Bleacher Report - Articles by Andrew Kearney

Can Club Rivalries Ever Be Truly Set Aside?

Andrew Kearney — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:46:42 -0400

Following England's defeat to the Ukraine, a professed Arsenal fan called in to a radio phone in to give his opinion on the game. Of all the England players on display, the fan in question only picked out two players for criticism, John Terry and Frank Lampard. Significantly, both these men play their club football for Chelsea.

This is not a unique occurrence. Across forums and phone-ins, Manchester United fans have been raging against Glenn Johnson (of Liverpool), Liverpool fans venting out at Rio Ferdinand (of Manchester United), and everyone against Ashley Cole (also of Chelsea).

When questioned on this, said fans will claim their criticism comes from concern for England team, its just coincidence the players reserved for their harshest criticism play for one of their clubs big rivals.

No player is immune to criticism. Wayne Rooney is arguably the finest player England have produced since Paul Gascoigne, but it seems you would be hard pushed to find a Liverpool fan willing to acknowledge he has the basic ability to kick a ball.

Why should this be the case though? Why does it seem impossible for some to put their club rivalries aside to give their full support to the England team?

It wasn't always so strained. Once upon a time it was common for the English fan to support United, Liverpool or Arsenal in Europe as they were the 'English team'. A sickening notion to the newer generation of fan.

Perhaps what has changed in this respect is the influx of foreign players into the English league. It becomes more difficult to justify giving your support to Arsenal as the English side when their team is comprised of players from France, Holland, Russia and Spain.

Jamie Carragher observed in his autobiography that in the 1980's the Liverpool-Everton rivalry had always been quite friendly but in recent years has taken a more spiteful edge to it. So what has changed since that time?

The Premier League for one thing. Clubs were on a more even field in the '80s but since the introduction of the Premier League in 1992 as well as the Champions League, unprecedented amounts of money have flown into English football. Some clubs have benefited during this time while others have been left behind.

It becomes an inevitability that some would look over at their more prosperous neighbours with envying eyes.

Technology has also greatly improved in the last 15 years. Top flight games are now covered from every conceivable angle. Every players nuance seen and (over?) analysed in painstaking detail. Fans are invited to make a moral judgment over a player in a way they hadn't been before.

One fan sees that Steven Gerrard makes what appears to be a dive, the Liverpool fan becomes compelled to defend him creating further division between the fans.

The rise of the Internet could have had an effect on the modern football fans psyche. Before use of the Internet became widespread, an average fans interaction with rival supporters was limited to the game and possibly friends at work.

The Internet has brought us forums to discuss and debate football issues. Now a Tottenham Hotspurs supporter is faced with, more often than not, abusive comments from Arsenal fans on a near daily basis.

Footballers have become over-exposed in recent years. David Beckham has a multitude of endorsements ranging from office stationary to Armani suits. Knowing he played for a rival side, this over-exposure can create a great resentment in a fans mind.

Following the 1994 FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United, a Nike poster was put up along the Fulham Road outside Stamford Bridge with Eric Cantona's image emblazoned across it. It lasted all of three hours before fans had ripped it down.

A combination of these factors makes it difficult for a modern football fan to forget their club loyalties. Though I would not doubt they would love for England to succeed, it seems they are emotionally torn when it comes to rival clubs players. Its almost as though an Arsenal fan feels they have betrayed their club if they cheer a Lampard goal, or a Liverpool fan were to applaud a Ferdinand tackle.

The game has changed greatly, loyalties aren't switched on and off as easily as they once were but to move forward we need to recognise the value and benefits to the team if we get our full support behind them. Scapegoating rival players gets you nowhere.

Didier Drogba: 100 Not Out

Andrew Kearney — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:24:35 -0400

Amidst all the fall out from the Wigan-Chelsea match, it seems to have passed relatively unnoticed that this game saw one Chelsea player reach a personal landmark.

Didier Drogba notched his 100th goal for the club, with a shot that went through Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland's legs. Drogba became only the ninth player in Chelsea's history to reach the 100 goal mark.

Drogba joined Chelsea in July 2004 for a-then record fee of £24million from Olympique Marseilles, where Drogba had been a key part in the French clubs run to the UEFA Cup final the previous season.

Drogba made his Chelsea debut against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in August 2004. Drogba claimed an assist, setting up Eidur Gudjohnsen for the only goal of the game. Drogba's first Chelsea goal came against Crystal Palace in September 2004, heading in a cross from Portuguese winger Tiago.

Drogba scored 16 goals in all competitions in his first season at Chelsea, firing the club towards victory in the Carling Cup (in which he scored in the final against Liverpool), the Premier League title and semi-finals of the Champions League.

The 2005/06 season was to prove a very controversial season for the big Ivorian striker. Drogba scored 16 goals once again, as Chelsea retained the Premier League title but this was not enough to keep Drogba out of the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Drogba suffered a lot of criticism from fans who felt he was prone to going down a bit too easily. This culminated in a game in April 2006 against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge when, despite scoring two goals in the game, Drogba was booed off the pitch by Chelsea fans. Worse was to follow, when in a post-match interview Drogba appeared to admit to handball for one of the goals he scored.

If 2005/06 had been difficult, the 2006/07 season was to prove to be Drogba's best ever in a Chelsea shirt. In total, Drogba amassed 33 goals that season including sublime strikes against Liverpool, Barcelona and Everton.

He scored two goals in the Carling Cup final against Arsenal, won the African Footballer of the Year award and the Premiership Golden Boot. Drogba also made history when he became the first player to score in an FA Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium against Manchester United.

But 2007/08 was to prove a frustrating season for the Ivory Coast captain, blighted by injuries. Drogba scored 15 goals, but was on the losing side in the Carling Cup final (despite scoring in his fourth consecutive final for Chelsea) and was sent off in the Champions League final. It has passed into Chelsea legend that John Terry's penalty miss was the one Drogba would have taken.

Another difficult season was to follow in the 2008/09 campaign. Dogged by injuries, emotions were further tensioned by constant press speculation about the strikers future and a reported falling out with manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Drogba was revitalised in the second half of the season following Scolari's replacement as manager by Guus Hiddink. Drogba finished on 14 goals for the season including the equaliser against Everton in the FA Cup final. This gave Drogba the enviable record of having scored six goals in six cup final appearances for Chelsea.

So far in the current campaign, Drogba has been in sparkling form with six goals in seven games. His goals will be vital if Chelsea are to push for honours this season.

Drogba's time in England thus far has been nothing if not eventful. Though never far from controversy, the Ivorian's talent as a striker is unquestionable. 100 goals in 218 appearances so far, here's hoping for 200.

What Do Chelsea Know About...Manchester City?

Andrew Kearney — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:59:22 -0400

You may not have heard about this, but apparently Manchester City have come into a bit of money recently.

With this newfound fortune, Man City were able to trump Chelsea to the signing of Brazilian superstar Robinho from Real Madrid. This was obviously not the first time Man City and Chelsea had crossed swords, however.

Man City have long lived in the shadow of more glamourous neighbours, Manchester United. They have had their moments of success however, twice league champions, four FA Cups, and the European Cup-Winner's Cup.

They've been graced with some great players down the years as well, such as Colin Bell and Francis Lee. And no Manchester City fan could ever forget the goal scored by Denis Law, playing for City, that secured Manchester United's relegation in 1973.

Chelsea and Man City have locked horns 135 times in total, with Chelsea edging ahead with 57 wins to City's 42. There have been 20 draws.

The first truly significant games between the two however, came in 1971. Manchester City beat then FA Cup holders Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in the third round of the cup.

Two months later, then holders Man City were drawn against Chelsea in the semifinals of the European Cup-Winner's Cup. Chelsea won 2-0 on aggregate, winning each leg by a single goal.

Chelsea and Manchester City have also played each other in a Wembley final. Don't bother searching through the FA or League Cup final records though because you won't find it. The final was in 1986, in the less-than-illustrious Full Members Cup.

The Full Members Cup was the brainchild of then Chelsea chairman Ken Bates in 1985.

The idea was to create a new competition to make up for the lack of European football (England had just begun its five-year ban from European football following the Heysel Stadium disaster).

The top six teams would play in the Football League Super Cup (which lasted just one season, being won, predictably, by Liverpool); all the teams below and from the second division played out the Full Members Cup.

The competition was eventually scrapped in 1992.

To say the competition is not missed is an understatement but ironically, the first final between Chelsea and Manchester City was arguably one of the most exciting games to be played at the old Wembley stadium.

In front of a crowd of 68,000 people (but probably not too many at home), Chelsea emerged as 5-4 winners after extra time to win the inaugural Full Members Cup (Chelsea also claimed the dubious honour of being the only club to have won the competition twice, when they won it four years later against Middlesbrough in 1990).

The '80s were less-than-glamourous times for both Chelsea and Manchester City, as they both yo-yo'd between the First and Second division.

Chelsea and Man City were both promoted to division one in 1989, Chelsea as runaway champions amassing 99 points. Their fortunes have differed significantly since then.

Wheras Chelsea have gone on to far better things, for City, it's been far more laborious.

In 1998, Man City were relegated to the third tier of English football, causing their rival United fans to jokingly refer to City standing for Conference In Two Years.

But City have fought back, getting back in the Premier League in 2002 and, though hardly setting the Premier League alight, have cemented their status in the top tier. And Manchester City were the only team to beat Chelsea in the league in the 2004/'05 season.

With City's recent influx of cash, the future suddenly looks bright on Moss Side. For the first time in decades, Manchester City are in a position where they will be able to compete on an equal footing with neighbours United.

When any club comes into a lot of money, however, one of the criticisms that will be leveled at them is failure to produce youth players. Manchester City though, are the current FA Youth Cup holders. Their opponents in the final? Chelsea.

Chelsea and Manchester City: Come On, Let's Be Friends

Andrew Kearney — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:04:19 -0400

September 1st 2008, the Abu Dhabi United Group complete their take over of Manchester City and make an immediate impact with a £30million bid for Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov, a long term target of city rivals Manchester United.

That wasn't to be, but Man City weren't done yet.

At approximately 11pm it was announced Man City had completed the signing of Robinho from Real Madrid for approximately £32.5million. Robinho had been taken from right under Chelsea's noses.

Now is the time to forgive and forget however. If you were to read any internet forum today, it would be littered with articles and comments on how Man City's newly acquired wealth will bring about the destruction of the game; how Man City are creating an uneven playing field by throwing around ridiculous amounts of money (at least give them a chance to spend that money first though, eh?).

Its something all Chelsea fans can relate to; we've been putting up with it since 2003.

This is where Chelsea and Man City can help each other out. At Chelsea we've been through it all before, we know what City have got to come. We are both the common enemy now. We're both "new money", and the established aristocracy don't like us breaking up their order.

And neither of us like United, so we've got something else in common.

With that in mind, here's a quick survival guide, to help Man City fans get through this period:

- History. You no longer have any. Its usually Liverpool and United fans who like to throw this one around. Its what they imagine to be a sophisticated way of saying "we've won more trophies than you", but fools absolutely no one.

- Class. You'll find football fans have a very skewed idea what constitutes a "classy" football club. If one of your players steps even slightly out of line they'll use it as an example of the club's lack of class, but they don't seem to like it if you point out instances of their players being less than professional.

- Trophies. Any trophies you win are "bought", but any you fail to win are "proof" money can't buy success.

- Transfers. If United or Liverpool spend large amounts on players that's fair enough, but if you do it, its because you're evil.

Most importantly though, take it all as a compliment. That all these big clubs are talking about Manchester City now means that they are worried about you.

So, what do you say—friends?

Chelsea All-Time Most Underrated XI

Andrew Kearney — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:32:01 -0400

Bonnetti, Harris, Dixon, Zola. Legends. This isn't about them.

This is about those forgotten men who kept the club ticking but are consistently overlooked when it comes to choosing All-Time Greatest XI's.

So without ado, lets begin:

Goalkeeper, Petar Borota (1979-82). A johnny foreigner plying his trade in England, at a time when overseas exports could still be counted on a single hand. Serbian goalkeeper Borota was first and foremost an entertainer, delighting both home and away fans with his tricks and flamboyant attitude. But he was talented too, and was voted Chelsea Player of the Year in 1981.

Right-Back, Gary Locke (1972-83). Its strange that a player who made over 300 appearances for Chelsea is so consistently overlooked when it comes to choosing a best XI. Perhaps he is just unfortunate because the defence he played in was so poor. His efforts didn't go unnoticed by the Chelsea faithful however and he received the Player of the Year award in 1975.

Centre-Back, David Lee (1990-98). David Lee was a prototype Michael Essien, willing to play in any position required of him. A tall, imposing figure that belied his talent and great skill with the ball. Unfortunately, his career was plagued with injuries and he was unable to cement a regular place in the starting XI. He eventually left Chelsea for Bristol Rovers in 1998.

Centre-Back, Frank Sinclair (1990-98). Sadly for Frank, he will go down in history as the king of the own goal. Which is a shame for a player who never gave less than 100% for the team. Frank was named Chelsea Player of the Year in 1994 and scored the winning goal in the 1998 League Cup final against Middlesbrough.

Left-Back, Tony Dorigo (1987-1991). For much of the 80's, defensively Chelsea were a shambles. The signing of Dorigo more than helped steady the boat. Dorigo had a great drive to get forward and scored a remarkable goal against Man City when he ran the length of the pitch before going round the goalkeeper to score. He also scored the winning goal in the not-particularly-prestigious Zenith Data Systems Cup final in 1990 against Middlesbrough.

Right-Midfield, Paul Canoville (1981-86). Paul Canoville will hold a place in Chelsea history as the first black player to represent the club. But he was more than that. Canoville was quick, could take players on, a good crosser and chipped in his own fair share of goals too. And to do this against a backdrop when your clubs own supporters are racially abusing you is highly commendable.

Centre-Midfield, Craig Burley (1989-97). After a slow start to his Chelsea career, Burley became a key figure in the Chelsea midfield of the mid 90's. Burley was particularly influential in getting Chelsea to the FA Cup finals in 1994 and '97. It was to the shock of every man and his dog Spot that he was left out of the Cup final squad in 1997 in favour of the ineffectual Andy Myers. He left for Celtic soon after.

Centre-Midfield, Nigel Spackman (1983-87 & 1992-96). Today we think of Claude Makalele as being the great innovator of the holding midfield role but Spackman had been doing it for Chelsea at least 20 years earlier. Solid, if unspectacular, Nigel Spackman was a highly dependable performer who rarely put a foot wrong.

Left-Midfield, Clive Walker (1976-84). Clive Walker scored what is in all probability the most important goal in Chelsea history, when in 1983 he scored in the last minute against Bolton Wanderers to save Chelsea from relegation to the old third division and possible bankruptcy. Other highlights included his stunning goal against Liverpool in a 4-2 FA Cup victory in 1978. Walker carried on his giant-killing ways until late in his career when he was playing for non-league Woking and scored the winning goal against Millwall to knock them out of the FA Cup.

Striker, Mark Stein (1993-96). Mark Stein was an integral part of helping Chelsea beat the drop in 1994, due in no small part to his run of scoring in nine consecutive Premier League matches. This record stood until 2001, when it was eventually eclipsed by Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Stein suffered a horrific injury in 1994 and was never quite the same player on his return but still provided some great memories such as his goal against FC Bruges in the Cup Winners Cup.

Striker, George Hilsdon (1906-12). OK, its no surprise that Hilsden is overlooked given he played for Chelsea nearly a 100 years ago but he is a key figure in Chelsea's history and deserves to be remembered more. Most people know about the Blue Boy weather vane that adorns the West Stand at Stamford Bridge (superstitious supporters believe it was a key factor in winning promotion in 1984) but not many people know that the weather vane is modelled on George "Gatling Gun" Hilsden (he acquired his nickname from his rat-a-tat-tat shooting style).

Hilsden was Chelsea's first star player and in his six years at the club scored over 100 goals. From there his story is more tragic. He received a lung full of gas during the Great War and eventually died in 1941, buried in a paupers grave. Just four people attended his funeral.

So there's my most overlooked team. You may agree or disagree with my choices but given that Chelsea are often accused of having "no history" than it makes sense that what history Chelsea do have is preserved and that includes its players.

The irony of this though, is that in producing this team of overlooked players, there are hundreds of players I have equally overlooked...

Frank Lampard Kills the Buzz

Andrew Kearney — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:32:01 -0400

At approximately 12pm today, Chelsea Football Club revealed they were going to hold a press conference at 5pm—and would have a "major announcement" to make.

Within minutes, the internet was abuzz. Rumours were flying about all over the place across sites and forums—perhaps Chelsea were going to finally reveal the new signing of Robinho? Or possibly even Kaka?

Maybe there was even a third player Chelsea might have been coveting but had (somehow) managed to keep a big secret?

Anticipation and speculation were at dangerously high levels.

Unfortunately for this writer, real life got in the way. My mind however, was constantly ablaze, wondering what this "major announcement" was going to be.

At the earliest opportunity, I logged on to the Sky Sports website and there I saw it: "Lampard Signs New Five Year Deal."

"Oh." I thought.

This was good news for Chelsea obviously, and it was big news for football—but boy, was it an anti-climax.

Luiz Felipe Scolari Must Decide What to Do with Five Great Central Midfielders

Andrew Kearney — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:05:12 -0400

What will perhaps be the most interesting thing to see Chelsea do this season is make decisions about how they are going to line up in their midfield.

With five of the best central midfielders in the world (John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, and Deco) battling it out, competition is likely to be fierce. But how many spots they are fighting for remains to be seen.

When Deco was signed in the summer many criticised the move, as Chelsea already had an abundance of central midfielders. However, this ignored the options that Deco gives to Scolari.

If he so wishes, Scolari can play them as a three (as we have become accustomed to over the years), a four in a diamond shape (though this may provide trouble with width), or even as a five, with two holding players and three attacking midfielders supporting a lone striker (a tactic he often utilised in his time as Portugal boss).

Of the five, Mikel and Essien seem the most certain starters. Mikel came in and played the "Makalele role" for much of last season and really excelled in the task.

When you consider Sir Alex Ferguson once named Makalele as the one player he most wished he could have for his team, you realise what a big mantle Mikel is taking on. To have done as well as he has is truly exceptional.

"Mr. Versatility" himself, Michael Essien is another player who has shown he is too good to be left out. Barring disaster, Essien shouldn't be needed to run defensive duties this season and will be allowed to play in his favoured midfield role.

Not as attacking as Lampard, nor as defensive as Mikel, he will add the balance to the midfield, linking the play and offering a considerable threat of his own.

For Lampard, Deco, and Ballack however it doesn't seem so straightforward. All are now over 30 and have suffered from injuries over the last couple of seasons. Perhaps Scolari will use them more rotationally, according to which formation he chooses to deploy.

This is not to imply, however, that any of them have lost their quality. Ballack was a revelation in the second half of last season, after missing the best part of a year out with injury.

Lampard had another 20-goal season in what was the most injury ravaged season of his career. Deco fought valiantly to hold together a Barcelona team that had been threatening implosion for nearly two years.

These are players that still have plenty left to give and their experience will prove invaluable to the squad.

How to line them all up is the big conundrum Scolari has to face. Even if he finds a solution, he then has to think how he can fit them in with Joe Cole, Malouda, Kalou—or even Robinho.

Scolari is going to have a lot of headaches over this puzzle, but it is a headache many managers would love to have.