07 05 2006 End of season report part 1
There are no two ways about it: this has been another magnificent season for Chelsea.
When I look back to late 80s when I first started going and seeing where we are now, there is simply no comparison.
When we won the Second Division Championship in 1989, and then the Zenith Data Systems Cup in 1990 I thought that
would be the pinnacle of our achievements. But then we got to the FA Cup Final in 94 where we narrowly lost 4-0
(although it was a moral victory) and qualified for Europe for the first time in nearly 25 years. Three years later the
unbelievable happened: we won a major trophy. And by the end of 2001 we had added to the trophy cabinet and the
fans were coming back.
Now I have to occasionally pinch myself. The Premier League is THE trophy to win if you play for an English team. And
we have won it two seasons in a row. Yes - two seasons in a row.
The players we have are perhaps not the kind that are automatic first choices for Nike and Adidas as advertising
figureheads (Lampard/Terry excepted) which is a good thing. Because that means there are no stars who are above
their station and that helps team spirit. Jose has won the league four seasons in a row with different clubs and I doubt
there is any manager who would have been able to do that, whether they had money or not. I would certainly not swap
him for any manager in the world, and although he is not flawless any sane fan would want Chelsea to do their utmost to
keep him for the next ten years at least. And then bring Wise in as manager (only kidding!). Ultimately he has instilled
confidence in the players that previous managers did not. As much as I loved Ruud, Vialli and Ranieri as people, they
were far too nice to be managers: we needed that cutting edge that Wenger and Ferguson possess. We were lucky to
hire a manager who surpasses these two on and off the pitch. Jose takes the heat off the players. Sure, some of his
comments have been outlandish - but that's his style. Like it or lump it.
Of course, we could and should have won more trophies this season. I am a perfectionist and believe we are capable of
more - but perhaps I am being greedy. In any case, winning the Premiership is good enough for me!
So here is a summary of the season:
The players
There have been many magnificent performances all round the club. It is also good to see that the youth team and
reserves are doing well. I hope in the next five years that we inherit at least two youth players to play regularly in the first
team. Makelele could last another five seasons with his fitness levels, but it is good that Diarra is a fantastic replacement
for him.
In goal, Petr Cech has been magnificent. Without sounding too cocky, it must be tough for him to have to concentrate
when we limit teams to five shots on goal or less per game. However, when it has come to the crunch he has saved
magnificently and only had one average game. Carlo has been a great understudy and I will always respect him for
sticking with us even though his first team chances have been limited. And I was glad to see Lenny Pidgeley get a run
out against Newcastle - now that is a proper 80s footballer's name!
The defence has been solid throughout. John Terry and William Gallas are arguably two of the best defenders in the
world. JT has played virtually the whole of the season and scored many crucial goals. Amazingly, he has not even been
suspended which proves that he is a hard, but fair tackler. Willy too scored a fantastic goal to win the game against
Spurs, but I am praying that Bridge returns to full fitness for next season so that Willy does not get too annoyed at
having to play left back all the time (even though he is arguably the best person for that position at the club!) I am not
entirely convinced with Ferreira and Del Horno. The former plays exactly like Steve Clarke, and the latter seems to be a
bit of a bottler. Glen Johnson does not have the discipline in defence that we need at this level, and his off the field
antics have been immature considering the amount of money he is earning. He is lucky Jose has not got rid of him yet.
However, he is still young and deserves one more chance. Wayne Bridge is our best left back, but unfortunately seems
to be consistently injured. Robert Huth blows hot and cold - he plays solidly and then does one howler that costs us a
win. Carvalho has not been entirely convincing - especially when you consider we paid nearly £20 mio for him. However,
he is certainly good enough but will always be second choice in central defence behind JT and Willy.
The midfield has overall had a great season. Frank Lampard and Joe Cole have been excellent. Frank has now scored
twenty goals this season: that is simply out of this world. How proud am I to see this model professional playing for my
club. Joe Cole has been the shining star in terms of entertainment and I think he will dazzle at the World Cup. Makelele
has been solid throughout and is a joy to watch. He is an important member of the team and without him I doubt we
would have won the league. Whereas some players go unnoticed in the position he plays, in his case his contribution is
tangible because of his sheer skill. Duff and Robben have been disappointing, but I will give them the benefit of the
doubt as they have been injured. I feel it is unfair to have two such great talents have to battle it out for the same
position. However, during the Barcelona game at home when we were down to ten men, Robben in the second half
played for fifteen minutes like no player I had ever seen. I am sure he will be back to his best next season. Ironically, Joe
Cole has looked the most menacing on the left wing this season. SWP has disappointed. At the age of 24 he still has
some time to prove himself, but I will never forget his magnificent cross for Crespo to score with his head against Real
Betis. Perhaps he needs a run in the team. Perhaps his price tag is weighing on his shoulders. Perhaps he is not used
to being in a team full of stars, whereas at Manchester City he was THE star. In any case, his performances in the
second half of the season have been encouraging. Eidur has had a mixed bag. I love watching him play. His skill is hard
to beat, but he has been extremely inconsistent and has made many poor passing decisions. I worry that he has lost
confidence now that he is not a first choice midfielder, but what a sub to have! Essien has been solid although he needs
to buy some shooting boots (bar his amazing goal against Everton). Maniche... er.... let's leave that one.
To be a critic of the strikeforce you have to be balanced. Jose plays a team with normally one striker up front so the
amount of goals they score is not that important. It is far too dangerous to rely on one striker to provide you with thirty
goals a season anyway. We have only two world class strikers to choose from. We have scored nearly 100 goals this
season and 30 have come from the forwards. However, as much as I love Carlton Cole, he is not good enough for us.
We should sell him to a Championship club where he will score twenty a season. If Shipperley can do it, anyone can!
Drogba has had a good season and has been amazingly professional despite the media and some fans being on his
back. His best game was against Liverpool away. With the type of system we play, Drogba suits us very well. He sets up
many goals, has stopped falling on the floor like a fairy when barely touched and a return of sixteen goals is not too
shabby at all, not including an amazing amount of assists. I feel sorry for Crespo, but thirteen goals is not too bad either.
Didier has been much maligned, but I now see his value. We do need another striker though: if one of these two are
injured then we look lightweight up front.
The management
Well what can you say. There are not enough superlatives I could use to express my admiration for Jose. Sure, he could
be a bit more gracious occasionally - but then again the media tends to skim over the times when he IS gracious and
when he IS correct. Which is 90% of the time.
My criticisms are from only four matches. Charlton at home in the League Cup was the first - Huth is a liability and cost
us the game. How much you can blame the management for a players' error is debatable. Real Betis away was another.
We played with no strikers - just Eidur. Losing there cost us first place in the Champions League Group and lead to our
demise against Barca. At Barcelona, we should have played a more attacking side - but our loss was tempered by
knowing that we had lost to a magnificent side and a dodgy refereeing decision. And finally, losing to Liverpool in the
semi was mainly down to the manager. If we had played our best team we would have won by a country mile. Seeing two
right backs on the pitch certainly raised some eyebrows. The irony was that we could have won the game with this
strange side out had Drogba and Cole not missed sitters. These are small gripes though: most managers make tactical
errors in every game and Jose makes less than a handful of mistakes per season.
He has played teams that I would never thought would gel together and been pleasantly surprised. His tinkering is more
stonkering than stinkering like Ranieri.
Next season I would be more than happy to win the League again. However, our two main rivals in red are not too far
behind us. The rest of the league is extremely weak to say the least: both Man U and Liverpool have over 80 points and
we have 91 out of a possible total of 114: unbelievable stuff.
Jose does not receive the acknowledgement he deserves. We have been accused of being boring and winning at all
costs. I think the media is angry that none of the allegedly bigger clubs can compete. When we won the trophy for the
first time, perhaps they thought we would fall away. But when a team that doesn't have as many armchair fans who get
all their views from the tabloids start to become a success it hits their circulation. Some of the anti Jose diatribe has
been a disgrace: more of that later.
We have been accused of being a dull side: no team can play throughout the season with flamboyance in every game
or else they will win nothing! I certainly enjoyed watching the side and if you cannot get excited by our midfield then you
need medical help. Sure there were a few games that were not exactly five star entertainment, but how can you play
exciting football against teams that are happy to put ten men behind the ball in order to earn a draw? I certainly was not
excited when I watched Man Utd play Arsenal this season in the league. There wasn't even any fighting on the pitch
between the players! Unfortunately when you are top of the tree the media find it far easier to criticise on the odd
occasion when you fail, but find it hard to praise when you succeed as that is what you are expected to do!
All I can say is: thankyou Jose. I am not being ungrateful but purely greedy. I want more. Next season let's win the lot!
The administration
I can't mince my words. Roman aside, the people behind the club are a bunch of money grabbing arseholes who are
pissing off the loyal fan and rewarding the Johnny Come Lately. Whether it is supplying some new supporters club from
Bongobongoland with match tickets for top matches so as to aid their foreign marketing drive, or giving the same rights
to apply for tickets to key matches for those who have been to no games this season as those who have been to most,
something smells rotten behind the scenes.
I met Peter Kenyon, and unfortunately he was a really nice guy when I spoke to him, but I have no interest in some guy
from China sitting behind me at games when genuine fans who have been going for years struggle to get tickets. Of
course you can argue that if you really wanted a ticket you will get one, but I have spoken to many a fan who feels that
they are well down the bottom of the rung when it comes to rewarding loyalty.
The main gripes I have had have been not being able to hang my flag up because the people sitting in the West Middle
below me "pay millions" (as someone from the club told me on the 'phone) and don't want it to intrude in their space.
THEY ARE NOT PAYING MILLIONS, IT IS THEIR COMPANY WHO IS AND GETS ADVERTISING IN RETURN. Where were
these sponsors when we were less successful? The other gripe is to do with standing in the Matthew Harding Lower
Tier. Any person who sits there knows it is the most vocal part of the stadium, and to ban a fan for persistently standing
is nonsense. Turn a blind eye - they certainly don't chuck out fans from the Kop, do they?
It also didn't help when the club was quick to criticise its own fans on several occasions - most notably the "Netcases"
story and the hilarious pitch invasion at Fulham. It doesn't exactly build bridges with an already sceptical fan base.
Also, who is in charge of transfers? We overpay for players and then sell them below their value. We sold Scott Parker
to Newcastle for a loss - but they can afford to pay up! Or we overpay so much for some players that we will embarrass
ourselves if we try to recoup the money from them! (I shall not name names). At the end of the day, these costs will be
transferred to us as Peter Kenyon wants to milk us for all we are worth while Chelsea are a success. As I love my club so
much, I will continue to pay. Having said that, it's only in the past two seasons that I have contemplated not renewing my
season ticket which I have owned for nearly twenty years.
For these reasons I have applied to be on the Fans' Forum next year. The members so far have mainly been people
who only go to a handful of games and willingly accept freebies from the club. Hopefully I won't be suckered into this ploy
- but if I am I promise to hand out the prawn sandwiches!
At the moment I no longer feel like a fan but a customer - and one who is not appreciated for their loyalty!
In part 2: the games, the fans, slagging off the media, other clubs and their managers.