Uncovering the Web of Corruption in the Premier League

It was once said by Freud there is no such thing as coincidence and almost on a weekly or monthly basis football fans are left scratching their heads at the levels of inconsistency when it comes to Manchester United and the rest of the league. I could sit here all day and list examples but I'll start off with a few.

1) Blackpool and Wolves fined for fielding "weakened squads"

Blackpool (2011) and Wolves (2010) were each fined £25,000 for fielding what the FA deemed as a "weakened squad". Man Utd had previously fielded what was virtually a reserve team against West Ham ahead of an FA Cup final with Chelsea, this had direct permutations for the rest of the league. Sheffield United were relegated and West Ham survived. Wolves would most likely have lost at Old Trafford anyway even with their "full strength" side, Blackpool lost narrowly to Villa due to an injury time winner. What we can say for sure is that Man Utd with a full strength side, would most likely have won and therefore left West Ham relegated and Sheffield United in the Premier League. Had West Ham got relegated that season they'd have slid into the financial abyss, now they are mid-table in the Premier League beating the likes of Chelsea whilst the highlight of Sheffield United's season is beating the likes of Scunthorpe in League One. The direct implications that Man Utd had on the fortunes of both clubs is beyond fathomable. They were at home and therefore expected to win, instead who do the Man Utd biased media focus on? Rafa Benitez and Liverpool. Whilst it could be argued Liverpool did no differently to what United did they were away from home, Fulham had also beaten them the previous season at Craven Cottage and Liverpool had not performed in the league all season, in contrast to United who were league winners. Ask yourself if the FA would have dared to undermine Alex Ferguson's team selection as they did with Ian Holloway and Mick McCarthy? I think we all know the answer to that.

2) David Gill sitting on the board of the FA and the media cover up

I have little or no time for Rafael Benitez but he was spot on when challenging Ferguson/Man Utd's relationship with the FA hierachy. Biased means to be "one sided" or have one particular point of view. This very article itself is biased. David Gill sitting on the board of the FA means he cannot be impartial. The FA now are doing everything in their power to push for Gill to be elected to the UEFA board. My bet is that Ferguson's retirement is imminent and they want Gill in the most powerful position possible both at the FA and UEFA. There has been little or no mention of the press, I can't imagine a situation whereby a Chelsea affiliate could do any of the aforementioned without eyebrows raised. Remember the anti-Russian agenda in our press still exists today and is evident in the media scrutinisation and character assassination of Roman Abramovich. This is not just something common with United, at the time I echoed the sentiments of Jose Mourinho who claimed David Dein had to step down. Similarly with Gill, I thought Dein's relationship with the FA couldn't possibly make him impartial. Even I had sympathy for Spurs when on the last day with 10 senior players suffering from food poisoning, they were told they had to play, in not just any game but a London derby. When that decision was made can anybody honestly picture Dein saying or even thinking "Yes, we should postpone the game to give Tottenham a fair chance, it may harm Arsenal's chances of finishing 4th and there will be huge financial ramifications but so be it."? Of course not. I also felt at the time the punishment we had for "tapping up" Ashley Cole was too extreme. A suspended 3 point deduction was harsh and way over the top but fed off the media frenzy and jealousy surrounding our change in fortunes. My point is that there is no way an Arsenal employee could act impartially involving anyone but least all of Tottenham and Chelsea.

3) Conduct of Man Utd players and the cover ups

Wayne Rooney elbows James McCarthy? No ban, little media acknowledgement of the incident. Yet Sky almost single handedly launch a campaign to get Ivanovic banned for an incident that few acknowledged during time of play. The same has happened with Van Persie and there are numerous incidents involving Man Utd players but none bar Gary Neville have faced any retrospective action. Jonny Evans karate kicks Didier Drogba in what was one of the most disgusting acts I have ever witnessed in my time going football and what are Sky talking about? A 50/50 decision that went our way. Not even a mention of Evans. 

That very same season in the reverse fixture a Man Utd player blatantly cheats to punch the ball in the net in Maradona-esque style and the next day Sky focus on an offside goal claiming it has "won" Chelsea the title. Had Drogba cheated to score and United scored an offside goal we all know the press would be focusing on Drogba's goal claiming he is a cheat and the anti-Drogba stuff they've come out with since he joined the club. Sky in particular are clever with their cover ups, as they are Man Utd's biggest cheerleaders, we witnessed the most farcical officiating of any game in Premier League history at Stamford Bridge on the 28th October and there wasn't any acknowledgement, instead we heard all about how Torres should have been sent off anyway, the same people that villified referee Anthony Taylor for sending off Carlton Cole and Darron Gibson in Everton's 2-1 win over West Ham. There really is no end people won't go to in order to defend Man Utd. It has got to the stage where people will go beyond logic, rationale and their own principles to defend them. The FA appealing to UEFA to reduce Rooney's ban after violent conduct towards a Macedonian player is a perfect illustration of their hypocrisy.

4) Preferential treatment of Sir Alex Ferguson over other managers

Labour and the BBC in particular were his biggest campaigners for knighthood, so it's not just synonymous with football but also politics. You would think Bob Paisley or Brian Clough would have been afforded similar accolades for their services to football but I guess not. Anyway, back to the football:

29th August 2009 - Arsene Wenger sent to the stands for kicking a water bottle by Mike Dean

19th October 2012 - Roberto Martinez fined for "suggestions" of Old Trafford bias. Despite praising the referee in other parts of the interview the FA seemed afraid of his comments and decided to punish him. £8,000 fine and a warning over future conduct was enough to silence him. What if Martinez had made "suggestions" of Stamford Bridge bias or Anfield bias? We all know nothing would have happened. The likelihood is Gill took umbrage with those comments and decided he would find a way to punish and silence Martinez.

22nd November 2011 - Andre Villas-Boas fined for suggestions of a conspiracy against Chelsea after numerous costly decisions were given against us in our title charge. One of the games he referred to was a game against none other than Man Utd. A game in which almost all footballing neutrals acknowledged Chelsea completely outplayed Man Utd but were undone by 2 offside goals and a penalty which was highly controversial and in my opinion was never a penalty in this planet or the next. His suggestions that Manchester United are favoured by the FA/referees were duly punished by Gill and his cronies at the FA. Little did Villas-Boas know that this game would be the better refereed of the two games he'd face United in that season.

Alex Ferguson has called referees "Fat", "Unfit" and even went as far as to call Martin Atkinson a "robber" after his side were virtually cost another treble by a controversial penalty decision that didn't go their way. He has and continues to berate and abuse referees left, right and centre with no punishment meanwhile we've seen the aforementioned punished for far less. The decision not to give Antonio Valencia a 2nd yellow card v Newcastle was a clear result of that. In what world can challenge a player from behind, go through the man without playing the ball and not get a yellow. Not to mention the clear handball by Evans in the first half which would also have seen him sent off. Dean simply came under too much pressure and in all honesty I don't blame him for not mentioning the abuse in his report, he'd have almost certainly never refereed another Man Utd game again if he had. Referees like footballers, want to be at the top, they want the big games. Like Foy, Dean will at least be able to ref a United game in 12/13 months, his career as a top referee is at least now salvageable unlike Andy D'urso who is nowhere to be seen on this stage.

Sky and the FA will continue colluding with one another to bump off the normal football fan and covering up the blatant corruption that exists, but there are many in others that have had the courage to face the problems that exist in their own countries. In this country we'll just sit and wait until the inevitable happens with Ferguson as we did with Jimmy Savile. It takes a brave man/journalist to stand up to corruption and irregularities in the game and we don't have any. We continue to place our faith in our politicians, bankers, mortgage lenders etc but to no avail. Much like the FA it's all about money over service, something synonymous with New Right and Tory policy. Man Utd have the most "fans" hence most viewers, Sky need them to keep winning and remain at the top. Liverpool have pretty much collapsed, Arsenal soon will too, if Man Utd went the same way it would be the last remaining of Sky's big 3 and viewing figures would collapse. It's a complete conflict of interests and against Murdoch's wishes for anybody but United to win the league. So when City are being made to play away from home down south on a Monday Night or Chelsea have fixture congestion over a busy period don't at all be surprised.

Against Modern Football & Sky

With Leeds away round the corner it got me thinking why there hasn't been more hype around this fixture. It's just been dubbed as any old Quarter Final. It's Leeds v Chelsea - near enough a sell out, Leeds fans have temporarily halted the boycott for this, it's a genuine football rivalry that stretches back decades. My real gripe with Sky (and to a lesser extent the BBC) is their uncanny ability to influence the thoughts and views of the public, there is this modern day notion whereby if something is said by the likes of Alan Hansen or Mark Lawrenson on Match of the Day, that makes it right. Football fans these days tend not to live the experience of going to games and leaving, breathing football so don't have the ability to stimulate their own views. Sky have genuinely managed to convince the public that the "Manchester Derby" is now the biggest game/rivalry in football, not so long ago it was Chelsea v United, then before that it was Arsenal v United, then before that Liverpool v United. Sky's affiliation with United is well known so I needn't go into that but Sky's attempt to create new rivalries whilst ignoring long standing and genuine rivalries is ridiculous.

Growing up with a lot of Arsenal fans I still remember the days when they weren't the laughing stock of today and had a reputable side. Back then every Arsenal fan I know identified their biggest rivals as Man Utd and dismissed Tottenham as a team of somewhat irrelevance, I still remember my cousins telling me they "didn't mind" Tottenham yet hated Chelsea. How messed up is that? Seems now that Arsenal have declined and sold their best player to United is sinking in that they never were and never have been their rivals in the first place. Not in the same sense that Leeds, Liverpool and Man City are to them anyway. It's a fallacy of a rivalry, which in the eyes of real fans never existed. The attempt to create Fulham/QPR vs Chelsea into a major "rivalry" is another growing annoyance I have with Sky, since the promotion of both clubs to the Premier League this has been an ongoing thing, "The West London Derby" it is dubbed, without the acknowledgement of the fact the only two clubs that play in West London are QPR and Brentford. Fundamentally "West" sounds cooler than "South West". The Terry/Cole-Ferdinand saga has only fuelled Sky's desire to turn Chelsea v QPR into a big fixture when in reality it never has been, not for Chelsea fans anyway, same with Chelsea v Fulham. This is not just synonymous of Chelsea and Arsenal (both of whom have undoubtedly benefitted from Sky in terms of revenue and overseas fanbase), same can be said of United whose fans have undoubtedly bought into these rivalries as well (the ones that aren't from Manchester anyway).

So yeah, Leeds play Chelsea on Wednesday and nobody apart from fans of those clubs even realises what a rivalry it is yet we're told the Manchester Derby is the biggest and best football fixture out there. When the Old First Division died, a lot of football history went with it, Now we're just stuck with a cash cow - The Premier League - of which the sole aim is to make money and gain viewing figures, armchair/first generation football fans. Don't be surprised if within the next 10 years, Man City v Liverpool or Arsenal v Everton are "major rivals" because that's certainly the way football is heading..

Rio Ferdinand - Is he really the victim?

Anybody that opens a tabloid paper tomorrow will undoubtedly read condemnation of City fans following an 'eventful' Manchester Derby, but to those that don't subscribe to the United bias printed in the media there was a lot more going on than just a solitary coin being thrown at any United player. The Daily Mail have already begun their character assassination of City fans by printing the headline "Rio Ferdinand cut, City fans cheered". 

In no way do I condone the behaviour of the City fans that threw the coin at Ferdinand and ran on the pitch respectively but I do believe there are mitigating circumstances. United had scored a last minute winner at the home of their biggest rivals, at which point Rio Ferdinand felt the need to celebrate provocatively in front of the City fans, this is the same Rio Ferdiand who took huge exception to Mario Balotelli celebrating in front of HIS OWN fans at Wembley. Too often, the emotion of the game isn't taken into consideration, that may be used in defence for Ferdinand but did that City fan walk through the turnstiles and plan to run on the pitch and attack a United player? Highly unlikely. Did Rio Ferdinand plan to celebrate a goal/win in front of the City fans? Likely given his previous it was the exact same at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea fans already feeling aggrieved at being down to 9 men in a game they had dominated bar the opening 20 minutes. Do people like Ollie Holt genuinely expect the Chelsea fans to just politely applaud? It's this kind of liberalism which has got this country nowhere. I'll bet people like Ollie Holt would have probably wanted Neville Chamberlain to hand Hitler the keys to 10 Downing Street as well and roll open the red carpet after the London bombings.

Journalists like  Oliver Holt of the Mirror are now going a step further and as much as defending the behaviour of Rio Ferdinand and Phil Jones (who allegedly made provocative hand gestures towards the City fans). To them I ask this:

What would their reaction be if the roles were reversed and Mario Balotelli had celebrated provocatively in front of the Stretford End at Old Trafford? As a Chelsea fan I understand I'm not in much of a position to criticise the character of certain players given Ashley Cole and John Terry play for us but I'm close to certain that if John Terry or Ashley Cole had acted as Ferdinand did the media would be up in arms with journalists incandescent with rage calling for reprisal. Adebayor was castigated by the press for celebrating in front of the Arsenal fans at City a few years ago which most people bar Arsenal fans found slightly humorous but at the same time recognising that he was out of line and deserved the punishment he faced.

This isn't the first or last time an incident like this has occurred involving United and their players, just a few weeks ago Chelsea fans were condemned for throwing coins at Javier Hernandez as he celebrated wildly in front of the Matthew Harding Lower end of the ground (the most partisan area of Chelsea's home support). Gary Neville has previous for doing this as Liverpool fans would vouch for. Ronaldo and Rooney also doing the exact same thing in front of the North Bank at Highbury in a 4-2 win, Rooney again at Goodison Park upon his return. This kind of behaviour typifies United as a club:

1) Schadenfreude - As emphasised by the "Viva John Terry" and "Benitez is cracking up" chants. I don't know about most football fans but when we win something the first thing that comes to my mind isn't rubbing it in Arsenal/West Ham/Tottenham's faces, I'm just pleased for myself, friends and the club in general. The fact United fans took more pleasure in seeing Terry miss than they did Van Der Sar saving Anelka's kick thus winning them the Champions League sums them up. This drips down from top to bottom, a late winner against their rivals and the first thing that comes to mind is goading City fans. United fans are the type that won't even know who they are playing on a match day but never cease to remind fans of the local team that their side has lost be it Chelsea, Norwich, Wolves, Aston Villa or Southampton, it's a culture that is deeply ingrained in the club but I can't quite put my finger on where it began. Possibly due to Liverpool's success in the 70s and 80s and that feeling of always being inferior to them. Mystery to me anyway.

2) Untouchable Status - Which has been facilitated by the media and FA for the last 20 years or so. It has got to the stage where United fans and players alike believe that as long as they don that red shirt and club crest they can do what they like without reproach. Rooney was allowed to deliberately elbow James McCarthy and go unpunished, he had his 3 match ban reduced on FA appeal after assaulting another player. Rio Ferdinand could have been looking at a jail sentence or at least FA punishment for his tweets during the Terry court case. Evra falsely accused a Chelsea steward of racism and United didn't receive any criticism at all. To this day Roy Keane is still revered as a hero for ending Alfe Inge Haaland's career and likewise with Cantona for assaulting a fan. NO other club receives such little indignation from the press and that only makes matters worse and perpetuates their behaviour on and off the field. Any fan of Chelsea, Leeds United, Liverpool or Manchester City (not to mention a handful of others) will be able to confirm the kind of abhorrent chants United's away support continually aim at the deceased but there isn't any kind of acknowledgement from the club itself or the press which allows them to do as they please. Alex Ferguson the only manager that can attack a referee or organisation within football without any kind of reprisal from the FA. Behaviour is learnt based on reward/punishment premise, it's no wonder how they continue to get away with it.

The problem is 95% of football journalists aren't fans of the game before they become journalists, they have no idea about fandom and what the game is about so when a small minority of football fans do misbehave they jump on the bandwagon and sensationalise it to suit their agenda. Football fans always have and always will be character assassinated by the press because fundamentally it is a working class sport which is attended by mostly working class fans or "common folk", the complete opposite of the silver spoon Oxford grad lifestyle of which many of these "journalists" have come from. It's fine for a spectator to shout out during a match point of a grand slam final at Wimbledon but god forbid a football fan invades the pitch (which is just as disruptive) they are classed as "scum". There will come a time where people realise that football is no different to religion for the match going fan in particular. Try telling somebody that has invested 1/3 of their annual salary in their football club that "It's only a game". 

To use Newton's third law of motion "for every action, there is a reaction". Football in general (in particular a derby game) is partisan, if I had walked into the Bill Nicholson pub after Chelsea beat Spurs 4-2 and celebrated wildly in front of Spurs fans I'd consider myself lucky to come out with just a cut below the eye. On the other hand if I jumped on a train to Fulham Broadway or pretty much anywhere South of the River which is Chelsea stronghold I'd probably get a free pint. In my eyes that is no different some would argue that isn't right but it's the reality, in any walk of life there are boundaries you respect and simply do not cross, and if you do you live with the consequences. Rio Ferdinand isn't the victim, he's an odious and obnoxious man that believes he is above the law. The real victims here are the City fans who undoubtedly got carried away with the emotion of the game and went too far, but prevention is better than cure. Had Rio Ferdinand celebrated in front of his own fans as opposed to City's is he getting a coin thrown at him or a fan coming on the pitch trying to attack him? I don't think so. Without wanting to completely shift blame from the City fans I'd argue it's a form of entrapment. When deliberately provoked and surrounded by thousands of fans in a partisan atmosphere I'd argue it's very hard to keep your cool. Unlike some I won't be a hypocrite. I said the same thing when Junior Stanislas celebrated in front of the Millwall fans in that famous cup tie 3 years ago. Keep kicking a dog and eventually it will bite you.

The Chelsea Model

It has been a tumultuous week for Chelsea fans. The sacking of fan favourite and legend Roberto Di Matteo, the hiring of arch nemesis Rafael Benitez, the expected departure of Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard come May and now the passing of club legend Dave Sexton who delivered us only our 2nd major trophy in a memorable FA Cup win at Old Trafford 42 years ago.

I have been extremely vocal in expressing my discontent for the sacking of RDM, probably even moreso than when Gullit, Ranieri (although inevitable and understandable), Mourinho and Ancelotti were sacked. As much as it pained me to see the aforementioned leave one thing we cannot forget is we'd be virtually in the abyss but for Roman Abramovich. Not only did he save us from certain administration and possible liquidation he has leant us hundreds of millions of pounds (free of interest and payback) and it's thanks to that investment we are enduring the most successful period in out history. Abramovich is not as purile as some quarters would have people believe, he is a genuine fan of the club, his loyalty to the cause shouldn't even be a topic for discussion as far as I'm concerned. To him, Chelsea are the biggest and best club in the world. We as Chelsea fans will never forget the mediocre days but just because we've settled for being average in the past it doesn't mean we have to now. Abramovich and his cronies have treated some Chelsea legends badly, there is no doubt about that but there is this fallacy amongst Chelsea fans that this is a new thing. Chelsea fans of over 10-15 years must have forgotten how Ken Bates treated the late Matthew Harding, Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli. Let's be honest if Bates could have afforded to do so Ranieri would have been long gone before Roman had even set eyes on him. The only difference being that when discontent was expressed at the potential appointment of George Graham, Bates listened whereas Roman didn't regarding Benitez. But as livid as I am, if Benitez is gone in May and Mourinho or a genuinely good manager (that fits the club well) comes in time will pass and I can look beyond it.

The anti-Abramovich/Chelsea contingent have been quick to swoop in and claim Chelsea are "badly run" and "sacking managers every season isn't the way to having sustained success". Is it? I am not for one second vindicating Abramovich's methods (well maybe I am in a sense) but nobody can deny it has worked. Since 2005 no team has won more major trophies than Chelsea. I'm a big fan of David Moyes but ask yourself what he has won as Everton manager? Where is the pressure? Everton work on a tight budget and that is understandable but they are a massive club, they should not be effectively starting every season in November (up until this season) suffering home defeats to relegation fodder. Would this slow-starting mentality have been allowed to develop if his head was on the line? Similarly at Arsenal, what have they won in the last 7/8 years or so? Almost every season we see Arsenal start seasons well and then collapse in late February. Would this have happened if there wasn't so much complacency regarding his position as Arsenal manager? Arsenal fans are quick to point to the spending of Chelsea and City but nobody can deny up until 2011 they had teams more than capable of winning the league, their 07/08 team still ranks as the best to have never won the league in my opinion. Real Madrid make Chelsea's managerial post look long term, if you don't do well you are out. Managers have been sacked at Real Madrid for winning the Champions League (Jupp Heynckes in 1998) and La Liga titles (Fabio Capello in 2007). Mourinho and Guardiola are the two most sought after managers in world football, have either ever held down a post long term? Their mission is to do a job and move on whilst at their peak.

In England there is an egocentric belief that every club must be run like Manchester United and that they are the benchmark and holy grail for every club in English football. What did they win last season? They have a chance of winning the Premier League title but this current United side is arguably the least equipped ever to win the Champions League. Why should every club have the same manager for X amount of years. If Stoke fans are happy to watch Tony Pulis and his approach to football every week, year on year that's up to them but if I were a Stoke fan I wouldn't pay money to watch that brand of football, sooner or later their fans will get fed up of having to lump the ball up to Crouch and cling on to 1-0 home wins against the likes of Fulham and QPR whilst seeing the likes of Swansea/Norwich stay up by playing expansive/positive football. It has taken English Football years to realise we are light years behind Spain, Holland, Germany and even Italy in terms of ideas and philosophy, only when the dinosaurs of football are gone (Ferguson, Allardyce and Wenger) will people wake up and realise maybe Chelsea aren't so "badly run" after all.

Chelsea have been accused of "lacking stability". We've had the same nucleus of players for nigh on 8 years now, there is a familiarity at Chelsea. JT may be hated outside of this football club but anybody with a shred of impartiality can see he has been an essential figure for club and country. Cech has been at the club 8 years, JT 18 years, Lampard 11 years, Cole 6 years, and up until recently we've always had people at the club who are Chelsea and get this club. Whether it be RDM, Ray Wilkins, Steve Clarke, Graeme Le Saux, Dennis Wise or whoever. JT has been Chelsea captain since 2004, in that time Arsenal have been through several, as have Spurs and even United. That in my eyes is stability, it's no less significant than having the same manager. We've had the same owner for nearly 10 years now, can Liverpool or United say the same? Fundamentally the best model is a the model that wins most, so is United's model "better"? No. The fact is the football culture has changed since the 80s, the financial rewards for success are far larger now then aver before. If Ferguson's replacement doesn't (at least) get United in the top 4 or challenging for trophies in his first 18 months he'll be gone, just like any Chelsea manager would.

I'm not justifying the hiring and firing of all of our managers, just simply offering another (minority) point of view rather than the same old recycled views that go around the media and therefore football fans alike.

RDM Out, Benitez In

Like most Chelsea fans (and football fans in general) I think everybody acknowledged RDM wasn't Roman's man, hence the reluctance to offer him the full time post in the Summer. The aforementioned therefore made the sacking of RDM inevitable. I am explicity referring to him as "RDM" because he was one of us, unlike "Benitez" (who I will come onto later). One of the first things RDM said when interviewed shortly after the Carling Cup QF draw is "Leeds & Chelsea have a bit of history".  Any Chelsea fan worth their salt knows about the history between Leeds however but in case newer fans aren't aware this is one of the oldest  inter-city rivalries in English Football, one that can be dated back to the 60s and reached a climax during the 1970 FA Cup Final. To this day Leeds still sing about Chelsea. Unlike the media constructed fallacy that is the Chelsea v QPR "rivalry", Chelsea v Leeds is genuine and RDM knew this, he was "proper" Chelsea and spent more time communicating with Chelsea fans than the likes of Gourlay and Buck ever will. RDM has class and quite frankly deserves a lot better than Chelsea, I wish him all the best and can't thank him enough for providing me with 2 of the 3 best memories I've had as a Chelsea fan.

I became a fan of the club in the 1994/95 season so haven't seen the dark days of the 2nd division, but where the memory of the 1997 FA Cup Final and RDM's goal will forever be in Chelsea folklore. I've always said that Chelsea as a club are misunderstood. Amongst all the media lies regarding our fanbase there simply isn't a better supported club in the UK given the relative lack of success the club has had (up until recently). Chelsea is a club with a traditional fanbase and mainly local or with other genuine roots or connections to the club, very much similar to Spurs, West Ham, Millwall and Crystal Palace in that aspect, a club with a proud and passionate fanbase. RDM walks out of a Chelsea a legend and with his head held high. RDM is up there with a small echelon of managers that have won the Champions League, a competition that the likes of Wenger and AVB could only dream of winning.

If the sacking of RDM didn't leave some with a sour taste in the mouth, the appointment of Rafael Benitez certainly did. It's difficult for me to talk about Benitez with any objectivity because I loathe the man with a passion, Liverpool fans say the same with Mourinho but they can't question his managerial pedigree as we can with Rafa. Fact is, they'd have him managing their club tomorrow if they could.

Many ask, "why do you hate Benitez?" "It's not that bad, he's a decent manager". It's difficult to understand why we hate him so much unless you are a Chelsea fan. The man had a borderline obsession with Chelsea Football Club and Mourinho to the point where we were accustomed to his inane ramblings about us and the constant attack on our fanbase and players. Benitez has however come out and justified this and to be fair to him I see where he is coming from. I can forgive, but sure as hell don't expect me to forget. The plastic flag jibes will remain with me forever.

Fundamentally my real hatred for Benitez is his demanour as well as the fact I think he is a fraud of a manager. But for the mass spending at Chelsea, I believe his managerial ineptitude would have been exposed long before it was. The ridiculously high turnover of players, vast amounts of money wasted on useless players to name a few. The fact is Benitez won 2 major trophies at Liverpool, both of which were through scandalous refereeing in semi finals vs Chelsea and inexplicable opposition capitulation in respective finals. I'm sure many will remember the "Ghost Goal" that was awarded to Liverpool in that Champions League Semi which was a complete guess and based on opinion, no different to what you'd see on your Strictly Come Dancing or Come Dine With Me show. Istanbul which was the biggest fluke in football and but for a mini miracle Milan could and should have been 5-0 up at half time. The people that claim Chelsea's CL was a fluke seem quick to erase that Liverpool 04/05 CL win from their memories, that win bought Benitez another 5 years by itself as the legions of Liverpool fans deluded themselves into thinking he was a messiah. That was nothing compared to the 2006 cup win though, whereby in the semi final a perfectly legit Chelsea goal was disallowed by none other than Graham Poll as well as as an inexplicable free kick awarded against Ricky Carvalho for a "foul" on a Liverpool player which led to their first goal. It was a game that besides the first 25-30 minutes Chelsea dominated throughout its entirety. The final of course against newly promoted West Ham where a hit and hope shot from Gerrard with the last kick of the game conspired to fly into the bottom corner leaving Shaka Hislop dumbfounded, then of course they go on to "win" another trophy on a penalty shoot out. Even his success in Spain was largely... sorry completely down to Real Madrid and Barcelona's collapse (financial in case of the latter).

Will I go to a Chelsea game under Benitez? No. I won't be up at 6am in that virtual waiting room and give away hard earned money to the board that mocked the fans in the first place by appointing him as manager. I was there at St Andrews midweek and it could not have been made clearer that Benitez was not wanted at the club in any capacity. For me it's a matter of principle. When I go to support Chelsea, I go to give it my all. I can't physically do that with Benitez. Perhaps I'll feel differently and regret it when we take on fierce rivals West Ham United a week tomorrow but it just wouldn't feel right going to Chelsea and having this empty feeling inside of me as I do right now. Even when Gullit, Vialli, Ranieri and Mourinho although in a state of shock/depression my passion for the club never waned, right now it has and probably will do as long as Benitez is manager. I can't say I've ever liked Liverpool but my hatred of that club intensified whilst he was manager there and plummeted as he left. Coincidence? I think not.

2 months on.........

FA Cup Triumph Once Again

Who would have imagined it? FA Cup Winners after thrashing Spurs in the FA Cup Semi and then comfortably outplaying Liverpool for 2/3's of the game and walking out worthy winners of this prestigious trophy. Despite attempts by ITV to portray both of our Wembley win's on the way to this trophy as "lucky" make no mistake we got what we deserved. We have been one of few top clubs to respect the traditions and history of this competition in contrast to Liverpool and Dalglish who gave the impression it was meaningless. After all the man couldn't even make the effort to wear a suit to the final so I'd hardly expect him to show any class or respect towards anything or anyone.

2 months ago under previous management us winning the FA Cup and being in a Champions League Final would have been unfathomable. Having been at St Andrews for RDM's first game in charge you could already note a drastic change in confidence and morale. It had become clear to me since around December that this team could no longer play 4-3-3 and we had suffered hugely because of it. RDM has found a system that works for us and deserves all the plaudits. This isn't by any means a brilliant squad, but it isn't as terrible as the media would have people believe, our form proves this.

The Champions League Final

Make no mistake we are underdogs in this final, but not massive underdogs as many would have people believe, The injuries and suspensions don't help but we still have some good squad players in Essien and Romeu that can fill the void left by Meireles and Ramires. I've been a huge critic of Meireles and still am but his performance against Barcelona was utterly selfless and he will be missed in Munich for sure.

We're being written off by pundits already but then again we have been since the group stage. Southgate gave us no chance but he's never liked us anyway, still can't get over the fact we beat his side in the 2000 FA Cup Final with relative comfort.

We all know that if this was a media favourite like Liverpool or United they wouldn't dare write us off no matter what the personnel.

"You won't get past the group stage as you won't beat Valencia"

"There's no way you'll beat Napoli, their front three will destroy you"

"You'll be knocked out next round anyway. United couldn't beat Benfiica so nor will you"

"You're going out next round anyway, Barca will thrash you. they'll put 7 past you with ease. Cahill won't stand a chance against Messi and Fat Frank and JT will be found out"

"You got lucky, there's no way you'll win at the Nou Camp"

"Oh well, Jose knows the Chelsea players inside out, you won't stand a chance against Real in the Final"

It's statements like these that have been spouted across social networking sites and various forums throughout our campaign so I'm quite happy being underdog, we haven't lost a game all season where we have been.

                                          

I'm quite enjoying the widespread panic across North London that our victory against Barca has caused. Spurs and Arsenal fans will try and convince themselves Bayern will win with ease and Chelsea have no chance but in their heart of hearts they are scared witless that they will miss out. Our N17 neighbours missing out would almost certainly mean the likes of Bale, Modric, Sandro and Kaboul will coming under the intense scrutiny of clubs such as PSG, Man City, Real Madrid, Barca and Juventus to name a few. It would also mean the likes of  Eden Hazard and Jan Vertonghen won't even look twice at them. Manchester City are likely to put in a bid for Arsenal... sorry Van Persie in the summer and if Arsenal miss out on the CL he will surely be off. Rival fans are quickly changing their tune once again and it's now:

"You won't stand a chance against Bayern as their at home and are much better than you anyway"

Nobody can deny Bayern playing at home carries a significant psychological advantage, they know the dressing room, pitch, pretty much everything off the back of their hand, that's an advantage we cannot atone for. But make no mistake this can carry disadvantages as well. Bayern are a European Giant, commercially they are only trumped by Real Madrid. They have lost 4 out of their last 5  Champions League finals and the German media will no doubt underestimate us and see a Bayern win as a given. It happened in this country in Euro 96 in the semi and happened to Germany in 2006 whereby the expectation and favourites tag proved too much.

It isn't any normal home game for Bayern either we will have 20,000 Blues at least roaring the team on. It almost has a Germany v England 2001 feel about it. Let's be honest nobody expected England to win in Munich never mind 5-1.

Call it clutching st straws if you must but there is still hope, we can't get carried away by the Bayern hype and allow the media to make us feel we're massively inferior to them and are mere minnows, there is enough quality in this side to beat Bayern.

Portugal vs Greece Euro 2004 Final - It was almost a given Portugal would win this. Greece's "luck" would surely run out and there was no way Greece would be able to beat Portugal on Portuguese soil. The celebrations in Portugal were practically under way before kick off.  What happened in that game was regarded as possibly the biggest upset in a major European tournament.

Cast your minds back to the 2006 World Cup when Germany had played some sublime football and after beating a talented Argentinian side they were seen as clear favourites against an Italian side who had played poorly throughout the competition. On German soil how could Germany (the form team) be beaten? Well it happened.

In the 2005 UEFA Cup Final CSKA Moscow turned Sporting Lisbon over on their own patch. Russian Football was generally overlooked by the media and it seemed a given that a Sporting Lisbon side containing the likes of Nani, Moutinho, Liedson to name a few would just have to turn up.

Even in last year's CL Final, the media out of desperation tried to convince us that United had an advantage being on English Soil because Barcelona's slick passing would not be replicable on the much maligned Wembley pitch. Messi and Xavi would struggle according to them. In the end that turned out to be the most one sided final I have ever witnessed, even more so than the footballing lesson Barcelona gave them 2 years earlier in Rome.

My head is telling me Bayern should win, but having got this far I carry the belief we can actually win this despite being an eternal pessimist in regards to anything Chelsea related. Let's ignore the press, pundits and rival fans trying to put us down and try to be optimistic about this final no matter who the personnel available is.

Is Stamford Bridge falling down?

After a loss at WBA, what was our first to them since 1979, it's now looking increasingly likely we will not be playing Champions League Football next season. In typical Chelsea fashion we have totally unravelled. The Chelsea job has become a game of Pass The Bomb and AVB is the man that has to take the full force of the explosion that is the mess we currently find ourselves in.

I still believe that the two biggest mistakes we ever made as a club were sacking Jose and hiring Grant. I don't need to go into detail about Jose and how important he was for this club but the hiring of Grant in my view was pivotal and created this player power culture we have at the club today. I've supported Chelsea since Hoddle and I can honestly say up until now, Grant is the only manager I have ever called for to be sacked, even Scolari didn't test my patience as much. Jose should have been replaced immediately by a powerful figure, someone in the Hiddink mould, a manager who could stamp his authority on the team and make his presence felt. Appointing a Neville Chamberlain figure like Grant who offered nothing whatsoever other than emotional support meant that the players could effectively reign supreme, that season the players effectively became bigger than the club itself. What followed was a succession of quick fixes and players running off to Roman and senior board members when they didn't like the manager. Once you do that you basically undermine the role of the manager, as AVB is finding out.

AVB dosen't get off scot-free either, he has played a role (albeit minimal) in our demise, his biggest mistake was deciding to give certain senior players a chance. Had he come in and began to make changes immediately and stamped his authority on the team I don't doubt we would be in a better position and his authority would have been strengthened. Instead we've seen the likes of Malouda, Bosingwa and Meireles pull on the famous Royal Blue shirt time and time again despite half arsed and substandard performances and then the likes of Lampard and Mikel pulling in another direction. AVB's "tactics" have continued to bemuse me throughout the season, my first concerns came in August at Sunderland when we comfortably outplayed a poor Sunderland side only for AVB to go negative and have us clinging on in the closing stages, at the DW stadium his negativity was finally punished and in the games against Arsenal, United and Napoli we've seen some of the most tactically inept managerial performances I've seen in quite some time watching top tier football or football at any level for that matter. Up until AVB decided to mess around with the defence we were defensively the best team in the league for the past 6 seasons, forcing us to try and play the high line with our current centre backs - none of whom are renowned for pace - was a grave error.

Do I care if we make top 4 this season? Quite frankly no because there are issues at this club far bigger than league position. Sure it will hurt finishing below Arsenal and Tottenham for the first time in 7 and 15 years respectively but in the long term sorting this club out from top to bottom has to be the priority. To most Chelsea fans, 5th in the top flight isn't a bad position to be in by any means. When you look at clubs like Rangers and Portsmouth it makes you appreciate how lucky you are at times.



The only chant in football that ever annoyed me was when Arsenal used to sing "Stamford Bridge is falling down" after coming to SW6 year after year and inflict damaging results to our campaign but at the moment we literally are falling down and we need to build it up with a new culture, new idea and new philosophy, none of this player power that has led to underachievement for the last 3/4 years.

I said shortly after the Sheikhs took over City they would win far more than we ever did and I stand by that. Why? Because they had a plan and they stuck by it, they identified a manager and stuck by him despite media campaigns to get him out. It doesn't surprise me at all that the two most stable clubs with the strongest managers (in terms of authority) are 1st and 2nd in the league. City are building a legacy whilst we just built a world class team which is now way past its sell by date. Having been in the vicinity of Eastlands the facilities there are excellent, top plans in place for the future of their club so that when this crop of players go, they'll be producing their own top players similar to what Barca are doing.

I personally don't think AVB is the right manager, but he is right in everything he says about the problems at this club and my respect for him has gone up slightly for that if nothing else.