Man Utd 3-1 Chelsea

[steve5221 91]

Cole knew exactly what he was doing

By: Paul Parker

Sir Alex Ferguson had every right to be furious with Ashley Cole's challenge on Javier Hernandez on Sunday. As far as I am concerned the Chelsea left-back knew exactly what he was doing when he steamed into the striker at Old Trafford.

With Chelsea 3-1 down, Cole had given up the ghost. He was thinking 'Hernandez is going to score this' and just went for the man. He should have been sent off, not just given a yellow card. There is no excuse.

I found it incredible that Cole then had the gall to moan about the yellow card. I was astounded. The man was just born to snarl all the time, born to scrunch his face up. He moans about every decision but he should have been dismissed at Old Trafford. As Sir Alex said, dangerous challenges are part of Cole's game because he is indisciplined in everything he does. He can be reckless when things are not going his way; we saw that at Arsenal and we have seen even more evidence of it at Chelsea.

Villas-Boas suggested that the tackle was borne of frustration but he does it all the time so he must spend his life frustrated. There is no excuse for what he did. He jumped at the man - you could tell that much by how high his boot was when he made contact with Chicharito's shin.

There is too much petulance in Cole's game. It was a nasty tackle and initially when I saw the incident in slow motion I had to look away as I thought he had definitely broken Hernandez's leg. Thankfully he didn't, and I just hope it is heavy bruising at the most.

Should it have been a penalty? I think the linesman called it right as the ball just crossed the line before contact was made. Credit to the official, he made the right call, but Phil Dowd's response should have been to send Cole off and I think he may get a slap on the wrist from the Football Association for failing to deal with the incident properly.

Despite the victory, United had their poorest performance of the season so far. To borrow a phrase from Ferguson, they were very careless. They gave the ball away too frequently and I think they missed the presence of young Tom Cleverley in midfield. Despite the extra energy of Darren Fletcher, Cleverley doesn't cede possession - and in his absence Chelsea were able to hit them on the counter-attack, especially in the second half.

Andre Villas-Boas was very bold at half-time as he removed Frank Lampard, brought on Nicolas Anelka and got Juan Mata operating in a more central role. Lampard was a real problem for Chelsea in the first half as he wasn't in the match. He hasn't been at the top of his game for a long time for his club or his country and while it was a big decision for Villas-Boas to take to remove one of Chelsea's modern greats, it certainly benefited the side.

Chelsea looked a far better team when Anelka came on and he quickly set up Fernando Torres for a lovely goal. They had much more energy and were more potent in attack, and they moved the ball quicker, which of course is something that Torres has publicly stated he wants them to do. Prior to Lampard's removal they were too slow in possession.

Torres certainly looked a much better player, his horrendous miss aside, and his goal was a thing of beauty as he lifted the ball over David de Gea. Chelsea must be happy that Torres showed what a good player he can be if he is given the right service and if he plays with the right personnel. I think Torres can only improve now, especially if Villas-Boas is brave with how he evolves his team and gets them playing how he wants. That is not the Jose Mourinho way, but the quick, attractive style that accompanied his four trophy wins at Porto last season.

I think that may well entail dropping Lampard and possibly bringing Mata into the centre of the pitch, as Villas-Boas needs players who can run with the ball at their feet and play a quick passing game. Lampard is not that kind of player. If he doesn't score a goal you don't know he is there, and Chelsea, and Villas-Boas, need more than that if they are to challenge Manchester United.

Lampard has won trophies and scored goals by the bucketload, but he is 33 now and sentiment does not win you trophies. I think Villas-Boas has a very big decision to make when he picks his next team.

The scoreline very much flattered United. Chris Smalling and Nani appeared to be offside for the first two goals and Chelsea created plenty of chances; however, we must remember that had Wayne Rooney not emulated John Terry's Moscow penalty then United could have won by a bigger margin.

Ultimately I think United got through the game and secured the result thanks to the speed with which they have gelled as a team and as a unit this season. Their continuity has been a real asset in the early stages.

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I see a lot of people criticize Paul Parker, but almost all his articles i read are very well thought out.

Of course there is sometimes when he goes one sided towards United as he was a player from United, but overall his analysis are far better then some of the older people in the media!

As i said, i like more and more younger writers, cause they tell you the truth like it's suppose to be told!

Dont forget he also played for Chelsea for a while....

[dodojojo 510]

Anyone agree/disagree with the above??

I think you're pretty much spot on. I'd withhold assessment on Lukaku as he's only 18 and we've seen very little of him at Chelsea. He should go out on loan in January and let's see what happens next season when he's had 5 months of solid football. But I agree, if Lukaku is meant to be the next Drogba as an exact replica, I'm not sure how he fits in AVB's game. If Torres comes good and stays healthy, he should be the primary CF for a good 3 or 4 seasons. Perhaps Lukaku can slowly be groomed as a replacement. After all, he'll only be 22 or 23 when Torres is done.

[Tortilla9 390]

I think most Chelsea supporters have liked Lukaku from the beginning. What's not to like with the man-child? He loves Chelsea and proudly says so. His smile is infectious. You want him to do well. Bottom line he's still 18 years old and time is on his side. Don't let the price tag Chelsea paid for him rush the process if he's not ready yet. I'm sure the minutes yesterday were invaluable to him. A loan wouldn't hurt him, maybe Bolton? maybe Wigan (not sure how he'd fit into their style)?

[lentherussian 86]

i disagree with it if only to say that i dont think united were particulary poor. The game was played at a ridiculous pace for about an hour, Ramires and anderson especially in the middle were just non stop. I think we all get a bit defense minded sometimes and say it could of been 5 all therefore defending was poor. United giving the ball away 2 much? possibly but they were being given no time or space to play for large parts. Resulted to long crossfield passes that did work for them. Shows how much they continuity hepls there game, always seem to know where an outlet is. I thouht in hindsight we shoudl of played luiz and mikel for lampard and bosingwa with ivanovic goin right back. I dont blame avb thouh as i said before the game i felt it came 2 3 weeks to soon for chelsea and avb still doesnt know his best team. Alot of positives thouh, mainly in torres actually causing alot of problems in consecutive games. Everyone will take a different view but thats mine.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

The thing that angers me is that we played so well, we finally found that space for Fernando, Mata and Meireles were superb, and we created enough chances to win the game. If we miss out on the title by one or two points this year though, the mistakes in this are what I'll remember.

I agree there, David. I believe we've played worse at Old Trafford even in the recent past and got better results, but this is the nature of the beast unfortunately.

[Henrique 9,133]

I agree there, David. I believe we've played worse at Old Trafford even in the recent past and got better results, but this is the nature of the beast unfortunately.

I disagree Alex. We are not a solid team. We could easily have won the match, but MU also could easily get a 5 - 1 result or something like that. It looks like Arsenal for me.

The problem for me is this mid with Lampard, Meirelles and Ramires. I hate to say that, but Mikel must play in this kind of match, while Essien is out.

Edited September 19, 2011 by Henrique

[zolayes 14,489]

I think most Chelsea supporters have liked Lukaku from the beginning. What's not to like with the man-child? He loves Chelsea and proudly says so. His smile is infectious. You want him to do well. Bottom line he's still 18 years old and time is on his side. Don't let the price tag Chelsea paid for him rush the process if he's not ready yet. I'm sure the minutes yesterday were invaluable to him. A loan wouldn't hurt him, maybe Bolton? maybe Wigan (not sure how he'd fit into their style)?

I didnt want to see him start...not ready for a game of that level yet. He needs to become familar with our club and the system (s) we play

so a loan wouldnt be advisable yet ,,, perhaps during ACON he will get more playing time and perhaps starts

[SW_Blue 71]

Watching us go 3-0 down at HT in a pub full of daft Maure supporters wasn't a pleasant experience, but our performance in the second half gave me hope. With that scoreline, many teams would have given up but we came out positive, and with a little bit of luck could have had more than one. AVB showed that he can handle the pressure, and has the courage to make amends for his mistakes by bringing Anelka on for Lamps. All in all, this could've gone our way if only they weren't so damn lucky and if we weren't so sloppy at the back.

Of course I totally loved the way Torres played and am certain that with the system AVB is building around him, he will be scoring more often. I also like the fact that this Torres is more keen to set up goals for his mates rather than just go on his own, as he used to at Liverpool. The skill to beat De Gea was awesome, the miss was forgettable but I couldn't care less. As AVB put it, happens to the best.

Aguante Fernando!

[Tommy10 478]

goalkepper: cech

defense: bosingwa - ivanovic - terry - cole

midfield: ramires - lampard (anelka 45min.) - meireles (mikel 78min.)

attack: sturridge (lukaku 67min.) - torres - mata

now we know why sir alex ferguson is the best manager of the world..

but i am not his biggest fan cause he shoot with shoe david beckham in the dressing room!!

fernando torres scored 1 goal and he show some excellent dribblings.. his techniques are perfect..

el nino is back, he just need more luck with the finishing, i trust in fernando torres.. our espana attacker is definetly back!!

[TopDrog 119]

Why does Tommy10 get tonnes of rep for his every post

[zolayes 14,489]

Why does Tommy10 get tonnes of rep for his every post

he has become a cult ...like celery

[Kieran. 6,317]

Why does Tommy10 get tonnes of rep for his every post

His charm. :eyebrows:

[ZanSnake 1,211]

Why does Tommy10 get tonnes of rep for his every post

His short match reports it's the spot between intelluctal and brilliance, with his sense of emotion with every sense, if emotes you to feel more about the performance and the team as a whole. And his philosophical that every one is African is truly amazing! He sees everyone as one, and speaks the truth.

Or, because it's cute?

I have become intoxicated with Tommy's match reports over time, and it is basic instinct to rep him whenever i see it.

[TomCFC 357]

Why does Tommy10 get tonnes of rep for his every post

He's an absolute legend.

[Amblève. 4,995]

We're not lucky at all with refs...

[warnie_666 1,081]

Just saw the MOTD highlights.

Nani WAS Offside. Thats 2 offside goal and a lucky goal. I dont see Red Nose complaining about bad refereeing now. I hope we get the rub of the green at Bridge in Feb. I see Red Nose throw his toys around in the post match interview.

Rooney's miss was shocking that hit the pole. I dont see them media talking about it. But I saw our game and the passing, it was sublime. Torres should have burried it.

[Ray. 217]

A tough match, entertaining from start to finish. Forget Torres's missed sitter, i'm sure many a true legend has been in that position before, move on, I have. Had to laugh at Shrek and missing that penalty, a comic performance from him, i'm sure my granny could have done a better job!

Chant of the match has to be We're Gonna Win the League towards the end of the match, one of the reasons why I became a Chelsea Fan, the sheer support for the team whatever the final result! It's a shame we don't see that level of support more often at other games.

[bluephoenix 1,131]

Why does Tommy10 get tonnes of rep for his every post

and why does that bother u ? :eyebrows:

[manpe 10,861]

Nani WAS Offside

He was but the linesman probably decided not to give it because Nani was running backwards from a fairly even line. Either that or the refs just sucked. Smalling's goal was 100% offside no doubt.

[warnie_666 1,081]

He was but the linesman probably decided not to give it because Nani was running backwards from a fairly even line. Either that or the refs just sucked. Smalling's goal was 100% offside no doubt.

So lets just conclude he sucked.