We Kick of with the appalling story that during Real Madrid's 4-0 humbling of 10-man Tottenham Spurs at The Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the away Spurs fans started offensive chants aimed at Emmanuel Adebayor that were racist. Everyone else seems to agree that the chants were racist in nature except Spurs who deny the matter. But chants like, "Your dad washes elephants!"seem blatantly racist and extremely offensive . I hope Spurs see the light and deal with the matter as racism has no place anywhere in today's society, let alone football. Let's hope they behave better tonight in London.
Over in England, Wayne Rooney was served a RIDICULOUS two match ban by the F.A. becasue of his foul mouthed celebration against West Ham. People call me paranoid about anti-Manchester United conspiracies but I am beginning to see a trend here. Wayne Rooney swore, got banned and people rode the wave saying all they could with some lame Wolverhampton cop going as far as saying he would have been arrested for swearing ( OH REALLY ). Plain ludicrous if you ask me.What's worse is during the weekend when Rooney was serving the ban , people were swearing on the pitch and at referees left right and center and yet, NO ONE GOT A BAN. The F.A. has proved me right once again!! They just hate on Man United!!! check the stats for yourself. Weekend Swearing in EPL
The 2nd legs of the Champions league quarter finals kicked off last night with United facing Chelsea at Old Trafford whilst Barcelona were hosted by Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukraine in a match they won. I'm pretty confident when i say the All-English clash was the most anticipated of all the matches as the rest are pretty much dead-rubbers!!
With United holding a slim 1-0 advantage the ball was in Chelsea's court to come out firing if they were to keep any hopes of a trophy this season alive as well as curb Roman Abramovich's "UEFA Champions League obsession" as Sir Alex put it!! Ancelotti once again went with Torres even though he had been ineffective in the first leg whilst Sir Alex kept the same squad minus Rafael who is out injure as Sir Alex won the battle of the managers.
The game was pure entertainment. There was plenty tension from the start with both sides eager to score whilst tackles kept flying and the yellow cards popped out of the referees pocket in an effort to calm down both teams. Chelsea came off the block quicker but United gradually assumed control of the game as the game progressed. The goals were fabulous, the pace of the match pulsating and the drama almost soap opera like, to say the least it was a great show of the quality possessed by Barclay's Premier League sides.
Overall United were the sharper of the two teams, as their teamwork and passion oozed out to become eloquent passes which had Chelsea chasing shadows as the match progressed. Chicharito opened the scoring with a BRILLIANT diving header but the goal was disallowed over a phantom offside.The lad soon punished Chelsea once again before the break slotting home from close range after sublime interplay from Rooney, Giggs and O'Shea. Torres was his usual sulky self with few moments of sparks but not much to offer and was subbed off at half time with Drogba being introduced in his place. Drogba's introduction reinvigorated Chelsea's fight to achieve the prize that has eluded them for so long . His goal nearly breathed some fight back in the before Park "Three Lung Park" Ji-sung quick reply crushed their European dreams for yet another season.
One could have mistaken Ryan Giggs for one of the more youthful members of the team with the way he ran the field, tracking back, tackling and parting the Chelsea team with his exquisite passes. At 37 years of age, the soon to be knighted veteran seems to get better with time. Age may have taken away his once ferocious speed but that has been replaced by by experience in big games added to his ever growing array of skill and I can say we are experiencing history in the making as we watch possibly the best player ever in the Premiership!! One cannot help but agree with the banner always on display on the stand at Old Trafford, " Giggs, tearing defences apart since 1991"
It would be wrong not to commend Chelsea for making it this far as well as noting that David Luiz being cup tied probably weakened their defensive structure. The team are also suffering once again due to Abramovich meddling with the team, starting with the firing of Ray Wilkins down to the purchase of Torres who simply DOES NOT FIT IN TO THE TEAM. I hate to predict this but I don't see Carlo Ancelotti surviving to next season as every coach that has failed to deliver European glory has seen the exit door at Pensioner's Bridge.
If Abramovich wants Chelsea to grow as a team and football force who will one day win the Champions League this would be another immature, rash and unfruitful decision as continuity is the key to success as seen at Manchester United. Hiring and firing managers at a faster rate than Paris Hilton goes through best friends and boyfriends is not the answer but rather for Roman to sit back do what most football owners have learnt which is to SIT BACK AND LET THE MANAGER DO HIS JOB WITHOUT INTERFERENCE.
With the squad looking a shell of its former self with most of the stars feeling the effects of time, one has to worry what the future holds for Chelsea especially with the new UEFA Financial Fair play rules coming into effect next year. With the club still making massive losses, they could face expulsion from the lucrative European competitions. It must be noted, however, that the financial fair play rules do not prevent clubs from spending money on transfers themselves but rather require them to balance their books at the end of the season. It is therefore difficult to comment on any individual situation without knowing the long-term strategy of each club.
If Torres is looking an expensive misfit at £50m, United's swoop for Hernandez can already be regarded as one of the great bargains with another prime example of the goal-poaching instincts that came with only a £6m price tag attached. For all his own heroics in setting up all three of United's goals against Chelsea over the two legs, Giggs, 37, reserved special praise for Hernandez, whose strike rate of 15 goals from just 22 shots on target in the Premier League and Champions League this season is nothing short of remarkable.
On a lighter note, the Torres situation has become so bad it is now a trending topic on Twitter with plenty of hilarious suggestion to #ThingsTorresMoneyCouldHaveBought . I have definitely been adding my two cents!!
Moving on, Spurs play Real Madrid in London tonight and ONLY a MIRACLE would see them progress to the semi-finals whilst the Inter Milan vs Schalke match that looks done, could easily be flipped were Inter to win 4-0. This is very possible if the team comes with their shooting boots and DEFENSIVE boots on as well as their defending at the San Siro in the first leg was APPALLING to say the least.
In the Barclay's Premier League, it was business as usual as the top 3 teams won their matches. The Rooney ban seemed to have no effect on a rampant Manchester United who cruised to victory against Fulham whilst resting the likes of Ferdinand and van der Sar. Chelsea hard to work hard to beat a stubborn Wigan 1-0 to keep UEFA Champions League qualification a reality. Arsenal kept their title hopes alive by calmly disposing of Blackpool which left the Tangerines 1 point off the drop-zone.
West Brom came back from behind TWICE before snatching the victory away at Sunderland to all but extinguish an worries of relegation whilst Spurs had to fight off a Stoke to win by the same margin. Roy Hodgson has once again worked his magic and is definitely doing well to erase the memory of his ill-fated stint as LOSERpool manager. Everton's resurgence continued with a 3-0 drubbing off Wolves whilst Newcastle lost to Villa but remain safe of a relegation battle for the time being. West Ham are facing the possible reality of relegation after defeat at Bolton. Avram Grant's men just have not had what it takes to win this season and I am predicting that them, Wolves and Wigan will go down come May.
King Kenny's resurrection of Liverpool is something that is set to guarantee him a permanent contract as the manager which is what the fans as well as the squad have been crying for since the demolition Chelsea just after Fernando Torres had switched allegiances in January. The Scousers seem to have a thing for teams from Manchester. Any Carroll opened his Liverpool account in style with a brace comprising of a wonderful long range shot and a trade-mark header from a deep ball set piece as an unforgiving
City were left to rue resting the likes of Silva and Toure with one eye on the F.A. Cup semi-final with Manchester United.
City were lifeless and lacked any kind of inspiration throughout the match with Joe Hart saving them humiliation with many a crucial save. Mancini took blame for the loss which also saw him lose influential captain Carlos Tevez to a hamstring injury. Balotelli( why the hype about this guy??) who replaced him was a complete disaster and ended up being substituted himself ( Robinho anyone??). City will hope Tevez can recover by the weekend to face United.
See you at Wembley......................for the F.A. Cup semi-final of course!!!
so GOODBYE Chelsea from Lethario's Take
hahahaha Rooney deserved that ban kidz as young as 3 years watch football would t b nice for an 8 year old to swear afta scoring during a Junior league game ( food for thought )
ReplyDeleteDid you check the link mate?? Footballers be swearing all the time but Rooney was made the scapegoat coz he is a man Utd player plus he shoulders pple's him for England's poor world cup performance. I did not condone swearing if u checked the last post...I AM AGAINST THE BAN when everyone else is doing it....they should have uniform punishment.
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