I Saw Claude Grace the Bridge!!

I thought it would never happen, it was 2003 when we pulled off the signing of the decade. When we signed Makelele, the man who made Zidane and 2 times Champions League winners Real Madrid tick.

It bought a smile to my face and more than any signing that summer (except maybe Crespo) made me feel like permanently shifting base to London, just for watching this man play.

There is something about defending which enthralls me. The pure simplicity and refinement that defines a good defensive player gives me a fuzzy feeling. And when you add the class and graft of a Maka, then well…. pure ecstasy (makes sex look primitive)!!


Maka was one of a kind; his sense of discipline and his reading of space were perfect.Sure he took one season to get in the groove, but once he did we were unbeatable.He was a modern day version of Beckenbauer and someone whose influence in our title winning seasons was 2nd to none.


A lot has been written about Claude and his playing style.
So I will just mention this one instance that for me defines Claude Makelele.

Most Chelsea fans remember Maka’s goal against Charlton or Sp*rs.
But for me it was this one time when we played Everton and Andy Johnson managed to stay onside and break away towards goal. Maka as usual saw him and followed him; he had no chance of catching a striker known for his pace. So, what Maka does do? He just jumps on Johnson and completely puts him off balance. Somehow avoiding the referee’s eye, in a way only he can. But the ref still spots him and gives a free kick. Maka picks himself up and shows his sparkling 32. Everyone (even Graham Poll) knew it was a red card offense, but the ref lets him off with a yellow. Maka was probably lucky, but he will tell you that we kept a clean sheet.


I wish that Claude would have stayed and ended his career here.
But you don’t get everything in life,
But still
I Saw Claude Grace the Bridge!!

A Chelsea Legend!!

Carefree!!

Dignity Above All


So the EURO is over. The right team has won; the final sips of beer have been taken (at least till 16/08/2008) and all the hoohah! about international football’s slow death have been squashed till England’s next defeat.


And meanwhile we have had big players and not so big players forcing their club’s hands and showing what he have known for a long time, loyalty in club football is an extinct entity.


What Gareth Barry is doing to Aston Villa? What C Ronaldo is doing to Man Utd? Or what Didi Drogba has been doing since the turn of the year to our club? It makes me sick.


The problem is not the fact that they want to move or that they want more money.
I am not an idealist and do not expect players to stay forever or be humble with their money.And quite frankly it is being abused every season.

But the facts that they are ready to stab their clubs, whose badges they have kissed and whose fans they have made promises to. The fact that they are ready to stab their clubs whose coaches and managers have honed and chiseled their talents and made them the household names that they are. The facts that they stab those clubs who have spent multimillion pounds paying their wages and helping them grow as players and human beings.


There has to be a more civil and proper way of doing things. Make demands if you have to, but do it in a manner in which the club and we fans do not feel embarrassed in calling you their player.


Look at Gareth Barry, a player whose career has been resurrected by Martin O’Neil and his rejuvenation process at Aston Villa. He was on course to joining Pompey on the cheap in MO’N’s first season, but they kept him and made him the no. 1 choice in the English midfield.


This is the same guy who now has the nerve to say that O’Neil has made errors and that he should have been convincing him to say instead of being on holiday. You see my point.


As, Matt Dickinson in his column in the Times said ‘I always had Gareth Barry down as a straight guy, a decent footballer, a humble team man, the sort you want to see succeed. Silly me’.


Then you have the case of Ronaldo. He is a nasty piece of work; the only thing I like about him is the fact that the guy does work hard. But in his conduct off the field, what a cretin!!! Sir Alex deserved better and Real Madrid deserved worse.


Then you look at our own Drogba, Adebyor or Hleb, each one of them has forced their club’s hands. Even the likes of Michael Carrick and Franck Ribery acted in the same manner, during their big moves.


Even our own Franky Lampard, its true he has not left us till now. But he is the same guy who on the day when we won the FA Cup final, held the club’s badge and said that he would never leave us. So what he does when the club gives him a deal, which would have made him the 2nd highest earner at our club, rejects it. Why? Well apparently he wanted a longer deal. He wanted a 4-year deal, so he wanted Chelsea to change their new philosophy, of awarding above 30 players only 2-year deals with an option of 1 year extension. The same guy, who swore loyalty to the club, now wants it to go against its philosophy.


At least Ronaldo signed a new contract for United so if he does go, it’ll be a huge financial gain for United which is more than can be said for the reported 9million euros we’ll have got for Frank. At the end of the day, we always knew and more importantly, Lampard always knew that if he left his contract until this point, Chelsea would lose millions in the event of his departure. I just fail to see how any supporter can see that as a sign of a player who really cares about his club or finds it acceptable.


Look maybe I expect too much. Maybe that’s how the dynamics of football work, as Arsene Wenger said ‘transfer fees are irrelevant now, players can start demanding new contracts or moves within 2 seasons at a new club’.


I am all for player empowerment, but only within a certain moral standing.