League Cup Final Preview: Spurs v Chelsea
THE LEAGUE CUP
By dixon9
February 23 2008
Tomorrow we meet Spurs in the first final between the two clubs since 1967. For older fans a chance to alleviate 41 years of hurt, for the younger amongst our ranks, a chance to win our 3rd League Cup in 4 seasons and for others it will be a chance to see if Grant can begin to match Mourinho´s performance in his first season. However, most talk is about what team Grant will pick.
Our 1967 FA Cup final against Spurs was known as the 'cockney cup final'. Two of our youth products played against us in legendary goal scorer Jimmy Greaves and cheeky chappie Terry Venables.
Bobby Tambling still bears the scar of that defeat, "It´s a long time to wait for revenge!"
Tomorrow´s game is the first League Cup Final to be played at the new Wembley - Can we make more HISTORY by being the first to win it as we have done by being the first to win the FA Cup there?
We have been plagued with a horrendous run of injuries to key players since the beginning of the season but we now find ourselves in the situation where the options are vast – an embarrassment of riches.
There is no doubt Grant no has some difficult decisions to make:
'This is my job. I need to take these decisions and I will take them. Players are not computers, you need to respect them but in the other end you need to take decisions that are good for the club.
'When you have big players in a team like Chelsea it is always not an easy decision, it was not easy on Tuesday but it was also not a good situation when they were out, it was a worse situation so always there is situations that are not easy. This is my life, I like it, and it will be the same in the next three months.'
There hasn’t been a ''team that got us there'' with only Belletti starting all games, Ben Haim and Sidwell with 3 starts and 2 off the bench, Wright-Phillips with 4 starts, Bridge generally been given a run out in place of Ashley Cole and believe it or not Lampard has started more than Ballack.
Grant has been keeping his cards close to his chest as would be expected anyway but the media and fan speculation alike is whether two of our most important players – part of the spine of the team – will start or be on the bench.
Both Terry and Lampard started for the FA Cup match against Huddersfield with Terry lasting the 90 mins and Lampard being taken off around 65 mins, then the next game saw neither starting with Lampard being brought on for a token 5 mins at the end.
The question is, were both being rested for today’s game during this last match or (and to perhaps mark a new shift in player selection policy) those that aren’t fully 100% for an important game going to have to make way for those that are? ...Or their absences could also just be a case of reserving them for bigger fish to fry for later in the season – after all, we will hopefully have even more important matches to play later this season and we have other members in the squad that need match practice in the meantime.
Re Terry Grant said earlier:
'It's not an easy decision because he is a great captain, even when he is not playing. He is also a great defender but I think the other two did a great job until now.”
“Alex and Carvalho were very good, and before his injury John Terry was excellent. This is a very hard decision.
There is no doubt that a fully fit Terry does offer a bit more than his direct competition in Alex but equally Alex has been in imperious form. I would bet that Terry may not even be on the bench and the media will milk this as negatively as they can.
Lampard does give us a certain edge – especially when it comes to those late runs into the box from midfield, but is he fit enough? I think he may well be on the bench but come on in the 2nd half to offer an extra problem for Spurs when perhaps we most need it.
Shevchenko? What about him you will ask. Well, he was going to play in a reserve game recently but that was postponed so I don’t see how he could be 90-100% fit and would his inclusion on the bench be unfair on Pizarro? A fit Shevchenko though, would provide a dangerous option (if not played deep).
Spurs have normally been a very attack orientated team and the appointment of Ramos will serve to maintain the status quo. Ramos insists on wingers (and I mean “real” wingers) hoping to stretch the opposition as much as possible.
Jenas has been in excellent form, O'Hara likewise, Malbranque needs to get his temper under control but there is no doubting his quality and Lennon can be a real handful when on song.
Defensively, the north London side have been too generous in the past but we should take note that they are looking a lot more solid in that area now that Ramos has got his squad fitter and has had a chance to put his imprint on the squad, helped along with a few decent purchases in the transfer window.
We beat them 2-0 quite recently at the Bridge although they did have some key absences in midfield and in fact this was their last league defeat.
Huddlestone has been switched back into defence from midfield and whilst a bit on the slow side he is very good passer of the ball, however, will Ramos give the nod to King in his place to play alongside Dawson? Or will Woodgate feature? Will Dawson even be fit in time? In goal; Robinson or Cerny?
Spurs do have other injury worries with Gilberto and Prince-Boateng whilst Bale and Ekotto are definitely out. Chimbonda should start however as should new signing Hutton who was ineligible for the UEFA cup game.
Ramos rested King, Jenas, Keane and Malbranque on Thursday against Prague so we can be reasonably sure they will play.
Speaking of rest, let us not forget that whilst we played on Tuesday and Spurs on Thursday, Spurs did have a break last weekend because of FA Cup weekend.
Grant, in his pre-match interview has again trotted out the “I know him personally” re Ramos but I would like the head man of our trio management team stop trying to show us all that he has been in football a long time – we know what his experience is – let the talking be done of the pitch and less of the insecurity before the press. Still, he admits it will be a tough game:
'In my opinion he has been a big success in Tottenham so far, they play good football and it is not easy to play against them. 'I see easy games only in the papers. You saw Tottenham in the last three months - they played excellent. In the semi-final they won 5-1 against Arsenal.
'Every game you have some tactics, you can't play without tactics. It's not like it was when you select the team, the players play and it's an open game, but I think it will be an exciting game. Tottenham like to attack, we like to attack, so I think it will be a quality final.
'I think first the players in England are used to playing every three days, and I saw Tottenham, they didn't play their strongest team and they let players rest, which I understand because they want everybody fit for Sunday.'
So ok, fair enough then, Spurs are better these days and their 5-1 stuffing of the Woolwich at the Lane when Wenger was panicked into throwing his big guns on was impressive BUT whilst recognising that this match against them possibly won’t be as “straight forward” as it has been in recent times, we SHOULD still win this one – the alternative with decades of ribbing thereafter from Spurs fans is just too numbing to contemplate.
I would "just love it!" if we went 4-4-2 with Anelka and Drogba up front and Lampard on in midfield but that is unlikely to happen - Grant is very stubborn (and Ten Cate) with 4-3-3.
Obviously very very difficult to predict the starting line-up but I’d think Grant will go for something like this:
Cech
Belletti Carvalho Alex Bridge
Makelele
Ballack Essien
Wright-Phillips Drogba Anelka
Bench: Lampard to come on around 65mins, J Cole for Wright Phillips, Shevchenko (or Pizarro) to come on for Drogba if he labours, Mikel, Cuducini.
Tottenham (from): Robinson, Cerny, Hutton, Chimbonda, Lee, Gunter, Dawson, King, Woodgate, Rocha, Kaboul, Tainio, O'Hara, Huddlestone, Zokora, Jenas, Malbranque, Lennon, Boateng, Taarabt, Bent, Keane, Berbatov.
Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Belletti, Terry, Alex, Ben-Haim, Carvalho, A Cole, Bridge, Sidwell, Essien, Lampard, Ballack, Malouda, Wright-Phillips, Drogba, Anelka, J Cole, Pizarro, Shevchenko, Kalou, Obi, Makelele.
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Some Stats Purloined from the Official Site:
Chelsea are competing in our ninth cup final in 11 years and third League Cup final in four seasons. Tottenham are appearing in their first final tie in six years.
It is 18 years and 43 games since Tottenham last beat an 11-man Chelsea. It was in February 1990 at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have not lost with Ricardo Carvalho in the side since that November 2006 Tottenham defeat - a total of 58 games.
Chelsea and Spurs have been drawn against each other on three previous occasions in the League Cup with Chelsea winning two and Tottenham one.
Our clubs have met just the once before in a final. Tottenham beat Chelsea 2-1 in the 1967 FA Cup Final at Wembley in front of 100,000 fans.
The teams that day were:
Tottenham: Jennings, Kinnear, Knowles, Mullery, England, Mackay (c), Robertson, Greaves, Gilzean, Venables, Saul. Scorers were Robertson and Saul.
Chelsea: Bonetti, A Harris, McCreadie, Hollins, Hinton, R Harris (c), Cooke, Baldwin, Hateley, Tambling, Boyle. Scorer Tambling.
Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables were Chelsea youth products scoring 163 goals in over 400 games for the Blues between them.
Chelsea's overall record against Tottenham in all competitions is played 135, won 58, drawn 31, lost 46.
Our cup record against Spurs is: played 16, won 7, drawn 4, lost 5.
Most League Cup wins:Liverpool 7, Aston Villa 5, Chelsea 4, Nottingham Forest 4, Leicester 3 and Tottenham 3.
Spurs are appearing in the final for the first time since the League Cup has taken on the guise of the Carling Cup. Last won the competition when it was known as the Worthington Cup in 1999, and losing finalists to Blackburn in 2002.
Tottenham Hotspur have never defeated a full complement of 11 Chelsea players. Their two victories in the long barren spell since February 1990 - in January 2002 and November 2006 - were both achieved against 10 men in blue.
If Chelsea win the League Cup on Sunday, we move into second place on the all-time list of winners of this competition, level with Aston Villa on five.
Spurs will wear all white, and Chelsea all blue.
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
Anelka and Drogba up front together!
Please let this be true!
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
As for today - Chelsea was DISGRACEFUL - Tottenham weren't that much better, but they won so let em have it.
Grant is not the man for the job, despite his record so far.
Crab crab crab, sideways sideways, sideways. FFS lets go forward and kill teams off.
Our next home game is against Olympiakos in ten days time.
We could see an embarrassing attendance figure after today's debacle.
Don't Gamble, Bet Risk Free
Quote:80'sGoona
Ahh, no larger cup for you this year. Lol. u boys crying?
You would have thought a real Gooner would have wanted Spurs to lose! Oh well!
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.