5/8/04 EPL Round 37: Manchester United v. Chelsea FC [R]

[GPK]

http://www.uefa.com/ImagesContent/Competition/Clubs/Logos/70X70/52682.gif v. http://www.uefa.com/ImagesContent/Competition/Clubs/Logos/70X70/52914.gif

Chelsea 23-6-7, 75 PTS, 2nd Place (-9)
Manchester United 22-5-9, 71 PTS, 3rd Place (-13)

12:30 PM Local Time
7:30 AM EST

US TV: Live FSW, 12PM ET SDD FSW, 3PM SDD FSWE
UK TV: Live on Sky Sports 2 from 12PM

Live on Big Blue (http://www.chelseafc.com/statpage.asp?id=Big_Blue_Live)

ChelseaFC.com (http://www.chelseafc.com/index.asp)

News on Soccernet (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team?id=363&cc=5901)

TEAMtalk-Chelsea (http://www.teamtalk.com/teamtalk/Team_News/0,1562,14,00.html)

BBC-Chelsea (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/default.stm)

Other Fixtures US TV

Saturday, May 8, 2004

10:00 Everton v Bolton
10:00 Leeds v Charlton FSW 2PM SDD
10:00 Leicester v Portsmouth
10:00 Middlesbrough v Man City
10:00 Southampton v Aston Villa Live PPV
10:00 Tottenham v Blackburn
12:35 Birmingham v Liverpool FSW 4PM SDD

Sunday, May 9, 2004
10:00 Newcastle v Wolverhampton
11:05 Fulham v Arsenal Live PPV

[the101er]

If Chelsea can win these last two games, they will beat Liverpool's record for 2nd place points in the 20 team EPL by 1 point.

More importantly a draw Saturday sees Chelsea clinch 2nd.

More than likely, though, we will be looking at another end of season must win game against Leeds. And even though Leeds are relegated they should still be battling for the points, as higher position at the end of the season means more Lbs.

I don't want to jinx the side by predicting win-draw-or-loss. I'm just going through the scenarios in my head.

[cfc069]

Have you got over Wednesday night yet? I haven't and its now Friday evening I am still down in the dumps. For the merest few moments when we went 2-0 I thought thats it, we have done it..... and then well 'the hand of God' part II and the rest his history as they say.

What I am trying to say is that, the last thing Chelsea need is to play Man U away from home so soon after a disasterous night. If we are still suffering I wonder how the players are feeling, after they are HUMAN as well. I bet there has been 48 hours plus of kissing up, sucking up, telling each one how good they are. It won't matter tomorrow morning what team starts the match, its how well Ranieri and his staff and done motivating these highly paid superstar bracketed HUMAN beings.

A couple of things that might work to our advantage is that Roy Keane is still not fit. Man U are in a terrible run of form, Chelsea won't wanna suffer a third consectutive defeat at OT (Our favourite ground) and the travelling fans will do the team morale a world of good, in fact probably a lot more than they really deserve.

At the moment I can only stand and say that defeat tomorrow won't hardly touch me, but then again, kick a good man whilst he's down, and that we will beat Leeds on the last day. After all they are ****.

Its quite ironic really, the last time that I felt like this was after the 1994 Cup Final against Man U, when they beat us 4-0 and to give you an idea of what that was like, my daughter went and stayed at her nan's that night.

COME ON CHELSEA!!!!! MAKE ME :)

[Clan]

Looks like Hasselbaink won't be playing.
Would be funny if it wasn't so.......oh, ************ it, it is funny...:)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/sporttop/tm_objectid=14217620&method=full&siteid=50143&headline=dressing-room-tantrum-ko-s-sad-hasselbaink-s-chelsea-days-name_page.html

[BridgeMonkee]

Looks like Hasselbaink won't be playing.
Would be funny if it wasn't so.......oh, ************ it, it is funny...:)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/sporttop/tm_objectid=14217620&method=full&siteid=50143&headline=dressing-room-tantrum-ko-s-sad-hasselbaink-s-chelsea-days-name_page.html

Well, I think we are all coming to a very cathartic point as Chelsea fans, there has been so much to take in over the last season and indeed the last few years. Poor old jimmy, we brought him in to score goals and for the first couple of years at the club he did oblige (the last couple of years he’s been off the boil). Imho he has always been a competitor. He’s never won anything. He’s going to probably finish his career having never won anything – unless he joins Seltick of course, two horse race in every way, he has gotta win something there right?

So where do we go from here?
I think we all need a nice long summer holiday.
It’ll be great to see them when they are over and meet with some of you lads on here (that is of course IF you would want to hang out with a drunken lunatic like myself).
This season:
2nd in the league (more than likely)
SF of the CL.
Was it really such a bad season?
If only Duff and Crespo could have stayed fit
IF’s/buts/when’s.
As I say I really think we need an ‘Oliday.
Lets just beat Man U first though eh? :)
Finish Strong!

[Joel Goodson]

What I am trying to say is that, the last thing Chelsea need is to play Man U away from home so soon after a disasterous night. If we are still suffering I wonder how the players are feeling, after they are HUMAN as well. I bet there has been 48 hours plus of kissing up, sucking up, telling each one how good they are. It won't matter tomorrow morning what team starts the match, its how well Ranieri and his staff and done motivating these highly paid superstar bracketed HUMAN beings.

I think plaing Man Ure so soon is perfect to test the squad's mettle. Whover doesn't show up to play finds himself on the transfer list. It sounds harsh, but possible with so many new players probably coming in over the summer. Now the papers are saying that Morinho will be bringing in 2-3 players from Porto in addition to Cech, Robben and possibly Becks, Ronaldo, Samuel and Emerson.

Now is the time to fight for the club and prove that you want to play for Chelsea. Parker and Cole need to play a big role. Any kind of spirit from Makelele would be warranted. I don't care about Gronkjaer because he better be gone.

[BridgeMonkee]

What a sloppy game. Slippery surface but still. We don’t look good. We look shaky and tired. But Man U are looking so much worse. Gronks again. The football Gods must be crazy. Need to tighten up in the second and keep control better. Eidur was beginning to look a little isolated up front. 1-O to the Chelsea, so far so good :)

[BridgeMonkee]

We were awful. They were worse.
We gave ‘em a penalty. We gifted them a goal. We were down to 10 tired looking players.
We still got the point we needed.
We have secured the CL spot :)
Now we can have nice long summer break.

[Dr_Intoxicated]

Well we are 2nd in the leaague, they say no one remembers 2nd but at least we don't have to play a potentially tricky CL qualifier. When I saw the side this morning I did not hold out much hope but we battled, pressed united in the middle of the park and kept posession.

I think we deserved to be ahead at half time and Carlo did very well on the pen. Shame about the slip that cost us the 2 points but that's life.

Van horse head dived to get Huth sent off I don't think he made contact at all. Scoles was a lucky boy he should have been off in the 1st half. When he fouled Lamps the referee was reaching for the card when he realised who it was.

Well all we have to do now is stuff Leeds and wave them goodbye as they get relegated.

[srd....]

i thought the draw was a pretty fair result even though it was a sloppy goal for the equaliser.

still at least second place is secured :)

[cfc069]

Well that certainly took a little bit of the disappointment away from the other night.

2nd place secured, 1st time finishing above Man U in the Premiership and an interesting Claudio Ranieri post match interview. I think this man is staying and he already knows that he is staying.

COME ON CHELSEA!!! :)

[Dr_Intoxicated]

and an interesting Claudio Ranieri post match interview. I think this man is staying and he already knows that he is staying.

COME ON CHELSEA!!! :)

Yes it was, unless he is having fun with the media. I guess all will be clear in the next few weeks.

To back that up reports today say that both Chelsea and Mourino both deny a formal moce.

Did you see the comment before the game that Chelsea had asked about Trezeguet, Juve suggested a swap with Frank and Cheslea told them to pick someone else.

[Clan]

Not at all disappointed by the result - if anything we should have won though.
Shame Cudicini made that gaff - little too common for our keepers this season eh?

I don't think we were all that bad really.
Eidur seems to have developed into a very, very intelligent forward, the ideal partner for a main man.

I didn't agree before about Huth going out on loan for a season to get regular playing time, i do now!

[bigtoga]

A good match by Chelsea and a poor match from United. Hell, if not for Cudicini and Huth, Chelsea should've won. I thought Eidur was pure class today - as he seems to have been the past several matches.

So what was Lampard so pissed off about when Johnson came on?

[BridgeMonkee]

Securing the second spot, means that we can avoid the CL qualifiers which means an extra two weeks break for the players, which is great news especially as this is Euro 2004. Getting the second spot, also confirms what most of us already know, Chelsea are the second best team in the league and Man Utd are not as good as us. We are easily a better team than they are and until they get rid of MAD Sir Red Face, I think that they might continue their slide.

Huth really does need to go out on loan for a season imho – he needs the playing time to get the experience and we need to see week in and week out if he’s a great CD or merely a great big oaf. Which means we shall need two new Centre backs in the closed season in my-ever-so-umble-opinion, if we are already losing Big Des.

When Johnson came on for Melchiot, Lampard was more bemused than pissed I reckon. You lose a defender through a sending off, logic would have dictated a defender on and a striker/midfielder off. Merely bemused with the tinkering. It was more wtf? than anything.

[jjayg]

I'm happy with the result. We got what we needed and that was important.
I was bothered that Ranieri left Huth out there that long. The writing on the wall was there early that he was going to get sent off. I know there weren't a lot of options on the bench but anything has to be better then going down to ten men, which was painfully obviously going to happen.

Anyway, automatic CL bid. A little extra rest at the begining of next season.

[Dr_Intoxicated]

So what was Lampard so pissed off about when Johnson came on?

Yes according to the sky comentary one would have expected Mario to go to CD to repalace Huth with Glen going to RB so Frank was bemused, however Mario came off because he was injured not due to excessive Tinkering.

Johnson has played CD previously in his career so he went to CD with Gerimi playing RB.

Yes I think Huth would really benefit from a year out, he is a great raw tallent that need some polish.

[qazwsx]

I think Geremi should be playing RB more often, after all, he did it for Real Madrid and i remember him scoring there in a Champions League Quarter/Semi final against Panathanaikos a few seasons back.

[goonsquad]

Well done Chelski boys. I must say, I was rooting for you to win against ManUre. Don't you just hate that they equalized though? They always seem to catch a break and score a sloppy ass goal, but no matter. I think that getting that autmatic CL spot was more important this year than ever being that there will be some very big clubs in the qualifying round including Juve and maybe even Real Madrid if their recent form continues, Barca are on their asses! Wouldn't you just love to see El Becko and co. send ManUre out at the first time of asking(that is if he's not playing for you)!