21 05 2008 Manchester United 1 Chelsea 1 (Utd win 6-5 on pens)
So the losers of the European Cup final went out due to the width of a post. That is how close the margin is in this
competition - such a fine line between being a success and failure. Noone can truly say that the best team won, and for
once at least I could leave the stadium with my head held high knowing that the Champions of Europe had only
managed to win on the lottery of penalties.
It was only on the 'plane journey back that the pain really hit - knowing that I would have to see plastic Mancs walking
around Clapham with their second hand Man Yoo shirts bought for £5 from Oxfam and the media gushing in praise for a
team that they were praying would win so that they could sell more newspapers and advertising space. The Sun even
had a two page picture of the winners on the OUTSIDE pages in its Thursday edition! I had to chuckle. I wonder what the
media reaction would have been if Chelsea had been the team that was outplayed and won on penalties - there would
have been a furore! No mention of the childish behaviour of the players in red who tried to rile the referee and Chelsea
players at every opportunity. It is a shame some of our players fell for their "gamesmanship". There was some regret
that Chelsea would not be taking part in the Super Cup and World Club Championship, two competitions that at face
value are meaningless, but cement your stature as a club that has really made it. Imagine that considering twenty years
ago we were the boys in blue, in division 2!
But how close could it have been! From delight at seeing the perennially diving and showboating Ronaldo missing his
spot kick to seeing Terry slip and hit the post! At that point I sat down and knew it would not be our night.
The whole idea of having the final in Moscow was a joke. The farce of the visas, the generally poor organisation, and
most of all the firm belief that the real fans were fleeced all week. Thomas Cook charged £750 for a day trip (no hotel!),
and then a mid priced match ticket was £117. This was my view and the same for the other fans on Thomas Cook:
Football fans have always been shortchanged - treated like animals (admittedly sometimes deservedly) and made to
pay through the nose for even the most basic amenity. What a stupid idea to host a final in a city which does not even
have enough hotel beds to cover the two sets of fans flying over. Then, the suggestion that we should go in the Fan
Zone before the game where a kebab cost 1,200 roubles (about £30)! A replica Chelsea kit was on sale for £75, and
most of the portaloos were padlocked on the outside. The queues for refreshments were abysmal, the toilets disgusting,
and even if you did manage to buy something most refreshments had been sold out hours before the game. The police
and army wanted to show what big men they were by marching in groups of twenty on the pavements outside the ground
and purposely bumping into fans on their way to the match. Then you were worried how you would return back to the
airport after the game as the buses were parked miles from the ground. All in all a very stressful situation, and you
shouldn't have to worry about these things when you have spent so much money to attend what is in essence 22 men
trying to kick a ball into a net.
Thank God that we are used to it or else the scenes could have echoed those in Fulham Broadway after the final
whistle. I am sure that the media and UEFA hangers-on managed to find a nice place to rest after the game though!
So it was with this stress that we entered the match. The usual bizarre pre-match Cirque de Soleil dancing, then the
game began. Manchester United edged the first half, and when the unmarked Ronaldo scored by outjumping Essien you
wondered if poor Avram had made a mistake by putting on such an attack minded right back. In the ten minutes that
followed, United could have easily scored again (luckily I would not have been able to tell as the advertising hoardings
were blocking the bottom of the goal!) and Chelsea fans had flashbacks of the '94 Cup Final. We got our lucky break
from a deflected shot by Essien, and when Lampard scored there was absolute mayhem in the Chelsea end.
From then on Chelsea dominated the game despite the referee and his assistants making some very dubious decisions
against the Blues. Hit the post twice and had over twenty attempts on goal, but few on target. It was obvious that United
fans were scared stiff as they were quiet as a mouse until it went to penalties. Conversely, the Chelsea support was
magnificent and it was a privilege to such a decent, boisterous bunch of fans.
It was a pulsating match, and it was great to hear from neutral fans that not only did they think the match was full of class
and excitement, but that the wrong team won. Of course, with Terry missing his spot kick there are questions whether
Drogba would've been the penalty taker if he had not stupidly got himself sent off, but really JT was so unlucky that it
probably reflects what Chelsea fans have had to put up with over the years!
Many fans had to leave straight after the final whistle in order to get the first flight out. Wearing just jeans and a Chelsea
shirt, now there were definite parallels with the '94 Cup Final as we got soaked walking back to the coaches to take us
back to the airport.
It was a great honour and privilege to have made is this far. Well done to the team - noone could be faulted for their
efforts. The question now is what to make of the squad and the future of Avram. On paper I really believe we have
arguably the best squad in the world - one that really plays as a team. The thing we really have missed is a creative, fast
winger in the mould of Robben and some better finishing in front of goal. If we managed to secure someone like Messi
then I would be over the moon. As for the manager, following Kenyon's comments you do have to feel sorry for Grant.
He has made many mistakes, but in recent weeks seems to have learned from them. The question is whether he is a
long term replacement for Mourinho, and with sad heart I have to say no. So if he does go, who should he be replaced
with? Most likely it would be Rijkaard as it is obvious Roman wants Chelsea to be like the Barca team of a couple of
years ago. That may open up the likelihood of a few exciting stars joining the team
When put in perspective, we have had a decent season, but compared to the high standards set under Jose Mourinho it
has been a failure. Onwards to Euro 2008 where I look forward to seeing Poland finishing second bottom of their group!
*sigh*
ps youtube has banned me from their site for using it to post videos from the matches from my OWN camera!
So sorry for the time the videos below will take to load up
competition - such a fine line between being a success and failure. Noone can truly say that the best team won, and for
once at least I could leave the stadium with my head held high knowing that the Champions of Europe had only
managed to win on the lottery of penalties.
It was only on the 'plane journey back that the pain really hit - knowing that I would have to see plastic Mancs walking
around Clapham with their second hand Man Yoo shirts bought for £5 from Oxfam and the media gushing in praise for a
team that they were praying would win so that they could sell more newspapers and advertising space. The Sun even
had a two page picture of the winners on the OUTSIDE pages in its Thursday edition! I had to chuckle. I wonder what the
media reaction would have been if Chelsea had been the team that was outplayed and won on penalties - there would
have been a furore! No mention of the childish behaviour of the players in red who tried to rile the referee and Chelsea
players at every opportunity. It is a shame some of our players fell for their "gamesmanship". There was some regret
that Chelsea would not be taking part in the Super Cup and World Club Championship, two competitions that at face
value are meaningless, but cement your stature as a club that has really made it. Imagine that considering twenty years
ago we were the boys in blue, in division 2!
But how close could it have been! From delight at seeing the perennially diving and showboating Ronaldo missing his
spot kick to seeing Terry slip and hit the post! At that point I sat down and knew it would not be our night.
The whole idea of having the final in Moscow was a joke. The farce of the visas, the generally poor organisation, and
most of all the firm belief that the real fans were fleeced all week. Thomas Cook charged £750 for a day trip (no hotel!),
and then a mid priced match ticket was £117. This was my view and the same for the other fans on Thomas Cook:
Football fans have always been shortchanged - treated like animals (admittedly sometimes deservedly) and made to
pay through the nose for even the most basic amenity. What a stupid idea to host a final in a city which does not even
have enough hotel beds to cover the two sets of fans flying over. Then, the suggestion that we should go in the Fan
Zone before the game where a kebab cost 1,200 roubles (about £30)! A replica Chelsea kit was on sale for £75, and
most of the portaloos were padlocked on the outside. The queues for refreshments were abysmal, the toilets disgusting,
and even if you did manage to buy something most refreshments had been sold out hours before the game. The police
and army wanted to show what big men they were by marching in groups of twenty on the pavements outside the ground
and purposely bumping into fans on their way to the match. Then you were worried how you would return back to the
airport after the game as the buses were parked miles from the ground. All in all a very stressful situation, and you
shouldn't have to worry about these things when you have spent so much money to attend what is in essence 22 men
trying to kick a ball into a net.
Thank God that we are used to it or else the scenes could have echoed those in Fulham Broadway after the final
whistle. I am sure that the media and UEFA hangers-on managed to find a nice place to rest after the game though!
So it was with this stress that we entered the match. The usual bizarre pre-match Cirque de Soleil dancing, then the
game began. Manchester United edged the first half, and when the unmarked Ronaldo scored by outjumping Essien you
wondered if poor Avram had made a mistake by putting on such an attack minded right back. In the ten minutes that
followed, United could have easily scored again (luckily I would not have been able to tell as the advertising hoardings
were blocking the bottom of the goal!) and Chelsea fans had flashbacks of the '94 Cup Final. We got our lucky break
from a deflected shot by Essien, and when Lampard scored there was absolute mayhem in the Chelsea end.
From then on Chelsea dominated the game despite the referee and his assistants making some very dubious decisions
against the Blues. Hit the post twice and had over twenty attempts on goal, but few on target. It was obvious that United
fans were scared stiff as they were quiet as a mouse until it went to penalties. Conversely, the Chelsea support was
magnificent and it was a privilege to such a decent, boisterous bunch of fans.
It was a pulsating match, and it was great to hear from neutral fans that not only did they think the match was full of class
and excitement, but that the wrong team won. Of course, with Terry missing his spot kick there are questions whether
Drogba would've been the penalty taker if he had not stupidly got himself sent off, but really JT was so unlucky that it
probably reflects what Chelsea fans have had to put up with over the years!
Many fans had to leave straight after the final whistle in order to get the first flight out. Wearing just jeans and a Chelsea
shirt, now there were definite parallels with the '94 Cup Final as we got soaked walking back to the coaches to take us
back to the airport.
It was a great honour and privilege to have made is this far. Well done to the team - noone could be faulted for their
efforts. The question now is what to make of the squad and the future of Avram. On paper I really believe we have
arguably the best squad in the world - one that really plays as a team. The thing we really have missed is a creative, fast
winger in the mould of Robben and some better finishing in front of goal. If we managed to secure someone like Messi
then I would be over the moon. As for the manager, following Kenyon's comments you do have to feel sorry for Grant.
He has made many mistakes, but in recent weeks seems to have learned from them. The question is whether he is a
long term replacement for Mourinho, and with sad heart I have to say no. So if he does go, who should he be replaced
with? Most likely it would be Rijkaard as it is obvious Roman wants Chelsea to be like the Barca team of a couple of
years ago. That may open up the likelihood of a few exciting stars joining the team
When put in perspective, we have had a decent season, but compared to the high standards set under Jose Mourinho it
has been a failure. Onwards to Euro 2008 where I look forward to seeing Poland finishing second bottom of their group!
*sigh*
ps youtube has banned me from their site for using it to post videos from the matches from my OWN camera!
So sorry for the time the videos below will take to load up
