According to most media outlets, pundits, “neutrals”, The FA, UEFA and the usual haters Chelsea Football Club are destroying football, as we know it. Apparently, Jose Mourinho and Chelsea are ruining all the fluffy white happiness of attacking football and “class” within the game.
I respectfully would like to disagree.
On Sunday evening, Chelsea Football Club may have saved World Football. Can any football fan on the planet even begin to imagine the horror and torture we would have to suffer for an entire year if Liverpool goes on to win the title? When they fail, its unbearable enough with everyone getting a constant history lesson…if they win?
It may not be worth living through it.
This isn’t just coming from a Chelsea fan, these are the thoughts from Manchester, Newcastle, Arsenal, Everton…I even know some Spurs fans that would rather us win the league than Liverpool.
Just because the ex-Liverpool players and fans with long memories are embedded all over the media, do not let them paint the picture that Liverpool are everybody’s second team. They are not.
Thankfully, our stunning victory over Liverpool at the alleged home of “class”, “respect” and “proper football” may go on to prevent them winning the title. If this is the case, we have saved football for the real fans. You can thank us at the end of the season.
The whole day on Sunday could not have been more perfect. The whole of Saturday night, Liverpool fans were apparently doing their best to disrupt Chelsea’s sleep by hanging outside the hotel with fireworks, chanting and overall stupidity. “Class”.
Then of course we had Sunday, where Liverpool fans had pretty much staged a rehearsal of a victory parade. They had stalls selling Champions t-shirts, red flares, singing…the streets were lined with thousands upon thousands of Liverpool fans already celebrating a title they realistically barely had a finger on.
As we drew closer to the game and the much discussed team news was released, we had journalists; such as John Cross from the Mirror, claim that Liverpool merely just had to turn up and the game would be there’s.
Out of all of this and as I discuss the game, one word will continue to be used and that is naivety, something that anyone connected with Liverpool Football Club has in abundance.
When I saw the team news, the only thing I wasn’t convinced about was our strength going forward. Schurrle, Salah and Ba are probably the most wasteful with opportunities. It was quite obvious we weren’t going to get many so we had to be certain we were going to take them.
The back line was what got everybody talking and in particular young Tomas Kalas. For me, I’ve seen enough of him at right back to know he was a good defender. With Centre back being his natural position, I didn’t feel we were terribly weakened. 
Our game plan was simple. We were going to contain Liverpool for the first 30 minutes and assess our options as the game went on. We all know that they have been incredibly fast starters this season and try to blow teams out the water early on and we had to stop that strength being used.
I think we went about this well and the first credit to that goes to our midfield three. Matic and Lampard pressed the likes of Gerrard and Allen on the ball so they had to pass wide as opposed to going down the middle where they get most of their success. With our full backs probably being the best in the league and the discipline of Schurrle and Salah backing them up it created a nice barrier for us to hold Liverpool off and not give them any space in behind to play into the strength of Sterling and Suarez.
Because of the midfield doing their part, that made it particularly easy for our back four and Mikel to not only position them with a well-placed line but also it didn’t allow anyone to be caught out of position. We were rock solid.
One thing that has always been drummed into me during my coaching badges and experience of playing football is that if you’re well drilled and set up across a defensive line it makes it 10 times easier for each defender individually to read the game in front of you. Ivanovic and Kalas proved that because with Mikel shutting out the channel in the middle the only possible space to hit behind was the space between full back and the centre halves. Our Centre backs can see everything in front of them and they then know what the only option of a ball either side of them can be and that gives them the advantage to have an extra yard to read it and stop it.
After the 30 minutes, I think the result was already written, which at the time was 0-0. Unless we made some chances or dropped a clangor that’s how it was going to stay. I’ve said all season if you stop Liverpool in the first 30 minutes you’ve got the game where you want it. They very quickly run out of ideas and we could see that because we stopped their attacks further up the pitch and were getting more of the ball.
Then of course, the magic moment happened. In the spot where Steven Gerrard had claimed, “We don’t let this fucking slip”, he literally did. Ba did the rest with a superb composed finish but you could not have made that up.
Perhaps the pitch was still slippery from 2 weeks prior from Gerrard’s own tears…further irony.
From that point on it the plan was purely to concentrate. Stick to the game plan and eventually we’re getting another chance when they push more numbers forward.
There isn’t a great deal of point discussing the tactics in the second half because we followed the game plan from the first. Mourinho had done his bit and it was up to the players to remain disciplined and concentrated to see it out.
I can’t ask for much more from what Chelsea gave us on Sunday except perhaps one…if Willian had squared it back to Torres; just that extra handful of salt in to the very raw wounds of Liverpool.
Mourinho had done his bit with a master plan to nullify Liverpool but the players deserve a huge amount of credit carrying it out. Ivanovic completely controlled our backline and was an absolute leader. For me, he was our Man of the Match because not only was his performance incredible he held the crux of the team together.
Tomas Kalas…what can you say! The courage and composure to make your debut on that day against that opponent was amazing. He was strong, fearless and carried a JT like spirit in his play. Azpilicueta continued to show why he is one of the best full backs in Europe and then of course Ashley Cole…if there was ever a doubt about his ability he answered it. 33 years of age and still world class. Even when Liverpool did break through…Schwarzer was a cool and constant presence that provided confidence for the entire side.
Looking at the midfield, it was the first time in a while where we had actually bullied a team out of it. Matic and Mikel were absolutely colossal against their counterparts while Lampard just collected the ball and made the right decisions when we had it.
One last mention to Demba Ba…he had a tough job on his own with very little support. He was strong, ran himself in to the ground and did the damage when he had the chance. He was equally frustrating during the game but he left everything on the pitch, as did everyone I may not have mentioned.
We win 2-0 against the Champions elect and we are still accused of being anti-football and playing the wrong way.
I’m sorry but football isn’t all flowing football and goals. If it were then why would we have defenders and a goalkeeper? This isn’t basketball where it’s all gung ho.
It’s great watching free flowing football but for any purist of the game out there, seeing other sides of the games being executed well is just as good to see. Defending, tackling and reading the game is an art form not recognized as is the discipline and courage of players?
This is where I’ll talk about naivety, especially from Brendan Rodgers. If he thinks that playing one particular way all the time is firstly the right way and secondly the best way then he will get a very rude awakening when they play in Europe next season when better attacking teams rip them to pieces.
It is that sort of naivety that has seen Arsene Wenger win nothing for 9 years because if you’re that stubborn and arrogant to think that only one method is going to win you titles then you will win nothing.
In football, there is more than one way to win a game and ultimately winning games makes you successful. Sure, if you can play attacking football and retain possession all the time and win then hats off to you…but not everybody is Barcelona of the last 3 years and even that is being worked out by more teams adapting tactics to beat it. You have to be versatile. Neutrals sitting on their couches moaning “it’s not entertaining and not value for money” you just need to ask a Chelsea fan if it is and I’ll tell you now, winning always is. I will always be disappointed to see us lose a game regardless if we play well because at the end of the day you go to football to watch your team win. It’s all part of the game.
Football is a game of many tactics, which is partly the reason why it’s the greatest sport on the planet. It’s up to you to work a way around a tactic and win…we’ve been undone a few times this season by a team parking the bus (West Ham) and that’s a credit to them. That’s the way they wanted to play and it was up to us to get around it. Not West Ham’s problem we didn’t.
If Liverpool fans, Rodgers, media and pundits expected us to rock up to Anfield with an under strengthened team and let them give us a hiding they are naïve as would we have been if we had done that. If I was them I’d be asking the question as to why Gerrard bottled yet another big game or how newly crowned PFA Player of the year Suarez was sown into debutant Kalas’s pocket.
The problem Liverpool has is entitlement. Everyone connected with that club, because of the media loving, has given them an entitlement that they should win it. There almost seems an outrage among the cult that we’ve ruined the party they’re meant be having.
Well, too fucking right we have and we’ve done it to save football from the “class and respectful” tirade of Liverpool gloating, which they admirably showed yesterday by attacking Chelsea fans outside the Anfield Road End.
We’re all guilty of being hypocrites but they are top of the pedestal.
At this point, whatever result, as always I could not be prouder of my football club and that hopefully represents every Chelsea fans view.
Have you ever seen Gerrard win the league?
Have we fuck.
UTC
By Liam Hawkes
(@LiamHawkes2)
