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01 05 2007 Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0 (agg 1-1: Liverpool win on pens)
The most disappointing aspect of this tie was losing to a team who are in so many ways inferior to Chelsea.
Unfortunately we lost again to them in a cup tie, and it hurts.
We have many excuses for the loss. Carvalho, Ballack and Sheva out. Being drawn home first away second. Players
being forced to play out of position. Chelsea were fighting a war on four fronts and Liverpool only one so they were
fresher. However, on the night Liverpool were more dangerous and deserved to win the tie.
There are many questions we should ask: why did we play with two defensive midfielders in Maka and Obi? Why did
Robben not start if he was fit in such a crucial game? Why did Bouhla not start (it's not as if he would be beaten for pace
by a pedestrian Liverpool side)? What exactly was Joe Cole supposed to be doing? Can Frank do any worse at set
pieces? Why did Robben take the first penalty?
After Liverpool scored Chelsea got their act together but created very little in terms of clearcut chances. As the second
half progressed Anfield turned silent but in reality it was the Chelsea fans who knew we were on the verge of going out.
It was good to see the Chelsea players congratulating Liverpool at the end. I mingled with Liverpool fans after the game
and had a very knowledgeable chat with them. There were no problems, no stupid vitriolic accusations from either set of
fans. In fact, the only banter we seemed to get were from those who didn't attend the game!
The most important thing now is to see how Chelsea react. Manchester United getting knocked may knock their
confidence. There is little chance of them losing to City this weekend but you never know! All we have to do is beat
Arsenal, for whom playing Chelsea is their biggest game of the season (how times have changed!)
Presuming Jose stays (and I hope he does) most Chelsea fans pray that next season Chelsea take a few more risks
than they did this season. Given the injuries to our attackers (Cole and Robben) the criticism has been harsh -
nevertheless we have a good chance to bounce back next August. Let's start even earlier by beating United in the FA
Cup Final!
Unfortunately we lost again to them in a cup tie, and it hurts.
We have many excuses for the loss. Carvalho, Ballack and Sheva out. Being drawn home first away second. Players
being forced to play out of position. Chelsea were fighting a war on four fronts and Liverpool only one so they were
fresher. However, on the night Liverpool were more dangerous and deserved to win the tie.
There are many questions we should ask: why did we play with two defensive midfielders in Maka and Obi? Why did
Robben not start if he was fit in such a crucial game? Why did Bouhla not start (it's not as if he would be beaten for pace
by a pedestrian Liverpool side)? What exactly was Joe Cole supposed to be doing? Can Frank do any worse at set
pieces? Why did Robben take the first penalty?
After Liverpool scored Chelsea got their act together but created very little in terms of clearcut chances. As the second
half progressed Anfield turned silent but in reality it was the Chelsea fans who knew we were on the verge of going out.
It was good to see the Chelsea players congratulating Liverpool at the end. I mingled with Liverpool fans after the game
and had a very knowledgeable chat with them. There were no problems, no stupid vitriolic accusations from either set of
fans. In fact, the only banter we seemed to get were from those who didn't attend the game!
The most important thing now is to see how Chelsea react. Manchester United getting knocked may knock their
confidence. There is little chance of them losing to City this weekend but you never know! All we have to do is beat
Arsenal, for whom playing Chelsea is their biggest game of the season (how times have changed!)
Presuming Jose stays (and I hope he does) most Chelsea fans pray that next season Chelsea take a few more risks
than they did this season. Given the injuries to our attackers (Cole and Robben) the criticism has been harsh -
nevertheless we have a good chance to bounce back next August. Let's start even earlier by beating United in the FA
Cup Final!
