Hi
I know it's been a while but here is the first blog of the new season, summarised as a blog for August. Transfer activity wise it was a pretty quiet summer going into the charity shield (a game I very rarely care about) - the most significant transfer being an outgoing one - Petr Cech getting the green light to sign for Arsenal. Chelsea signed Stoke's number one keeper Begovic as a replacement and also added Man Utd flop Falcao as a replacement for the outgoing Didier Drogba. That was an interesting, maybe Jose will get the best out of him. Other than that, it was as you and neither of our new players started the shield match, although Cech lined up against us. I was once again extremely proud of the reception the Chelsea fans gave Cech while Arsenal fans continued to boo Fabregas - but again, the media gave us no credit whatsoever.
A well taken first half goal by Oxlade - Chamberlain, cutting inside and firing in on his left foot, decided this match. Missed sitters from Ramires and Hazard proved costly and Cech's only real moment came when he saved an Oscar free kick. A later flurry where Arsenal could have sealed the win on the counter was all that there was else to report. But overall I'd say it was a lacklustre opening, and only got mildly amusing at full time when Jose and Arsene refused to shake hands(again).
Our first Premier league game of the season was certainly eventful and arguably its aftershocks are still being heard. The line up was still the same as the shield match aside from Costa returning from injury where Remy started and Oscar replacing Ramires. Swansea started brightly and almost took the lead twice through Gomis. First he saw a header drift wide and then was blocked from close range by Terry - the follow up was a shot by Sung - Yeung that Courtois beat away. But despite that, it was Chelsea who scored first, with Oscar sending a low free kick from the left hand side straight into the goal after no one got a touch on it from either side. Swansea though deservedly pulled level when Ayew poked home after Courtois had saved the lively Gomis header - but within a minute or so Chelsea re-took the lead. A willian cross from the left took a huge deflection off Fernandez and onto the Swansea defenders own goal. Chelsea led 2-1 at half time but Swansea started brightly as they did in the first half and created a few half chances before a big moment swung the pendulum back in their favour. Gomis ran onto a Shelvey long ball and Courtois came charging out of his goal and hauled down Gomis - penalty and red card. So Begovic got a chance to make his Chelsea debut earlier than he would have hoped but he couldn't stop Gomis scoring the penalty.
Begovic staked an early claim for the number one spot as he denied Montero and Swansea were denied other chances as well by the replacement keeper, with Hazard going close for Chelsea. All the attention afterwards though went on what happened in the final minutes. Hazard going down injured and the Chelsea doctors Eva Carneiro and Jon Fearn ran on to treat him, this of course meant he had to come off as per the rules, leaving Chelsea with nine men for the final minute. This infuriated Jose Mourinho and he made a point of criticising them in his post match interviews. Eva then put something on her Facebook page 'thanking the fans for all their support'. Next thing you know - Chelsea announce that the pair are dropped from being on the Chelsea bench and although they will continue in their roles as Chelsea doctors they are banned from the team hotel and the training ground. Que a media explosion the likes we can only expect now when anything remotely controversial to do with Chelsea or Jose comes about. At first I thought it was the usual deflection tactics, our next being away at Man City - it might still have been. If it wasn't then I fail to see Jose's point, as Eva and Jon did nothing wrong. They had to come onto the pitch if Hazard showed signs of injury and requested treatment, which he did. Maybe it was the fact she went on Facebook? Because you don't do that, it was almost like she was criticising her boss then. I certainly don't think it was 'sexist', those were some ridiculous claims, after all the fact Jose took his stance with a woman shows that he viewed her no different to her male counterparts. But it was certainly a messy end to the week and probably did more harm than good with our preparations for Man City.
Begovic started in place of suspended Courtois and Ramires replaced Oscar. Begovic was called into action after 30 seconds as Aguero went through on goal but our new keeper denied the Argentine an early goal. In fact, in turned into the Aguero v Begovic show as Aguero was denied twice more and then fired wide in in the opening half an hour. Sadly though, his fifth chance of the game was not to go our way as he wriggled past Cahil to create some space before slotting home inside the far post with Terry or Matic unable to block. There was a flashpoint just before half time as Fernandinho disgracefully fouled Costa, who understandably reacted angrily. The TV cameras disgustingly decided to focus on Costa's 'angry reaction' rather than the foul on him itself. Praise pundit Thiery Henry who fairly said 'If Costa had done that we would all be saying its a red card'. Zouma replaced Terry at half time for a tactical substitution, something that would become a theme throughout the next week. A big moment came when Hazard set up Ramires to score, only for the offside flag to incorrectly rule it out. Hazard saw an effort saved later by Hart before a headed goal by Kompany and a long range shot by Fernandinho finished us off.
Panic was probably starting to set in now a little bit so it was a welcome boost that we snatched Pedro from under Manchester Uniteds noses and signed before our trip to West Brom at the weekend, a venue where we had lost 3 of our last 4 visits there and not won since 2011.
Aside from Ivanovic who has been poor this season, the line was probably our best eleven, with Pedro starting in place of Ramires and Zouma replacing Cahil. After 14 minutes though despite a bright start, Matic conceded a penalty for a needless foul. but Courtois, who returned after a one game suspension, denied Morrison.Not long after that, Pedro marked his debut with a goal, exchanging passes with Hazard and poking home a left foot shot inside the near post. What a start for our new arrival! Not long after that, Pedro had an assist in our second, as Willians good work down the right saw him feed Pedro who drilled a low cross for Costa to convert at the far post for 2-0. 'Are you watching Manchester?' sang the Chelsea fans. After half an hour, a good goal brought West Brom back in it though, as Rondon pulled back an overhit cross and Morrison drilled home a superb strike. Willians spurned a good chance for 3-1 but before half time, Azpilecueta did make it 3-1 when he finished Costa's chest down. A 3-1 half time lead looked good for us but within 10 minutes the nerves were back as Terry was dismissed for bringing down Rondon as the lat man and not long after, a superbly placed header from Morrison made it 3-2. Costa missed a late chance and a nervy last 10 minutes followed as Brunt fired wide and Courtois blocked a last minute attempt from Rondon.
I had a stag do in Prague for our next game against Crystal Palace so to finish this entry off, I know very little about this game but it is just as well really.
Zouma replaced suspended Terry for the only change. From the limited highlights I saw, the game was fairly open with chances for both teams, which is a bit worrying as we are so open at the moment. This couldn't have been more obvious on 65 minutes as Sako burst through our defence to fire home from close range (news of this reached me as I was on a coach on the way back from Go Karting in Prague). Falcao was introduced at some point, and finally got off the mark with eleven to go. A fantastic low cross from Pedro was met with a low diving header from Falcao for 1-1 - but that would not last. A deep cross from Palace 2 minutes later would be headed back across goal to Ward who headed home what turned out to be the winning goal in only Jose Mourinho's second home defeat in the Premier League.
Shocking result but my next blog will update on reaction and all events since then including a rather strange end to the transfer window ...
Friday, 11 September 2015
Monday, 1 June 2015
Final 3 games and post season review
With the title wrapped up, the final three games were a formality, just the aim of getting as many points as possible. First up was the exciting prospect of Liverpool giving us a guard of honour - including one Steven Gerrard on his final Stamford Bridge appearance for Liverpool...
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was given a first start for Chelsea as Mourinho made good on his promise to give more youngsters playing time. Filipe Luis and Zouma started as well as Obi Mikel and Remy as several changes were made. It didn't look like they mattered as John Terry gave us the lead after 5 minutes - heading home a Fabregas corner and making hin the Premier leagues highest scoring defender - which is an incredible achivement when you bear in mind that the player he overtook, David unsworth, mostly took penalties and free kicks where as Terry has not a single set piece goal.
Filipe Luis diverted a Coutinho shot wide shorty after and Mignolet pushed a Fabregas shot around the post. An early injury saw Zouma replaced by Cahill. Liverpool equalised before half time when - wouldn't you know it - Gerrard headed home Hendersons free kick. I'd say liverpool edged the second half as complacency and possible lack of motivation hit the already crowned champions, Lalanna and Coutinho going close with wide shots. Willian then also fired wide and Fabregas saw a shot comfortably saved - before with 13 minutes left came my favourite moment of the match. Gerrard subbed in his last ever Stamford Bridge appearance and the Chelsea fans gave him a standing ovation showing their class (he wouldn't have got that at Old Trafford). A late Coutinho shot almost fooled Courtois but the Belgian keeper made a save to deny Liverpool a late win. Afterwards Gerrard gave a funny interview addressing the standing ovation where he dismissed the gesture saying "It was nice of them (the Chelsea fans) to turn up for once". Ok, I guess he deserved that after all the stick we gave him, I do think footballers are allowed to give stick back to fans. I'd like to think the next day he was a bit more appreciative of that though. Overall I was happy with Loftus - Cheeks performance, he kept things neat and simple.
The next match away to West Brom was one to forget. Costa returned to the starting line up although Remy retained his place, moving out to the wide left. Matic came in for Obi Mikel and Cahill for Zouma. Loftus - Cheek retained his place. We had it all to do though after an early scare, as Berahino gave West Brom the lead with a brilliant goal, a right foot strike outside the penalty area into the bottom corner. Can't fault that. Hazard fire over the bar before a comedic moment saw Chelsea reduced to 10 men. Costa clashed with a couple of West Brom players and while the referee tried (and struggled) to restore order, Fabregas took the ball and pinned into straight onto Brunts head. It was quite funny and brilliant precision in fairness, but the referee saw it as a red card offfence and dismissed him. Chelsea though almost pulled themselves level when Filipe Luis saw a free kick saved by the keeper and at the other end Courtois saved low from Brunt. A minute into the second half and any hope of getting back into the match was dashed as Terry fouled Berahino who charged towards goal. Berahino himself took the penalty and made it 2-0. Chelsea best effort of the second half came when Remy struck a 20 yard shot against the post, while late on Brunt struck a powerful left foot strike home from a corner to make it 3-0. With the title in the bag I can't say I was too bothered though...
So then onto the final game against Sunderland with the chance to lift the trophy in front of the fans. Drogba annonced before the match he would be leaving Chelsea again - signalling his desire to play more regularly. He captained Chelsea today, Terry still started though, ensuring he has played every minute of Chelseas 38 game season. Cech came in as well so he could pick up a winners medal - will he be there next season I wonder? Willian started in place of suspended Fabregas and so did Cuadrado. Willian and Larsson each tested the keepers with a free kick and then Cech also kept out Defore before Sunderland took the lead. A Johnson corner was headed in at the far post by Fletcher. Shortly afterwards Chelsea made a substitution, but not just any substitution. Drogba having announced he was leaving was being withdrawn, having only just returned from an injury. All his team mates (Cech included) ran towards him to lift him up and carry him to the touchline where he was given a standing ovation by fans, staff and manager. It was a lovely moment as Stamford Bridge said goodbye to the player recently voted as its greatest ever player. Costa came on to replace him and it didn't take too long for him to make an impact. Cuadrado was sent tumbling by Rodwell inside the penalty area for a penalty - I might be wrong but I think it might be the most significant thing he's done since joining! Hazard could have taken it and gone level with Costa as top scorer, but he unselfishly gave it to Costa to get on the scoresheet for the first time since his injury at Hull two months agao - and the striker did not disapoint as he smashed home the penalty for 1-1. Cuadrado ended up being subbed for Remy before half time. As the second half started Remy almost opened the scoring but saw an effort deflect wide while a the other end, Azpilecueta cleared off the line from Defoe. Cahill saw a drive saved while Willian also went close before with 20 minutes left, Hazard gave one final reminder of why he has been the best player this season as he went on a run and fed Remy who slotted home. Youngster Christensen was brought on for Obi Mikel before Remy sealed the win as he finished off a Costa centre with minutes remaining.
Overall I think we've been the best team this season by far, in all competitions we've only lost four games, three in the premier league (one when we were already crowned champions) and one in the FA cup against Bradford. In the champions league we were knocked out on away goals by PSG so didn't actually lose in that competition. For next season, I think we still need to improve the squad - our rivals will most certainly improve there's. I'm hearing rumours that Falcao is being lined up as a replacement for Drogba - if that is true then I don't know what I think of that. He would only be our third choise striker of course but he didn't exaclty light up Old Trafford, but maybe Mourinho has other plans for him. I think Cuadrado for Schurrle was a bad bit of business if I'm being honest, although he may yet still come good. I think maybe another left back is needed and another midfielder - I'd go for Pogba but he will most likely be too expensive. It was nice to see more youngsters given a chance this year but still don't think it was done enough - I'd like to see more of that next season, especially Ruben Loftus - Cheek. I think the Bradford game and the manner of our performance in the second leg v PSG shows we do need to strengthen the squad. For that reason, I'd like Cech to stay, we could really do with that, but I'm hearing it is unlikely.
Below I've selected some of my highs and lows for the season - they are just my personal opinions though. Let me know if you agree or disagree.
Player of the season: John Terry
Goal of the season: Oscar v QPR
Most important goal: Fabregas v QPR
Most important game: Chelsea 1-0 Man Utd
Best game of the season: Everton 3 - 6 Chelsea
One to watch: Loftus Cheek
Worst game: Chelsea 2 -2 PSG (due to the fact it was on my birthday)
Best game I went to: Chelsea 3 - 0 Tottenham
Favourite player: Eden Hazard
Team of the season: Courtois, Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilecueta, Matic, Fabregas, Hazard, Willian, Remy, Costa
Best chant: 'Fabregas is magic' followed closely by the Gerrard song which I didn't pick first due to it being over-done.
Shout out: Chelsea fans showing their class by giving Gerrard a standing ovation and Lampard after he scored against us - media did not bother praising us for either though
Thoughts for next season: Retain the league but do much better in champions league
Come on the Chels!
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was given a first start for Chelsea as Mourinho made good on his promise to give more youngsters playing time. Filipe Luis and Zouma started as well as Obi Mikel and Remy as several changes were made. It didn't look like they mattered as John Terry gave us the lead after 5 minutes - heading home a Fabregas corner and making hin the Premier leagues highest scoring defender - which is an incredible achivement when you bear in mind that the player he overtook, David unsworth, mostly took penalties and free kicks where as Terry has not a single set piece goal.
Filipe Luis diverted a Coutinho shot wide shorty after and Mignolet pushed a Fabregas shot around the post. An early injury saw Zouma replaced by Cahill. Liverpool equalised before half time when - wouldn't you know it - Gerrard headed home Hendersons free kick. I'd say liverpool edged the second half as complacency and possible lack of motivation hit the already crowned champions, Lalanna and Coutinho going close with wide shots. Willian then also fired wide and Fabregas saw a shot comfortably saved - before with 13 minutes left came my favourite moment of the match. Gerrard subbed in his last ever Stamford Bridge appearance and the Chelsea fans gave him a standing ovation showing their class (he wouldn't have got that at Old Trafford). A late Coutinho shot almost fooled Courtois but the Belgian keeper made a save to deny Liverpool a late win. Afterwards Gerrard gave a funny interview addressing the standing ovation where he dismissed the gesture saying "It was nice of them (the Chelsea fans) to turn up for once". Ok, I guess he deserved that after all the stick we gave him, I do think footballers are allowed to give stick back to fans. I'd like to think the next day he was a bit more appreciative of that though. Overall I was happy with Loftus - Cheeks performance, he kept things neat and simple.
The next match away to West Brom was one to forget. Costa returned to the starting line up although Remy retained his place, moving out to the wide left. Matic came in for Obi Mikel and Cahill for Zouma. Loftus - Cheek retained his place. We had it all to do though after an early scare, as Berahino gave West Brom the lead with a brilliant goal, a right foot strike outside the penalty area into the bottom corner. Can't fault that. Hazard fire over the bar before a comedic moment saw Chelsea reduced to 10 men. Costa clashed with a couple of West Brom players and while the referee tried (and struggled) to restore order, Fabregas took the ball and pinned into straight onto Brunts head. It was quite funny and brilliant precision in fairness, but the referee saw it as a red card offfence and dismissed him. Chelsea though almost pulled themselves level when Filipe Luis saw a free kick saved by the keeper and at the other end Courtois saved low from Brunt. A minute into the second half and any hope of getting back into the match was dashed as Terry fouled Berahino who charged towards goal. Berahino himself took the penalty and made it 2-0. Chelsea best effort of the second half came when Remy struck a 20 yard shot against the post, while late on Brunt struck a powerful left foot strike home from a corner to make it 3-0. With the title in the bag I can't say I was too bothered though...
So then onto the final game against Sunderland with the chance to lift the trophy in front of the fans. Drogba annonced before the match he would be leaving Chelsea again - signalling his desire to play more regularly. He captained Chelsea today, Terry still started though, ensuring he has played every minute of Chelseas 38 game season. Cech came in as well so he could pick up a winners medal - will he be there next season I wonder? Willian started in place of suspended Fabregas and so did Cuadrado. Willian and Larsson each tested the keepers with a free kick and then Cech also kept out Defore before Sunderland took the lead. A Johnson corner was headed in at the far post by Fletcher. Shortly afterwards Chelsea made a substitution, but not just any substitution. Drogba having announced he was leaving was being withdrawn, having only just returned from an injury. All his team mates (Cech included) ran towards him to lift him up and carry him to the touchline where he was given a standing ovation by fans, staff and manager. It was a lovely moment as Stamford Bridge said goodbye to the player recently voted as its greatest ever player. Costa came on to replace him and it didn't take too long for him to make an impact. Cuadrado was sent tumbling by Rodwell inside the penalty area for a penalty - I might be wrong but I think it might be the most significant thing he's done since joining! Hazard could have taken it and gone level with Costa as top scorer, but he unselfishly gave it to Costa to get on the scoresheet for the first time since his injury at Hull two months agao - and the striker did not disapoint as he smashed home the penalty for 1-1. Cuadrado ended up being subbed for Remy before half time. As the second half started Remy almost opened the scoring but saw an effort deflect wide while a the other end, Azpilecueta cleared off the line from Defoe. Cahill saw a drive saved while Willian also went close before with 20 minutes left, Hazard gave one final reminder of why he has been the best player this season as he went on a run and fed Remy who slotted home. Youngster Christensen was brought on for Obi Mikel before Remy sealed the win as he finished off a Costa centre with minutes remaining.
Overall I think we've been the best team this season by far, in all competitions we've only lost four games, three in the premier league (one when we were already crowned champions) and one in the FA cup against Bradford. In the champions league we were knocked out on away goals by PSG so didn't actually lose in that competition. For next season, I think we still need to improve the squad - our rivals will most certainly improve there's. I'm hearing rumours that Falcao is being lined up as a replacement for Drogba - if that is true then I don't know what I think of that. He would only be our third choise striker of course but he didn't exaclty light up Old Trafford, but maybe Mourinho has other plans for him. I think Cuadrado for Schurrle was a bad bit of business if I'm being honest, although he may yet still come good. I think maybe another left back is needed and another midfielder - I'd go for Pogba but he will most likely be too expensive. It was nice to see more youngsters given a chance this year but still don't think it was done enough - I'd like to see more of that next season, especially Ruben Loftus - Cheek. I think the Bradford game and the manner of our performance in the second leg v PSG shows we do need to strengthen the squad. For that reason, I'd like Cech to stay, we could really do with that, but I'm hearing it is unlikely.
Below I've selected some of my highs and lows for the season - they are just my personal opinions though. Let me know if you agree or disagree.
Player of the season: John Terry
Goal of the season: Oscar v QPR
Most important goal: Fabregas v QPR
Most important game: Chelsea 1-0 Man Utd
Best game of the season: Everton 3 - 6 Chelsea
One to watch: Loftus Cheek
Worst game: Chelsea 2 -2 PSG (due to the fact it was on my birthday)
Best game I went to: Chelsea 3 - 0 Tottenham
Favourite player: Eden Hazard
Team of the season: Courtois, Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilecueta, Matic, Fabregas, Hazard, Willian, Remy, Costa
Best chant: 'Fabregas is magic' followed closely by the Gerrard song which I didn't pick first due to it being over-done.
Shout out: Chelsea fans showing their class by giving Gerrard a standing ovation and Lampard after he scored against us - media did not bother praising us for either though
Thoughts for next season: Retain the league but do much better in champions league
Come on the Chels!
Thursday, 7 May 2015
Champions again!
We did it - Chelsea champions again for the fifth time in their history, fourth time in a decade, and first time in five years. The third league title won by Jose Mourinho and the thirteenth trophy in the Abramovich era. Chelsea always seem to win when the year ends in a five - 1955 2005 2015 not to mention they were formed in 1905!
Chelsea's march to the title started with Arsenal away, and there was much spice in the build up as it was Wenger v Mourinho again. Wenger had never beaten Mourinho and much was being made of this fact. Fabregas returning to his old club - he gave Arsenal many years of service and went to Barcelona when he realised his Arsenal career was producing no trophies. Typical Arsenal fans showing little class by giving him a poor reception unlike the great reception Chelsea fans gave Mata last week. Chelsea had a problem up front as Remy was still injured and Drogba also picked up an injury in mid week, so in the end, Jose opted for no strikers up front with Costa still being out. Willian, Ramires Oscar and Hazard up front were selected as our forwards with Fabregas and Matic sitting in front of the familiar back four.
There wasn't much to report on this game as Chelsea set themselves up to do a job on Arsenal and get the necessary result, something Jose knows how to do so well. There was a strong early claim for a penalty when Fabregas (getting booed during every touch) lofted a ball over the top setting Oscar clear, only for Arsenal keeper Ospina to completely take the Brazilian out, not before he managed to get a touch on the ball diverting it goalwards only for Bellerin to clear off the line. Oscar needed immediate medical treatment and would be substitued for Drogba at half time after replays showed he had a taken a blow to the head with some force. Fabregas also had a penalty appeal turned down, only for the referee to show him a yellow card for simulation much to the joy of the deluded gooners. Chelsea's best chance came before half time as Willian slipped Ramires through - six yards from goal he only had Ospina to beat. The Brazillians tame effort with the outside of his right foot though was easily gathered by the keeper. Chelsea would not get a better chance. Arsenal themselves had a chance of sorts as Ozil fired through a crowd of players straight at Courtois - their only shot on target.
Drogba replaced Oscar at half time with Fabregas taking over the number 10 role and Ramires dropping back. Aside from a long range Drogba shot that was easily saved and a Mertasacker shot through a crowded penalty area that went wide after Courtois had punched a corner, there were little chances in this match as Chelsea did a superb defensive performance on Arsenal, especially John Terry. One Twitter user joked that the highlights of Arsenal v Chelsea was just John Terry continuously heading the ball away. As Arsenal pressed late on for a winner, Cazorla dragged a shot wide and in stoppage time, Ozil and Welbeck missed-kicked a low cross as it finished a stalemate. Chants of 'boring boring Chelsea' ran around the Emirates at full time as Chelsea's superb defensive performance took a battering. It did set Mourinho up for a brilliant response to the critics - 'Ten years without a title - that's boring'. There was also praise for John Terry who looked all set to finish an outstanding season as one of our best players, with Mourinho calling this performance as Terry's best ever for Chelsea. Later that night Terry, along with Ivanovic, Cahill, Hazard, Matic and Costa were selected in the PFA team of the year with Hazard winning the top prize of player of the year, just as Terry did a decade ago under Mourinho.
The Arsenal result meant we were two more wins away from winning the league and the first of those possible victories came in our game in hand away to Leicester. The only changes to the line up was that Drogba was deemed fit enough to start and replaced Oscar, however Courtois was not deemed fit enough and was dropped in place of Cech. Chelsea took a while to get going in this game and aside from Leicester being so unlucky they were forced to make two early substitutions because of injury, no real incidents of any note arrived until the 40th minute when Leicester almost took the lead - Konchesky's right foot shot threatened to squeeze in at Cechs near post, only for Cech to fingertip it against the post. There was a bit of ping-pong that followed which was finished by Albrighton seeing his shot blocked on the line. A bit of a scare but it didn't spring Chelsea into first gear just yet, as Leicester took the lead right on half time. Vardy escaped down the left and sent a low cross in and due to the crazy weather (it started off with sunshine, then heavy rain and then the first half ended with sunshine again but a very slippery pitch) a few defenders slipped in attempting to break up the attack, only for Albrighton to arrive at the far post to side foot home and put the hosts 1-0 up at the break.
One of the great things about Mourinho though is you always seem to have faith that he will turn things around at half time. Chelseas response right at the start of the second half was worthy of champions - as Ivanovic sent home a low cross for Drogba to turn home. The Ivorian almost added a second minutes later as he sidefooted Fabregas' pull back high over the bar. Chelsea were in control now but had to wait until the 79th minute before they took the lead as Cahills header from a corner was saved by Schmeichel only for Terry to shin the rebound home from close range. Chelsea fans could then be heard sarcastically chanting 'boring boring Chelsea' in response to Arsenal's ridiculous chant at the weekend. The chant was immediately interrupted though by an outstanding goal from Ramires as he smashed home a left footed strike from the edge of the area into the top corner. Fantastic goal to seal the win. Chelsea now one win away from being champions again ...
Crystal Palace were the visitors to Stamford Bridge on May 3rd, in good form under Alan Pardew. The only changes were Courtois coming back in place of Cech and Ramires getting ill in the warm up and having to go straight to hospital, so Cuadrado coning in for him. I still don't see the improvement in replacing Schurrle with Cuadrado. Schurrle wasn't having a good season but I'm not sure if Jose has been a bit too ruthless with him - Cuadrado has been signed 'for next season' apparently as he may not be ready but then why not keep Schurrle and sign Cuadrado in the summer? I get Chelsea are doing well with keeping in the rules of FFP and it was a good bit of business but Cuadrado hasn't been great since he arrived, I think I'd rather we kept Schurrle. Although a few players have come out and said that Jose has a sixth sense when it comes to knowing when to sell players - and it clearly hasn't made a difference anyway!
An early ball from Fabregas was almost headed in by Drogba but the Chelsea striker was inches away from making contact. A Drogba free kick that went straight at Speroni and a fantastic Terry block rolling back the years, preventing a certain goal from Puncheon, where the only notable incidents of the first half. It looked set for 0-0 at half time before Eden Hazard charged into the penalty area and was brought down after trying to squeeze through Mariappa and McArthur. His spot kick though, using his tried and trusted 'Mendieta technique' failed this time as Speroni made the save, but Hazard had the luck of the bounce and headed in the rebound to put Chelsea ahead at the break. The second half saw the atmosphere crank up a notch as the title neared closer and closer - Ivanovic and Puncheon exchanged wide shots, while Cahil fired over and Zaha forced Courtois into making a save after being found unmarked at the back post. Nearing the end of the game, Chelsea hit Palace on the counter and Willian finished with a wide shot. But with Obi Mikel coming on for Cuadrado at half time, Chelsea were always set to close the game out and get the result they needed - as they had been doing for the second half of the season - and inevitably the game did finish 1-0 and Chelsea had the title. Que celebrations all over West London. I watched the game in Brogans just down the road and the atmosphere was electric - Queens 'We are the champions' blasted out at full time along with all the other classic Chelsea songs likely to be heard on match-day, such as Blue is the Colour, Liquidator and Blue day among others.
So a decade on from 2005 we're champions again, and should we win all our remaining games we could reach 92 points, which would be the second highest in the Premier League era, second to our haul of 95 in 2005! Mourinho wins another title (it was nice to see him embrace his family behind the goal immediately after the final whistle) and his record since 2002 now reads 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 1st as well as 2 Premeira Liga titles, 1 Champions league and 1 Uefa cup with Porto, 3 Premier league titles, 3 league cups and 1 FA cup with Chelsea, 2 Serie A titles, 1 Coppa Italia and 1 Champions league with Inter Milan, 1 La Liga and 1 Copa Del Ray with Real Madrid. All the talk now will be about summer acquisitions, i.e how to make the team better and maybe even win the Champions League. Once I submit my final report for the last three games I'll also have a summary report for the season as a whole. In the meantime though - let the celebrations begin! CHAMPIONS!!!
Chelsea's march to the title started with Arsenal away, and there was much spice in the build up as it was Wenger v Mourinho again. Wenger had never beaten Mourinho and much was being made of this fact. Fabregas returning to his old club - he gave Arsenal many years of service and went to Barcelona when he realised his Arsenal career was producing no trophies. Typical Arsenal fans showing little class by giving him a poor reception unlike the great reception Chelsea fans gave Mata last week. Chelsea had a problem up front as Remy was still injured and Drogba also picked up an injury in mid week, so in the end, Jose opted for no strikers up front with Costa still being out. Willian, Ramires Oscar and Hazard up front were selected as our forwards with Fabregas and Matic sitting in front of the familiar back four.
There wasn't much to report on this game as Chelsea set themselves up to do a job on Arsenal and get the necessary result, something Jose knows how to do so well. There was a strong early claim for a penalty when Fabregas (getting booed during every touch) lofted a ball over the top setting Oscar clear, only for Arsenal keeper Ospina to completely take the Brazilian out, not before he managed to get a touch on the ball diverting it goalwards only for Bellerin to clear off the line. Oscar needed immediate medical treatment and would be substitued for Drogba at half time after replays showed he had a taken a blow to the head with some force. Fabregas also had a penalty appeal turned down, only for the referee to show him a yellow card for simulation much to the joy of the deluded gooners. Chelsea's best chance came before half time as Willian slipped Ramires through - six yards from goal he only had Ospina to beat. The Brazillians tame effort with the outside of his right foot though was easily gathered by the keeper. Chelsea would not get a better chance. Arsenal themselves had a chance of sorts as Ozil fired through a crowd of players straight at Courtois - their only shot on target.
Drogba replaced Oscar at half time with Fabregas taking over the number 10 role and Ramires dropping back. Aside from a long range Drogba shot that was easily saved and a Mertasacker shot through a crowded penalty area that went wide after Courtois had punched a corner, there were little chances in this match as Chelsea did a superb defensive performance on Arsenal, especially John Terry. One Twitter user joked that the highlights of Arsenal v Chelsea was just John Terry continuously heading the ball away. As Arsenal pressed late on for a winner, Cazorla dragged a shot wide and in stoppage time, Ozil and Welbeck missed-kicked a low cross as it finished a stalemate. Chants of 'boring boring Chelsea' ran around the Emirates at full time as Chelsea's superb defensive performance took a battering. It did set Mourinho up for a brilliant response to the critics - 'Ten years without a title - that's boring'. There was also praise for John Terry who looked all set to finish an outstanding season as one of our best players, with Mourinho calling this performance as Terry's best ever for Chelsea. Later that night Terry, along with Ivanovic, Cahill, Hazard, Matic and Costa were selected in the PFA team of the year with Hazard winning the top prize of player of the year, just as Terry did a decade ago under Mourinho.
The Arsenal result meant we were two more wins away from winning the league and the first of those possible victories came in our game in hand away to Leicester. The only changes to the line up was that Drogba was deemed fit enough to start and replaced Oscar, however Courtois was not deemed fit enough and was dropped in place of Cech. Chelsea took a while to get going in this game and aside from Leicester being so unlucky they were forced to make two early substitutions because of injury, no real incidents of any note arrived until the 40th minute when Leicester almost took the lead - Konchesky's right foot shot threatened to squeeze in at Cechs near post, only for Cech to fingertip it against the post. There was a bit of ping-pong that followed which was finished by Albrighton seeing his shot blocked on the line. A bit of a scare but it didn't spring Chelsea into first gear just yet, as Leicester took the lead right on half time. Vardy escaped down the left and sent a low cross in and due to the crazy weather (it started off with sunshine, then heavy rain and then the first half ended with sunshine again but a very slippery pitch) a few defenders slipped in attempting to break up the attack, only for Albrighton to arrive at the far post to side foot home and put the hosts 1-0 up at the break.
One of the great things about Mourinho though is you always seem to have faith that he will turn things around at half time. Chelseas response right at the start of the second half was worthy of champions - as Ivanovic sent home a low cross for Drogba to turn home. The Ivorian almost added a second minutes later as he sidefooted Fabregas' pull back high over the bar. Chelsea were in control now but had to wait until the 79th minute before they took the lead as Cahills header from a corner was saved by Schmeichel only for Terry to shin the rebound home from close range. Chelsea fans could then be heard sarcastically chanting 'boring boring Chelsea' in response to Arsenal's ridiculous chant at the weekend. The chant was immediately interrupted though by an outstanding goal from Ramires as he smashed home a left footed strike from the edge of the area into the top corner. Fantastic goal to seal the win. Chelsea now one win away from being champions again ...
Crystal Palace were the visitors to Stamford Bridge on May 3rd, in good form under Alan Pardew. The only changes were Courtois coming back in place of Cech and Ramires getting ill in the warm up and having to go straight to hospital, so Cuadrado coning in for him. I still don't see the improvement in replacing Schurrle with Cuadrado. Schurrle wasn't having a good season but I'm not sure if Jose has been a bit too ruthless with him - Cuadrado has been signed 'for next season' apparently as he may not be ready but then why not keep Schurrle and sign Cuadrado in the summer? I get Chelsea are doing well with keeping in the rules of FFP and it was a good bit of business but Cuadrado hasn't been great since he arrived, I think I'd rather we kept Schurrle. Although a few players have come out and said that Jose has a sixth sense when it comes to knowing when to sell players - and it clearly hasn't made a difference anyway!
An early ball from Fabregas was almost headed in by Drogba but the Chelsea striker was inches away from making contact. A Drogba free kick that went straight at Speroni and a fantastic Terry block rolling back the years, preventing a certain goal from Puncheon, where the only notable incidents of the first half. It looked set for 0-0 at half time before Eden Hazard charged into the penalty area and was brought down after trying to squeeze through Mariappa and McArthur. His spot kick though, using his tried and trusted 'Mendieta technique' failed this time as Speroni made the save, but Hazard had the luck of the bounce and headed in the rebound to put Chelsea ahead at the break. The second half saw the atmosphere crank up a notch as the title neared closer and closer - Ivanovic and Puncheon exchanged wide shots, while Cahil fired over and Zaha forced Courtois into making a save after being found unmarked at the back post. Nearing the end of the game, Chelsea hit Palace on the counter and Willian finished with a wide shot. But with Obi Mikel coming on for Cuadrado at half time, Chelsea were always set to close the game out and get the result they needed - as they had been doing for the second half of the season - and inevitably the game did finish 1-0 and Chelsea had the title. Que celebrations all over West London. I watched the game in Brogans just down the road and the atmosphere was electric - Queens 'We are the champions' blasted out at full time along with all the other classic Chelsea songs likely to be heard on match-day, such as Blue is the Colour, Liquidator and Blue day among others.
So a decade on from 2005 we're champions again, and should we win all our remaining games we could reach 92 points, which would be the second highest in the Premier League era, second to our haul of 95 in 2005! Mourinho wins another title (it was nice to see him embrace his family behind the goal immediately after the final whistle) and his record since 2002 now reads 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 1st as well as 2 Premeira Liga titles, 1 Champions league and 1 Uefa cup with Porto, 3 Premier league titles, 3 league cups and 1 FA cup with Chelsea, 2 Serie A titles, 1 Coppa Italia and 1 Champions league with Inter Milan, 1 La Liga and 1 Copa Del Ray with Real Madrid. All the talk now will be about summer acquisitions, i.e how to make the team better and maybe even win the Champions League. Once I submit my final report for the last three games I'll also have a summary report for the season as a whole. In the meantime though - let the celebrations begin! CHAMPIONS!!!
Sunday, 26 April 2015
QPR and Man Utd - almost there ...
So we're nearly there ... after two hard fought wins in two hard games. Classic Jose at a time we needed it most. Against QPR - a team we usual drop points against and at a ground where we've only won once in the last 32 years, the only real question was who steps in for the injured Costa, and the answer was Drogba - but only because Remy picked up an injury the day before. Elsewhere Ramires came in for Oscar. The game overall was not a lively one, the QPR crowd did their best to intimidate Chelsea and in particular John Terry. Ivanovic brought an early save from Green before Willians return cross struck a post. QPR's danger man Charlie Austin tested Courtois from 25 yards out with a fierce drive that the Belgian keeper parried away. Then right on half time came Chelsea's best chance as an Ivanovic cross was missed by Drogba at the near post only for Fabregas to head over from close range. The second half was more the same, Chelsea keeping it tight and QPR knocking at the door. Clint Hill had a close range turn and shot pushed around the post by Courtios and Charlie Austin had two late efforts from a corner, the second easily saved by Courtious. Time was running out and the game looked set for 0-0 which to be fair, would have been the right result. However with 3 minutes left, Green's sliced kick out didn't go as far up the pitch as he would have liked and landed straight at Hazards feet about 3 yards from goal. He dribbled the ball down the left and advanced into the penalty area where he played a one-two with half time sub Oscar. He then teed up Fabregas who slotted the ball through a crowd of players into the bottom corner - and the Chelsea fans at the other end of the ground went wild. Wearing a Zorro-like mask from when Charlie Adam elbowed him last week, he then threw the mask down in celebration as he went to celebrate near the QPR fans - que loads of lighters, coins and programmes and flyers being launched disgracefully at the Chelsea players. Their fans should rightfully get fined for it, although the suggestion that Chelsea players 'incited' the crowd by celebrating a goal in front of them is ludicrous. Footballers are humans like you and I and regardless of how much money they make, they should be allowed to give some back if they get any stick from the crowd and some of the do get an awful amount of stick - take John Terry in this game for example. It reminds me of when Adebayor ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans after he scored against them for Man City and the camera panned to the Arsenal fans looking like they wanted to run onto the pitch to fight him! Why?? All he's done is run on his knees and and hold his arms out outstretched after they had been singing obscene songs about him. I think there's nothing wrong with footballers giving it back to the crowd, celebrating a goal (and nothing else) does not warrant having coins and lighters and glass bottles thrown at you. Anyway, Chelsea saw out the game 1-0 and the most satisfying shot of the day (apart from the one from Fabregas!) was Terry celebrating in front of the Chelsea fans at the end. In fact judging by the reaction of all the Chelsea players at the end, it looked like this game, after some difficult performances of late had given them a real psychological lift ahead of our nest two games against the two in-form teams of the Premier league, starting with a home game against Man Utd ...
Mourinho announced a surprise to the starting line up with Kurt Zouma starting in midfield, obviously to silence the in-form Fellaini. Oscar coming in for Willian was the other change, while 37 year old Drogba kept his place up front due to Remy not recovering from his muscle injury. During this game and the last game - I feel his age really showed. His pace and part of his strength and prescision appears long gone, but he could still do a job, although I think Jose has used him more than he would liked to have this season. There was a comical moment at the start when another striker - Man Utd striker Wayne Rooney, put Luke Shaw's pull back wide with a left foot shot but some sections of the Utd crowd cheered as the thought from their angle the ball had gone in, even De Gea celebrated! Aside from an unmarked Drogba header that went wide, neither side tested the keepers much prior to the goal on 38 minutes. Before that though, there was some debate as to whether De gea should have been given a red card for a handball outside the penalty area, although its easy to understand how it was missed with a Utd defender blocking the linesman's path. Then on 38 minutes a sublime goal put Chelsea ahead - Fabregas found Oscar whose back-heel pass put Hazard through who charged in on goal and slotted under De Gea from close range. Chelsea almost doubled their lead in the second half as Matic send Drogba through early on - but the Ivorians lack of pace showed as Smalling was able to catch up and almost block Drogba's eventual shot. The ball deflected onto the Utd defender and looked set to be going out for a corner but Hazard popped up at the far post and hit the post of an open goal albeit from a seemingly impossible angle. The rest of the match was really Utd soaking up the possession but not really created any clear chances, McNair came closest to testing Courtois with a 25 yard shot that the Belgian keeper parried, while a long range from Falcao also drifted wide. Falcao then saw a shot brilliantly blocked by Cahil before the Colombian striker - the bane of Chelsea's Super cup final in 2012 - wasted Utd best chance of the game as on 76 minutes he took advantage of a rare lapse in the defence and raced clear only to hit the outside of the post. Chelsea though always looked comfortable although there was a scare in stoppage time as Herrera dived to win a penalty and was rightly booked. Interesting that no issue was made of Utd players surrounding the referee to complain despite their colleagues blatant cheating attempt. Mourinho even said afterwards if a Chelsea player had done that, they would be talking about it for weeks.
So Chelsea held out for a second successive 1-0 win against one of the in form teams. Big result!
If Chelsea beat Arsenal away in their next match (tall ask in fairness) then they could win the title against Leicester on Wednesday night. If they take four points from those two games or if they beat Arsenal but lose to Leicester they could win the title against Palace on 3rd May. If they lose to Arsenal their earliest attempt to win the title would be Liverpool on 10th May.
We're almost there ... come on the Chels!
Mourinho announced a surprise to the starting line up with Kurt Zouma starting in midfield, obviously to silence the in-form Fellaini. Oscar coming in for Willian was the other change, while 37 year old Drogba kept his place up front due to Remy not recovering from his muscle injury. During this game and the last game - I feel his age really showed. His pace and part of his strength and prescision appears long gone, but he could still do a job, although I think Jose has used him more than he would liked to have this season. There was a comical moment at the start when another striker - Man Utd striker Wayne Rooney, put Luke Shaw's pull back wide with a left foot shot but some sections of the Utd crowd cheered as the thought from their angle the ball had gone in, even De Gea celebrated! Aside from an unmarked Drogba header that went wide, neither side tested the keepers much prior to the goal on 38 minutes. Before that though, there was some debate as to whether De gea should have been given a red card for a handball outside the penalty area, although its easy to understand how it was missed with a Utd defender blocking the linesman's path. Then on 38 minutes a sublime goal put Chelsea ahead - Fabregas found Oscar whose back-heel pass put Hazard through who charged in on goal and slotted under De Gea from close range. Chelsea almost doubled their lead in the second half as Matic send Drogba through early on - but the Ivorians lack of pace showed as Smalling was able to catch up and almost block Drogba's eventual shot. The ball deflected onto the Utd defender and looked set to be going out for a corner but Hazard popped up at the far post and hit the post of an open goal albeit from a seemingly impossible angle. The rest of the match was really Utd soaking up the possession but not really created any clear chances, McNair came closest to testing Courtois with a 25 yard shot that the Belgian keeper parried, while a long range from Falcao also drifted wide. Falcao then saw a shot brilliantly blocked by Cahil before the Colombian striker - the bane of Chelsea's Super cup final in 2012 - wasted Utd best chance of the game as on 76 minutes he took advantage of a rare lapse in the defence and raced clear only to hit the outside of the post. Chelsea though always looked comfortable although there was a scare in stoppage time as Herrera dived to win a penalty and was rightly booked. Interesting that no issue was made of Utd players surrounding the referee to complain despite their colleagues blatant cheating attempt. Mourinho even said afterwards if a Chelsea player had done that, they would be talking about it for weeks.
So Chelsea held out for a second successive 1-0 win against one of the in form teams. Big result!
If Chelsea beat Arsenal away in their next match (tall ask in fairness) then they could win the title against Leicester on Wednesday night. If they take four points from those two games or if they beat Arsenal but lose to Leicester they could win the title against Palace on 3rd May. If they lose to Arsenal their earliest attempt to win the title would be Liverpool on 10th May.
We're almost there ... come on the Chels!
Monday, 6 April 2015
Stopped by Southampton, almost held by Hull, stuttering past Stoke
In the days that followed our defeat to PSG, much was said in the press about Chelsea, so typical of Jose to come out and boldly say we 'would definitely win the title this season'. Not sure what I made of that, he's already jinxed us once this season against Bradford. Anyway, Southampton next and given their good form this season, this wouldn't be easy but a win was essential to get back on track, and we were given a boost with City losing to Burnley the day before. Willian in for Ramires was the one change made from midweek. Chelsea started brightly and took an early lead when good work by Hazard saw him feed Ivanovic whose cross was surprisingly easily headed in by Costa, breaking his Premiership goal drought. The visitors almost pulled level, with Mane denied by Courtois from Tadic's pull back. On 19 minutes though, Southampton did draw level, as Matic fouled Mane in the penalty area and a penalty was correctly awarded. Tadic put the penalty straight through the middle with the ball hitting Coutois' diving legs, but the Belgian was unable to keep it out. Chelsea though were denied a penalty of their own as Ivanovic was clipped, while Southampton started to to look dangerous as a low Tadic drive required Courois into action, and a Mane shot late in the half also brought the Belgian keeper at full stretch. Southampton definitely finished the first half the better team. They even started the second half as they left the first with a fierce 25 yard free kick from Alderweireld pushed away by Courtois. On 53 mins Matic, on a yellow card, was subbed for Ramires and Chelsea finally started to regain some control in their search to retake the lead again. A Willian shot was diverted against the post by Costa, while Southampton reminded us they were still a threat when a shot from Long was blocked. Not long after that, Costa rose high to meet a Willian cross only to see Forster save his header. With time running out, it became the Forster show as the Southampton keeper saved well from a left footed Oscar shot. Mane and substitute Cuadrado both exchanged wide shots, while Azpilecueta saw a curling shot from distance tipped around the post from Forster. From the resulting corner, another sub Remy had a header cleared off the line, Terry's following shot was then blocked before firing the rebound wide. So 1-1 was probably a fair result, now 6 points ahead of City but we are seemingly starting to stutter and look tired at the wrong time of the season, I personally thought our next game against Hull was a massive one.
For some reason, I was really nervous about this game. City along with now Arsenal only a point behind City, had won the day before and with our stuttering form, getting back to winning ways in a winnable game on paper was essential. Filipe Luis was preferred to Azpilecueta and Ramires came in for Oscar. After two minutes though, I wondered why I was so worried as Hazard gave us the lead with a superb finish, picking up the ball in midfield he ran towards the retreating Hull defence before unleashing a left foot shot 25 yards out. Hull though easily carved out an opening some minutes later as Hernandez went through on goal only for Courtois to block him. Then on nine minutes Chelsea doubled their lead with another great goal, Fabregas found Costa with a through pass in acres of space on the left, and the striker weaved his way to the edge of the penalty area and from an acute angle, bent a right for shot beyond McGregor and into the far side of the net. Another great finish. However we still looked shaky at the back, as Courtios was called into action again saving a N'doye free kick. Costa then missed with a header before Hull changed to a back four, and then it went pear shaped in the space of two minutes. First Robertson skipped a bit too easily past Ivanovic on the left and crossed for Elmohamady to score to score at the far post. Just two minutes later, Hull equalised with one of the most shambolic goals I've ever seen. Ivanovic partly at fault again, played a close back pass to Courtois in a packed penalty area and the Belgian keeper, instead of whacking it clear, tried to dribble it out and gave to Hernandez who slid the ball into the empty net. I was shocked, the Chelsea fans at the game were stunned into silence. Poor defensive performance from Chelsea in the first half. Second half started and we seemed tighter, Fabregas shooting wide early on before midway through the half, Courtois redeemed himself with a stunning triple save from Elmohamady, Livermore and Ramirez. Chelsea were then forced into a change, as Costa was forced off with looked like a potential hamstring injury and Remy came on. The impact was instant as Remy scored what turned out to be the winner after two minutes. William dribbled down the right and found Remy in the centre, whose left foot shot hit McGregor and squirmed in. So the game was won but defensively I thought we were a horror show, not the right time of the season to show kind of form, especially with in form Arsenal only a point behind City now. I felt the two week international break was welcomed for once.
So two weeks later and Stoke came to the bridge, another big game ( they all are at this stage). Costa not fit enough to start, despite scans all showing as cleared, he started on the bench. Remy started up front, Oscar and Azpilecueta returned in place of Filipe Luis and Ramires and Terry played his first game since signing a one year contract extension - good decision Jose, and well earned John! Chelsea started brightly and Remy had an early shot that took a wicked deflection brilliantly saved by Begovic. The French striker looked lively and had a right foot shot fizzle wide soon afterwards as well as forcing Begivic into another save albeit from a difficult angle. Stoke then had their first effort of the game, as N'zonzi picked up a poor clearance from Matic and fired inches wide. A warning sign then. Hazard then went on one of his mazy runs only for his shot to be saved by Begovic, and shortly after that, a fine move was finished by Oscar poorly dragging his shot wide. Chelsea were finding a breakthrough hard and it was inevitable the first goal came from a penalty. Fabregas, having been put through by Willian, invited the challenge by Wollscheid who brought the Spaniard down with a rash tackle. Penalty, Hazard stepped up and Cooley does what he does best. Chelsea's lead didn't last long though, what happened next was out of this world. Firstly though, Charlie Adam caught Fabregas with an elbow, but nothing was done, Next minute, Adam picks up the ball 60 yards from goal inside his own half and lobs Courtois for 1-1. Yes Courtois was standing a bit too far off his line but who could have expected that? Sometimes you just have to take your hat off and say well done. What a goal. We had played well but the score line was disappointing, regardless though I didn't like hearing boos at half time. Mourinho felt the need to change it and brought Costa on for the poor Oscar at half time. Still felt a bit of panicky move if I'm honest - and didn't pay off. Eight minutes later, Costa's troublesome hamstring flared up again and he had to be replaced by Drogba. Just before that happened though, Begivoc had tipped a Hazard strike over the bar so we were keeping up the tempo. It took until the 60th minute for us to retake the lead though, and Begovic, who'd had a good game, found himself at fault. His throw out was intercepted by Willian who then fed Hazard to bear down on goal, only for the Belgian to set up Remy for an open goal. Stoke almost pulled level again just minutes later though as N'zonzi hit the post with a long range strike ! Nerves getting seriously tested here. Chelsea held firm though and the only incident of note for the rest of the game was when January signing Cuadrado was denied by a double save from Begovic. I have to say, I can't see the improvement in swapping Shurrle for him. Anyway, it's another win to stay top but crikey we look more jittery every game, I'm still quite worried and not convinced the title race is completely over. Costa as well might be out for a while, so Remy after scoring the winning goal in the last two games, will get more of a chance now which I'm happy about, starting with his old club on Sunday. We always seem to lose once a season to QPR as it is their cup final after all. The way we're playing at the moment I'm not confident if I'm being honest. Anyway up the Chels!
Saturday, 14 March 2015
Satisfying cup final, satisfying London derby, extremely unsatisfying Champions league exit
Three games to catch up on, the first two very good, then the final one very disappointing. The first one was the Capital One cup final against Tottenham, with a chance of winning the first silverware of the season against our bitter rivals. We had a week to prepare, whilst Spurs had a Europa League exit on Thursday to Fiorentina in the back of their minds. The main worry for Chelsea was who was going to replace Matic? Well once the line up was announced, we knew. Jose had gone with both Cahill and Zouma along with Terry, meaning one of them would play alongside Ramires in the middle. Sky's prediction that Cahill would be the one to play there was pretty embarrassing and laughable, it was actually Zouma which was always a more realistic choice. Cech, having played most games in this competition was given a start, with the defence of Dave, Terry, Cahill and Ivan, Ramires and Zouma in the middle with Hazard, Fabregas playing further forward and Willian supporting Costa. Me and my mates watch the game in a packed Brogans, which was half showing the rugby and half showing the football, which it more crowded than usual. The team suffered an early scare with Eriksen crashing a free kick on the edge of the area against the cross bar, which replays showed Cech had covered. For the rest of the match though, I can't say we were really threatened anymore from Spurs, as Chelsea controlled the game from there on. Chelsea looked dangerous on the counter attack for much of the first half, but no clear chances were created, with shots either being blocked or attacks fizzling out in the build up. It looked set for 0-0 at half time, when right on 45 minutes Chelsea won a free kick on the right, near the corner. Willian sent it in, the ball flicked off Danny Rose and bounced around between a few players before Terry lashed home a shot which took a huge deflection and went in to give us a half time lead. Captain fantastic on the big stage, and I'm sure the Spurs were not best pleased to see him with the first goal! With 52 minutes on the clock, Chelsea doubled their lead with Costa through on the left hand side of the penalty, the strikers shot took a massive defection off Kyle Walker passed Lloris. Some media outlets afterwards have given the goal as an own goal to Walker as the shot was going wide. Chelsea had chances afterwards to make it three, Hazard going close with a shot and Fabregas heading wide. Most of Tottenhams important goals this season have come late on but today Chelsea kept it tight at the back and there was to be no late drama as Chelsea held on for victory. So Mourinho's first trophy as Chelsea boss was the league cup 10 years ago in 2005 and it was to be again for his second spell. We went on to win the league that year as well ... would history repeat itself in that department? Well, our next result certainly hasn't done our chances any harm.
West Ham away, always a s difficult fixture as we always seem to drop points against them at least one game a season. I genuinely thought just a few days after Wembley that we would struggle and maybe at least draw this match. For the line up, Courtois returned while the defence and Zouma kept their places, with Oscar replacing Willian. Ramires seemed to play further forward in this game with Fabregas dropping back. Chelsea almost took the lead on 10 minutes with Costa firing a cross over from about ten yards out, although it was a hard chance to control. West Ham then looked most likely to score as Courtois kept out a Kouyate shot with Sakho prodding wide shortly after. With West Ham on top for this period, Chelsea hit them on the counter attack and struck the first blow. Fabregas on the counter found Ramires, who found Hazard with a perfect cross that the little Belgian converted with a pin point header into the net to give Chelsea the lead. Not long before half time, West Ham almost pulled level when a Sakho header from a cross was pushed away by Courtois - starting to be a theme of the night. Early in the second half and Chelsea were under the cosh, Sakho fired a shot wide early on and then shortly after, a Downing cross caused confusion, which ended up with Sakho having the ball right in front of goal, only for Courtois to fingertip the ball around the post and away from Nolan who would surely have had a tap in. Not long after that (it was end to end stuff at this point) and Ramires (who had a good game) had two chances to seal victory, the first after a brilliant run a dribble by Hazard, the Belgian released Ramires who weaved his way through and stroked a shot that agonisingly hit the post. Then, the Brazilian saw a header brilliantly kept out by West Ham keeper Adrian. Courtois then re-took centre stage, with a spectacular save to deny a curling Sakho effort, and then blocking a Valencia shot into the path of Sahko, but this time Cahill blocked the rebound shot and denying a certain goal. The game then calmed down a little as Chelsea regained control, and bar a late Sakho header that went over, Chelsea saw out the victory and could have won by a bigger margin if cresswell had not blocked Willians shot on the line. It finished 1-0, not the best performance but the best teams always win the league when their not playing well and with City losing 2-1 to Liverpool on Sunday, it meant Chelsea were five points clear with a game in hand. The game tonight reminded me of when we beat Blackburn 1-0 away in the 2004/05 season.
The nest game was on my 30th birthday so needless to say I was looking forward to this, the second leg of the champions league knock out round against PSG. 1-1 on aggregate, the only change to the line up was Matic replacing Zouma. I had high hopes for this match (me and my brother were sat up in West Upper for a change), but what followed has still unfortunately left me in shock in what I can only describe as one of the worst performances I've seen. With 0-0 being a scoreline that could send Chelsea through on away goals, Chelsea seemed to be sitting back and playing very slow. I suppose I can see a kind of logic if that is the way Mourinho set them up. Play defensive and hit them on the counter as they will have to open themselves up. Risky way of playing though, we should have just gone for the kill really. Then on 29 minutes, the major flashpoint - Ibrahimovic getting sent off for a straight red card. He went in two footed on Oscar and in fairness - he DID try and pull out and there was minimal contact, but the ref didn't see if that way. Harsh decision, but anyone who knows Ibrahimovic and his history of disgraceful behaviour, shouldn't feel sorry for him. Also, Chelsea seem to have gotten a lot of criticism for the way they surrounded the ref in the aftermatch of the challenge. Incredible really, as it was only the help of TV replays that proved there wasn't much contact from Zlatans challenge, so for idiots in the media to not acknowledge this and condemn Chelsea for supporting their colleague who they thought had suffered a serious injury, was ridiculous. Not to mention certain ex-players (now pundits) who forgot the number of times they used to do it, incredible really. Only Gary Neville seemed to acknowledge he was just as bad. Anyway, back to the game and Chelsea 11 v 10, should really have started playing more positive and killed them off, instead of continuing to sit back. But for the rest of the first half, chances (for both teams) continued to be very few, with Chelsea denied a clear penalty for a foul by Cavanni the only flash point of note. Also, not long before that, former player David Luiz was lucky to escape being sent off for an elbow on Costa. You win some, you lose some, not many media outlets acknowledged the Luiz elbow either. Second half and Chelsea continued to play extremely slow and poor, I feel if this was the way Jose had some them up to play, then whilst I don't like to criticise him too much, he got it bang wrong tonight. With an hour gone, the first clear cut chance of the match fell to Cavanni who raced through on goal with Chelsea's defence caught high up the pitch, and despite going around Courtois, the Uruguayan hit the post of an open goal. Let off. Not long after that, Pastore tested courtois and Ramires was also denied at the near post. But from the resulting corner, Chelsea took the lead, as Cahill connected beautifully with a corner that PSG failed to clear and smashed the ball into the net. With time running out, Courtois saved from Lavezzi and with four minutes to go, the past came back to haunt us. A corner came in and David Luiz arrived with a truly unstoppable bullet header to force extra time, It was the least PSG deserved, Chelsea had been so poor tonight. Six minutes into extra time, Chelsea were awarded a penalty for handball and Hazard coolly slotted home. The drama wasn't over though - Luiz further reminded his former fans of his qualities as he almost crashed in a dipping 30 yard free kick that Courtois tipped over just before half time of extra time. Nearing to the end of extra time and Courtois was called on again as he fantastically finger tipped a Thiago Silva header around the post from a corner. But from the resulting corner, Thiago Silva rose again and scored a decisive second away goal with a looping header. Chelsea were out and it was no more than we deserved. we knocked PSG out on away goals last year after it finished 3-3 on aggregate and this year they had got their revenge. But the manner of the performance and our poor tactics, I feel Jose got this wrong tonight. To be that complacent playing 11 v 10 was ridiculous. I've never seen a poorer performance like it. Maybe fatigue, or the lack of a big squad, I don't know. But Southampton on Sunday is calling for a big performance as we need to make sure our title challenge doesn't suffer. Jose needs to freshen up the team, I think Oscar needs to be dropped as well, he is far too erratic and needs to bulk up still. But Southampton is now a massive game. Up the Chels!
West Ham away, always a s difficult fixture as we always seem to drop points against them at least one game a season. I genuinely thought just a few days after Wembley that we would struggle and maybe at least draw this match. For the line up, Courtois returned while the defence and Zouma kept their places, with Oscar replacing Willian. Ramires seemed to play further forward in this game with Fabregas dropping back. Chelsea almost took the lead on 10 minutes with Costa firing a cross over from about ten yards out, although it was a hard chance to control. West Ham then looked most likely to score as Courtois kept out a Kouyate shot with Sakho prodding wide shortly after. With West Ham on top for this period, Chelsea hit them on the counter attack and struck the first blow. Fabregas on the counter found Ramires, who found Hazard with a perfect cross that the little Belgian converted with a pin point header into the net to give Chelsea the lead. Not long before half time, West Ham almost pulled level when a Sakho header from a cross was pushed away by Courtois - starting to be a theme of the night. Early in the second half and Chelsea were under the cosh, Sakho fired a shot wide early on and then shortly after, a Downing cross caused confusion, which ended up with Sakho having the ball right in front of goal, only for Courtois to fingertip the ball around the post and away from Nolan who would surely have had a tap in. Not long after that (it was end to end stuff at this point) and Ramires (who had a good game) had two chances to seal victory, the first after a brilliant run a dribble by Hazard, the Belgian released Ramires who weaved his way through and stroked a shot that agonisingly hit the post. Then, the Brazilian saw a header brilliantly kept out by West Ham keeper Adrian. Courtois then re-took centre stage, with a spectacular save to deny a curling Sakho effort, and then blocking a Valencia shot into the path of Sahko, but this time Cahill blocked the rebound shot and denying a certain goal. The game then calmed down a little as Chelsea regained control, and bar a late Sakho header that went over, Chelsea saw out the victory and could have won by a bigger margin if cresswell had not blocked Willians shot on the line. It finished 1-0, not the best performance but the best teams always win the league when their not playing well and with City losing 2-1 to Liverpool on Sunday, it meant Chelsea were five points clear with a game in hand. The game tonight reminded me of when we beat Blackburn 1-0 away in the 2004/05 season.
The nest game was on my 30th birthday so needless to say I was looking forward to this, the second leg of the champions league knock out round against PSG. 1-1 on aggregate, the only change to the line up was Matic replacing Zouma. I had high hopes for this match (me and my brother were sat up in West Upper for a change), but what followed has still unfortunately left me in shock in what I can only describe as one of the worst performances I've seen. With 0-0 being a scoreline that could send Chelsea through on away goals, Chelsea seemed to be sitting back and playing very slow. I suppose I can see a kind of logic if that is the way Mourinho set them up. Play defensive and hit them on the counter as they will have to open themselves up. Risky way of playing though, we should have just gone for the kill really. Then on 29 minutes, the major flashpoint - Ibrahimovic getting sent off for a straight red card. He went in two footed on Oscar and in fairness - he DID try and pull out and there was minimal contact, but the ref didn't see if that way. Harsh decision, but anyone who knows Ibrahimovic and his history of disgraceful behaviour, shouldn't feel sorry for him. Also, Chelsea seem to have gotten a lot of criticism for the way they surrounded the ref in the aftermatch of the challenge. Incredible really, as it was only the help of TV replays that proved there wasn't much contact from Zlatans challenge, so for idiots in the media to not acknowledge this and condemn Chelsea for supporting their colleague who they thought had suffered a serious injury, was ridiculous. Not to mention certain ex-players (now pundits) who forgot the number of times they used to do it, incredible really. Only Gary Neville seemed to acknowledge he was just as bad. Anyway, back to the game and Chelsea 11 v 10, should really have started playing more positive and killed them off, instead of continuing to sit back. But for the rest of the first half, chances (for both teams) continued to be very few, with Chelsea denied a clear penalty for a foul by Cavanni the only flash point of note. Also, not long before that, former player David Luiz was lucky to escape being sent off for an elbow on Costa. You win some, you lose some, not many media outlets acknowledged the Luiz elbow either. Second half and Chelsea continued to play extremely slow and poor, I feel if this was the way Jose had some them up to play, then whilst I don't like to criticise him too much, he got it bang wrong tonight. With an hour gone, the first clear cut chance of the match fell to Cavanni who raced through on goal with Chelsea's defence caught high up the pitch, and despite going around Courtois, the Uruguayan hit the post of an open goal. Let off. Not long after that, Pastore tested courtois and Ramires was also denied at the near post. But from the resulting corner, Chelsea took the lead, as Cahill connected beautifully with a corner that PSG failed to clear and smashed the ball into the net. With time running out, Courtois saved from Lavezzi and with four minutes to go, the past came back to haunt us. A corner came in and David Luiz arrived with a truly unstoppable bullet header to force extra time, It was the least PSG deserved, Chelsea had been so poor tonight. Six minutes into extra time, Chelsea were awarded a penalty for handball and Hazard coolly slotted home. The drama wasn't over though - Luiz further reminded his former fans of his qualities as he almost crashed in a dipping 30 yard free kick that Courtois tipped over just before half time of extra time. Nearing to the end of extra time and Courtois was called on again as he fantastically finger tipped a Thiago Silva header around the post from a corner. But from the resulting corner, Thiago Silva rose again and scored a decisive second away goal with a looping header. Chelsea were out and it was no more than we deserved. we knocked PSG out on away goals last year after it finished 3-3 on aggregate and this year they had got their revenge. But the manner of the performance and our poor tactics, I feel Jose got this wrong tonight. To be that complacent playing 11 v 10 was ridiculous. I've never seen a poorer performance like it. Maybe fatigue, or the lack of a big squad, I don't know. But Southampton on Sunday is calling for a big performance as we need to make sure our title challenge doesn't suffer. Jose needs to freshen up the team, I think Oscar needs to be dropped as well, he is far too erratic and needs to bulk up still. But Southampton is now a massive game. Up the Chels!
Saturday, 28 February 2015
A dark week
Two games this week - PSG away in the champions league and Burnley at home, both sadly over shadowed by events off the pitch prior to the PSG game and a horror tackle in the Burnley game.
Firstly, champions league football returned and Chelsea faced another trip to Paris to face Zlatan and co. Cahill surprisingly was recalled in place of Zouma, with Costa also returning, Fabregas was pushed further forward in place of the erratic Oscar so Ramires partnered in central midfield with Matic. Courtois was also recalled to the first team and being dropped against Everton - and repaid Mourinho's faith with a superb performance. Early in the first half, Courtois made two efficient saves from Matuidi and Ibrahimavic and then a superb one handed stop to deny Cavani's near post header. His performance in the first leg of the league cup semi final against Liverpool was excellent and judging by his early showing here, it seems he is shaping up to be a big match player for sure. Chelsea took the lead though, as three defenders all combined. First Terry on the left wing, sent in a right footed in-swinging cross that was brilliantly flicked on by the boot of Cahill to the head of another big game player, Ivanovic, who headed home. PSG started strongly in the second half though and equalised when Matuidi crossed from the left and found an unmarked Cavani who headed in for PSG. Poor marking by Cahill, I did think it was a strange decision to recall him. I personally, given Cahills indifferent form of late, think we should try out a defence with Ivanovic in the centre of defence with Terry, with Azpilecueta at his natural right back position and Filipe Luis at left back. I don't really get how we can pay 17 million for Filipe Luis and hardly play him. Anyway, from then on Chelsea were on the back foot and almost fell behind when Courois again made a great stop from Ibrahimovic before Azpilecueta blocked the follow up from Lavezzi. With ten minutes to go, Cavani toe poked PSG's best chance wide of the goal to let Chelsea off, and then in stoppage time Courtois made another important stop from an Ibrahimovic header. So 1-1 away from home was a good result, but sadly the main focus from Paris took place on the Metro in an incident that occurred away from the match.
A group of idiotic Chelsea fans (most likely hooligans) were filmed on a camera phone pushing a black man off a tube and singing racist songs. First of all, as soon as I saw this, I knew that everyone would tarnish Chelsea fans with the same brush and think we are all like that. Lots of narrow minded and thick people out there, and the issue with social media is that it gives these stupid people a voice. So that disappointed me, but didn't surprise me. Secondly, I was embarrassed to be associated with these 'fans' and while yes it can be argued that if they have paid to go to France to watch Chelsea then they must be fans of the club - but look at it this way. I don't believe for a second that those 'fans' were going to France to watch the football, they were going to cause trouble. That's hooligan mentality, which those people clearly were in my eyes. So I can't call them true fans, to me they are just a group of people stuck in the 1980's. While Chelsea do have a poor history with hooliganism, I believe it is a society issue rather than a club issue. Unfortunately at various points in my life, I have encountered quite a few groups of racist QPR fans (not pointing the finger at them as a club, just stating a fact), and I have also been to a Man Utd match and witnessed racist abuse from a Man Utd fan directed at a black Chelsea footballer. So I think it is an issue for society rather than a specific club issue. The way Chelsea have handed this though - fantastic. I think they have done all they could. I did see a stupid tweet from Jason Roberts though ' I hope every black Chelsea player watches that clip'. Why? Every black Chelsea will know those idiots are not a representative of all Chelsea fans, given the extensive work Chelsea do in the community. The clubs community work hardly ever gets talked about and Chelsea do a lot of it, so I think Chelsea have handled the situation brilliantly.
Onto the Burnley match now and another Bane of my (and probably Mourinho's) life - the FA. Zouma, Filipe Luis, Oscar and new boy Cuadrado all returned for Azpilecueta, Ramires, Cahill and Willian. Cuadrado also opened his account with a looping header that was tipped over the bar by Heaton. The opening game came courtesy of good work by Cuadrado, with Hazard taking control, weaving and dribbling his way to the by line and setting up - who else? - but Ivanovic to side foot home from close range. Chelsea then had two clear penalty appeals turned down - a handball from an Ivanovic shot and a foul on Costa by Shackell. Poor refereeing, and worst was to come. A terrible foul by Ashley Barnes on Ivanovic was overlooked by the ref just before half time for some inexplicable reason (won't be the last time I say that). The second half started and with Barnes going close with a deflected shot that was tipped away by Courtois, the need for a second goal was clear. Unfortunately, and it's not the first time I've said this this season, Chelsea were poor and erratic in the final third, too much tikka-taka football. Costa almost got on the end of an Ivanovic cross but I struggle to remember any positive flash points from the second half. What happened at the end of the game should not overshadow what I thought was a poor performance attacking wise, but it did so lets move onto that anyway. About 20 minutes to go, one of the most disgraceful tackles I've ever seen from Barnes on Matic somehow was not seen by the referee. It was one of those potential career ending tackles that could easily have broken a leg. Understandably, Matic was fuming and reacted by pushing over Barnes, earning him a red card. Although all he did was push over Barnes which I don't think is a red, it's only a red if you raise hands above the neck, which Matic did not do. No punishment for Barnes though. the referee was having a nightmare to say the least. Barnes himself almost equalised with a long range shot that was saved by Courtois, but with nine minutes remaining, it was a header from Ben Mee at a corner that did rescue a point for Burnley. Chelsea's lead cut to five points.
Mourinho made a surprise appearance on Goals on Sunday the next day, and used it to make a well justified rant on the extremely poor standard of referring, but also interestingly, against Sky and their biased reporting - which was about time. His point was that Sky went overboard in their damnation of Diego Costa with their 'Costa crimes' segment, pointing out they don't leave any space for the player to be judged and clearly don't do this with every club or player. They didn't do it when Yaya Toure made a poor challenge against Norwich last season or when Van Persie made another terrible challenge against West Ham the other week. They also overlooked the Barnes tackle on Matic, which Mourinho called a 'criminal tackle', which it is if you compare it to Costa's stamp on Can against Liverpool which Sky highlighted, earning Costa a three match ban. All valid points I thought. So in the days that followed, what happened? Did Barnes get banned? No. The referee had apparently seen it so therefore no action was possible to be taken. Did Matic get his ban overturned due to the fact he pushed Barnes in the chest which is not a red card? No. Just reduced by one game. So Matic can't play against Spurs in the league cup final, despite the fact that Vertonghen did the same thing against West ham and yet is free to play for them in the final. Another point Mourinho made, and has made before is thoughts of a campaign. Well, I never bought it before but recent events have made me change my mind. Especially given a conspiracy theory I heard this week. The theory is that with Chelsea running away with the league, the league becomes boring and less people watch which generates less in revenue and media exposure, so if referees are instructed to make life difficult to peg them back, it makes the league interesting again and generates more exposure and revenue for the FA. It's happened before, with the dodgy ref we had against Barcelona in the champions league semi in 2009, at a time when Fifa were clearly against English sides dominating the champions league. So it wouldn't surprise, but one thing I am certain is the FA are the most incompetent organisation I have ever seen and are nothing more than a joke.
Speaking of Fifa, side tracking away from Chelsea for a second, the 2022/23 season will now have a winter world cup in the middle despite countless proof of corruption with the Qatar bid. Ridiculous. Football will be ruined that season. The sooner that clown Sepp Blatter is ousted, and they hire someone who embraces video technology, the better.
Back to Chelsea, Spurs in the league cup final at Wembley on Sunday, ten years after Chelsea defeated Liverpool in the league cup final to win Mourinho's first piece of silverware in his first spell. Will history repeat itself? Or will Spurs beat us in another final, which would be the third time if they do? Either way I am not as confident as I was a week ago. I think it will be extremely tight.
Anyways - come on the Chels!
Firstly, champions league football returned and Chelsea faced another trip to Paris to face Zlatan and co. Cahill surprisingly was recalled in place of Zouma, with Costa also returning, Fabregas was pushed further forward in place of the erratic Oscar so Ramires partnered in central midfield with Matic. Courtois was also recalled to the first team and being dropped against Everton - and repaid Mourinho's faith with a superb performance. Early in the first half, Courtois made two efficient saves from Matuidi and Ibrahimavic and then a superb one handed stop to deny Cavani's near post header. His performance in the first leg of the league cup semi final against Liverpool was excellent and judging by his early showing here, it seems he is shaping up to be a big match player for sure. Chelsea took the lead though, as three defenders all combined. First Terry on the left wing, sent in a right footed in-swinging cross that was brilliantly flicked on by the boot of Cahill to the head of another big game player, Ivanovic, who headed home. PSG started strongly in the second half though and equalised when Matuidi crossed from the left and found an unmarked Cavani who headed in for PSG. Poor marking by Cahill, I did think it was a strange decision to recall him. I personally, given Cahills indifferent form of late, think we should try out a defence with Ivanovic in the centre of defence with Terry, with Azpilecueta at his natural right back position and Filipe Luis at left back. I don't really get how we can pay 17 million for Filipe Luis and hardly play him. Anyway, from then on Chelsea were on the back foot and almost fell behind when Courois again made a great stop from Ibrahimovic before Azpilecueta blocked the follow up from Lavezzi. With ten minutes to go, Cavani toe poked PSG's best chance wide of the goal to let Chelsea off, and then in stoppage time Courtois made another important stop from an Ibrahimovic header. So 1-1 away from home was a good result, but sadly the main focus from Paris took place on the Metro in an incident that occurred away from the match.
A group of idiotic Chelsea fans (most likely hooligans) were filmed on a camera phone pushing a black man off a tube and singing racist songs. First of all, as soon as I saw this, I knew that everyone would tarnish Chelsea fans with the same brush and think we are all like that. Lots of narrow minded and thick people out there, and the issue with social media is that it gives these stupid people a voice. So that disappointed me, but didn't surprise me. Secondly, I was embarrassed to be associated with these 'fans' and while yes it can be argued that if they have paid to go to France to watch Chelsea then they must be fans of the club - but look at it this way. I don't believe for a second that those 'fans' were going to France to watch the football, they were going to cause trouble. That's hooligan mentality, which those people clearly were in my eyes. So I can't call them true fans, to me they are just a group of people stuck in the 1980's. While Chelsea do have a poor history with hooliganism, I believe it is a society issue rather than a club issue. Unfortunately at various points in my life, I have encountered quite a few groups of racist QPR fans (not pointing the finger at them as a club, just stating a fact), and I have also been to a Man Utd match and witnessed racist abuse from a Man Utd fan directed at a black Chelsea footballer. So I think it is an issue for society rather than a specific club issue. The way Chelsea have handed this though - fantastic. I think they have done all they could. I did see a stupid tweet from Jason Roberts though ' I hope every black Chelsea player watches that clip'. Why? Every black Chelsea will know those idiots are not a representative of all Chelsea fans, given the extensive work Chelsea do in the community. The clubs community work hardly ever gets talked about and Chelsea do a lot of it, so I think Chelsea have handled the situation brilliantly.
Onto the Burnley match now and another Bane of my (and probably Mourinho's) life - the FA. Zouma, Filipe Luis, Oscar and new boy Cuadrado all returned for Azpilecueta, Ramires, Cahill and Willian. Cuadrado also opened his account with a looping header that was tipped over the bar by Heaton. The opening game came courtesy of good work by Cuadrado, with Hazard taking control, weaving and dribbling his way to the by line and setting up - who else? - but Ivanovic to side foot home from close range. Chelsea then had two clear penalty appeals turned down - a handball from an Ivanovic shot and a foul on Costa by Shackell. Poor refereeing, and worst was to come. A terrible foul by Ashley Barnes on Ivanovic was overlooked by the ref just before half time for some inexplicable reason (won't be the last time I say that). The second half started and with Barnes going close with a deflected shot that was tipped away by Courtois, the need for a second goal was clear. Unfortunately, and it's not the first time I've said this this season, Chelsea were poor and erratic in the final third, too much tikka-taka football. Costa almost got on the end of an Ivanovic cross but I struggle to remember any positive flash points from the second half. What happened at the end of the game should not overshadow what I thought was a poor performance attacking wise, but it did so lets move onto that anyway. About 20 minutes to go, one of the most disgraceful tackles I've ever seen from Barnes on Matic somehow was not seen by the referee. It was one of those potential career ending tackles that could easily have broken a leg. Understandably, Matic was fuming and reacted by pushing over Barnes, earning him a red card. Although all he did was push over Barnes which I don't think is a red, it's only a red if you raise hands above the neck, which Matic did not do. No punishment for Barnes though. the referee was having a nightmare to say the least. Barnes himself almost equalised with a long range shot that was saved by Courtois, but with nine minutes remaining, it was a header from Ben Mee at a corner that did rescue a point for Burnley. Chelsea's lead cut to five points.
Mourinho made a surprise appearance on Goals on Sunday the next day, and used it to make a well justified rant on the extremely poor standard of referring, but also interestingly, against Sky and their biased reporting - which was about time. His point was that Sky went overboard in their damnation of Diego Costa with their 'Costa crimes' segment, pointing out they don't leave any space for the player to be judged and clearly don't do this with every club or player. They didn't do it when Yaya Toure made a poor challenge against Norwich last season or when Van Persie made another terrible challenge against West Ham the other week. They also overlooked the Barnes tackle on Matic, which Mourinho called a 'criminal tackle', which it is if you compare it to Costa's stamp on Can against Liverpool which Sky highlighted, earning Costa a three match ban. All valid points I thought. So in the days that followed, what happened? Did Barnes get banned? No. The referee had apparently seen it so therefore no action was possible to be taken. Did Matic get his ban overturned due to the fact he pushed Barnes in the chest which is not a red card? No. Just reduced by one game. So Matic can't play against Spurs in the league cup final, despite the fact that Vertonghen did the same thing against West ham and yet is free to play for them in the final. Another point Mourinho made, and has made before is thoughts of a campaign. Well, I never bought it before but recent events have made me change my mind. Especially given a conspiracy theory I heard this week. The theory is that with Chelsea running away with the league, the league becomes boring and less people watch which generates less in revenue and media exposure, so if referees are instructed to make life difficult to peg them back, it makes the league interesting again and generates more exposure and revenue for the FA. It's happened before, with the dodgy ref we had against Barcelona in the champions league semi in 2009, at a time when Fifa were clearly against English sides dominating the champions league. So it wouldn't surprise, but one thing I am certain is the FA are the most incompetent organisation I have ever seen and are nothing more than a joke.
Speaking of Fifa, side tracking away from Chelsea for a second, the 2022/23 season will now have a winter world cup in the middle despite countless proof of corruption with the Qatar bid. Ridiculous. Football will be ruined that season. The sooner that clown Sepp Blatter is ousted, and they hire someone who embraces video technology, the better.
Back to Chelsea, Spurs in the league cup final at Wembley on Sunday, ten years after Chelsea defeated Liverpool in the league cup final to win Mourinho's first piece of silverware in his first spell. Will history repeat itself? Or will Spurs beat us in another final, which would be the third time if they do? Either way I am not as confident as I was a week ago. I think it will be extremely tight.
Anyways - come on the Chels!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)