. He will deliver.
@Arsenalic_smile_of_Drogba dont forget we bought Essien,Mikel,Drogba,cech and many more when nobody knew of them.And they are with us for 6-7 seasons.I dont expect the little mexican to last that longer for Devils
We had only 3 superstar signings since Roman
Ballack,Shevchenko and Now Torres.
Good comment!
BlueChampion,
I really adore the faith tht you have put in FT9 …. yes i do agree with the fact the RA has not turned his back on us and is committed to the club’s development… but the point is no matter how talented, iconic, mercurial torres is …is it good to splash 50 mil on one person and expose ourselves to such a high risk (injuries/bad form etc.) .. or is it better to have spent that amount on 2-3 younger, proven/upcoming fwds or wingers…. I m jus saying that.. in my view.. i would always… always.. prefer a player who would perform at a high level but is available for 90% of the season.. as compared to a brilliant player who would be available for 50% of the season…..look at the contribution of our own frank lampard…. as compared to his technically superior counterparts…like fabregas….
now we are talking about a 30 mil pound move for lukaku…. which i really think is an exorbitant prize tag… .his value has actually rocketed over the past few months….. lets hope we sign players like lukaku, hazard, and neymar for a combined prize tag of 80 mil pounds… i dont see this happenin though… but i hope it does.
kaz, Fair comment mate. I’m not saying £50m is the right price for Torres. But when you have a rich and committed owner like Roman and with UEFA FairPlay not kicking in yet, there’s not much difference between £50m and £30m. Unlike many other clubs, we still don’t feel the pinch of a £50m purchase in our bottomline.
I agree that £50m was certainly on the higher side.
Honestly guys, I don’t know what it feels to be the owner of Chelsea FC. If were to be the billionaire owner of Chelsea FC, there are some players I would like to see in my club, at any cost. Roman always had wanted to bring Torres to Chelsea. There was an opportunity and he’s pounced on it. Not the best deal financially but that’s Roman’s forte. As long as it’s good for the club – in football and prestige terms – I’m fine with it. Remember, unlike other clubs, we are NOT taking huge loans to buy players. When that happens, my view would certainly change.
BlueChampion,
point taken sirjee… but in my view… the torres transfer throws up 2 points… the cost of the transfer as high as it might be is a secondary considering the RA’s deep pockets .. the primary point being… shouldn’t we focus more on getting players who would be a part of a squad for the next 6-7 years… and their age,form, caliber,and most importantly physical endurance(considering BPL) should be at consistent levels for that period….? I would always vouch for torres being a great buy… at 27 he still has at least 4 productive years left in him…. but the pressure of being an overpriced marquee signings does take its toll.. even though he has dealt with it gracefully… i dont think its good for the mentality of team as a whole for being reported about the misfiring of an individual on a weekly basis instead of their combined onfield performance….. a the end of this season we would have many of our key members on the wrong side of 30….and i so hope we dont have to go thru the australian cricket syndrome where they lost all their top notch players all at once to retirement….
There is a lotta news about RA givin approvals for revamping the whole side… i only have to say.. the focus should be more on the player’s consistency than his brilliance… not that there should be any compromise… but a fit Chelsea team can demolish anyone on a given day…just a fit team is enuf….
(if chelsea do have a good day.. god save the opponents… :) )
kaz,
That’s absolutely right mate. After this season, the players that are on the wrong side of 30 will leave and or will start making fewer appearances. At that time, we should not have the ‘Australian Cricket Syndrome’ (I like that phrase). When we play more youngsters the team should have some reasonably senior and experienced players – Torres, Ramires, Essien, David Luiz etc.
I see your point about us not buying a lot of young talent. Actually, we are buying at 15-18 bracket rather than the 20-24 bracket. For any good talent that’s 20-24, clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Man Utd, Arsenal etc appeal more. I’m very keen to see what happens in this summer transfer window. That will tell us a lot about our direction.
Yes, I’d expect some of the new purchases (assuming there are some) to fill the gap between the very young and the aging.
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona would defeat Manchester United.
The CL is a metaphor for the times. The big money resides in Spain right now. The EPL has been in decline for about 3 seasons, for a variety of reasons that we’ve discussed here before. This is why the Premier League is so competitive this season.
By next year, things may have changed. Abramovich may spend again and one gets the feeling that United will as well. And despite Fair Play and their constrained revenues, Manchester City might take one last swing at it.
But for this season, the power resides on the Iberian Peninsula.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1382180/Chelsea-prove-want-warns-Malouda.html
My god. I don’t want him to stay next year.. He has to prove and get one year ..
Yo mama
The game is not finished yet but I believe that we’ll either draw or be beaten. Like I was saying in my previous posts, the team beat some mediocre teams and fans here start claiming that the team is back to its best. I said that neither the team nor the manager is good and they will crack up under the pressure at the first serious encounter. Well, I was right again!
And some believed that this team could win the title!!! LOLOLOLOL
Arsenalic_smile_of_Drogba,
Mate! One last time! Hope you understand! We don’t believe, we HOPE. I have said this a few times but I don’t mind repeating. In the champions league final, when Liverpool were trailing 3-0 against a majestic Milan side, what would you have said, if you were a Liverpool fan?
We all know where we stand. But as fans, it’s natural and subconscious for us to HOPE.
We were very lucky. Lapmard’s goal is controversial! We won’t be so lucky at Old Trafford!
Arsenalic_smile_of_Drogba,
why are you so pessimistic? Realism is welcome, but you are being too down.
Winning Ugly is amaaaaziiiiiiiiiing…….
Kalou needs a contract extension NOW!!!!!!!!!
Whilst Kalou might not have the best technical ability, he has the ‘killer’ instinct that Anelka once had. Move over Anelka, give Kalou a contract extension ’cause he’s still young and is a potent goalscorer. Malouda has to go out –> and we need a young right-back. MOST importantly, though, let the youngster’s shine!
This win feels cheap. Two ghost goals. I’d rather beat a team without having an asterisk attached to the victory.
I can’t believe what I am reading here…what’s happening with some of the Chelsea fans? The game was not even over but some people here were already crying that we lost, only to be proven wrong minutes later…this is beyond silly. Why not exercise some patience and show some respect to our team? I think we have a great team we could be proud of, great group of men with a character who will fight to the end, and yes a great manager. Remember where we were 2 months ago. What I saw today was joy on tired but proud faces of Carlo,Terry, Lampard, Mikel, Cole, Cech. This is why I love football, this is why I am a Chelsea fan. They were giving their all to win it for us, for their fans, only for some of us to throw it away and only to talk about negative. Sorry for the rant but come on people, show some character too.
Rors21,
For me there was no asterisk…we were the better team by a mile and we didn’t buy the refs. There is really nothing to be ashamed of. Spurs scored from distance once (Cech should have reacted sooner) and never bothered our goal after that. Bale, van der Vaart, and Lennon were all invisible men. We overplayed Spurs in all areas but were not deadly enough in our finishing. Check the game stats! For the purist like you, sorry, but I am taking this win with pleasure and hope for more to come.