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Tony Cascarino: Chelsea Should Have Made Numerical Advantage Count
As a pundit for the New Football Pools, Tony Cascarino gives Goal.com readers his views on the high drama that unfolded at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
May 9, 2009 3:01:59 AM
Former Chelsea and Republic of Ireland striker Tony Cascarino - now a New Football Pools pundit - tells Goal.com that Chelsea may have been unlucky against Barcelona, but they also wasted the opportunity to put pressure on the Catalans...
The Blues Were Unlucky, But...
"What a night of incident at Stamford Bridge, a red card, four penalty shouts and a heartbreaking injury time goal for Barcelona. I thought Chelsea played the way they had to against Barca, they had to be hard to play and couldn’t get too involved in a ‘football’ match with the visitors.
"Chelsea were extremely unlucky on the night as for 180 minutes of football over both legs they have kept a clean-sheet against arguably the best attacking side in world football. Samuel Eto’o was a non-event and Lionel Messi was well marshaled by the Chelsea backline. In the first leg, Thierry Henry did well in the first half but went missing in the second so to stop those three, who have scored 100 odd goals between them this season, is fantastic. The team was brilliantly organized especially in the job they did over at the Camp Nou.
...There Was No Conspiracy
"All this talk about conspiracy theories regarding UEFA not wanting two English teams in the final doesn’t really wash with me. OK, Chelsea had four penalty shouts with two definite in my opinion but they still could have reached the final if Didier Drogba had taken his two glorious chances over the two legs. His behavior at the end of the game was laughable really. However, I felt the Gerard Pique handball and Dani Alves tussle with Florent Malouda should have led to Chelsea penalties on the night.
"The Norwegian referee was poor to say the least but to say he was crooked or bent is plain nonsense. If that was the case then why did he send off Barcelona’s Eric Abidal? If there was a conspiracy against Chelsea then Drogba must have been in on it because if he’d scored then the tie would have been over. It all sounds a bit like sour grapes really, although there’s no mistaking that the referee had a poor game.
And Hiddink Made A Tactical Error
"Personally I felt Guus Hiddink made a mistake in not pushing on another forward when Barcelona went down to ten men after 66 minutes. The trouble with playing a team like Barca is that they are always capable of a piece of magic. Therefore by Chelsea sticking everyone behind the ball and conceding ground and possession to the Spaniards, it led to more pressure on the home team than was needed.
"Chelsea couldn’t clear their lines as there was nothing to occupy the Barca defense so the ball kept coming back at them. You had a center-half in Gerard Pique playing like a midfielder when two up top would have kept him rooted to the back and more chance of keeping possession high up the pitch. It reminded me of England’s World Cup match with Brazil back in 2002 when Ronaldinho was sent-off. Rather than push them back, England sat off them and allowed the two Brazilian full-backs to bomb forward at will. Therefore, they got no advantage from having a man extra. Unfortunately Chelsea made no use of their numerical advantage either.
The Final Should Be A Game To Savor
"Despite the controversy the better team over the two legs definitely went through in terms of football and possession although it was a heartbreaking way to go out for Chelsea. As a former Chelsea player, I was hoping they would reach the final but you can’t help but look forward to a Manchester United v Barcelona clash.
"The final will be far more open than the Chelsea games with Barca so it should be a great spectacle for the fans. These are two of the best attacking sides in the world and in a one-off cup game anything can happen. The Stadio Olimpico has a big pitch so that will suit the Spaniards. OK, they will be without their two full-backs for the final but I must say I fancy Barcelona to emerge victorious.
"There will be exciting clashes all over the pitch but I expect Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi to give United more problems than they gave Chelsea as they will be awarded more space. You have to double up on Messi as he definitely has the talent to hurt you but on the other side of the coin, Barca won’t relish facing Cristiano Ronaldo.
"It really promises to be a very exciting final and at least Michel Platini can now sleep happier in the knowledge there won’t be another all-English final."
Tony Cascarino for Goal.com
Tony Cascarino is a Pundit for the New Football Pools. To challenge Tony's prediction prowess or hear his weekly football podcast, visit www.footballpools.com. With the Premier League title race still up for grabs, a record number of football fans cashed in on the excitement by celebrating a win on The New Football Pools’ Premier 10 game over the bank holiday weekend, when over 5,000 players won cash prizes after correctly predicting the outcome of 9 or 10 of the Premier League fixtures. Premier 10 is a game in which users predict whether a select list of 10 games from the Premier League will end in a Home Win, Draw or Away Win. To play Premier 10 visit www.footballpools.com.
The Blues Were Unlucky, But...
"What a night of incident at Stamford Bridge, a red card, four penalty shouts and a heartbreaking injury time goal for Barcelona. I thought Chelsea played the way they had to against Barca, they had to be hard to play and couldn’t get too involved in a ‘football’ match with the visitors.
"Chelsea were extremely unlucky on the night as for 180 minutes of football over both legs they have kept a clean-sheet against arguably the best attacking side in world football. Samuel Eto’o was a non-event and Lionel Messi was well marshaled by the Chelsea backline. In the first leg, Thierry Henry did well in the first half but went missing in the second so to stop those three, who have scored 100 odd goals between them this season, is fantastic. The team was brilliantly organized especially in the job they did over at the Camp Nou.
...There Was No Conspiracy
"All this talk about conspiracy theories regarding UEFA not wanting two English teams in the final doesn’t really wash with me. OK, Chelsea had four penalty shouts with two definite in my opinion but they still could have reached the final if Didier Drogba had taken his two glorious chances over the two legs. His behavior at the end of the game was laughable really. However, I felt the Gerard Pique handball and Dani Alves tussle with Florent Malouda should have led to Chelsea penalties on the night.
"The Norwegian referee was poor to say the least but to say he was crooked or bent is plain nonsense. If that was the case then why did he send off Barcelona’s Eric Abidal? If there was a conspiracy against Chelsea then Drogba must have been in on it because if he’d scored then the tie would have been over. It all sounds a bit like sour grapes really, although there’s no mistaking that the referee had a poor game.
And Hiddink Made A Tactical Error
"Personally I felt Guus Hiddink made a mistake in not pushing on another forward when Barcelona went down to ten men after 66 minutes. The trouble with playing a team like Barca is that they are always capable of a piece of magic. Therefore by Chelsea sticking everyone behind the ball and conceding ground and possession to the Spaniards, it led to more pressure on the home team than was needed.
"Chelsea couldn’t clear their lines as there was nothing to occupy the Barca defense so the ball kept coming back at them. You had a center-half in Gerard Pique playing like a midfielder when two up top would have kept him rooted to the back and more chance of keeping possession high up the pitch. It reminded me of England’s World Cup match with Brazil back in 2002 when Ronaldinho was sent-off. Rather than push them back, England sat off them and allowed the two Brazilian full-backs to bomb forward at will. Therefore, they got no advantage from having a man extra. Unfortunately Chelsea made no use of their numerical advantage either.
The Final Should Be A Game To Savor
"Despite the controversy the better team over the two legs definitely went through in terms of football and possession although it was a heartbreaking way to go out for Chelsea. As a former Chelsea player, I was hoping they would reach the final but you can’t help but look forward to a Manchester United v Barcelona clash.
"The final will be far more open than the Chelsea games with Barca so it should be a great spectacle for the fans. These are two of the best attacking sides in the world and in a one-off cup game anything can happen. The Stadio Olimpico has a big pitch so that will suit the Spaniards. OK, they will be without their two full-backs for the final but I must say I fancy Barcelona to emerge victorious.
"There will be exciting clashes all over the pitch but I expect Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi to give United more problems than they gave Chelsea as they will be awarded more space. You have to double up on Messi as he definitely has the talent to hurt you but on the other side of the coin, Barca won’t relish facing Cristiano Ronaldo.
"It really promises to be a very exciting final and at least Michel Platini can now sleep happier in the knowledge there won’t be another all-English final."
Tony Cascarino for Goal.com
Tony Cascarino is a Pundit for the New Football Pools. To challenge Tony's prediction prowess or hear his weekly football podcast, visit www.footballpools.com. With the Premier League title race still up for grabs, a record number of football fans cashed in on the excitement by celebrating a win on The New Football Pools’ Premier 10 game over the bank holiday weekend, when over 5,000 players won cash prizes after correctly predicting the outcome of 9 or 10 of the Premier League fixtures. Premier 10 is a game in which users predict whether a select list of 10 games from the Premier League will end in a Home Win, Draw or Away Win. To play Premier 10 visit www.footballpools.com.
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