Are Chelsea Fans Just Bitter?
Chelsea are not popular in Europe there is little respect of a team that the snobbish upper echelons of football in both England and Europe do not believe deserves to be rubbing shoulders with them.
The evolution from 1994 – 2003 in which Chelsea came from mid-table mediocrity to Champions League contenders playing attractive but inconsistent football respected by all has been forgotten and replaced by the Abramovich era of disdain.
Bought the Premiership they say, a disgrace to football they say, too negative too arrogant, too English, not English enough the critics had made their decision and could not be placated.
This disdain has lasted for 5 years and does not appear to be stopping against this backdrop of events on Wednesday night.
Football is not an exact science, the team that plays the best football has the most chances or the better players does not always get the result they want or others say they deserve.
Barcelona fans and the so called ‘neutrals’ argue that in the first leg this occurred and that Chelsea represent everything that is wrong in football. They ignore that having a plan and sticking to it is what football is about not playing to the oppositions strengths. They ignore the Barcelona play acting the waving of imaginary cards and the poor attitude their entire team had throughout the game lambasting Chelsea’s negative tactics but not commenting on how well they were executed.
In the second leg Chelsea also had a plan again, sticking to it and for 90 minutes comfortably containing a Barcelona side whilst creating 3 or 4 great chances themselves.
Football however like life boils down to the small things, the rub of the green, a lucky bounce, a poor decision, a misplaced pass or a poor referee on Wednesday. Chelsea were a victim to the small things in football.
Firstly and less controversially in the second minute of injury time the ball is dribbling clear from a Barcelona cross and Essien just can’t stretch enough to divert the ball into touch and it falls to a Barcelona player and seconds later Iniesta is slamming the ball home from 25 yards. In a parallel dimension Essien stretches just an inch further and Chelsea hold on for two minutes and no one is talking about the referee.
The second small thing beyond the players control is the referee. Whilst I do not buy into conspiracy theories, no one can argue he had a good night and that his decision did not impact the game.
But what is done is done. As Chelsea fans we can jump and protest claim scream blue murder but nothing will change, UEFA will not change its mind. Defending the actions of Michael Ballack is like defending the indefensible in the era of so called ‘respect’ that should not happen no matter what the stakes; ironically the actions of a player whose attitude I do not like at the best of times, Drogba’s were more understandable.
He like the 41,000 fans in the ground and those watching on TV felt that Chelsea had been robbed, denied two cast iron penalties and two 50/50 penalties and he expressed that to anyone who would listen.
Every Chelsea fan feels so passionately they want to protest an argument eloquently put forward by Ben Clynshaw.
However, we do not have a time machine. Yes, we can complain, but what will that achieve? UEFA will not change it’s result and the already mud-like reputation that Chelsea have will be further tarnished. Actually scratch that last sentence; Chelsea are hated anyway. So scream, make your voice heard, but remember UEFA does not like the success of English teams — in particular the Russian owned team from SW6.
So are we just bitter or is there something more to the conspiracy theories?
Topics: Chelsea, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League
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rubbish article. sorry.
May 10th, 2009 @ 16:22“They ignore the Barcelona play acting the waving of imaginary cards”
I assume you’re talking about Drogba’s card waving when Anelka tripped himself up in the near vicinity of Abidal here?
No? Then stop being a hypocrit!
May 10th, 2009 @ 18:20Yes, they’re bitter.
The ref chose to be lenient on most fouls. He was suckered for Abidal’s card, giving him a red on a technical foul (last man – european refs are very particular about that rule, see Fletcher’s card) even though Anelka performed the most beautiful dive anyone had ever seen.
The handballs were touch and go, ironically – Pique made no effort to move his hand away and you don’t jump in the box with your arms in the air – but I’d let that slide.
How Alves got away with shoving Malouda in the penalty area is beyond me, but overall the ref was at least consistent, if overly lenient.
May 10th, 2009 @ 19:13it was just unlucky that Chelsea lost in the last minute. If FIFA really wanted to throw Chelsea out, why did the ref sent Abidal off. And did FIFA plan Iniesta to score in the last minute.
Chelsea lost. Final story. I am glad ugly football lost.
May 10th, 2009 @ 19:56hi neil, you are entitled to your opinion and in style it is certainly not my best i will agree.
However i am trying to portray the anger and the hurt that Chelsea fans are feeling at the moment, clutching at straws? Maybe but when you feel that you deserve something then that is hard to let your feelings lie.
There are things i disagree with from that night particularly the behaviour of Ballack probably more so than Drogba.
To address the hypocrite remark I was simply pointing out that those in glass houses should not throw stones as the Barcelona players did.
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:12If you are a Chelsea ‘supporter’ and you confess to being bitter then why don’t you support Man Utd who get all the special treatment you could dream of thus never having to feel bitter! Simples.
NO FARKING WAY AM I BITTER! We were cheated out of the game Wednesday and Chelsea ALWAYS ALWAYS get stick from the media, ALWAYS get stick from pundits, journalists, reporters and other fans. We get more stick than ANYONE.
Watching Sky Sports News today they were all bashing Chelsea and Drogba and there was no one to defend Chelsea or give an alternative perspective! I was emailing and texting them telling them what I think but were my opinions aired or even acknowledged? Fuck no.
Chelsea get the raw end of the deal all the time, we always get the negative press and we’re always the joke. Go look on newspaper websites now and just have a look at all the abuse Chelsea and our players get, it’s a disgrace. The media take the piss out of Chelsea at every opportunity, it’s not on.
Bitter? No.
Fed up with Chelsea getting constant unfair abuse in the media? Yes.
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:20Ahmed im sorry but how on earth can you let the Pique handball slide. The ref was looking right at it and it was the most blatant handball ever(after the one where Ronaldo was protecting his face of course). Chelsea were robbed by a poor ref and that is fact
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:31BTW That was not directed at you Kris!!!
)
It was just a general rant!!!
Good topic, you have posed a good question!
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:32Ahmed i am sorry but how can you let the Pique handball “slide”. He stuck his hand out preventing a certain goal and what’s worse the ref had a clean view of it. AND so did the linesman. the ref was poor and that is fact. As a Chelsea fan the fact that UEFA and the ref have not apologized for a poor display is insulting
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:34hey “q”, and why the referee did not book Iniesta for the celebration which it will mean his suspension for the final?
Yes, Chelsea lost, against UEFA and their complot.
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:34The ugly football jibe has me a little confused, this is the same team who in the previous round competed in one of the most riveting 2 leg ties in history! Barcelona don’t play such an amazing brand of football, they are just very one sided. People may say ugly football lost, in my eyes the best footballing team went out on thursday. Everyone who has watched Chelsea recently knows we arnt a team to soak up pressure and nick a goal yet we were able to adapt to be able to better a team over 90 mins, the end of the day we had the better game plan and had it not been for awful officiating we would be on our way to Rome.
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:38What a nonsensical article written by a fake fan. Disgusting.
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:38defending is just as much a part of football as attacking is. In teh first leg we defended impeckably and so bravely- any true football fan should have enjoyed an outstanding defensive performance.
now it is clear to anyone that barcelona are a more skilful and attractive passing team than chelsea. chelsea know the arent going to get a lot of possesion and both legs we waited pationatly- it was one of the best performances iv ever seen over two legs and i dont think anyone has given us anywhere near enoughcredit putting it down to them playing badly.
we were never gna out pass them bcoz that is thioer strength- passing and keeping possesion but we played to our strengths (power) and over the 2 legs i think we had the better chances and definately deserved a famous victory.
obvisouly the ref was usless and we should have had 2/3 definate pens.
Finaly
Anyone who says anelka dived is just a stupid idiot. He was clean throguh on goal and looking straight ahead and while abidal didnt mean to trip him he definately tapped his ankle- anyone who has played before will know that is more than enought to bring u down when sprinting.
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:41Yeah, the fact is that the ref SAW the hand ball. He saw it, and you know damn well that the linesman saw it too. Why was there no call on it? He waved it away for no reason. The fact of the matter is that Chelsea played intelligent football and should have been up 3-0 by the time Iniesta scored hand it not been for the no-calls. To any fan of football, this should be an utter disgrace, because it just goes to show you how referee’s can decide a game. This seems to happen to Chelsea more than often too (ghost goal anyone???). Had it been Manchester United or Liverpool facing off vs Barcelona those penalties would have been given. Fact.
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:46In the overall scheme of things, Chelsea fans are not bitter. But if someone wants to say if we think that poor officiating cost us the match makes us bitter, then yes.
Given, the ref was consistent in calling challenges, but he also missed 3 blatant PK’s. There were 2 hand balls in the box and I don’t know how he didn’t see that Alves pulled Malouda down in the box is beyond me. Living in the United States, I have friends who cheer for Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, etc. and they even told me that “Chelsea was robbed”. I don’t have any problems with Barcelona. They played the cards they were dealt and it seemed that we kept missing the flush on the River. I just ask that they show some respect if discussing the game with me. I don’t talk shit to fans of other teams after a game we win, and expect other people to do the same. But if someone does start talking shit, its on.
On to Ballack and Drogba’s reactions. Even though I’m a huge Ballack fan, I thought his actions where very unprofessional. However, I think he just finally snapped. When you lose 2 Champions League Finals, a World Cup Final and Semi-Final, and Euro Cup Final… I mean there is only so much a man can take. As for Drogba, well SKY shouldn’t have a camera in the players faces after a match like that.
May 10th, 2009 @ 21:50The article almost sounds capitulating to the Chelsea haters in an attempt to be loved.
Chelsea don’t need to be loved by their enemies just respected.
The title of this article is disturbing particularly coming from a Chelsea fan. Obviously, fodder to the anti-Chelsea brigade who will agree without thought [like Ahmed Bilal] that it is out of bitterness. Almost every thinking fan that is neutral that hates us, had sympathy for Chelsea. For what we witnessed in the champions league final is almost unprecedented.
Bitterness was not the emotion that was going through; rather A sense of injustice, a sense that an incompetent official [whose incompetency is without question]decided our fate with his incompetency.
There were 6 penalty shouts, 2 of them were 50-50 and not having both given would be a surprise. However the other four were blatant and there is no question that the referee did not do his job and in the words of Souness ‘was determined not to give a penalty’.
Ultimately we should have gotten 3 penalties at least and this is the essence of the disappointment….the sense of being robbed.
May 10th, 2009 @ 22:05Great article.. right on the spot!! keep it up.
May 11th, 2009 @ 00:59I’m a Chelsea fan, and I enjoyed both legs of the tie. Great football, albeit in different ways. A great tactical battle. But in the end, Barca got through, well done. It’s part and parcel of the game. Time to move on really. You win some, you lose some. Expression of feelings after the game and the next few days is understandable, but really to keep moaning just makes it sound (rightly) whiny. Move on, leave the game in the game and congratulate our opponents.
May 11th, 2009 @ 02:29Completely agree Kristian – bottom line is that UEFA and Platini in particular are biased against new teams entering the European elite like Chelsea and are probably not against overlooking referees errors that prevent Chelsea from winning the CL. Chelsea fans are not just bitter – but bitter over being screwed after a well-deserved CL final spot.
May 11th, 2009 @ 04:13Yes,they are the mischievous,spoilt kid of the Premier League.Needed to be taught a lesson and they got one!!! Well done ref for doing the job no Britsh referee had the guts to do in the past!!!
May 11th, 2009 @ 07:39in short, you are bitter. Also people hate Manchester United a lot more than they hate you.
May 11th, 2009 @ 09:40not in Europe Chelsea are anti football to the glorious football of Spain, Italy and Germany.
Uefa hate Chelsea more than Manchester United!
May 11th, 2009 @ 10:35Well, written Kris…
Yeah, people hate us. I was watching Real Madrid/Barca the weekend after the first leg and the commentators on that match were dragging Chelsea through the dirt for “Cowardly Football”. I was so angry I nearly turned off Iker Casillas!
Neutrals are not neutrals, everyone wanted us to lose. They want a “real” European final, and the only way for that to happen was for Chelsea to go out.
Conspiracy? Probably not, and at worst, the ref et all did want us to lose and performed their duties with bias.
But it’s over, and continuing to b*tch about it will just make them hate us more…
Susan
Gnorm note: Ref W*nker: Gnome no like.
May 11th, 2009 @ 14:45I think they are bitter, but over the years they have had every right to be to be honest but I guess thats the price they pay for they’re “get rich quick” tactics and their negative football, they never get any luck…
May 11th, 2009 @ 16:42To Jamie re the “fake fan” comment (number 12) – what a pathetic thing to say when you don’t know the first thing about Kristian! You’ve proved you’re an idiot so i’ll move on.
May 11th, 2009 @ 19:26I have supported Chelsea since birth way back in 1975 (yes i’m old!!!) due to my Dad being a season ticket holder at the Bridge for many years in his youth. We’ve been through some crappy seasons and some fantastic seasons but since Roman Abramovich bought us it’s almost made it harder to be a Chelsea fan. I don’t mean i would EVER change my allegiance, not in a million years. I just mean that it actually upsets me that people just constantly slag us off! It hurts if i’m completely honest! Most of these people are Man U/Liverpool fans who have never seen their team be relegated or lose 7-0 (i cried my eyes out!) Yes Romans money was a big help but we DID have a bloody good team before he came along and who knows where we’d be now, but we feel we deserve the success we’ve had and it would just be nice for once to get some respect. So if that makes me bitter then yes i am but how can anyone blame us when we are constantly the whipping boys of football???!!!
Can you imagine the outrage had Liverpool or United been in the place of Chelsea?! Oh Heavens, the anger the enxt day would have been enough to alone fuel the Earth’s power grid for a year!
The simple fact of the matter is that no matter what our beloved club in blue does, they will never earn the respect and admiration of footballing fans until the current generation of supporters has passed. There is too much animosity, too much fear, too much hatred built up by those supporters who feel threatened, and rightly so, I will add, by Chelsea’s dominance of English football in the last five years.
May 11th, 2009 @ 19:29There are some good points around and obviously a majority of the readers of this piece will be chelsea fans, so will defend their team, but I fear one point is being overlooked.
May 11th, 2009 @ 20:16It is that after the first leg (and Hiddink’s strangest ever “we will attack” style of football) I don’t think anyone thought one goal would be enough for Chelsea. When Chelsea did score they suddenly looked more defensive (although got chances through counter attacks) and did not try to push on for a second when Abidal was (perhaps harshly) sent off. I can’t remember Lampard or Ballack touching the ball in Barcalona’s half.
You can argue all you want about the penalty decisions, but they were not given (just as Henry’s wasn’t in the Nou Camp-?)and so you could argue effected the game: You can argue about the stats about Barca’s superior possesion: or Chelsea not conceeding for 180 mins, means nothing. Nor do the penalties not given: or the players not booked/sent off. Some of you could be questioning what Drogba did on the pitch (missing those chances) rather than what he did off it. The simple fact is the tactics were not right- Away goals count double to encourage teams to play away (not you Ashley Cole!). At 0-0 and even 1-0 it was always advantage Barcalona (remember Bordeaux, Burnley and Southend getting late equalizers?), and at the end of the day that is why Chelsea are out.
I apologise if that was a joke Jamie and you are actually a friend of Kristian. Go me, making myself look stupid again!!!! haha!
May 11th, 2009 @ 20:25techno elephant, i have known you a long time and thats the most logical argument you have put forward when we talk about football and to a ceratin extent I agree.
I actually think we did a good job over 180 minutes but if we had taken the chances we created, or essien had stretched an inch further we would be talking about an all English final not the diabolical performance of Tom Henning Overbo.
May 11th, 2009 @ 21:34Also i wish Neil G had a little more substance than, ‘rubbish article’ entitled to your opinion but at least quantify it!
May 11th, 2009 @ 21:35honestly I have to say that it is because of the fans, not the team that you are hated. My friend is a complete asshole about being a Chelsea fan and every chance he gets he rubs anything he can in my face (me being a Liverpool fan). This kind of behavior does not make me sympathetic for Chelsea. Also, here is an example of the stuff he says which pisses me off because he is such a hypocrite. We were talking about Macheda the kid from Manchester United the other day and he was commenting that Man U are f*ggots and he hates them because they always steal other teams’ players (referring to the fact that he was part of Lazio but couldn’t be signed until he was 18 according to Italian rules so Man U signed him). I told him that it’s not being an asshole it’s called good recruiting, that’s what Chelsea did when Abramovich took over – they went out and bought some good players (still have been doing so recently) and built up a great team so how does that make Man U assholes and Chelsea not? He told me it was good coaching by Chelsea and “it’s different”. What a load of bullshit. Honestly I don’t care either way about Man U or Lazio but to say something that hypocritical then contradict yourself just makes you and the club you support look like assholes. Besides, I don’t like clubs that go for the “get rich quick” schemes – I liked Chelsea til Abramovich just as I rooted for Man City occasionally (I love David James) until they got rich and started acting like assholes with their money. Overall, I think the best team won, and I hope that Barca kick Man U’s ass and show the world that they are the best team in the world, which I honestly believe. If you watch them play, the way they move the ball and the way they interact- everything they do is so graceful and beautiful, it’s the way the game is supposed to be played and I hope they come out and show the world that. Not a bad article though, as I know many Chelsea fans who share the same sentiments as you
May 12th, 2009 @ 00:35Dude you need to learn basic grammar before you can be a sportswriter–even on a blog. You’re just hurting your own case here. Really. Learn some basic rules then come back and share your opinions.
Barcelona’s player were tested too with bad officiating, and they showed a lot more class than Chelsea did. Parallel universe theories are really pertinent, are they? I mean, in a parallel universe Essien doesn’t get the ball deflected to him and the final score is 100-320, right? So what? Chelsea lost and showed little class except for John Terry going to Barca’s locker room. Your boy Ballack was wrong and should have been showed a red. Drogba flopped; Anelka either flopped or tripped over himself. And Chelsea did nothing to deserve winning during either game of the two legs.
May 12th, 2009 @ 03:23gr8 article mate, & 4 all those ppl who dont support chelsea here, stop whining – if it was man utd on the receiving end of those decisions you would all be jst as pissed!!! if not more, considerng hw many “fans” u have all over the world
May 12th, 2009 @ 05:05Malvolio, firstly grammar is a weak point to attack on, this is the third article I have submitted ok it is not perfect but the piece was written in ten minutes so ok there may be mistakes but everyone got the gist.
Secondly if you cannot see my parrallel universe theory showing how tiny things can change big games then maybe you should go away and do some research before coming on here and slating me?
You are right on ballack his behaviour was unacceptable, you are wrong on the deserving to win, Chelsea had the gameplan that worked for 180 minutes creating ALL the chances in the second leg, but then in my paralell universe you would see that.
May 12th, 2009 @ 07:08I would like to say yes they are but in all fairness after the trouble that they had against Barcelona I still think that should of been put through to the finals.
May 12th, 2009 @ 07:48“The evolution from 1994 – 2003 in which Chelsea came from mid-table mediocrity to Champions League contenders playing attractive but inconsistent football respected by all has been forgotten and replaced by the Abramovich era of disdain.”
May 12th, 2009 @ 09:14.
.
.
From 1994-03 you had taken a completely nonsense approach to spending and were days from bankruptcy when RA bought you. This was essentially the same philosophy as RA, ie, spend every penny we can and hope for success. There was no organic growth as with Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal, and Newcastle to some extent. You dont realise how close you were to being Leeds but 100 times worse.
.
.
.
The other obvious reason why everyone hates you – you cheat. Its not a nice thing to accuse a club of, and im not pretending that every other club is totally innocent – but you are by far far far and away the worst. You will never gain the respect of the fellow fan until you get rid of Drogba/Malouda/Essien/Mikel/Kalou – they dive, they con the ref and they con the fans out of an honest and good game of footy.
.
.
.
In many ways justice was done on Wed. Imagine if none of your players had ever dived, ever cheated… would you have got a pen on Wed, id say absolutely yes. Drogba, your a horrible dirty cheating dishonest player and you got what you deserved…
Could you please try and make your articles at least approaching grammatical coherence? I stopped reading because the grammar was all over the place and it was too hard to read.
May 12th, 2009 @ 10:00Chelsea actually was the perfect evolutionary story in regards to playing progress, you are correct we were on the precipice of bankruptcy but that was caused by the eyesore of the Chelsea hotel not neccessarily on field expenditure.
Chelsea have been close to bankruptcy twice in our history and both times stadium redevelopment has been the cause.
In 1993 Glen Hoddle is appointed player/manager succeeding caretaker and Chelsea hero David Webb following the sacking of Ian Porterfield.
Glenn Hoddle signs ageing dutchman Ruud Guillit and takes the club to it’s first major final in over 20 years, following Hoddles’s appointment as England manager Chelsea appoint Guillit as player/manager.
Guillit is a world renowned player and his influence secures the signings of Frank Leboeuf, Didier Deschamps, Casaraghi, Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli.
We win our first trophy in 20 years under Ruud Guillit who is succeeded by Gianluca Vialli who takes the club to European glory and the clubs first ever Champions League appearance.
Following on from Vialli, Chelsea appoint Claudio Ranieri and become regular top 6 finishers in the league and finishing 4th in the 2002/2003 season in a dramatic final game of the season vs Liverpool.
Roman Abramovich, like Malcolm Glazer, Randy Lerner, Hicks and Gillette and Usamonov who followed him is looking to buy and English football club and despite interest in Tottenham chooses Chelsea as they have already secured Champions League Football.
So Hoddle —> Guillit —–> Vialli —–> Ranieri —–> Mourinho
Ok we had a large cash injection but you cannot deny that Chelsea had been in a 9-10 year revolution prior to that, if we hadnt Roman Abramovich would have bought Spurs and not Chelsea and who knows where Chelsea would be.
MAKING HISTORY NOT RELIVING IT CHELSEA FC!
May 12th, 2009 @ 11:28apologies the grammar etc in that last post of mine is attrocious
May 12th, 2009 @ 11:50apologies for grammar in my last comment it was truly awful!
May 12th, 2009 @ 11:51@ Poster number 11:
What is your definition of “amazing brand of football?”….and what team in ur books play this way?…[throw away ur "chelsea supporting hat" and put on the "football hat"]
How can u say Barca dont play beautiful football or even worse…that they are one-sided?…these guys invented yoga bonito man…come on….
Best footballing teams:
May 12th, 2009 @ 13:39-Barca
-United
-Arsenal
Good article Kristian
I thought Chelsea deserved to go through to the Final. OK, Barcelona played some majestic, eye catching football, but like you mention Chelsea had a gameplan to counter it for 180 minutes. The whole of Europe knows Barcelona play the best football, with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, so why should Chelsea go out and try and play football against the best footballing side?
Chelsea played the second leg spot on, defending with real heart and spirit and breaking quickly against a very weak defence. Chelsea should have had the game wrapped up and on another day a few of their attempts would have wormed in, and obviously they would have converted one of the 3 penalties they should have had!
The referee was farcical, but the response of certain Chelsea players was despicable, especially when alot of teams throughout England are working hard to back the FA’s “Respect the Ref” campaign and during a moment of madness from Didier Drogba alot of hard work is un-done.
Being a Norwich City fan though it was a little warming to have a few more english football fans feeling the same hurt and anger that I’ve been feeling for the majority of the season! *sigh*
May 12th, 2009 @ 14:21Dan Price (36) – you are ridiculous. Drogba/Malouda/Essien/Mikel/Kalou – out of these 5 only Drogba has a problem with diving and even he’s improved so much since his first season with Chelsea. Essien????? I’m sorry but Michael Essien is the BEST midfield player in the premiership. If he’d not been injured for most of this season I honestly believe we would have won the title hands down. The man is a beast. He’s even scoring (stunning) goals now just to add to every other perfect part of his game. And everything else you said is just utter rubbish too. Come back when you’re going to talk some sense….
May 12th, 2009 @ 18:25CT (31) – How can you judge ALL Chelsea fans because of one of your friends?? That’s very ignorant of you. I’m pretty sure Chelsea FC is hated by lots of people because they’re jealous of the amount of money our owner has and because we’ve been successful. Nothing to do with the fans. I’m not saying our players haven’t made mistakes but many other players of other big teams have done as bad if not worse, then as soon as it’s Chelsea it just gives people another opportuniy to have a pop at us. It’s all very dull and I think fans of other teams need to concentrate more on their own team and less on ours.
@ Malvolio #32:
Barcelona players showing class to the referee? Where was that exactly? Toure being booked in the first leg for dissent while the entire side ran over to try to get Chelsea booked for every foul? Or did you mean the second leg, when the entire Barcelona side furiously ran over to the referee at the end of the first half to debate its events?
May 12th, 2009 @ 18:53Ahmed,
do one first off, anelka didnt dive watch the game and you will see he tripped over himself [deleted]. are from pakistan by the way? if so where abouts?
May 12th, 2009 @ 21:00@ Nicky (43): Sorry if I offended you, I guess I wasn’t clear enough. I used my one friend as an example but as a rule (at least for me) all Chelsea fans that I know are assholes about their team. I have to agree that yes, everybody makes mistakes. I’m not saying that Chelsea has no class and all other teams do, but I have been more impressed with the responses from other teams. I was shocked to hear about the Gerrard “bar fight” incident and was relieved to hear he was not convicted (though for the record I believe it actually happened and it does tarnish him in my eyes a little- not as a player but as a person). I was horrified by the Eric Cantona incident with the fan (the infamous Karate Kick) and I had a hard time rooting for him after that. Same with Zidane – great player and I loved him but his antics in the World Cup were horrifying. Or how about Ronaldo’s Real Madrid transfer saga this summer? I used to love him (he really is an outstanding player) but after this summer I still have a hard time forgiving him for any mistakes. However, all incidents were handled with class by fans and club alike. For instance, Cantona apologized and was duly punished by Ferguson, Ronaldo was booed by fans and forced to earn back their respect (Fergie has had no problem dealing with him either this season) and Zidane apologized to the world. All fans I spoke to were horrified at these actions. But what did Chelsea fans do when asked about their players’ behavior after the Barca game? They defended it and made excuses. Lampard called it “grown men being frustrated” – I’m sorry but Drogba and Ballack were not frustrated, they were out of control. I’m not saying Barca was any better – I like Alves as a player but hate how he always goes to ground (especially against Chelsea) and never gets punished. All I’m saying is that a little class goes a long way and the first step is losing with class, not making excuses. The fact is that your team went up a man off a bullshit red card and chose to sit back and defend, and you got punished. Not going forward showed a lack of wanting to win (to me) and Barca’s tenacity and skill got the better of them, you can’t continue to blame the referee without first acknowledging your own mistakes.
May 13th, 2009 @ 01:17anyone who says chelsea was not robbed is living in a gullible fools world, it was so obvious that even supporters from rival clubs like myself admit it. By the way chelsea are very popular in big countries such as america, india, china and also in africa.
May 13th, 2009 @ 10:23I think in all fariness there should be a replay, if Barcelona are the better team they have nothing to worry about, after all it was 2 drawn games, the away goal rule is rubbish as are penalty shoot-outs, drawn games should be replayed as in the past. It will generate massive interest and massive finance. There is also plenty of time for a replays.
May 13th, 2009 @ 10:30Although I am a Utd fan, I do have to agree that the referee was an absolute disgrace! The “conspiracy theory” that people keep cropping up with does seem to have some meaning to it.
Yes, people will say, “well he did send off Abidal for the trip”, but, maybe UEFA told the officials to be yourselves and play stick to the rule book but under no circumstances give any penalties.
That my friends could have come from Platini, or whoever. They were Norwegian officials who are the best in their own league. Some people have pointed out that they were in over their heads and shouldn’t have been officiating at such a stage of the tournament. However, this could have been said about South Korea in the World Cup, couldn’t it (obviously not officiating, but playing at that stage)?
Regarding the players actions, I agree with the fact that Ballack shouldn’t have acted that way and near enough given the ref a bear hug, but with him seeing all the decisions on penalties turned down he felt it was the last straw. There’s 22 people out there playing for their club, their fans (and their wage) and knowng you are just moments away from getting to the final and competing for the most prestigious trophy in European Football, it will “do your head in” when decisions don’t go your way.
Now down to Drogba…
His reputation for diving, just like Ronaldo’s and anybody else who tries it, does stick in referees minds and go against them in future. As an example, look at the Utd vs Spurs game the other week. I can categorically say that if Ronaldo, or even Rooney, had been the one to go down under the keepers tackle, it would not have been a penalty. As it was Carrick, somebody who rarely ventures into the area on a dashing run, was the one brought down, they gave it.
However, Drogba’s reactions, and more so his comments, in front of the camera were again down to it being the last straw. As the camera men are the ones just holding and pointing the cameras, it is the production team that are monitering all that is going on and then relaying messages to different camera men telling them what to “shoot”. Maybe they need to re-think their post match showings on the pitch and mute the sound. Drogba would have known that the camera in front of him would have been live as they have lights on the front just like in a studio so people know which camera they should be facing and speaking towards. Knowing that the whole world, more than likely, would have been watching he lost his head and felt he had to “protest” shall we say to UEFA.
Anyway, and this may stir up a hornets nest, Chelsea, just like Arsenal and Liverpool, should not have been competing in the competition. It is called the Champions League for a f**king reason. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, not 1st & 2nd, & if you qualify in the preliminary rounds, 3rd & 4th!
If this was put right, then maybe some of the teams from the non prestigious leagues would get a chance of playing with the big boys. Also, it might give some of the non big four clubs of getting more money from a better league position as the three big clubs wouldn’t be dependant on earning money from the champions league revenue and thus not the only ones buying big name players.
Comment over, but one last question…
Does anyone know who and where from the officials are for the final?
May 13th, 2009 @ 15:53Steven as a Chelsea fan this may sound hypocritical but I agree, if the Champions League is to be tru to itself then only the winners of European leagues should compete as was designed, but that would not satisfy the money men.
A great comment by the way!
Kris
the grammatically incorrect blogger
May 13th, 2009 @ 19:43Griff:
> “They ignore the Barcelona play acting the waving of imaginary cards”
>
> I assume you’re talking about Drogba’s card waving when Anelka tripped
> himself up in the near vicinity of Abidal here?
Here’s the thing: that’s physically impossible, because Pique had just elbowed Drogba in the head and he was still being treated after Abidal had left the field. It would be nice if you could stop making up lies just for a short while. Thanks.
Did you notice that the ref forced Drogba off the field for the following free kick, but he didn’t demand Pique went off the field even though he had to be treated too. He was allowed to defend the free kick.
Ahmed:
> The ref chose to be lenient on most fouls. He was suckered for Abidal’s card,
> giving him a red on a technical foul (last man – european refs are very particular
> about that rule, see Fletcher’s card) even though Anelka performed the most
> beautiful dive anyone had ever seen.
That would be a good story if Abidal hadn’t admitted that he deliberately fouled Anelka by clipping his left foot. He even stated it was worth being sent off rather than have Anelka bear down on goal and risk a 2nd. So, if you could stop lying too, that would be nice. Thanks.
Lastly, I am bitter. I’m usually bitter when Uefa cheat us by appointing an incompetent and incapable official who screwed up a lot of big decisions and barely knew how to officiate. Left the World Cup due to his own incompetence – now the same in the CL.
And who gets blamed? The victims of that nonsense. They want us to say thank you for being stiffed. Not blooming likely. It was a f’ing disrace.
May 14th, 2009 @ 10:11CT (46) – you obviously missed it a few years ago when Chelsea fans actually started to boo Drogba because he was diving constantly and being a total embarrassment. That plus being spoken to by JT and Frank Lampard was what made a big improvement in Drogba’s attitude. Ok so he’s not perfect and he quite obviously has quite a quick temper and is very passionate (which i like in a player) but he is no where near how he used to be! So Chelsea fans are certainly not blinkered when it comes to our players, we can be honest when they let us down. Personally none of them let me down last Wednesday. I was proud of them for making a great side like Barcelona look remotely average and if it wasn’t for a terrible terrible refereeing performance we’d be looking forward to the Champions League final again (and getting revenge on United!!!!)
May 14th, 2009 @ 18:35@ Nicky (52): I obviously did miss it, and I’m sorry if I spoke too soon. All I know is that Drogba used to be a diver (even as bad as Ronaldo) and he stopped. I did not know that it was because JT and Lampard talked some sense into him. In that case, good for them for taking initiative and good for him for using common sense and listening. I still don’t like the way he plays (he always seems on the verge of something really dirty) but I can say that I do admire his skill (when he shows up to play) and the obvious passion he has for the game. I did not mean that the players themselves let you down, but Guus Hiddink did. Chelsea’s defence was masterclass and they took all of the venom out of a Barca side that I consider to be the best in the world, but Hiddink’s willingness to sit back and defend when Barca went a man down was wrong and Chelsea fans should be putting the blame on the tactics used. Honestly, I believe that had Chelsea put the pressure on after the red card they would have scored again and the game would have been over. Yes, the refereeing was awful, but they also gave Abidal the worst ghost red card I’ve seen and referees also missed a blatant penalty in the Camp Nou in the first round, so all in all the refereeing was horrible throughout the whole tie. Best of luck to Chelsea next year (I always enjoy the meetings of the Big 4 during the season) let’s hope they can play better than how their new jerseys look (like man bras).
May 15th, 2009 @ 00:43