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Monday 29 Oct 2007
Roman Abramovich once openly courted Sven Goran Eriksson as the man he wanted to be the new Chelsea manager, before settling on Jose Mourinho. It might have been interesting to see those two go head to head at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, but instead it was Avram Grant facing the Swede as his talented young Manchester City side arrived to try and prove that they really can compete with the biggest and best.
ROMAN ABRAMOVICH
Grant meanwhile, was hoping to continue the improved recent form that was starting to show that maybe his appointment wasn't an act of sheer folly from his mate. So, are City a team who can force their way into the top four, possibly at the expense of the stuttering Roman Empire? If the game had a soundtrack, its theme tune would have been Public Enemy's Don't Believe The Hype...
Chelsea aren't finished. Avram Grant isn't a buffoon. Frank Lampard isn't a waste of space. Didier Drogba isn't sulking his way out of the club. Andriy Shevchenko CAN score goals. Jose Mourinho's tactics really were boring. Manchester City are still a very long way from competing with the Big Four. Also, Javier Garrido is not a defender and Micah Richards can't always cover up his defensive deficiencies with his pace.
Isn't it amazing what you learn from a 6-0 drubbing? Of course, not believing the hype works both ways, and this result doesn't mean that Chelsea are back to their best or that City are being blinded by the glare of yet another false dawn. But it certainly proves that Grant's claims that he was going to make Chelsea exciting again were justified, because they swarmed all over City in a way that you could never quite imagine Mourinho allowing them to do.
Of course, that's a long way from saying that Mourinho's departure was a good thing for Chelsea, because Grant will need to keep on winning as well as playing exciting football, and that is not easy. Neither will be winning over Lampard and Drogba, both of whom have not been happy about events at the club this season, but both of whom were awesome against City. Lampard in particular needed a performance like this after losing his place in the England team and getting booed when he came on at Wembley.
But what of City? They were left shell-shocked by such a heavy defeat after all the optimisim around the club this season, and while it's not something that is likely to be repeated too often under Eriksson, it did prove a reality check. The likes of Michael Johnson and Elano along with Richards and Garrido have all done well so far, but aren't the finished product yet, and the challenge now is to try and make sure they bounce back quickly from this humiliation.
They're still in the top three though, and above Chelsea at that. However, they're now four points behind neighbours United, having been eight clear of them, and there are no signs that they'll ever get back above them, with Sir Alex Ferguson's new signings all in the starting line-up against Middlesbrough and all impressing, with Owen Hargreaves linking up well with the impressive Anderson in central midfield as United gave a hint of the devastating attacking line-up that could be in place for years to come.
Next weekend is the big one though, as they travel to Arsenal, and that should be a real clash of the titans given the form the Gunners are in at the moment. They may have come close to defeat at Anfield on Sunday, but it would have been very unjust in a game that they had dominated and played such flowing and adventurous football in. If they, Chelsea and United (and Liverpool?) can maintain the standards they set this weekend, we're set for a cracker of a title race this season.
Goal of the Weekend - Nani vs Middlesbrough - Man United's newest Portuguese winger doesn't seem to score ordinary goals does he? His first, against Spurs was a screamer and this one was even better, particularly as it didn't need a deflection to go in. Honorable mentions to Steven Gerrard, Nicolas Anelka and Simon Davies for their free-kicks also.
Performance of the Weekend - Arsenal vs Liverpool - It was a real test for the young Gunners, even against a Liverpool side struggling for confidence, and despite going behind so early on, they didn't deviate from their gameplan and their ethos, and could easily have taken all three points.
Moment of the Weekend - The whole of the Liverpool-Arsenal game - So many big games like this end up being a disappointment, but both sides gave it their all and we can only hope that Arsenal's clash with Man United next weekend is as exciting and entertaining.
Quote of the Weekend - "The facts of the matter are teams we're playing just have that little edge over us in terms of quality." - Billy Davies works out why Derby are bottom of the league. It's because the other 19 teams are actually better than they are.
Roman Abramovich once openly courted Sven Goran Eriksson as the man he wanted to be the new Chelsea manager, before settling on Jose Mourinho. It might have been interesting to see those two go head to head at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, but instead it was Avram Grant facing the Swede as his talented young Manchester City side arrived to try and prove that they really can compete with the biggest and best.
ROMAN ABRAMOVICH
Grant meanwhile, was hoping to continue the improved recent form that was starting to show that maybe his appointment wasn't an act of sheer folly from his mate. So, are City a team who can force their way into the top four, possibly at the expense of the stuttering Roman Empire? If the game had a soundtrack, its theme tune would have been Public Enemy's Don't Believe The Hype...
Chelsea aren't finished. Avram Grant isn't a buffoon. Frank Lampard isn't a waste of space. Didier Drogba isn't sulking his way out of the club. Andriy Shevchenko CAN score goals. Jose Mourinho's tactics really were boring. Manchester City are still a very long way from competing with the Big Four. Also, Javier Garrido is not a defender and Micah Richards can't always cover up his defensive deficiencies with his pace.
Isn't it amazing what you learn from a 6-0 drubbing? Of course, not believing the hype works both ways, and this result doesn't mean that Chelsea are back to their best or that City are being blinded by the glare of yet another false dawn. But it certainly proves that Grant's claims that he was going to make Chelsea exciting again were justified, because they swarmed all over City in a way that you could never quite imagine Mourinho allowing them to do.
Of course, that's a long way from saying that Mourinho's departure was a good thing for Chelsea, because Grant will need to keep on winning as well as playing exciting football, and that is not easy. Neither will be winning over Lampard and Drogba, both of whom have not been happy about events at the club this season, but both of whom were awesome against City. Lampard in particular needed a performance like this after losing his place in the England team and getting booed when he came on at Wembley.
But what of City? They were left shell-shocked by such a heavy defeat after all the optimisim around the club this season, and while it's not something that is likely to be repeated too often under Eriksson, it did prove a reality check. The likes of Michael Johnson and Elano along with Richards and Garrido have all done well so far, but aren't the finished product yet, and the challenge now is to try and make sure they bounce back quickly from this humiliation.
They're still in the top three though, and above Chelsea at that. However, they're now four points behind neighbours United, having been eight clear of them, and there are no signs that they'll ever get back above them, with Sir Alex Ferguson's new signings all in the starting line-up against Middlesbrough and all impressing, with Owen Hargreaves linking up well with the impressive Anderson in central midfield as United gave a hint of the devastating attacking line-up that could be in place for years to come.
Next weekend is the big one though, as they travel to Arsenal, and that should be a real clash of the titans given the form the Gunners are in at the moment. They may have come close to defeat at Anfield on Sunday, but it would have been very unjust in a game that they had dominated and played such flowing and adventurous football in. If they, Chelsea and United (and Liverpool?) can maintain the standards they set this weekend, we're set for a cracker of a title race this season.
Goal of the Weekend - Nani vs Middlesbrough - Man United's newest Portuguese winger doesn't seem to score ordinary goals does he? His first, against Spurs was a screamer and this one was even better, particularly as it didn't need a deflection to go in. Honorable mentions to Steven Gerrard, Nicolas Anelka and Simon Davies for their free-kicks also.
Performance of the Weekend - Arsenal vs Liverpool - It was a real test for the young Gunners, even against a Liverpool side struggling for confidence, and despite going behind so early on, they didn't deviate from their gameplan and their ethos, and could easily have taken all three points.
Moment of the Weekend - The whole of the Liverpool-Arsenal game - So many big games like this end up being a disappointment, but both sides gave it their all and we can only hope that Arsenal's clash with Man United next weekend is as exciting and entertaining.
Quote of the Weekend - "The facts of the matter are teams we're playing just have that little edge over us in terms of quality." - Billy Davies works out why Derby are bottom of the league. It's because the other 19 teams are actually better than they are.
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