Welcome back,
I'm in St Petersburg, Florida for a journalism seminar. Ben & Jerry's had a Free Cone Day here, so everyone who lined up bet 9am and 8pm, could get a free cone. Do we have that in S'pore???
Checked out the Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball team at a game, and btw, when you walk in their stadiums, you can't go two metres without having a food or snack or drinks stand on either side. They sure love their food here! (Check out some pics above)
Before I go on, thanks to all regulars here, guests fm overseas like Iain, and even newbies like Gerry etc. Welcome Adhie too, from Indonesia, sorry...we are Asean champions again! I'll be in touch soon.
To people like Samuel, glad you liked the opinion I had written about on Curly Ronaldo last weekend. It was on the spur and in 30mins, once the news broke.
To others who have posted regarding q-s, thanks for the concern, but again, my wish is not to ban people from here. We appreciate all of them for being avid readers of The New Paper.
Q-S, you actually make some sense when you write posts that concern football. Well, that's how you won previously. It's just when you ramble on about other things that you go way off tangent. Not to mention your unnecessary rants at others. And to be fair to others, that keeps us from considering your letter highlights. I hope you get the drift here...and get over it quickly.
But back to the Question of the Week now.
The Champions League resumes in a few days with the first-leg games of the semi-finals being played.
Manchester United host Milan first, followed by Chelsea, who have to entertain their visitors from further up north - Liverpool.
For Chelsea though, the proverbial noose still remains around the neck of their Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho.
Increasing speculation points towards his exit even if he can snatch the English Premiership title miraculously from Manchester United, or beat them in the FA Cup Final, or even win the Champions League eventually.
Why Russian owner Roman Abramovich would want to sack such a manager who can bring him such potential riches, is hard to understand, as he remains silent in the background.
One factor is the clash of egos between the duo. Then, there is Abramovich's supposed desire to see "champagne" or flowing football from Chelsea, which is a tactical style Mourinho has not created so far.
This, unlike the Man Us and Barcelonas of the world.
Instead, it's grit and discipline that has become Chelsea's hallmark in the past two winning seasons, in the Premiership.
Recently, Chelsea skipper John Terry said there has been no progress over his contract talks with the club.
Chelsea themselves, have yet to make a formal contract offer to his team-mate and key midfielder Frank Lampard.
Chelsea fans are now fearing the worst for the trio that has formed their team's backbone so far - Mourinho, Terry and Lampard.
The Postman's Question of the Week: If the trio leave or have to exit the club after this season, will the London club's overnight dynasty crumble?
Reply by 3pm on Monday, in not more than 200 words, please (click link right for auto word counter).
Readers' views will be published on Tuesday with The Postman's spread of letters.
Post your views here by clicking on "comments" below my sign-off here, or e-mail to The New Paper's sports desk under the title "Dear Postman" (by clicking the link on the right).
At your service,
Ernest Luis
The Postman
The New Paper
(PS. E-mailers and bloggers, you all should e-mail us your full name, age, occupation, contact numbers and favourite teams, so you can be selected as prize winners or have your letters published.)
52 comments:
The answer is a resounding yes!!! The players are behind Jose all the way. Not only Terry and Lampard, but people like Drogba, Carvalho, Ferreira, Wright-Phillips will all think twice about staying after the man who has had a lot of faith in persevering with them leaves. Makelele will be 35 / 36 by next season??? How long more can he go on???
Unless Roman gets someone of Lippi's or Hiddink's stature, I don't see how Chelsea can recover. But it's all just hypothetical as of now. A clean sweep of the trophies or at least a Double, will definitely make Roman a happy man, unless he gets too greedy with his ambitions.
Face it, Jose is Chelsea like how Fergie is to United...
I think 'crumble' would be too strong a word to use. For all the talent that they have in the team, it would be hard to see them really falling to pieces. But if the three of them leaves, it will definitely mean that results-wise they will suffer. Remember how Ranieri failed to win the EPL and how Mourinho took over and won. The seige and 'never-say-die' mentality has been the hallmark of Mourinho's tenure at Stamford Bridge. How often have we seen Chelsea with their backs on the wall turn 1 point into all 3. His tactical acumen though awkward at times in instance such as when he turned Essien into a right wingback in the middle of the game works on most occasions. And of course those psychological pep talks. I always felt that the English players such as the likes of Terry, Lamps, Gerrard and G.Neville forms the spine of their respective teams in the EPL. The British bulldog spirit will be missing if Terry and Lamps depart. Yes, they will have other leaders in the teams but in Chelsea, these are the leaders who drive the team forward when the chips are down. The players who steady the ship when the going gets rough. Yes, they will suffer. But due to perhaps the lack of competition except from the other Big Three, they will still be thereabouts at the top unless a massive exodus results if Mourinho departs. Well, if that really happens, even though i do not like Mourinho as a person, i guess it will indeed be a sad day for English football.
Cheers,
kel
The dynasty will not crumble. This is Chelsea we are talking about. They can just get another manager, another central defender, another central midfielder and the dynasty will be cemented back in no time...
To Be Continued
No, it will not crumble, but it will be weaken.
We saw how much Chelsea misses Terry when he was injury-prone this season. Without Terry, there isn't any other defender who has that leadership that Terry has in Chelsea.
Lampard is another key factor in the Chelsea's rise, especially this season. He was voted fans' player of the month for January 2007 by givemefootball readers after scoring seven goals in eight games. You could argue that there is Ballack to cover, but Ballack's form is not 'wow' to consider him as world-class.
The special one's departure will anger fans as he has been winning trophies for Chelsea. 2 Premier League titles, 2 League Cups and 1 Community Shield, what more can the fans ask for? I don't think Alex Ferguson can do something like this in his first two season.
The Chelsea camp will be greatly weaken if the trio leaves.
If Jose goes, I bet it'll mark the end of Chelsea. *evil laughs* I know Chelsea has a great squad, with great players and all, but they're still revolving around the same key players like Lampard and Terry. And I am pretty sure that these players will follow suit if Jose leaves.
Lampard admitted that he has a soft spot for Barca, and would like to play overseas one day. To add on to that, his Spanish fiancee is from Barcelona and is a Barca fan. But what's keeping Lampard at Chelsea is his great relationship with Mourinho. Thus if Mourinho's not around, I am pretty sure he will go too.
It's similar for all the other Chelsea players. Mourinho makes them play like a team and a band of brothers, despite huge individual reputations and inflated salaries, and I'm sure most of the Chelsea players respect and admire him for that. Even though money can buy these players, Mourinho is what makes Chelsea NOT become like Real Madrid. And as irritating as Jose might be, it'd be foolish for anyone not to recognise that he's a great manager.
No. It won't crumble, but it will stumble because players loyal to Mourinho like Drogba, Carvalho and Ferreira will leave too, and rebuilding the squad will take time.
Chelsea will probably be out of the running of the EPL title for a few seasons but once a good manager is found and he gets his desired squad, Chelsea will once again challenge for the EPL.
P.S: Ernest, Ben & Jerry's do have free cone day here in Singapore =)
Yes, Chelsea will definately crumble. The reason is simply because Mourinho is Chelsea. Though I'm not a fan of the Blues, I feel pity for Mourinho. He's the person that the Chelsea players look up to and he's the father figure of the club. Honestly, I can't see any replacement coach who can do a better job than Jose. Whoever could forget what happened to Real madrid.
Terry and Lampard is the spine of the team. If these two players leave together with Jose, not even the most expensive player in the world can fill in the huge boots of Terry and Lampard. Remember, money can buy players, but it could not buy a team.
Mourinho's job MIGHT be save if he's able to win the prestigious champions league, but too bad, the kop would beat them to it.
Liverpool Fan.
As a Chelsea fan, I would like to agree with Haley about Chelsea not crumbling but weakening. With no Mourinho in the helm, Chelsea will lose it's head. But I feel Jose Mourinho will stay. We are still in it with the quadruple for the taking. Frank Lampard will stay I hope as no English players have ever flourished in Spanish Primera Liga or Serie A.
John Terry will definitely stay. All this talk about Chelsea crumbling are talks by jealous jackasses. Do you agree with me cfcfan?
They'll crumble, but they'll recover...
This short Blues dynasty most probably will come to a full stop if that holy trio of Mourinho,Terry and Lampard leave the club hand in hand at the end of the season.
The destruction will begin only if Mourinho leaves.Simply because he has the backings of his players most notably Lampard and Terry.The chances of the duo leaving the club will rise should the club decided to end their relationship with the popular players' manager.
With Jose being the leading piece of the dominos,the moment Roman wields his axe on Jose's head,it will bring about a massive domino effect with the imminent departures of the influential English duo which will represents the end of the club dominance.Face it,it was the arrival of Mourinho with his thoughtful mind games,shwred tactics and coaching methods which started the clean sweep of domestic trophies.Before him,Terry and Lampard were already there but results were still not up to the expectations of Roman which eventually saw the departure of Ranieri.In came Mourinho and he won the EPL title in his debut season with virtually the same squad Ranieri had,at the same time he brought out the best in Terry and Lampard which made them such an integral part of this dominant Blues force.So credits must surely go to the Portugese even though his team don't play the prettiest football but they sure know how to win games.
Money can buy a team the best players in the world but you definately can't find one who can manage a team from average players to world class stars as efficient as Mourinho,moreover his name almost guarentee trophies.Think twice Roman.
Well, PK has reassured fans that Jose Mourinho will stay till 2010. About Lampard and Terry's contracts, I won't worry too much about, they have pledged to stay at Chelsea for life and I believe them.
cfcfan... Haha, you do believe them very easily don't you? Football people lie all the time you know. Owen claimed Liverpool was in his blood barely a week before he left, and Gerrard, after that night in Istanbul claimed, "How can I leave after a night like this?" yet barely over a month later started toying with the idea of leaving.....
So you shouldn't trust these players so easily, or you'll get your heart broken! (I've been there...) Especially since contracts these days aren't really worth anything.
Anyway, I really don't see why Jose will be sacked (though he might leave voluntarily). The fans are with him, the players are with him, the results to be fair, are with him too. Getting rid of him will probably turn everyone against Roman and Kenyon.
q-s is making an appearance at City Hall later preferably at the new library. If you are down with me, join me in reading comics. If you're not down with 'the write off', I got two words for you, 'Lose Yourself!'
No player or manager is ever bigger than the club itself and while Mourinho's track record speaks for itself, losing him or players loyal to him won't dissolve a Roman empire built on solid foundations and deep pockets.
While removing a successful manager does seem senseless, so is biting the hand that feeds you. In recent months, Jose has not endeared himself with his public outbursts against the management, creating an unhealthy discord between the board and players. Hence, Roman is left with no choice but to remove Jose if he is to restore harmony within the club.
Roman didn't become a billionaire without having any business acumen. Hence, if he does wield the axe, Chelsea fans should be assured the Russian knows what he is doing.
Jose is not the only world-class manager around and Roman will ensure someone of pedigree will take Jose’s place if that ever happens.
A transitional period may slow Chelsea's progress for awhile if Jose does leave. However, with a youth and scouting set-up in place to mould world-class talents into future stars, Chelsea will still be a force to be reckoned with in the long run. Roman’s millions will put paid to that.
Man U, Man U, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when Chelsea come for you. X4
It is a bit hasty to say that Chelsea’s dynasty will crumble without the trio. Chelsea was without Terry for a significant part of this season’s campaign yet they didn’t falter. He has not returned to his best. Instead, it is Carvalho who has been consistent. Truthfully speaking, Lampard hasn’t hit his peak this season too though he has scored 20 goals. What I am saying is Chelsea is a team play. In the previous 2 seasons, it seemed that these 2 were the instrumental ones. However, this season has seen new heroes and it is their great team-cum-fightback spirit that has survived them so far.
Of course, at the heart of the team is Mourinho. While the dynasty will not crumble straightaway if he leaves, it will be on its way downhill. Firstly, he shares a special relationship with his players. If he leaves, some of the players might leave too. Next, not many managers have a firm grip on a team of megastars. To see a Real Madrid situation in Chelsea would be dreadful. Thirdly, though his brand of football is not as entertaining as Wenger, at least it secures trophies.
Yeah never trust a word of footballers or football-related personnels these days.
Beckham said he would rather quit football than leave United. Where's he at now? Ok yes Fergie wanted him out, but to say that then sign for Real..
>>Owen claimed Liverpool was in his blood barely a week before he left, and Gerrard, after that night in Istanbul claimed, "How can I leave after a night like this?" yet barely over a month later started toying with the idea of leaving.....
Its true that they can always change their mind. But for me, I think Terry is Chelsea through and through, and there's hardly any reason for him to leave Chelsea. For Lamps, he has said that he likes Barcelona and he has a missus who is Catalan, but he has stated that he wants a new contract. For Owen and Gerrard's case, I can't say much. They're Liverpool players. So if they had left Liverpool for other clubs, then it just shows how much they care about their club. Terry has no reason to leave Chelsea anyway. Chelsea is a successful club, he is club captain, loved by the fans, has his family here and he gets paid very handsomely.
>>So you shouldn't trust these players so easily, or you'll get your heart broken! (I've been there...) Especially since contracts these days aren't really worth anything.
Agreed. A contract is worth nothing nowadays. There always seem to be a way out of a contract.
Spurs and Gunners are drawn with 2 goals a piece.
Give up the third-placing hope Arsenal! Hehes.
once the trio leaves,
chelsea will fall,
when chelsea falls,
man utd will rule,
when man utd rules,
we not onli expect treble.
we can and will win the unprecedented quadruple.
the trio forms the bcakbone of chelsea,
so once they leave,
chelsea will be without an influential manager in jose,
an inspirational captain marvel in terry,
a midfield terror in lampard..
without a solid leader at the back,
a leading midfielder and a shrewed tactician,
chelsea will definitely crumble..
THEY WILL CRUMBLE!!!!
Liverpool has increase it's lead over the Gunners after wrapping up a victory at home against reglation-threatened Wigan.
The Reds wil go on to beat Chelsea in mid-week, having a day more to rest, the freshen Reds will do a dejavu like in the 2005 Champions League. Hahas.
I agree Ladylala's point that football people lie all the time. But I personally feel Gerrard will dedicate his life to Liverpool. He has achieve almost any medals, except for the Premiership. You name it, the European Super Cup, FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup and Charity/Community Shield.
To imagine him leave, it's hard.
I truly am stunned by the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
lol, I'm so proud of myself! Haha, I finally got something right in the Top Tipster contest (I think I'm on a pathetic score of 4 so far haha!). Woohoo! Am I clever or what, 'cause I predicted draws for both Man U and Arsenal. :P Now it's down to Chelsea and hopefully they win, although I don't think I'll ever win the weekly prize and am just taking part occasionally for fun.
I only watched the last 10 minutes of the Arsenal game, and was pretty stunned when Jenas scored with what was to be the last kick of the game. Lol. I was supporting neither Spurs or Arsenal, but it sure made me laugh when that happened. As a neutral, you always love those sort of things happening...
Now the league title's back in Chelsea's control... hopefully they don't screw up haha!
The title fight is becoming really exciting towards the end of the season. Should Chelsea win tonight, the gap will only be a mere 1 point.
The anxiety is killing me!
Who is the showstopper? Me.
Who is the Chelsea's mastermind? Me.
Who is everyone love to hate, love to love? Me.
A mix of Portuguese spices and Russian dough has been the perfect recipe for the Blues, who has wet our appetites with some well-baked performances over the past 2 seasons. The right ingredients have gave rise to an oven laden with trophy trimmings. However, success has come at a price.
Portu-baker Mourinho’s rumblings have not gone down well with owner Abrahamovich, who wishes to add more flavor to an already potent batter. Instead of buttering up to Roman, he has thrown egg at the face that feeds him.
However, while Roman may have the dough, he may not have Mourinho’s recipe for success. Mourinho has shaped his dozen well, tough to bite and hard to digest. With chief ingredients, Terry and Lampard, under Jose’s wrappings, there lies Roman’s dilemma.
Roman risks crumbling a solid confection for some tasty football. Therefore, it may take awhile for them to rise again if Jose leaves.
But, in the long run, fresh smells of success will still come out of the Bridge.
Roman needs to throw the right person into the mix and then, let his dough do all the talking. With such deep pockets, don’t expect Chelsea to crumble that easily.
On a very serious note, Chelsea's dynasty will not crumble. All this talks about Chelsea breaking down are utter nonsense. Jose Mourinho will sit out his 5 years contract. John Terry will stay. And Frank Lampard will not follow his wife to Spain because he's smart enough to know that no English player has ever flourished in the Primera Liga.
I'm sick and tired of jealous people claiming Chelsea this, Chelsea that. I respect Jose Mourinho because like Roman Abramovich, he is born poor.
CHELSEA FOR THE QUADRUPLE!!!!
Name : Qyaerus-Syahrein
Age : 25
Occupation : Temasek Polytechnic Student
Favourite Club : Chelsea
100% YES. Where is Chelsea when Mourinho is not manager?
This is the Man that brings out the best in Lampard and Terry. The man that spends two season in the Premiership and won two consecutive titles.The Chelsea Team is behind him and Terry is stalling on contract because of him.So pls Abramovich, DON DO ANYTHING SILLY, KEEP HIM AT STAMFORD BRIDGE, HE IS THE BEST CHOICE YOU MADE SINCE THE DAY U R THE BOARD OF CHELSEA!!
Chelsea will not crumble,
They will only stumble,
Because Mourinho doesn't jumble,
Though he always grumbles,
But he ain't humble,
Neither does he mumble,
Just like Drogba likes to tumble,
Chelsea's gonna rumble!
But only after a season of bumble!
I truly am thankful to Newcastle... :)
Well done Newcastle!!! That's the way to go!!!
Jose Mourinho complains so much that I swear he must have Singaporean blood in him!!
q-s match report
Petr Cech was outstanding in goal.
Wayne Bridge excellent at left back.
Michael Essien good in the centre of defence.
John Terry, the usual, excellent.
Paulo Ferreira excellent too.
Michael Ballack needs to be transfered.
Frank Lampard is still thinking of his...
Claude Makelele does the usual. Excellent.
Shaun Wright-Phillips tried again.
Kalou needs to find a girlfriend.
Didier Drogba was ok.
Shevchenko I'm impressed with his long ball delivery.
Joe Cole is always fanciful.
John Obi Mikel is playing too dirty.
Key word for this report : excellent
This report is brought to you by www.geocities.com/syahrein81/index.html
Thank you
Is two league titles in two seasons consider a dynasty? There is a high possibility that if Mourinho were to go, Chelsea might collapse but Abramovich is too rich to allow that to happen.
Life will go on even if there was a mass exodus of players from Chelsea with Mourinho's departure. New manager, new players will come in and life will go on. I will still support Chelsea.
It will be a pity if Mourinho is to leave. Afterall I have to admit that he is surely one of the best manager in the world. But no one can be bigger than the club.
Whatever happens at the end of the season, I just hoped that it will lead Chelsea forward and not backward!
Quadruple here we come! (At least we tried!)
Zzz... about yesterday's match, I found myself supporting Chelsea for once (and was left moaning about my Top Tipster weekly prize at the end of it), and I guess I ought to do that more often, because it just made them plain bad. They really just wasted their chance to take advantage of Man U's slip up earlier. And what irked me most was that they never even looked really close to scoring and winning. Even towards the end, I thought Newcastle looked more likely to score than them. Oh well, hopefully Chelsea will play like this again against Liverpool come Thurs morning.
Will Chelsea Crumble ?
All you have to do is look to another north London team, Arsenal. After they lost Patrick Vieira and Sol Campell, they went from 4th to 1st.
To replace the kind of quality that Terry and Lampard bring to the side, would be hard, to replace the leadership and fighting spirit that has become the hallmark of Chelsea would be impossible. Without them Chelsea are without leadership.
To lose those players would be hard, but to lose Mourinho would be the greatest loss to Chelsea. It's hard to explain, but when you see Mourinho on the touchline, or even just sitting on the bench, you cant help but get the feeling that Chelsea are just gonna nick it. I think what he brings to the side is more of a never say die attitude and a kind of arrogant flair that makes the players believe in themselves. Without him Chelsea are without belief.
Without this trio Chelsea are without a chance of winning a title. Unless perhaps Abromavich splurges a few Hundred million pounds rebuilding...
By Gerry Ong, 18, Student
Tired legs and tired minds, as how Neil Barnett summed it up perfectly:
"So Manchester United remain in the driving seat for the Premiership title? Just. But with four games to go this weekend made it look like the one who can stumble over the finishing line first will win.”
Remove 3 trump aces in a winning hand and Chelsea's dynasty will crumble overnight like a deck of cards. Although poker-faced Roman's oily riches can buy a new deck of club, manager and players in the same league of the trio but he cannot conjur up time, experience, team spirit, mental toughness, relationships and a winning formula. Dressing room morale will be a wash-out with players, coaches and staff beginning to speculate their future at the club. The joker card of soap-opera type media hounding will disrupt the ♣Club's on-field and corporate matters.
Reshuffling the deck will cost more money due to players asking for a King’s ransom in wage demands and jacked-up transfer fees for new Sheva of ♠Spades. If Chelsea loses Champions League ♦Diamonds, it will result in huge loss of revenue and sponsorship deals, not to mention current value of TV contracts and company stocks will follow-suit and fold. Queen of ♥Hearts Kenyon can pack his cards tricks of forming new business plan proposals, partnerships and start dealing for a new job. A hand of fullhouse stares Abramovich in the face and will he go All-In for next season remains to be seen.
Xiao Yu Er: Mirror, Mirror, Mirror On The Wall.Will Chelsea Dynasty Crumble When Mourinho, Lampard and Terry Leave For Good?
Mirror: Chelsea Dynasty won't crumble because of Russian's Billions.
Xiao Yu Er: Mirror, Mirror, Mirror On The Wall.Will Chelsea Trip And Fall Flat Down In It's Face In The Run-In For EPL Title?
Mirror: Chelsea has the most difficult run-in compare to Manchester United.Their opponents Bolton, Arsenal, Manchester United and Everton will ensure EPL goes to Manchester United.Bolton enjoy winning against London teams or at mostlose by odd-goal.Arsenal in Emirate Stadium, currently an Invincible Fortress, will ensure Chelsea lose 3 points.Manchester United, unlucky draw with Chelsea at it's home turf despite leading 1-0 only for Saha to mess it up, can take a point in Stamford Bridge.Everton, knowing they will earn 1/2 million pounds when Manchester United wins EPL Title, likely take a point back to Liverpool.
For Manchester United, Everton will gift wrap 3 points to them.Manchester City, not the best of friendly neighbourhood Spider-man, lose by odd-goal to it's arch-enemy Manchester United.West Ham, lousy travellers especially in Old Trafford, will be massacred.
Therefore Manchester United win EPL Title.
Xiao Yu Er: Mirror, Mirror, Mirror On The Wall.Will Liverpool and Manchester United win their 1st Leg Semi-Final Ties Of Champions League?
Mirror: Chelsea 0 Liverpool 2 and Manchester United 3 AC Milan 1.
Xiao Yur Er: Thank You Mirror For Your Replies.
Mirror: You're Welcome.
From: Xiao Yu Er
This is the Very best of Christiano Ronaldo Goal !
This is the reason why manchester will be the champion of epl , fa cup and champion league ..
http://cristiano-ronaldo-goal.blogspot.com/
YES !!!
With Abramovich staying at Chelsea, they can get whatever players or coach to replace the trio.
I will not be a big problem for Chelsea. Like what anakBujang said, they will crumble but will recover.
it*
Champions league prediction.
Man Utd 1-1 Milan
Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool
Hope I'm right.
ARGH, I think whenever I watch Man Utd, I bring them good luck! I was telling my Man U friend earlier how I didn't know whether to watch Man U or not since whenever I watch, they always seem to win (and score late winners sometimes) so of course he wanted me to watch. In the end I couldn't help it, so I did stay up to watch... My joy at apparently bringing Kaka good luck (he's so wayyyy better than Ronaldo, not just in terms of looks :P) turned into horror in the 2nd half as once again, Man Utd scored another late winner. If I didn't dislike Man U so much, I'd have to admit their 2nd half performance deserved the win, but crap, I think I should have turned off the TV and go off to bed at half-time!
Now I'm facing the dilemma of whether to watch the 2nd leg next week... I really want to watch it, but I'm also just too scared...
But putting superstitious beliefs aside (that I bring Man U good luck), I think I knew Man U would play way better in the 2nd half whether I'm watching or not (they always manage to win despite going behind), and these Italian teams don't seem to hold on to leads very well, do they? I still think Kaka's amazing though. I want him!! (for Liverpool and... for dinner) :D
A very impressive win. Congratulations, it must have been a cracking game!
I am a Liverpool fan but I have been watching Man U because of Ronaldo. I see him all over the field! After this morning win over AC Milan, I have another reason to watch Man U - Wayne Roooooooney...Cheers on a breathtaking goal. Man U defenders inexperience was obviously taken advantage by the incomparable Kaka. Evra clashing with Heinze shows that clearly. But Man U will learn. My gut feel is Man U will be the EPL champions. And I hope Liverpool take the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea the FA Cup. End of double, treble dreams for all.
I guess considering the makeshift backfour that Utd put out, the win was immense. Other than the 2 Kaka efforts early in the second half, the second half was all Man U. Probably Milan just ran out of steam. I was fearing the worst at half time because the italians were stroking the ball around with ease in the Devils' own backyard. Whatever Fergie said at halftime must have helped. I can't single out too many players because i felt this was a collective performance but perhaps for me, Heinze and Brown were outstanding. Gilardino barely had a sniff at goal. Now for San Siro. Let's hope it will be a repeat of Turin'99.
Cheers,
kel
My prediction for Chelsea Vs Liverpool. *swallows spit* Chelsea 3 Liverpool 0.
Ok let's not get too carried away, it's only the first leg and San Siro is a fortress on its own. Milan are fine examples of a classic Italian team, they know when to score and when to shut shop. They might just bang one goal in and then park their team coach in front of the goal and Utd might find themselves out of the final...
After watching how Milan crumbled when Gattuso left the field, it's no wonder Fergie covets him more than Hargreaves. I felt he was the player who makes them tick, doing the dirty work and letting Pirlo and Kaka dictate play.
Special mention goes out to Fletcher who was the unsung hero and doing an admirable job as an anchorman. He almost always seem to thrive in big games yet he is just so-so when it comes to playing the lesser teams.
Of course, victory is sweet, especially when we have two precocious youngsters working in tandem. Hopefully more players would want to join Utd in future, just to play alongside these two, just like a certain Swede. But then again, the Manchester weather is always a turn off... :P
i would suppose a 2-0 win for Liverpool.
Goals will come from Peter Crouch and Javier Mascherano. Dirk Kuyt will be flying high if he plays.
Why not let 'God' have his last shot of glory before retiring, maybe?
I won't be surprised if I see Fowler playing in tomorrow's morning 'Clash of the Titans'.
It would be a perfect way to bid goodbye to score a goal, then leaving for other clubs or retire after much spectulation about 'God' leaving.
We all know Rafa do not keep players. You're no good, he shows you the door.
Hi all. Been a while. How's everyone?
Not sure if my views have been aired before (over 50 comments already?!?) but was Chel$ea ever a dynasty in the first place to begin with?
If by buying the world's best players and putting them together to win trophies make them a dynasty, then the dynasty will go on without Moan-rinho, Terry & co. All Roman has to do is open his cheque book and play the 'name your price' game. Hiddink, Kaka, Torres etc etc...
But if he respects the game and groom players (odds would be better if I buy Toto & hit first prize) or buy players at market rates, then the 'dynasty' will crumble a bit for a re-building process. It did take a few years for Terry & Lampard to mature to the players that they are.
But seriously, would Roman have the patience?
And Postman, Chel$ea ain't no dynasty...
:(
I guess it was a deserved victory for Chelsea, and I was pretty disappointed with Liverpool's performance this morning. I think... maybe our players just aren't good enough. For instance, as good as Daniel Agger has been this season, when I saw him pitted one on one against Drogba, I immediately feared the worst. And I don't know why we had Zenden playing as his best performance is often just okay. Was that the best we could offer? We would have to do much more to overturn the scoreline next week.
I only started laughing when I saw Mourinho's interview. Initially I was quite baffled, because instead of praising his team for their performance and the deserved victory, he started ranting about some penalty incident. Even though then I wasn't quite sure which incident he was referring to, he sounded positively mad, the way he kept going on and on about the 'penalty'. He even went on to talk about Garcia's goal 2 years ago (again) at one point! Turns out that "penalty" incident of his didn't even occur inside the box... tsk tsk, what's wrong with you Jose, surely you aren't afraid that you'd lose this scoreline advantage at Anfield?
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