After a two week break, for international football, our Premier League season resumes with a tasty little trip to White Hart Lane, to take on a Tottenham side managed by a certain Andre Villas-Boas.
Naturally, the Portuguese manager will be desperately keen to get one over on his former employers by inflicting, upon us, our first Premier League defeat of the season.
And, as games go, there`s also the small matter of Spurs being more than a trifle miffed that our marvelous exploits, in the Allianz Arena, back in May, deprived them of a much-coveted Champions League place this season.
No doubt White Hart Lane will be fired up for this clash, with Andre Villas-Boas` backside scraping on the turf as he squats in that familiar position trying to analyze where it`s all going wrong whilst his former #2, Roberto Di Matteo, looks on serenely as the new-style Chelsea, a style that has elevated to the top-of-the-table, search for a second win in North London in a matter of weeks.
There`s no knowing for sure what will happen on Saturday, football has a strange way of bringing you down to earth with a huge bump or raising you to a high you never want to lose.
But one thing is certain; one thing is going to happen that is for sure. Come hell or high-water from 12:30 onwards the traveling support will be clearing their throats, opening their mouths and using their fine vocal chords to chant:-
"We know what we are, Champions of Europe, we know what we are."
Repeat
Repeat
For once, stuff the quotes (we`ll cover those nearer the game) and wherever you may be, join those lucky enough to have tickets in joining it, 19th May 2012 - one of those moments that you`ll remember until the day you die!
A lot has happened at White Hart Lane since Didier Drogba slotted home that penalty, in the shoot-out, against Bayern Munich to land us our first ever Champions League Final triumph. Daniel Levy, for one, has changed the guard at Rottenham Palace; Uncle Harry has been shown the door and some young upstart called Andre Villas-Boas has taken over the managerial reigns.
Other familiar faces have also departed. Ledly King has hung up his boots, Rafael Van der Vaart has departed for greener pastures whilst the sale of Luca Modric has reminded us all that Spurs are never too far away from being called a selling club!
But there has been movement into White Hart Lane with Andre Villas-Boas making the signing of Adebayor permanent whilst also signing a talented keeper in the shape of Hugo Lloris, thereby, seemingly, ending the Spurs career of Brad Freidel.
But, although I`ve been a tad dismissive of those who have a chicken as a badge, I should slightly redress the balance by pointing out that they do have some talented players with the wide-men of Bale and Lennon able to stretch defenses and Defoe able to capitalize on any half-chances.
However, perhaps the smartest move Andre Villas-Boas has made, apart from clearing his desk at Chelsea, is procuring the services of the former Fulham duo of Moussa Dembele and Clint Dempsey, both of whom are more than capable of changing a game around.
Unfortunately a former Chelsea player Scott Parker, remains sidelined due to injury. Parker, now with his fourth London club, will be missed in what could be a feisty affair.
The Welsh flyer appears to have started the season well and is back to the kind of form that terrorized defenses, at times, last season. Can he be a pivotal factor in a win Andre Villas-Boas would die for? We`ll just have to wait and see won`t we!
Roberto Di Matteo will be hoping that none of his international stars will have returned with injuries that are likely to prohibit their availability for this fixture.
Likely to be absent from the squad though are Frank Lampard, Ryan Bertrand and John Terry. The first two having picked up problems whilst with the international squad and the latter through starting the ban imposed by the FA after the Anton Ferdinand fiasco was brought to a close.
We`re hoping that Daniel Sturridge had shaken off the injury that has kept him side-lined for several weeks now but we wouldn`t hold our breath and as for Marko Marin`s availability, you tell me!
Don`t expect Roberto to stray too far from the following starting eleven:-
Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Mikel, Ramires, Oscar, Hazard, Mata, Torres
White Hart Lane, and a white hot atmosphere, is just the sort of game that will delight our somewhat maverick central defender. There`s something about such occasions that Luiz thrives on. Hopefully, he`ll keep his defending tight, not be too maverick bringing the ball out of defense and will, given the chance, bury a free kick similar to that which he scored in Copenhagen.
White Hart Lane, or Three Point Lane as we used to lovingly call it, has provided us with some wonderful memories. Once upon a time you just knew that a visit to N17 would bring us three points.
Reflecting on a few memories I can recall:-
- The marvelous 6-1 win and that Tor Andre Flo hat-trick
- Marcel Desailly`s late, late winner.
- A 4-0 thrashing that helped ease the pain of being on the receiving end of a 5-1 reverse in the Rumbelows Cup.
- That marvelous night when, in the FA Cup replay, Andrey Shevchenko scored a scorcher as we marched into the next round.
And I`m sure you all have your own wonderful memories. Indeed, I caught a quote from Tor Andre Flo whereby the Norwegian intimated that if Chelsea were on a bad run they`d look to the Spurs fixture knowing they`d get that win to turn their fortunes around.
But, in recent times, White Hart Lane hasn`t been such a happy hunting ground.
Guus Hiddink, in his brief temporary tenure as Chelsea manager suffered his only defeat there whilst others, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti to name two, have also failed to reproduce that remarkable period whereby we ruled the roost quite comfortably in N17.
The officials appointed for this fixture are:- Referee - M. Dean Assistant - S. Ledger Assistant - J. Brooks Fourth Official - L. Mason
Now this fixture could go one of two ways. The first scenario will see Chelsea take their second scalp in North London, in a matter of weeks, in a hard fought fixture, thereby maintaining their place as pace-setters in the Premier League this season, leaving all Chelsea supporters with smug grins all over their faces. Or The second scenario will see a husky voiced Portuguese coach stood over a microphone, post-match, uttering words of intolerable length and stringing together sentences that nobody truly understands, as he celebrates getting some kind of revenge over Chelsea. Which of the two scenarios do you see prevailing?
In midweek we resume our Champions League campaign with a tricky fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk, on Tuesday 22nd October, followed by a Premier League visit, next Sunday, from a team from Salford going by the name of Manchester United.
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