Chelsea vs. Liverpool (LC semi-final 2nd leg) - 19.45 Tues. 27th Jan. 2015

[Frogfish]

Jose Mourinho has spoken of his admiration for Steven Gerrard – and revealed that Chelsea “did everything” to try and take the Liverpool FC captain to Stamford Bridge.

And speaking ahead of the teams' League Cup semi final at Anfield on Tuesday, Mourinho urged his own club's supporters not to taunt Gerrard about his slip in last season's league meeting between the sides.
It is well-documented that Gerrard twice came close to joining Chelsea, in 2004 and 2005. On the second occasion, he handed in a transfer request, only for a late change of heart ensured he remained at Anfield.
Gerrard has always maintained that that decision was the correct one, and Mourinho agrees.
Speaking of his wish to sign Gerrard, he said: "I was dreaming of Claude Makelele, Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

“We were playing in an open triangle without a No 10, we were playing with Maka in front of the defenders and me and Mr Abramovich and (former Chelsea chief executive) Peter Kenyon were dreaming that.
“We did everything. It was almost there. But the decision for me was proven right because he will be always a red forever. Gerrard’s people were open to it and the feeling to join a top side like Chelsea, I think the feeling was there but to me personally he never said “I will go”.’
“I love these quotes when he (Gerrard) was saying that in this life he would never score against Liverpool. I love those words. I understand why he was almost, almost coming to Chelsea. But he didn't and I respect that.”

Of the 'Gerrard slip' chant, started by his own club's fans but picked up on my most others, Mourinho added: “He’s a historic player for Liverpool, a historic player for the Premier League. He’s an opponent I always admired and respected. There is a song that my fans have that I don’t like at all.
“A couple of times it’s good fun but to go and go and go, especially when a player like him deserves respect, we don’t need that. We have so many other songs, we don't need that one.”

 

[SummerOnions]

Last weeks quotes

Anyway we'll get spanked

But again the team picks itself, as long as Johnson doesn't play i'm happy

Mignolet
Can Skrtel Sakho
Markovic Lucas Henderson Moreno
Coutinho Gerrard
Sterling

 

[Judge Jules]

That last para.of what he says is a sly little trick. I wonder whether by now the Chelsea fans would still have bothered singing the song about Stevie's infamous slip if he hadn't reminded them of it.

 

[Aidan O' Neill]

That last para.of what he says is a sly little trick. I wonder whether by now the Chelsea fans would still have bothered singing the song about Stevie's infamous slip if he hadn't reminded them of it.

Of course they would, they're fucking Chelsea fans.

 

[Judge Jules]

Yeah, you're probably right.

Incidentally, unlike SummerO I'm not convinced we will get spanked. I don't expect us to win but I think we can cause them plenty of problems.

 

[Pesam]

Quick question as I wasn't at the game last week; when Chelsea fans sang about Gerrard slipping how did the Kop respond? I was talking to a Scum fan at the weekend who detests Chelsea way more than he detests us and he was surprised that Chelsea fans would sing about Gerrard slipping when John Terry's slip cost Chelsea the CL final in the penalty shoot out. If we don't already have one, we need a John Terry song that commemerates his fuck-up.

 

[Spionkop69]

We don't need a song about another team's player who slipped in a final that did not involve us.

Indeed, I prefer songs that inform people about the grandeur of Liverpool, not the denigration of our rivals. So that's a no to a specific John Terry song about that slip.

Besides we did sing a song about him. Something to do with his mums love of Scouse cock.

 

[ILD]

Quick question as I wasn't at the game last week; when Chelsea fans sang about Gerrard slipping how did the Kop respond? I was talking to a Scum fan at the weekend who detests Chelsea way more than he detests us and he was surprised that Chelsea fans would sing about Gerrard slipping when John Terry's slip cost Chelsea the CL final in the penalty shoot out. If we don't already have one, we need a John Terry song that commemerates his fuck-up.

Our fans sang our version of the song over their slippy version. It was weird as both sets of fans sang it as if in harmony with each other.

 

[Pesam]

Our fans sang our version of the song over their slippy version. It was weird as both sets of fans sang it as if in harmony with each other.

It's a bit rich that they poke fun of our captain slipping costing us the league when you consider their captains slip cost them what would have been their one and only Champions league.

 

[Mystic]

Our fans sang our version of the song over their slippy version. It was weird as both sets of fans sang it as if in harmony with each other.

We sang over the top of them, completely out voiced them (as would be expected), but apparently the Chelsea fans have no fucking idea how to sing in time, it drove me mad hearing "Steve Gerrard, Gerrard" echo about four times at the beginning of every cycle.

On a side note, I don't particularly mind Chelsea singing the song, it did happen whilst we were playing them after all, we can hardly sit here and claim we haven't sung cheeky songs about the opposition before (Steve Bruce, he has a big fat head). Same for Man City fans (do they sing?) because obviously it handed them the league, it has some relevance to them both, it's when it becomes the party piece of clubs like Crystal Palace and fucking Burnley that is does my head in.

 

[ILD]

We sang over the top of them, completely out voiced them (as would be expected), but apparently the Chelsea fans have no fucking idea how to sing in time, it drove me mad hearing "Steve Gerrard, Gerrard" echo about four times at the beginning of every cycle.

Yeah that was the weird harmony I was alluding too.

 

[FoxForceFive]

We sang over the top of them, completely out voiced them (as would be expected), but apparently the Chelsea fans have no fucking idea how to sing in time, it drove me mad hearing "Steve Gerrard, Gerrard" echo about four times at the beginning of every cycle.

On a side note, I don't particularly mind Chelsea singing the song, it did happen whilst we were playing them after all, we can hardly sit here and claim we haven't sung cheeky songs about the opposition before (Steve Bruce, he has a big fat head). Same for Man City fans (do they sing?) because obviously it handed them the league, it has some relevance to them both, it's when it becomes the party piece of clubs like Crystal Palace and fucking Burnley that is does my head in.

Yeah, it's hard to disagree with the Chelsea fans singing it I suppose.

The good thing is that they do it so often it had kinda lost its impact. Had they only done it when they played us I think it would have been more painful.

 

[Wiberg]

So ironic when in fact it was done the moment the ball went under his foot. Ba would have been clear regardless of the slip. That's how I see it anyway. It was a technical error that cost us, not the actual slip.

 

[Mystic]

Yeah, it's hard to disagree with the Chelsea fans singing it I suppose.

The good thing is that they do it so often it had kinda lost its impact. Had they only done it when they played us I think it would have been more painful.

Yep, singing it all the time it's just pathetic, I think I heard it being sung at Old Trafford when they played each other, it seems like the kind of shit Everton would be, mad.

 

[Silver Sean]

Quick question as I wasn't at the game last week; when Chelsea fans sang about Gerrard slipping how did the Kop respond? I was talking to a Scum fan at the weekend who detests Chelsea way more than he detests us and he was surprised that Chelsea fans would sing about Gerrard slipping when John Terry's slip cost Chelsea the CL final in the penalty shoot out. If we don't already have one, we need a John Terry song that commemerates his fuck-up.

No we absolutely don't. That's why we are Liverpool and they sing about us.

 

[ILD]

Our fans do sing about John Terry's mothers penchant for scouse c*ck though.

 

[Farkmaster]

The chances of me having internet or even power for this game are fairly low due to blizzard conditions tomorrow. That means I will fritter away the precious bits of power on my cellphone on this forum. PAINT ME A PICTURE WITH YOUR WORDS GENTLEMEN.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Get a couple of powerbanks charged up & throw some petrol in the generator so your mobile battery doesn't die (I refuse to call them cellphones despite it being a much more accurate name, cos I'm churlish that way) & we'll do the rest.

 

[Ijg]

Incidentally, I can see Stamford Bridge from where i'm working tomorrow, i'll be watching the game near by... fun.

 

[Spionkop69]

Our fans do sing about John Terry's mothers penchant for scouse c*ck though.

We do. But normally in response to something they sing rather than us instigating it. Generally we rarely sing about other clubs. We leave that to to ?Mancs, the rentboys and the Blueshite.

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

Michael Oliver will be the ref for this game.

Tuesday 27th January 2015
Chelsea v Liverpool
MICHAEL OLIVER
Darren England and Stuart Burt
Fourth Official Phil Dowd

Don't mind him at all. Our away record with him as our ref isn't too great though - we've yet to win a single game in 4 tries (2 draws, 2 defeats). We'll fix that tomorrow, hopefully.

Our record with Oliver as the ref: http://lfcstats.co.uk/michaeloliver.html

 

[6TimesaRed]

i cannot see Chelsea losing 3 games in a row, with Man City at the weekend (the potential 3rd)

So this will be 2-2 after extra time and we will go through on the Away Goals rule, without actually leading the game at any point..

 

[SummerOnions]

Does away goes count in this? I see a 0-0 if so

 

[jon545660]

Away goals only count after extra time. Oddly.

 

[Buddha]

Well that's a bonus for us. I thought Chelsea had got themselves a big advantage with the away goal last week.

 

[Judge Jules]

Michael Oliver will be the ref for this game.

Tuesday 27th January 2015
Chelsea v Liverpool
MICHAEL OLIVER
Darren England and Stuart Burt
Fourth Official Phil Dowd

Don't mind him at all. Our away record with him as our ref isn't too great though - we've yet to win a single game in 4 tries (2 draws, 2 defeats). We'll fix that tomorrow, hopefully.

Our record with Oliver as the ref: http://lfcstats.co.uk/michaeloliver.html

Oliver's poor, but most of them are. I haven't (yet) had the impression he's biased as such.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Away goals only count after extra time. Oddly.

Really? Wtf?!

Doubt it'll change their game plan though. Hold out at all costs & wait for a mistake (nearly said slip. Doh) to get a goal on the break.

 

[the count]

Really? Wtf?!

Doubt it'll change their game plan though. Hold out at all costs & wait for a mistake (nearly said slip. Doh) to get a goal on the break.

You are probably right.
Hopefully we manage to find a way past their parked bus.

 

[FoxForceFive]

I hope we blow the fucking bus up.

 

[gkmacca]

Matt Hughes, Tony Barrett
Published 1 minute ago


José Mourinho will respond to Chelsea’s humiliating FA Cup defeat by Bradford City on Saturday by naming his strongest team for tonight’s Capital One Cup semifinal, second leg against Liverpool. Thibaut Courtois, John Terry, Cesc Fàbregas and Diego Costa are all set to return to the starting lineup for a match that Mourinho has billed as “live or die”, even though Chelsea face Manchester City on Saturday in a meeting between the top two in the Barclays Premier League.

Liverpool will not be at full strength this evening because Daniel Sturridge is unlikely to be involved, despite travelling to London with the squad last night. The England striker is back in full training after five months out with a thigh injury sustained on international duty, but Brendan Rodgers has concluded that tonight’s match against his former club has come too soon for him, with a return to the squad for Saturday’s Premier League match at home to West Ham United representing less of a risk.

Mourinho has named strong sides in the Capital One Cup throughout the competition as part of an attempt to win the first trophy available this season, although tonight will be the first occasion he has named his firstchoice starting XI. Oscar was rested from last week’s 11 draw at Anfield in the first leg, for example, but with John Obi Mikel struggling to cope with the pace and movement of Raheem Sterling, the Brazil midfielder will return this evening, enabling Fàbregas to resume his midfield partnership with Nemanja Matic.

Mourinho admitted yesterday that the shock defeat by Bradford had increased his determination to reach the only Wembley final still open to Chelsea this season, although the quick turnaround between matches has prevented him from fully venting his anger since for fear of further damaging morale. The Portuguese gave his players the silent treatment in the dressing room on Saturday night and restricted his input to tactical and technical work when they returned to training the next day. “After such a disappointment I think that everybody wants the Capital One Cup more now, because it’s the only domestic cup we can win,” Mourinho said. “It’s a knockout game against a very good team so it’s live or die. “It’s more important now. At the end of May we don’t go to the FA Cup final, that is for sure. We don’t go even to Wembley to play an FA Cup semifinal, so to go there should mean a lot to everyone.

“We need to forget this one and think of the next one in a different competition. We are one victory from the final. The good thing about playing consecutive matches without many days in between is that when you lose you have to focus immediately on the next game. There’s not a lot of time to be moaning or analysing the bad one. So let’s move on to the next game.” With Sturridge unlikely to be involved, Sterling will again be asked to play up front on his own as a “false” No 9, but Mourinho has not devised a game plan to combat last week’s goalscorer.

“He scored a fantastic goal, but I didn’t see too much more than that,” Mourinho said. “I think Chelsea played defensively very well. In that action of scoring he was fantastic and we made a couple of mistakes in the way we approached that situation. “I was frustrated because Liverpool gave a lot of space, and we could hurt them much more than we did there. I was frustrated because normally our midfield is full of quality. I was frustrated because in that game I saw enough space to score more goals.”

Rodgers expressed fears that Chelsea may now be more dangerous opponents in thelight of their FA Cup upset, but he also suggested that throwing away a two goal lead against Bradford could damage them psychologically. “Their result at the weekend doesn’t help,” the Liverpool manager said. “It will be a great motivation for them to go out in a different competition to make a statement. They will want to go out and put it right, but in the back of their mind even if they are 2-0 up, they will have a bit of trepidation wondering what can happen.”

“For us it’s to go out and have no fear. We respect the opponent of course because they’re a very good team, but we’ve got nothing to fear in the game. We’re a team that’s in a good moment. We’re playing well, we’re working well and we know we can go there and win — that’s the key.”