Chelsea Terrace Talk – Irish Examiner Article By Trizia
Everyone had us as winners against Liverpool before we’d even taken a step onto the pitch – it was a foregone conclusion apparently. Luckily neither Mourinho, the team, nor indeed the supporters felt that way. I have said it time & again that our biggest enemy this season could be complacency
Liverpool played generally well but I (like many Liverpool fans it seems) was surprised to see Rodgers take off arguably their best two players on the day. He can hide behind the (legitimate) penalty appeals all he likes but he had far more to do with the loss than the referee. The fact that Rodgers actually said (out loud) that a draw would have been a fair result just demonstrates how delusional he is – but more importantly also demonstrates how unwilling he is to take any responsibility.
People talk about Mourinho’s ego – but Rodgers isn’t that far behind him (without Jose’s achievements to back up the claim)
His bizarre (and fruitless) team choices for Madrid, his decision to substitute Coutinho & Can and the sheer arrogance of believing that he could manage & get the best out of Balotelli when so many more experienced & successful managers had failed give you just a snap-shot of the man.
His inexperience in the transfer market is also laid bare with his largely questionable buys over the summer – then he points to anywhere other than the mirror for the reason for Liverpool’s poor form this season. Liverpool fans need to take their share of the blame too as they were heralding him alongside the likes of Shankly and Paisley before he had won anything – they helped create the monster. All should have kept their counsel until they could best judge what life after Suarez was going to be like.
I very much enjoyed watching the battle between Skrtel and Costa – as a Chelsea fan I am used to seeing physically imposing strikers but few have had the raw aggression of Costa. I saw him described as a street fighter in one of the papers and that’s spot on. As demonstrated against Liverpool, even ripping the very shirt off his back doesn’t stop him. He is both aggressor and predator; if he doesn’t score through brute force, he will stalk the penalty box – a palpable menacing presence with all those surrounding him waiting for that inevitable strike. He is the very antithesis of the “fox in the box” – that’s far too tame and ordinary – I’d compare him to the black mamba – powerful, cunning and utterly deadly.
Jose seemed in much better spirits following the win at Anfield than we have seen of late. I’d imagine this was as much down to Spain leaving Costa in Chelsea’s care for the International break as it was to the victory. Mourinho was quick to point out that this was not due to any lobbying from him or the club but I’d imagine the rebukes from his previous secondment hit home. This hopefully will allow Costa to rest fully and have any injury niggles addressed. Just take a moment to think about a fully fit Diego Costa……
Keeping Costa fit & not believing this “Champions elect” stuff is the key to going the distance this season; also not getting distracted by this “invincibles” talk too is important – although it seems that it’s the Arsenal fans who have got all precious over this record. In a recent poll where Gooners were asked whether they would rather win the Premier League or stop Chelsea equalling the invincibles, it was 50/50 which is pretty small-time on their part.
So another international break beckons which has its pros and cons – as previously stated it hopefully means that Costa will get back up to full fitness, but it does interrupt our current momentum as well as giving some of our rivals time to re-group – so swings and roundabouts. But what is good is that we’ve already been to Old Trafford, Anfield, the Ethiad and Goodison and we find ourselves top with a modest margin. Mourinho must impress that the hard work is not yet done, that we have won nothing as of yet & that we won’t unless we ensure that we maintain discipline, a competitive mentality & a team ethic. We’re only a third of a way into the season so a lot of football to be played and no-one connected with our club will make the mistake of assuming anything until it is mathematically done. Just take it one game at a time and no slip-ups please – fnarr fnarr
Posted by Trizia
(You can see all the Terrace Talk articles here)
DISCLAIMER: All articles written for the Chelsea Supporters Group 2005 (CSG) are those of the author and do not represent the views of the CSG. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited in the article. The CSG do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.
