Chelsea FC V Liverpool FC
Stamford Bridge, London
Tuesday, April 4th, 20h
English Premier League
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick, Dan Cook
Fourth official: Andre Marriner
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant VAR: Nick Greenhalgh
When I was a kid, someone visiting our family for once made a brilliant decision to buy some books for children instead of sweets or toys. As the grown ups party rumbled on few doors down, I was already face deep in richly illustrated, hardcover of
'Adventures of Baron Munchausen' staring at a drawing depicting a man pulling himself out of a bog by his hair, while holding his horse between his legs. This miraculous and impossible feat of gravity defying, law of physics suspending, mind over matter has burned itself pretty deep in my unspoiled and receptive brain. It was both silly, yet somehow plausible to a six year old. Even today, decades later, when I'm pressed against the wall to push myself and deliver something, this image flickers in my mind. It has become something of a visual reminder that to achieve anything - believing is the essential ingredient.
I won't lie though, my belief is shaky at best these days. It also doesn't seem like our players are full to the brim with it either. It happens. High stakes game catches up with everyone sooner or later, especially when you've spent years making an art form of dancing on the razor sharp edge between big risk and tantalising reward. All those times you've taunted danger, only to smack it from behind after a quick evade. You think it can go on forever, but time comes when you don't feel so sure of yourself and you eventually get punished, once, twice, ten times and suddenly you're losing grip. Fear grows, doubt spreads, you take the safer option knowing it leads nowhere. You try to make it easy on yourself but you just make it easier for your opposition. And on it goes until you're sick of the punishment and decide to do something about it. That gaping black hole where doubt and insecurity exist - it can be refilled with anger. I sure hope our players have it in them.
Bouncing Blues?So, Potter is gone. Tough luck. He'll have a nice weekend, opening and closing his banking app and giggling on his couch. I could have predicted this the moment he signed - it was always the wrong job for him, especially in such turbulent times at Stamford Bridge. It remains to be seen if his position will be filled by the time this game kicks-off and who will become the new circus manager, but in any case I expect Chelsea players to deliver a strong(er) performance. They'll surely want to show it was Potter, not them, who was the root cause of their mediocre form. They'll see it as a perfect game to prove to everyone they are better and more capable of fighting for top spots. It won't last obviously, but in this game, we'll face a different Chelsea. I do hope we come prepared to spread fear and doubt, because they are really just as fragile as we often are. Our five-game form is identical with two wins, two losses and a draw, and no matter the energy they bring, Chelsea are a team one suckerpunch away from crumbling. All we need to do is deliver the punch confidently and if possible - early.
I do feel our best shot here is go for the throat and early. Instantly turn their aggressive start against them and also use our half hour where we're capable of running and pressing to get a goal or two. We are in no position to control the game for 90 minutes, so let's get into a scrap and see where we end up. Bounce them right back down.
For fucks sake, just have funThis week always had a lot of potential to deliver piles of depression or another rekindling of hope. Looking at it objectively, 4-5 points would be just about acceptable and would keep us in the Top 4 race for bit longer. But there are still 6 points on the table and if we win this one - I would be pretty confident we'll play a good game against Arsenal at home. It's not over yet.
Looking at our squad, it will be interesting to see how we navigate this game - especially what midfield lineup we go with. There is enough rest between this and the Arsenal game, but this one does put us in a bit of a pinch. We could possibly see Milner start, but there isn't much more on the bench we could go to, so one of Fabinho or Henderson will likely have to start again. Jones seems to be adrift, but I wouldn't be against seeing him play - considering he is in fact some kind of a midfielder and also (last I checked) has legs and can use them to run. Who knows, Klopp might go all out with four attackers and two holding mids. We're better off attacking than pretending we can control the midfield. Whatever the lineup, I hope there is some anger left in this team. Get angry and have some fun out there. It's not science, it's sport.
You can in fact pull yourself out from bogs by pulling your hair while holding your horse between your legs.
Even if the horse has already bolted and is also dead and being flogged at the same time.
