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Slipperduke

The Camden Cad
Joined
Aug 24, 2004
Messages
4,333
Location
North London
Avram Grant arrived here at White Hart Lane looking for the win that would set up an unexpected assault on the title, but when he left shortly before midnight, the only thing that had been assaulted was his own reputation. The Chelsea heirachy continue to insist that the Israeli coach is the man to take this team forward, but Tottenham keep popping up to contradict them. Juande Ramos has humiliated them twice now, first at Wembley and now here, and Grant's tactics, both pre-meditated and improvised, have been as vital to the Spaniard's success as anyone in a white shirt.

Ramos picked the same starting eleven that won the Carling Cup, but perhaps understandably Grant did not. At Wembley, Joe Cole was left to kick his heels on the bench while Nicolas Anelka struggled on the wing. This time their roles were reversed and Cole made his point emphatically. The England midfielder was dynamic, weighing in with two fine goals and an assist. You would think that such a performance would entitle him to remain on the pitch for the duration, but with 10 minutes to go, and with the score at 4-3, he was withdrawn and replaced by Michael Ballack.

Grant had already confused his team by removing Salomon Kalou and replacing him with Alex and the withdrawal of Cole's threat gave Tottenham the chance to push forward in search of an equaliser. Chelsea appeared to be playing a 5-1-3-1 formation with no width, no options and no chance of giving Spurs anything to worry about. Buoyed by a noisy home crowd and liberated from defensive responsibilities, Tottenham surged forward and the only surprise was that they didn't win it in injury time when Dimitar Berbatov shot straight at Carlo Cudicini.

It is only because of the heart-stopping, nerve-shredding excitement of this magnifcent game that Ashley Cole won't suffer the media crucifixition that befell Martin Taylor last month. His horrific challenge on Alan Hutton could have broken the Scotsman's leg in two. Cole was nowhere near the ball and caught his quarry right in the centre of his shinpads. Taylor was castigated for his clumsy challenge on Eduardo, but this was an act of far greater malice. Mike Riley's decision to produce a yellow card was absolutely inexplicable. Jason Koumas was sent off at the JJB Stadium on Sunday for a far more benign challenge. If that was worth a straight red card, then this was worth six months in prison.

Spurs deserve great credit for putting up such a spirited performance when many people expected them to go through the motions. The first ten minutes were so anaemic that Chelsea could have scored three, but a few choice words from Ramos sparked them into life. Robbie Keane and Steed Malbranque were exceptional, but the same couldn't be said for Jermaine Jenas. Everything that the young midfielder tried went wrong. He lost possession, gave the ball away and struck his shots with all the venom of an elderly jellyfish. He was removed at half-time. Ramos doesn't tolerate under-achievement on that level.

Chelsea's title challenge isn't quite over yet, but defeat to Arsenal on Sunday will be the final nail in the coffin. They are now five points behind Manchester United and any further slip-ups will leave them looking over their shoulder at a resurgent Liverpool. Grant's problem at Chelsea has always been a lack of respect. The players respected Jose Mourinho becuase he was a proven winner with a fresh Champions League medal in his pocket. They were asked to trust in Grant, and let him earn their respect, but there's no chance of that happening now. Managers have to take responsibility for results. Grant's tactics cost Chelsea the Carling Cup and they cost him two precious points here. The question on the Chelsea fans' lips is always, 'would that have happened under Mourinho?' The answer, I'm sorry to say, is 'no'.
 
What I'm trying to say, perhaps ineleganty, is that Koumas' challenge wasn't actually that bad. The keyword here is 'if'. If that was worth a red, then this was worth time inside. It really was a horrible challenge.
 
It is only because of the heart-stopping, nerve-shredding excitement of this magnifcent game that Ashley Cole won't suffer the media crucifixition that befell Martin Taylor last month. His horrific challenge on Alan Hutton could have broken the Scotsman's leg in two. Cole was nowhere near the ball and caught his quarry right in the centre of his shinpads. Taylor was castigated for his clumsy challenge on Eduardo, but this was an act of far greater malice. Mike Riley's decision to produce a yellow card was absolutely inexplicable. Jason Koumas was sent off at the JJB Stadium on Sunday for a far more benign challenge. If that was worth a straight red card, then this was worth six months in prison.

Have just seen the challenge on SSN, and I do agree it was completely reckless and every bit as bad as the one on Eduardo - only difference being that there was no catastophic injury occured as a result. Even if he wasn't given a straight red, he should have been given a 2nd yellow for the amount of dissent shown to the ref in the aftermath.

Great report, the goals all seemed to be pretty special. Got to be pleased for Spurs though.

As an aside, I see Cardiff appealed Hasselbaink's red at Colchester and had it turned down. Anyone know why he's only therefore got a 3 match ban?
 
Have just seen the challenge on SSN, and I do agree it was completely reckless and every bit as bad as the one on Eduardo - only difference being that there was no catastophic injury occured as a result. Even if he wasn't given a straight red, he should have been given a 2nd yellow for the amount of dissent shown to the ref in the aftermath.

Great report, the goals all seemed to be pretty special. Got to be pleased for Spurs though.

As an aside, I see Cardiff appealed Hasselbaink's red at Colchester and had it turned down. Anyone know why he's only therefore got a 3 match ban?[/QUOTE]

It was a straight red for I think violent conduct, hence the 3 match ban.
 
Have just seen the challenge on SSN, and I do agree it was completely reckless and every bit as bad as the one on Eduardo - only difference being that there was no catastophic injury occured as a result. Even if he wasn't given a straight red, he should have been given a 2nd yellow for the amount of dissent shown to the ref in the aftermath.

Great report, the goals all seemed to be pretty special. Got to be pleased for Spurs though.

As an aside, I see Cardiff appealed Hasselbaink's red at Colchester and had it turned down. Anyone know why he's only therefore got a 3 match ban?[/QUOTE]

It was a straight red for I think violent conduct, hence the 3 match ban.

My point being, if it was an appeal that was turned down - why wasn't it increased to 4?
 
I think the ban would only be increased if they deemed the appeal to be frivolous, and apparently they did not.
 
I didn't think it possible for Cashley to go down any further in my estimations... I already thought him a despicable little sh*t with no morals. This morning, I don't think there's anybody in the world more deserving of a public castration with a set of rusty pliers.

His challenge was disgraceful. Martin Taylor with added Malice and purpose... He knew exactly what he intended to do when he flew into Alan Hutton who was extremely lucky not to be seriously injured. What made it even worse was his childlike sulking and blatant disrespect. It's for people like him that the rulebook need to be thrown out for, and if the FA had any sense they would enforce a ban despite him recieving a yellow card.

As well as that, Avram Grant played dumb for 10 minutes when Martin Tyler (?) questioned him about the incident after the game. A better man would've held his hands up and said "Disgraceful challenge, dont know what he was playing at, I'll be having a word". Grant's reply? "I haven't seen it" and when Tyler pressed on with how he must've seem Cole's blatant disrespect for officials? Incoherent mumbles.
 
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