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24 02 2008 Chelsea 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2 (aet)
Not quite sure what I was more surprised about - losing to Spurs, or that I was not hugely shocked by the result. In
essence, it was all my fault - last week I touched the League Cup when it was on display in my local Sainsbury's,
dooming the team to failure.
We have lost in Cup finals before of course, but not to opposition which, on paper at least, are a mile behind us. Having
given Avram the benefit of the doubt (long injury list, African Nations' Cup absentees) he has had a virtually full squad to
choose from in the last two games. All he has proved is his naiveness tactically. He has also cemented many Chelsea
fans' belief that the team has little confidence in him.
The first twenty minutes were all Tottenham, but after that it was mostly Chelsea. We saw the best and worst sides of
Drogba. A clever free kick to give us the lead, followed by a period of his usual theatrics. In fact, the Blues were in
control up until a very dodgy penalty was given against them. Berbatov scored and the team's confidence crumbled.
Grant's decision to play Anelka on the left wing and SWP from the start backfired, especially when it was clear that the
former was not comfortable in his position, and the latter looked considerably out of his depth for the big occasion.
Perhaps it would have been better to have dropped Lampard and Terry seeing as they have been injured for a while.
Frank was woefully off form. Essien looks a shadow of the player he was last season. There seems little coincidence that
the players who thrived under Mourinho seem to be struggling at the moment.
As much as I have not been Ballack's biggest fan, since he has returned from injury his presence alone has added
stature to the side and he has really improved: perhaps it would have been better to start with him than Lampard on this
occasion. Joe Cole was dropped too. It seemed almost as if the manager was scared to drop the club's most expensive
players. It embarrassed me to see Grant imply that Chelsea somehow did not deserve to lose this match - until Joe Cole
came on as substitute we barely had a shot on target, and even then you felt it was a forced substitution as we had
gone behind. Petr Cech had more or less singlehandedly kept us in the game - ironically it was his mistake that gifted
Tottenham the lead.
So the less said about this game the better. The manager has been given the benefit of the doubt, and it is obvious that
it is the quality of our squad that has carried him up until this point. The players lack confidence and need an
experienced, respected manager to lead our club - but will Roman's mate get the elbow having just signed a four year
contract? All that seems obvious is the exodus of some of our better players if he remains at the helm. My one abiding
memory of the match was Kalou being one on one in the dying seconds, the referee blowing his whistle for full time, and
the player still not managing to hit the target! That probably sums up the state of the team at the moment. West Ham,
Barnsley away and Olympiakos at home are looking ominous now. In the space of a couple of weeks there is a realistic
possibility we could be out of all cup competitions if we carry on this current rate of form.
essence, it was all my fault - last week I touched the League Cup when it was on display in my local Sainsbury's,
dooming the team to failure.
We have lost in Cup finals before of course, but not to opposition which, on paper at least, are a mile behind us. Having
given Avram the benefit of the doubt (long injury list, African Nations' Cup absentees) he has had a virtually full squad to
choose from in the last two games. All he has proved is his naiveness tactically. He has also cemented many Chelsea
fans' belief that the team has little confidence in him.
The first twenty minutes were all Tottenham, but after that it was mostly Chelsea. We saw the best and worst sides of
Drogba. A clever free kick to give us the lead, followed by a period of his usual theatrics. In fact, the Blues were in
control up until a very dodgy penalty was given against them. Berbatov scored and the team's confidence crumbled.
Grant's decision to play Anelka on the left wing and SWP from the start backfired, especially when it was clear that the
former was not comfortable in his position, and the latter looked considerably out of his depth for the big occasion.
Perhaps it would have been better to have dropped Lampard and Terry seeing as they have been injured for a while.
Frank was woefully off form. Essien looks a shadow of the player he was last season. There seems little coincidence that
the players who thrived under Mourinho seem to be struggling at the moment.
As much as I have not been Ballack's biggest fan, since he has returned from injury his presence alone has added
stature to the side and he has really improved: perhaps it would have been better to start with him than Lampard on this
occasion. Joe Cole was dropped too. It seemed almost as if the manager was scared to drop the club's most expensive
players. It embarrassed me to see Grant imply that Chelsea somehow did not deserve to lose this match - until Joe Cole
came on as substitute we barely had a shot on target, and even then you felt it was a forced substitution as we had
gone behind. Petr Cech had more or less singlehandedly kept us in the game - ironically it was his mistake that gifted
Tottenham the lead.
So the less said about this game the better. The manager has been given the benefit of the doubt, and it is obvious that
it is the quality of our squad that has carried him up until this point. The players lack confidence and need an
experienced, respected manager to lead our club - but will Roman's mate get the elbow having just signed a four year
contract? All that seems obvious is the exodus of some of our better players if he remains at the helm. My one abiding
memory of the match was Kalou being one on one in the dying seconds, the referee blowing his whistle for full time, and
the player still not managing to hit the target! That probably sums up the state of the team at the moment. West Ham,
Barnsley away and Olympiakos at home are looking ominous now. In the space of a couple of weeks there is a realistic
possibility we could be out of all cup competitions if we carry on this current rate of form.
