

Rant Box: Chelsea v United
By: Jack | January 9th, 2009The time has arrived.
Will Chelsea rise to the occasion or will the sinking ship finally hit the ocean’s floor?
Chelsea travels to the Theater of Dreams on Sunday for a second v. third clash with Manchester United. This will most certainly be a season-defining fixture for the Blues — and likely for the Red Devils as well.

Both clubs are coming off awful results in cup competitions; Chelsea a 1-1 draw with Southend in the FA Cup and United a 1-0 defeat to Derby in the league cup. With this in mind, and with so much at stake, it’s clear each side will be up to the task Sunday.
A draw or win will almost certainly see United jump Chelsea into second. Of course, the Devils will have to win their game in hand, but really, will that be much of a problem? While United has struggled somewhat recently, Chelsea, on the other hand, is in dire need of anything positive. Over the past few weeks, the Blues have been about as impressive as that Frank Miller flick with Samuel L. Jackson.
Let’s just say a loss Sunday could see Uncle Phil out of a job. Yeah, I think it’s that bad right now. Hell, a loss might just see Roman exiting London. Hey, at least Phil realizes how important this match really is to the club.
“We need to win,” Scolari said this week. “In these games if you give a chance to your opponents to advance three points it’s difficult to recover afterwards. If you draw then OK, you’ve lost two points but your opponents have also lost two. If you lose it’s difficult. Now, in our position, it’s impossible to think about a draw. We’re four points in front but they have two extra games to play that are not against us so it’s not in our hands. If we want to arrive in the first position we have to play for a win.”
Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra return for United — major boost. Deco will likely be in Felipao’s starting XI — major downer. Ferguson will also likely be in a hissy mood following the endlessly entertaining rant by Rafa, of the scum. Sir Fergs will no doubt be keen to unleash a little fury on whomever is in the way, in this case us (shit).
Will Phil opt for a two-headed sulking centaur up front? Somehow, I doubt it. We can only hope Super Frank and Joey Cole have the gift on Sunday. Bigger news for the Blues is the return of EBJT. Back alongside his old crime-fighting sidekick Ricky Carvalho, JT will bring back the aerial prowess sorely missed over the past three matches.
Prediction: This one is a tough call. We need a win. They need a win. They’re at home. We’re away. With that being said, I see a 1-1 draw. Yeah, I hate it, too.
Another thing, let’s hope Phil follows Rafa’s advice and zonal marks Fergie & staff. It could be the smartest tactical decision he makes all season.
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Comments
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First: Are there seriously no comments on this match yet? What the hell people?
Second: Well, the match WAS going fairly well.
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United States

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you’ll get one back once Rooney get’s sent off .. it’s only a matter of time ..
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Canada

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that man is on the cusp of a Cantona moment
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Deco off for Anelka?? It’s a miracle!
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Anelka and Drogba on the same field? has Scolari finally grown a pair?
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Canada

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Once again Mikel had a hand in conceding a goal…
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United States

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Game. Set. Match. … On this season?
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United States

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god, how i hate Wayne Rooney .. an Evertonian that plays for ManYoo .. christ ..
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Canada

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I think it is embarrassing that the Manchester had an easier time beating Chelsea than they did with Stoke…
Time to fire the gaffer, time to get a goal scorer, time to get back on trackPosted from
United States

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Funny thing is, I’m not even surprised with this result. Looks like the collapse is finally complete.
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United States

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I had kind of figured we would lose by 1 or 2, but 3 goals is embarrassing. Bad finishing on our part and terrible defending from set pieces ruled the game today. Derby did what we couldn’t even if it was against a not fully equipped Manchester United side..Time to rehire Avram.
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United States

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it’s even more embarrassing than that because it should of been 4-0 as ronaldo wasn’t even offsides on that disallowed goal. I am still upset morinho was let go; i’ll take wins over so called flashy football any day… there is still time to turn the corner this season, I hope essien starts playing soon…
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United States

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Hey… not here to gloat, just curious if anyone knew when exactly Essien was due back? Is he done for the season?
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Also, am I simply seeing frustration, or do people really want to fire Gene Hackman Part II? Wasn’t it only a few months ago he was the savior and Avram Grant was the real problem?
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“Bad finishing on our part and terrible defending from set pieces ruled the game today”
I wasn’t aware chelsea had 3 chances during the game… United just bossed the game. Mikel is just lazy, I get the feeling that the United players were just hungrier today. Did you see Park flying about?!
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United Kingdom

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Essien supposed to be back in team in Feb/March, not trying to rush his return. Though it looks like he should hopefully be back in time to play Juventus in champions league…
As far as coaching goes I guess have to give scolari at least couple of years to try and adapt. Grant just got lucky off the morinho coaching that was still for the most part employed with steve clarke playing an important role. I just hate the fact that morinho, who i think is the best coach in the world, was fired b/c he wasn’t allowed to run the team and style the way he wanted… And yea its really frustrating seeing how crappy this team has played in all competitions for the past month or so…Posted from
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Taylor, nobody — at least the people I talk to — was referring to Phil as a savior. I mean, we played well during the first month of the season but since we’ve been erratic, with a push towards poor. Tactically, Phil seems inept. He’s yet to restructure the style of play in spite of nearly every team in the league learning how to guard against it or regardless of how poorly we’ve played. I’m not saying he should go, but I’m leaning that way.
simon, you’re spot on about the hunger and energy. Chelsea were lethargic, almost disinterested. Mikel had a bad game, but he’s been our most consistent performer this season so I’ll give him a pass — for now.
ASR, you’re right about Grant getting a bit lucky as it seems at least to me that the players rallied around each other after the departure of Jose. However, he did win a pair against the big four, something, on the evidence presented thus far this season, Scolari will never do.
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Rubbish jack it was rubbish. I scheduled a weeks holiday in Florida to be back in time for yesterday’s game at OT.
Wish I hadn’t bothered….. the temperatures were hotter than we were at OT LOL
Roll on Wednesday nite and Southend. Surely we won’t lose at Roots Hall, will we?
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United Kingdom

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