Clayton Beerman reflects on a great day at Wembley last Sunday…
When John went up..
So this is the blog I’ve wanted to write my whole Chelsea supporting life.
I can not remember being as nervous for a final since the FA Cup in 1997. We hadn’t won anything for 27 years then and so the nerves were natural but this was our umpteenth final in the last 10 years but even so it was them and we couldn’t lose to them, again. Also it was the debut of my son for a Wembley final so part of me was subconsciously praying he wouldn’t have to suffer my fate. My Wembley debut was the 1972 loss to Stoke with my dad. A miserable day.
What to wear, nothing white or navy, no colours, maybe a badge, what did I wear in Munich, by the time I left I was a basket case. A pre-match drink and meal in Harrow with the guys I’d been going to Chelsea with since the 80s (and sons) and then off we went to Wembley. On the tube on the way to the ground my son had to witness the rubbish side of football. Some of their fans tried to start a fight. Being both drunk and stupid is not a good combination but thankfully my friends’ good nature and wits prevented anything happening despite Spurs’ morons best efforts. I despair, I dislike that club more than any other but fight with them, no thanks, beating them does for me.
The Game
When I saw the team I was not surprised save for the inclusion of Cech in goal, even though I’d read the team, I’d just assumed Courtois was playing! Despite all of my nerves one thing was always at the back of my mind, Jose wouldn’t let us lose. How ironic that the 5-3 , badge producing victory, would be their downfall. There was no way Jose would let anything like that happen again.
The first 30 minutes was a continuation of our performances over the last couple of months in terms of attacking intent but defensively it was the “thou shalt not pass” position. One Harry Kane run produced a cross bar hitting shot from a free kick. I though Petr would have saved it anyway. My fear at the time was that our midfield hadn’t turned up and poor old Kurt looked like a whale out of water (he’s too big to be a fish). Again Cesc was quiet and Ray Mears was well Ray Mears.
Perhaps one of the problems was the fact that our most attacking player was not being allowed over the half way line. Cruelly he’d been asked to remain in his actual position of full back. How ironic therefore in a rare trip up field Brana won the free kick from which the goal came (anyone else notice the jeer by their fans as the ball was played out by JT as they thought it was a hoof?). Great delivery, confusion, deflection, goal. Who else but our captain. Revile
d by most, loved by us. If I was an opposition fan I would have been sick going in 1-0 down, in fact it could and possibly should have been two – now that really would have been funny.
The second half was a different story. We were back to something approaching our best. Some of our football was great. We could and perhaps should have had more goals but I’m just being greedy. At the time I couldn’t work out how Diego’s goal went in but when I saw the replay I was “gutted” that it went in off Kyle Walker, such a lovely chap and according to Micky Hazard’s pre-game ‘analysis’ he would keep Eden quiet. After that I was frustrated that we did not go for the kill. It was there for the taking and I could have seen those nice red seats at the other end before the 85th minute.
Here is where I make my joke that after all the publicity I was surprised that Harry (Pele) Kane wasn’t playing. More accurately their two best players, him and Erikson simply weren’t allowed to play. Our defence was superb and special praise goes to Cahill who had a steady game and looked much better than in recent weeks. In addition to that Cesar was outstanding. Even before he was patched up with his Basil Fawlty headgear he won everything. It’s still extraordinary that he plays to that standard on his wrong foot. But our man of the match can only go to one guy. Not only is he still a superb defender but we can only imagine what he brings to the dressing room. Captain-Leader-Legend is mocked elsewhere but show me a team that wouldn’t want him.
They say no one is irreplaceable. He is! A youth product with Chelsea in his blood, this victory was as sweet for him as it was for us. I am sure he has installed that in all our players. How long he can keep playing to that standard is anyone’s guess. England’s loss is our gain in terms of his longevity, and ultimately they didn’t want him.
Jose
On the scoreboard there were two fan quotes. I can’t remember theirs but ours was “we have a point to prove”. Really, I thought? What utter tosh. Who do we have anything to prove to, but maybe I was wrong. A certain person’s post-match reaction was all about proving a point. He is still the best, he could still collect 
trophies and when it really matters, he wins. The statistics which have come out about his win ratio from games to trophies is ridiculous and hopefully there will be more this season.
His tactics on Sunday were all about winning. I’m not sure they worked for a lot of the first half but we went in 1-0 up so what do I know? To be a great you need a little luck and I think he got that in the first half, principally because they weren’t very good. We were not at our best but we had a team full of winners, players who had won at Wembley and elsewhere. They had no one. Also since when do we hit corners long? I much prefer not clearing the first man. Only Jose would introduce something completely different in a final. He’s always doing something different.
The belief that Jose instills in our players, the attention to detail and the will to succeed make him a winner without comparison. He says he wants to stay forever and that’s fine by me. The pre-match revelation that he was offered the manager’s job by them was classic Jose. He had a clause in his contract preventing him working in England for 2 years so a non story but he just thought he’d put it out there.
The joy he showed worried me slightly because to me it revealed the massive relief he felt. In turn this is a sign of the massive pressure he puts himself under. That being said it was great to see him like that if only to imagine how much it wound up opposing fans. There was no sign of him throwing that medal in the crowd on Sunday.
And finally………”if you know your ‘istory”
A final word. One thing the whingers from North London go on about is that we are only successful because we are bankrolled by a billionaire and 
before Roman came along we were not very good. Sort of true but just a couple of things to point out. They are owned by Joe Lewis, who in 2013 had an estimated wealth of £5.5 billion. The fact he chooses not to spend his money on them is his business so don’t bleat about our owner.
Also in the period between 1990 to 2003 (when Roman bought our club) they won an FA Cup and a League Cup. In that period we won 2 FA Cups, a League cup, a European Cup Winners Cup, a European Super Cup and a Charity Shield. Also Roman didn’t own us between 1989 and 2003 when we didn’t lose home or away to them? Not once! So what was their excuse then?
Clayton Beerman
