Irish Examiner Article on Chelsea

Sadly, as a Chelsea fan (for 21 years), I couldn't agree with this more.

I MADE reference last week to the vain hope of an impartial referee for our game against Liverpool. I was obviously asking for the impossible. No doubt Lampard's red will be rescinded, but that's not the point is it? As manager of Liverpool Benitez probably has the least right to whinge about United/Ferguson's "special relationship" with referees.

Six Liverpool opponents have been sent off in the 24 league games played so far (ie 25% of matches). No Liverpool opponents have been sent off in Cup ties or European matches. No Liverpool player has been dismissed this season. Life's full of strange statistics, isn't it?

The game was heading for a 0-0. We were poor and Liverpool were not much better. It perfectly demonstrated why the title is staying where it currently resides. Only Lampard's dismissal gave Liverpool the impetus to go for the win, and despite Cech's acrobatic efforts we were unable to hang on.

The breakthrough woke their fans up too, who until then had been absolutely embarrassingly silent except for the nails-down-a-blackboard whine following Lampard's non-challenge to speed the red card out of Riley's pocket.

Meanwhile St. Gerrard is permitted to get away with at least one studs-up challenge, kicking the ball at an opposition player (send that video to Rory Delap, dismissed the day before for exactly the same thing) as well as a plethora of constant fouls. Gerrard only (finally) gets booked when he again theatrically throws himself to the ground without being touched. Yet the press adore him and referees demand respect. To be honest it makes me sick. And most football fans I think.

Riley's performance was a disgrace ― he is either incompetent or something worse and he is meant to be one of the best we have. Referee's DO have a difficult job, and very difficult decisions to make in split seconds. But this happened not four yards from him and if anything the free kick or booking should have gone the other way. If you can't get these right then you are in the wrong job.

That said, Chelsea's performance was inept, again. I counted one shot in the second half and that was before the sending off. The players did not look motivated, they have forgotten how to attack, their passing has gone to pot, their defensive frailties are out there for the world to see yet they are trying back-heals, flicks and tricks ― usually ensuring loss of possession, and edging me closer to total despair. If this is Brazilian football, you can keep it.

The team look confused and invariably pass backwards. Scolari can shrug his shoulders and roll his eyes as much as he likes on the touch line but they can only be carrying out his instructions. Why else would Anelka play so far wide? Why else would we play so deep and so narrow? And why despite everything is our manager failing to show any passion. Show us you care man for god's sake!!!

He not only seems to have lost the players but the fans too and that is partially due to his seeming indifference to the way we are playing. We saw a brief spark of something a couple of weeks ago, but he is back to the stuttering, resigned man who repeats the manta that it will be "more difficult" to win the league after every non-performance. No shit Sherlock!

If we got rid now though who would we bring in? Whoever it was would need to be a disciplinarian and someone that these players will respect. But I can't think of anyone that fits that bill and would be willing to come to us at the moment.

Scolari seems to have solved our Stamford Bridge expansion issue though ― narrow the pitch by two meters either side and put more seats there ― he won't notice, he doesn't use those bits. But then, any more of this tripe and we won't need extra capacity.

I can only see us free-wheeling to the end of the season with only luck governing whether we finish within the Champions League places. A friend spoke of the team looking as if it's in its final death throes and it's really hard to disagree. And really sad that to think that with a little less chest-beating and a small amount of investment it could have all been so different.

With the exception of perhaps Villa and Juventus we have a run of games which we "should" win, but whether we do or not is anyone's guess; and even if we do, it will simply be papering over the cracks that are evident for all to see.

We need to rebuild our team, our morale and our faith in the owner and board and that is a lot of work. It may mean a couple of years in the wilderness but as Chelsea fans we've seen worse. But to do this we need some commitment from all involved and no one is speaking to us as supporters. The manager is coming out with obvious clichés, the board are virtually silent and even the senior players seem less than willing to face the cameras. That has all got to change and quick. We are owed some reassurance as least.

There are rumours that an announcement soon will leave no one in any doubt as to the owner's commitment to the club. May I suggest he waits no longer and spills the beans soon because we'll take any feelgood factor we can take at the moment. Until then we're like the kids with their noses at the window of the sweetshop while our pockets are empty as we watch our rivals strengthen their already large squads. How the mighty are fallen eh?

4 Comments

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By dank

04.02.2009 13:28

The bigger they are, the harder they fall - and my how hard Chelsea seem to be falling. A 'thrashing" at the hands of Utd, and even though Liverpool scored their 2 goals at the death, and Chelsea were down to 10 men, a look at the "shots on goal" statistics show that Chelsea were put to the sword. I am not a Chelsea fan. In fact, I can say I really dislike them (sorry Chris!), and forgetting refereeing mistakes, I think the blues deserve to be in the position they are in - feeling lost and sorry for themselves. It comes from my jealousy of the club throwing cash around and buying who ever they wanted...as well as not giving manager's a fair crack of the whip before changing to someone else. Wait a minute, this sounds an awful lot like my club Tottenham! haha. Something does need to be done about the referees though.

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By Neily

04.02.2009 14:27

Chris, you really took this hard! It'll be ok. Or maybe it won't. One thing's for sure, we have the bucks now and Man City will be replacing Chelsea as the big spenders. I can't wait!

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By footylover92

04.02.2009 15:53

This was just terrible. As a Chelsea fan, I was appauled by the lack of passion they showed and they lack of effort. They were merely just kicking the ball, no references to technique, or skill. I found that referee a bit odd as well. Red carded LAMPARD? He didn't even do anything. I saw the replay and even the announcers said the Ref made a huge mistake. What was wrong with him? That whole game seemed... just weird. And then Torres scored at the end. I have a feeling if they didn't have Torres, they wouldn't have won, and it would have stayed nil-nil. ...It makes me sad. But I'm still going to support my boys in blue anyhow, and just hope for the best. Things can only get better. (=

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By Barty1066

04.02.2009 18:17

To be honest no Chelsea fans can protest to their investors, and Scolari isn't the one on the pitch. I agree with you Chris that many senior players aren't on form to say the least. Whilst Lampard's heart is in the right place, key players such as Cech aren't performing and I don't believe he is to blame. Players go through bad phases and it will inevitably result in a drop in moral. I feel your annoyance, I was an Arsenal fan who had to live through the horrors of the second half of last season, but I dislike the way fans blame the manager, particularly as poor performances haven't been occurring all season. I sympathise for a poor decision against Lampard but still believe Chelsea will finish in atleast the top three and will finish above Liverpool at the end of the season.

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