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11 03 2007 Chelsea 3 Tottenham Hotspur 3
An astonishing game where for the first time in a long time we were made to look very ordinary by a team which got its
tactics right against an understrength Chelsea side.
This is what FA Cup football is all about... end to end action, nail biting moments, magnificent crowd atmosphere.
Chelsea are very, very lucky to still to be in the draw after some of the most woeful defending I have seen since Jose
took charge. The amount of space Tottenham had on their right was unbelievable: either Ashley Cole was not pulling his
weight or Diarra was not fulfilling his duties in defensive midfield. Why Jose will not play Bridge I do not know. By half
time Chelsea were lucky not be more than 3-1 behind and if Tottenham had taken their 1 on 1 chance with Cech just
after the break our dreams of going to Wembley would have been over already.
Essien showed that you cannot expect to play out of position all the time and not make mistakes. His own goal was one
that a defender would not have made. Apart from that error he had a magnificent game yet again.
Jose went a bit mad/brave with substitutions and towards the end we played with what seemed like a 3-2-3-2 formation
and it paid dividends. Frank Lampard again was in the right place and right time to score for Chelsea and even though
occasionally his distribution has let him down this season the fact he has scored 20 (yes TWENTY) goals this season
already more than makes up for some of his other weaknesses.
When we were 3-1 down all I kept repeating to myself was "please Chelsea get to Wembley". It was only then that the
seriousness of the situation kicked in. At 3-2 I was still being pessimistic. The crowd watched in awe and when Kalou
scored that magnificent goal to equalise the pandemonium was nothing like I had seen at the Bridge for many moons.
And finally he scored an important goal which will do no harm in boosting his confidence after a fairly lacklustre season.
Despite the tribal rivalry I have not got much to hold against Spurs. I like their manager and their players seem to be an
honest bunch. When I was a kid Gazza was my favourite non Chelsea player despite playing for the wrong team. Arsenal
is a club I truly despise: they were complaining recently at how many cards they have received despite the relatively low
number of fouls conceded... well the reason for that is because they punch other players on the pitch and get yellow
cards for ungentlemanly conduct!
So on to the replay... on a Monday night. With 6,000 Blues in one of the most horrible parts of London the atmosphere
is bound to be electric, and hopefully with Terry back then we can set the record straight. This is in no doubt one of the
best Chelsea games I have seen... you rarely get that knot in your stomach these days as Chelsea are so dominant you
know they will normally win.
In the back of my mind, though I can just hear Alan Hansen muttering, "woeful defending" in his Jock vernacular.
tactics right against an understrength Chelsea side.
This is what FA Cup football is all about... end to end action, nail biting moments, magnificent crowd atmosphere.
Chelsea are very, very lucky to still to be in the draw after some of the most woeful defending I have seen since Jose
took charge. The amount of space Tottenham had on their right was unbelievable: either Ashley Cole was not pulling his
weight or Diarra was not fulfilling his duties in defensive midfield. Why Jose will not play Bridge I do not know. By half
time Chelsea were lucky not be more than 3-1 behind and if Tottenham had taken their 1 on 1 chance with Cech just
after the break our dreams of going to Wembley would have been over already.
Essien showed that you cannot expect to play out of position all the time and not make mistakes. His own goal was one
that a defender would not have made. Apart from that error he had a magnificent game yet again.
Jose went a bit mad/brave with substitutions and towards the end we played with what seemed like a 3-2-3-2 formation
and it paid dividends. Frank Lampard again was in the right place and right time to score for Chelsea and even though
occasionally his distribution has let him down this season the fact he has scored 20 (yes TWENTY) goals this season
already more than makes up for some of his other weaknesses.
When we were 3-1 down all I kept repeating to myself was "please Chelsea get to Wembley". It was only then that the
seriousness of the situation kicked in. At 3-2 I was still being pessimistic. The crowd watched in awe and when Kalou
scored that magnificent goal to equalise the pandemonium was nothing like I had seen at the Bridge for many moons.
And finally he scored an important goal which will do no harm in boosting his confidence after a fairly lacklustre season.
Despite the tribal rivalry I have not got much to hold against Spurs. I like their manager and their players seem to be an
honest bunch. When I was a kid Gazza was my favourite non Chelsea player despite playing for the wrong team. Arsenal
is a club I truly despise: they were complaining recently at how many cards they have received despite the relatively low
number of fouls conceded... well the reason for that is because they punch other players on the pitch and get yellow
cards for ungentlemanly conduct!
So on to the replay... on a Monday night. With 6,000 Blues in one of the most horrible parts of London the atmosphere
is bound to be electric, and hopefully with Terry back then we can set the record straight. This is in no doubt one of the
best Chelsea games I have seen... you rarely get that knot in your stomach these days as Chelsea are so dominant you
know they will normally win.
In the back of my mind, though I can just hear Alan Hansen muttering, "woeful defending" in his Jock vernacular.