Ok, so we lost. We were not robbed. Jose made some (forgivable) tactical errors, and we lost to Liverpool. Yes it hurts. No it doesn?t get easier to bear when you?ve got the woodwork seemingly pouring forth untold numbers of ?Die hard? Liverpool fans all falling over themselves to give it big, about them beating us in the Cup. To be honest, if you?d have offered me one narrow cup semi final defeat in return for two resounding victories in Our League, including an extremely satisfying 4-1 hammering at Fortress Anfield, I?d have bitten your bloody arm off. But yet again, a major semi-final, and we are left miserable. Nothing changes. Been there. Done that.
The game was quite good, but summed up Chelsea this season. As against Barca in the Nou Camp, we didn?t turn up, and allowed them to soak us up and as Alan Hansen would say, ?You just can?t do that against a decent side?. Not that I?m comparing Liverpool with Barcelona, but there you go. That?s the only time they will be mentioned in the same sentence for a while. They say luck makes an average side great on their day, and so it proved here. They are a decent side, and we made errors. Starting with no wingers was obviously a ploy to be tactically obtuse, and to surprise The Tubby One with an assault through the middle. This never happened, and some poor finishing from Drogba, an extremely dubious free kick that was hit beautifully, a very, very good strike from a very, very ordinary player, and some Frank-ly poor performances in the middle of the park from our lot meant that we were always on a hiding to nothing.
I am not one for self-deprecating inquests into who played badly etc, and I don?t actually think anyone deserves singling out, although many of our usually dependable players suddenly had problems with ball retention on Saturday, and I?m sure there?s another suitable Alan Hansen quote about giving the ball away too much?
I don?t want to talk about the match any more. I haven?t got the energy, and my head hurts. There?s that very familiar desolate feeling this morning. It feels like nothing has changed, apart from the number of life-long Liverpool fans in our office. My complete, utter, and absolute revulsion for all things Liverpool FC has not changed. We are still Champions, and will be again next weekend all things going well, and that won?t change. Liverpool fans will still represent everything I hate and loathe about the human race, that hasn?t changed either. They are still singing the same songs, and we are still singing the same songs back. They are still taking the Mickey (Mouser) over how we have advertised in the paper for extra tickets in some of our home games this season, and have conveniently forgotten the begging pleas from a well-known rail company, selling tiny fares to Scouseland, extolling the virtues of Liverpool, and what a ?cultural? city it is, in a vain attempt to get people to actually want to go there. That hasn?t changed. They still hate us, because we have humiliated them twice this season in the one trophy they REALLY want. Nothing much has really changed.
I think we need to keep this Cup defeat in perspective. Let them sing and crow. Nothing has really changed at all. They can bang on all they like about how the balance of power has shifted and that they are the new best team etc, and how they have closed the gap, or laughably, as some clueless bint on teletext yesterday put it, ?the domination of Chelsea is at an end?. The fact is, they are Liverpool, and they are still a long way behind us, and this hasnt changed much. We have not played to our potential this season, but I think it?s fair to say that if we had, then the talk of the gap closing would seem a little (more) desperate. We?ve won the league (assuming we do, of course) at a canter, without really breaking sweat, and I think of all the games this season, we?ve played really well, like we can play, in less than five. The truth is we haven?t had to. We strolled it. Our lackadaisical attitude in recent weeks and months has seen the chasing pack close the gap, but let them chase. We are so far ahead it doesn?t matter. We?ve played badly for pretty much a whole season, and won the league because Arsenal have been dire, Man United only learned how to kick a ball in December seemingly, and Newcastle have been Newcastle. If Liverpool are so amazing, how come they are behind us still? How come they are not even second? How come they have Spurs breathing down their polyester-clad necks? As Alan Hansen would say, ?The table never lies?.
?Will they be challenging Chelsea again next season?? is the media line today. They haven?t challenged us this season, so how can they do it again? We are a solid, but very uninspired unit at present, and there needs to be a few changes made. Some players are in the comfort zone, and they got what they deserved against Liverpool. We will be stronger and more determined next season. We will be more hungry, and that?s been lacking this season. Jose has made mistakes and he will learn from them. Liverpool will go strolling into next season, having deafened themselves with songs about how they?ve won the European Cup five times, and blinded themselves with media hyperbole about a one-man team that is better than Chelsea, and has ended Red Rom?s dark dominance. The truth is the same as it?s always been. They are criminally overrated. They are a cup team. They are a one-man team. They are not going to lift the Premiership in May 2007 unless they have actually ?lifted? it.
We are the Chelsea. And we are supreme. We will never be mastered. That hasn?t changed either.
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