Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
The tension that has been slowly building all week is now approaching critical mass. The clock is ticking down to Grand Slam Sunday and the mind games have begun in earnest. This is what football is all about and I love it. Mind you, I don’t support one of the big four, so I can settle back and enjoy myself as the drama unfolds. Heaven only knows what some of you lot are going through right now! One of the many benefits to being a Southend fan is that, when you lose a vital game, no-one really notices. Being a big four fan must be a strangely vulnerable existence, knowing that the entire planet is ready to point and laugh if it all goes wrong.
People were queuing up to point and laugh at Liverpool earlier this season, but Rafa Benitez’s astonishing run of recent form has certainly silenced the giggles. Seven straight wins have put the old club in the last eight of the Champions League and an interesting position in the Premier League. I always say that, if the amount of points needed is less than the amount of games left, you have a chance. Right now, Liverpool are 11 points off the pace with eight games to go. If they overturn Manchester United at Old Trafford, it will be eight points with seven games and that will make it interesting. Of course, that’s an ’if’ so big that Peter Crouch would have to ask it to get groceries off the top shelf, but football can be a very strange game.
Chelsea are under-fire from all angles this week. Their players’ appalling treatment of referees, even ones as universally disliked as Mike Riley, has created a swelling tide of resentment against them in the UK. There isn’t a neutral fan in the land who wants to see them lift their third trophy in four years, but that could have unexpected benefits. Sir Alex Ferguson used to deliberately foster the ‘them and us’ mentality in order to bring his players together. It seems hard to believe in an era where critics will fall over each other to praise the Red Devils, but it wasn’t so long ago that they were the team that everybody loved to hate. If Avram Grant can channel the hatred correctly, Chelsea could still surprise everyone, but that again is an ‘if’ so big that it comes with its own gravitational field.
People have been very quick to write Arsenal off, which is a silly mistake that we’ve have been failing to learn from for years. Granted, they’ve allowed their grief over the loss of Eduardo to reach Princess Diana-like proportions and it’s taken the edge off their form, but this is still a side that went to the San Siro and outclassed AC Milan. They still have Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas running the midfield and, in Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy, they have the finest full-backs in the division. Four draws in four games is not title winning form, but the race isn’t over yet and everyone has to experience a speed wobble at some point. I don’t think it’s over by a long shot, though defeat at Stamford Bridge would be an almighty kick in the crotch for them.
Which brings us to Manchester United, the team with all the momentum. Sir Alex is drawing on all of his old tricks and using every ounce of the experience that has brought him so much silverware over the years. He cleverly rested most of his key players in midweek and he’s been repeating his ‘Cristiano Ronaldo is Bambi’ mantra for the past fortnight. Desperate pleas for protection for football’s most vulnerable star have been ringing out across Manchester for some time now. Ronaldo, it should be noted, is over six foot tall and built like the HMS Ark Royal. He really should be able to look after himself, shouldn’t he?
It certainly looks like it’s United’s title to lose, but that’s what Liverpool are there for. The Merseysiders have put United’s fireworks out on numerous occasions in the past, notably in 1992 when even Graeme Souness’ side was good enough to wreck their Championship hopes. They have everything to play for and I think that there’s a chance that they could stun their hosts, though I suspect that a draw is most likely.
No-one has beaten Chelsea at their home for over four years, but someone has to do it eventually. Besides which, do you know the identity of the last side to take three points away from Stamford Bridge? Yep, it was Arsenal. And I think they’ll do it again.
I’ll be at Stamford Bridge for the big game so, for full coverage, be sure to pick up the Sports Edition of The New Paper on Monday, out at noon.
People were queuing up to point and laugh at Liverpool earlier this season, but Rafa Benitez’s astonishing run of recent form has certainly silenced the giggles. Seven straight wins have put the old club in the last eight of the Champions League and an interesting position in the Premier League. I always say that, if the amount of points needed is less than the amount of games left, you have a chance. Right now, Liverpool are 11 points off the pace with eight games to go. If they overturn Manchester United at Old Trafford, it will be eight points with seven games and that will make it interesting. Of course, that’s an ’if’ so big that Peter Crouch would have to ask it to get groceries off the top shelf, but football can be a very strange game.
Chelsea are under-fire from all angles this week. Their players’ appalling treatment of referees, even ones as universally disliked as Mike Riley, has created a swelling tide of resentment against them in the UK. There isn’t a neutral fan in the land who wants to see them lift their third trophy in four years, but that could have unexpected benefits. Sir Alex Ferguson used to deliberately foster the ‘them and us’ mentality in order to bring his players together. It seems hard to believe in an era where critics will fall over each other to praise the Red Devils, but it wasn’t so long ago that they were the team that everybody loved to hate. If Avram Grant can channel the hatred correctly, Chelsea could still surprise everyone, but that again is an ‘if’ so big that it comes with its own gravitational field.
People have been very quick to write Arsenal off, which is a silly mistake that we’ve have been failing to learn from for years. Granted, they’ve allowed their grief over the loss of Eduardo to reach Princess Diana-like proportions and it’s taken the edge off their form, but this is still a side that went to the San Siro and outclassed AC Milan. They still have Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas running the midfield and, in Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy, they have the finest full-backs in the division. Four draws in four games is not title winning form, but the race isn’t over yet and everyone has to experience a speed wobble at some point. I don’t think it’s over by a long shot, though defeat at Stamford Bridge would be an almighty kick in the crotch for them.
Which brings us to Manchester United, the team with all the momentum. Sir Alex is drawing on all of his old tricks and using every ounce of the experience that has brought him so much silverware over the years. He cleverly rested most of his key players in midweek and he’s been repeating his ‘Cristiano Ronaldo is Bambi’ mantra for the past fortnight. Desperate pleas for protection for football’s most vulnerable star have been ringing out across Manchester for some time now. Ronaldo, it should be noted, is over six foot tall and built like the HMS Ark Royal. He really should be able to look after himself, shouldn’t he?
It certainly looks like it’s United’s title to lose, but that’s what Liverpool are there for. The Merseysiders have put United’s fireworks out on numerous occasions in the past, notably in 1992 when even Graeme Souness’ side was good enough to wreck their Championship hopes. They have everything to play for and I think that there’s a chance that they could stun their hosts, though I suspect that a draw is most likely.
No-one has beaten Chelsea at their home for over four years, but someone has to do it eventually. Besides which, do you know the identity of the last side to take three points away from Stamford Bridge? Yep, it was Arsenal. And I think they’ll do it again.
I’ll be at Stamford Bridge for the big game so, for full coverage, be sure to pick up the Sports Edition of The New Paper on Monday, out at noon.
