Pressure increases on Rafa as West Ham brush Chelsea aside
Chelsea’s season hit a new low today as they slipped
to a damaging 3-1 defeat against a spirited West Ham side in the early London
derby at Upton Park.
The Hammers fully deserved their victory against the
struggling blues, with second half goals from Carlton Cole, Mohamed Diame and Maiga
consigning Rafa Benitez to his first defeat as interim boss, and leaving
Chelsea without a win in seven Premier League games.
It was Chelsea who started the game brighter,
zipping the ball round with growing confidence in the first half. Benitez had
spoken of the need to quicken the attacking tempo, and it was evident that his
words were having an effect. Juan Mata ran the first half with his guile and
intelligent passing, and capped it off with a fine finish from Torres’ cutback.
Changes were needed by Sam Alladyce at half time, with
West Ham in dire need of more drive in the midfield. Sending on Matty Taylor
and Mohamed Diame, West Ham came out fighting; battling harder for every ball,
and showing much more adventure in the final third.
They fully deserved an equaliser, and it duly
arrived courtesy of Carlton Cole, who rose higher than Ivanovic to knock the
ball past a static Peter Cech following a Jarvis cross.
The Hammers went from strength to strength, consistently
putting the beleaguered Blues to sword. It was no real surprise then when Man-of-the-match
Diame fired in West Ham’s second from the edge of the box, leaving Chelsea with
a mountain to climb with just ten minutes to go.
The fight-back never materialised, and with Blues
fans starting up their ‘Rafa out’ chants, West Ham put the game to bed with
Maiga slotting in a rebound after Taylor had his initial effort palmed away by
Cech.
With two draws and a loss today, Benitez’s position
as a figure of hate for Chelsea fans has only been further consolidated. He
said that he would win over the fans by winning games and trophies, but with
every passing game, his job of changing fans opinions over his acrimonious
appointment becomes seemingly more and more hopeless.
As a devout football fan, it is always a sad day
when my heroes retire from the game. They seem to be indestructible, but we all
know in the back of our minds that the day will come for even the most ageless
of idols to hang up their boots. Similarly, loyalty and decade long consistency
must eventually come to an end, and club legends gracefully, or even abruptly,
pass into club folklore, moving to obscure new horizons for one last blaze of
glory. It hurts when reality kicks in, and one realises that football is
finite.
Nike: The Mission - the best football advert? Check out Batistuta's below!
It is just this reality check that makes it all the
more sweet when the unthinkable occurs, and players triumphantly return to the
limelight, and perform, for however briefly, once more for an adoring crowd. We
have seen players come out of retirement to help their ailing club; players,
who have such a love of the game, continue plying their trade in far off
leagues, or even divisions far below the prying eyes of Sky Sports cameras; we
have even seen legends take up new sports, and succeed even further. It warms the cockles of my heart to such an
extent, that I feel it necessary to chronicle their exploits as and when they
happen – when the Footballing Gods redeliver such opulent figures of our
childhood.
1.Edgar Davids
The bespeckled Dutch terrier has jumped into the
papers recently, as he geared up for another bash at lower league English
football, this time with League 2 side, Barnet. After coming out of retirement
in 2010 to briefly turn out for Crystal Palace, we can now see him, at the age
of 39, haring around the Underhill Stadium in North London, ensuring that the ‘Pitbull’s’
legacy continues in the form of bumps and bruises to bewildered Football League
players.
Most recently, Davids inspired his new side to a resounding 4-0 win over Northampton. He played the 90 minutes, and even made
himself captain for the game. Davids was named man-of-the-match.
Speaking after the game,
he said, “I feel the man-of-the-match belongs to the whole group because it was a
team effort.
'We saw that they really had a lot of energy and I’m proud of them
because the tactical things we worked on all week they executed them."
Did you know: Edgar Davids wears his trademark protective glasses on the
pitch, as he suffers from glaucoma.
Juventus through and through, the Italian maestro
brought his 19-year association with the ‘Old Lady’ to an end this year, when
he joined Australian A-League outfit, Sydney Fc. The 37-year-old signed a two
year deal with the club, making him the highest paid player in the league.
Speaking about his last game and leaving his beloved Juventus, Del Piero
said, "The fans went above and
beyond that day, no one had actually told me that I would never play for Juve
again, but I knew that was the case. I saw the board go up with my number on it
and asked myself: 'Do I really have to say goodbye? Do I have to leave the
stadium for the last time?'
"I bowed to all four stands
and waved to my family. I wanted to take it all in but I remembered where I was
and told myself: 'Ale, get off, it's over'. But the fans made me come back out
on to the pitch. I did two laps of honour and they threw hundreds of scarves at
me. I saw people crying. I suppose it went well, but goodbyes always leave a
bitter taste in the mouth."
A true genius of the game, Del
Piero has continued to delight, scoring twice in his first three games – with
one a wonderful free kick.
Did you know: When Juventus were
relegated to Serie B in the Italian match fixing scandal in 2006, Del Piero was
one of their high-profile players that stayed with the ‘Old Lady’ to help win
immediate promotion. On his decision to stay, he said, “A true gentleman never leaves his Lady” And...even though I cant speak Italian, these advert outtakes with Totti are brilliant.
3. Gabriel Batistuta
‘Batigol’ was one of those players with a shot like
a bolt of lightning. Goalkeepers risked losing an arm if they attempted to get
near one of Batistuta’s pile-drivers! Retiring in 2005 after breaking the
record for most goals scored in a season in the Qatar league (he ended his time
there with 25 goals in 21 games, aged 36), Fiorentina legend Batistuta was last
seen on the sporting scene in 2009, trying his hand at polo! Procuring his own
polo club, it seemed as if his insatiable hunger for success would never leave.
It was short lived
however, realising that his great talent lay with the football. "I was
awful!” he said after his first polo match,“The important thing is I'm learning and I'm having fun, but you cannot
change who you are, and I want to do things well even if I'm not a
professional."
Did you know:
Batistuta currently runs his own construction company in Argentina and works as
technical secretary to Argentine club, Colon.
It's looking more and more like either
Germany or Spain will emerge triumphant in Euro 2012, bar some serious upsets.
The Germans continue to march imperiously on and through every obstacle thrown
against them; and the Spanish intricately pick their way to victory. So, can the
great German tank roll over the subtle Spanish bacterium when/if they meet in
the Olympic stadium in Kiev?
Personally, I'm hoping for a German victory. Many
are saying that their football is hard and basic, much like taking a
sledgehammer to a door, rather than using the handle; but even more are saying
that the Spanish are starting to irritate. Their no striker ploy is pretentious
at the least. What Vicente Del Bosque is thinking when he brings on the like of
Jesus Navas and Cesc Fabregas, when the lethal Fernando Llorente is sat sitting,
warming his heels, I don’t know. The stats speak for themselves; Spain have only
scored more than one goal in a match when playing with a striker. They drew one a piece with Italy, and beat the Croats with the same one
goal. Torres isn’t really
helping my argument, what with being as profligate as a dead chicken and all,
but the little, ‘tika-taka’ Velcro gnomes have made chance after chance for him,
and a striker on form would have buried a dozen. Even he's scored
twice!
Spain, and indeed Spanish players, have been
revered in the last 5 years, and are seen as the pinnacle of the beautiful game.
But from where I’m standing, I only see real penetration from Spain in only
about 20 minutes of the 90. They don’t really make for an entertaining watch,
and are perfectly happy making pretty patterns with the ball for most of the
match, pausing momentarily to score, as if it were an annoying by-product of
their art.
The Germans on the other hand, are efficient,
industrious, and clinical. I disagree with the idea that they’re dull. How can a
team containing the likes of Ozil, Gomez, Muller, and Schweinsteiger be dull?!
Not only do they have a brilliant first eleven, with no conceivable weakness,
they also have real explosive talent pushing through from the bench. Marco Reus,
Andre Schurrle, Mario Gotze and Toni Kroos are all exceptional attacking
talents, and will undoubtedly become greats of the future game.
