It is ironic that the football club which denied us four consecutive FA Cup wins back in 2011, is also the club responsible for knocking us out of the 2013 tournament and denying us the 'five out of seven' statistic. Yesterday's semi final defeat at Wembely also brings to an end Chelsea's run of 29 games unbeaten in open play in the FA Cup competition.
I must admit the alarm bells started ringing a week ago while I struggled to watch the Manchester derby amidst the commotion of a weekly dart's evening which has evolved at our house since the introduction of the dart board back in January. Annoyingly, Manchester City looked like they were finding the form they had been missing this season. Sergio Aguero came off the bench with something to prove and scored the winning late goal, almost duplicating his heroics in the deciding game of last season, which saw City nicking the premiership from their Manchester rivals.
Even though the elusive sun had found its way through the clouds to shine on Wembley, I can't say the same for the fatigued Chelsea team. Manchester City started the stronger and more determined side. The giant figure of an 'on form' Yaya Toure charging from box to box, dusting off any Chelsea resistance with embarrassing ease, set the tempo of the match. The Ivorian midfielder, who is almost impossible to stop when he gathers a full head of steam, was instrumental in City's opening goal and was voted 'man of the match'. Sergio Aguero doubled the lead two minutes into the second half and his goal seemed to somehow kick start the Chelsea come back. The introduction of Fernando Torres (Zorro!) into the game at 65 minutes, almost instantly led to Chelsea's first (and sadly only goal), another implausible and athletic goal for Demba Ba. It needed to be something special to get past the six foot eight gargantuan figure of City's second goal keeper, Pantilimon. Unfortunately our spirited second-half fight back wasn't quite enough to enable an equalizer, let alone a winner.
I don't want to make excuses for why Chelsea lost and won't even discuss the 'should have been' penalty from Vincent Company's contact on Fernando Torres (the picture says it all!!). I do just want to address the issue of Benitez not playing Frank Lampard. My objection is not related to Frank's nationality,or the Englishness of the FA cup, or the fact that there were two foreign managers urging on nineteen foreign players and only three starting Englishmen - although come to think of it, maybe that should be my objection! In the absence of Didier Drogba, and his much needed potency in front of goal in crucial matches, we needed a 'big player' to step up to the mark and help score an equaliser at Wembley. In my opinion, Frank Lampard was the right man for the job. Frank has played in 32 of the last 34 semi-finals and finals the club has been involved in. If anyone understands what the Cup means to Chelsea FC it is Lampard. The same could be said of John Terry who was also sidelined by Benitez and kept Frank company on the substitutes' bench.
I found Aguero going unpunished by the referee, Chris Foy, nearly as offensive as the foul itself. I read the following in an article about the tackle in the Telegraph and found it very amusing:
Juan Mata called it 'A bitter return to Wembley'.
I must admit the alarm bells started ringing a week ago while I struggled to watch the Manchester derby amidst the commotion of a weekly dart's evening which has evolved at our house since the introduction of the dart board back in January. Annoyingly, Manchester City looked like they were finding the form they had been missing this season. Sergio Aguero came off the bench with something to prove and scored the winning late goal, almost duplicating his heroics in the deciding game of last season, which saw City nicking the premiership from their Manchester rivals.Even though the elusive sun had found its way through the clouds to shine on Wembley, I can't say the same for the fatigued Chelsea team. Manchester City started the stronger and more determined side. The giant figure of an 'on form' Yaya Toure charging from box to box, dusting off any Chelsea resistance with embarrassing ease, set the tempo of the match. The Ivorian midfielder, who is almost impossible to stop when he gathers a full head of steam, was instrumental in City's opening goal and was voted 'man of the match'. Sergio Aguero doubled the lead two minutes into the second half and his goal seemed to somehow kick start the Chelsea come back. The introduction of Fernando Torres (Zorro!) into the game at 65 minutes, almost instantly led to Chelsea's first (and sadly only goal), another implausible and athletic goal for Demba Ba. It needed to be something special to get past the six foot eight gargantuan figure of City's second goal keeper, Pantilimon. Unfortunately our spirited second-half fight back wasn't quite enough to enable an equalizer, let alone a winner. I don't want to make excuses for why Chelsea lost and won't even discuss the 'should have been' penalty from Vincent Company's contact on Fernando Torres (the picture says it all!!). I do just want to address the issue of Benitez not playing Frank Lampard. My objection is not related to Frank's nationality,or the Englishness of the FA cup, or the fact that there were two foreign managers urging on nineteen foreign players and only three starting Englishmen - although come to think of it, maybe that should be my objection! In the absence of Didier Drogba, and his much needed potency in front of goal in crucial matches, we needed a 'big player' to step up to the mark and help score an equaliser at Wembley. In my opinion, Frank Lampard was the right man for the job. Frank has played in 32 of the last 34 semi-finals and finals the club has been involved in. If anyone understands what the Cup means to Chelsea FC it is Lampard. The same could be said of John Terry who was also sidelined by Benitez and kept Frank company on the substitutes' bench.
My other issue with the match - and yes it has taken me four paragraphs to get to why my post is titled as it is - was Sergio Aguero's unpunished, unnecessary, unsportsmanlike and altogether rather barbaric attack on David Luiz's nether region. Again the picture says it all. I wish I could be as generous as David Luiz who said this about the attack:
"People said to me it was a bad tackle but I didn't see it because it was in my back. I don't like to speak about bad things. He needs to be honest with himself, he is a great player and scores great goals, makes a lot of people happy with his goals, and this is not his style. Sometimes people are angry for five seconds and do bad things, but I forgive him."
" Foy’s failure to punish Aguero was compounded by his decision not to award Chelsea an 88th minute penalty following Vincent Kompany’s shirt tug on Fernando Torres. Such was the anger among Chelsea supporters towards Foy, the Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy was bombarded with condemnatory tweets due to fans mistakenly blaming him for the team’s defeat. In response, Hoy tweeted, ‘I guess Chris Foy’s having a shocker again today! :-)’"
Talking of violence on the pitch, I am pained to discuss the recent violence amongst football fans, namely Millwall fans at Wembley during the other FA Cup semi final against Wigan, and Newcastle fans after their 3-0 defeat by Paolo Di Canio's newly energised Sunderland. Since watching the television coverage of the fighting, I have been haunted by the images of frightened children crying amongst the unruly fans. Here is a quote from one of my posts a few weeks ago which I wrote after West Ham fans pelted Terry and Lampard with coins and missiles: " I really hope we are not returning to the times when the words 'football fan' and 'violent thug' were synonymous." All I can do is reiterate these words.
On a positive note, Zorro returned to a snow surrounded astroturf pitch in Russia to score the opening goal for Chelsea in the second leg Europa League quarter final against Rubin Kazan. The 4-1 aggregate did not dampen the Russian club's enthusiasm and they bravely fought on. With Rafa resting all three amigos, the team did well to hang on. It was all a bit nerve wracking especially when Rubin Kazan took the lead after a very dubious penalty decision. Although the game ended 3-2 in favour of the home side (I should say the lodger's side as the Rubin Kazan ground was deemed unfit for play by UEFA and the game was played in Moscow instead), Chelsea won 5-3 on aggregate and meet Basel (who knocked out a 'Bale-less' Tottenham side) in the semi final of the competition. Newcastle United also lost to Benfica leaving Chelsea as the last English team standing in Europe for a second year running.
The fight for third and fourth places in the premiership is hotting up with Arsenal making a late run. I hope we can keep our heads when all about are losing theirs....
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!
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