Chelsea
Fergie Rant over Chelsea Fixture Advantage!
ALEX FERGUSON
By dixon9
April 11 2008
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson today claimed that despite Chelsea being forced to play Everton away on the Thursday after the Monday game against Wigan, the London club have the ADVANTAGE in the Premier League as well as the Champion’s League regarding rest days. The latest Fergie rant has surprised our fans and club alike in what seems like a rediculous claim.
"They've got a good rest for Monday and then three days later they've got Everton away and then they've got a five-day break before they play Liverpool," he said.
"Then they've got a four-day break before they play us in the league game. Our schedule is a bit more congested.
Then, in what I can only assume is a sarcastic broadside by Ferguson:"But I'm sure Avram will go and complain to the league and make sure there's fairness by changing Chelsea's kick-off on the Saturday to the night time."
(How about you Fergie? Let´s hear you ask for our Everton away game to be played at the weekend as your corresponding fixture is?! - Ed).
We have been feeling very hard done by with the hastily re-arranged fixtures and Chelsea had already announced what the club perceive as an unfair competitive advantage in the Premier League after the Everton away change on their web site:
“Chelsea Football Club is extremely disappointed with the announcement today regarding the Everton fixture.
“We believe the decision to hold the match on Thursday April 17 undermines the sporting integrity of the competition by giving our rivals for the Premier League title an unnecessary competitive advantage at a critical time of the season, with more recovery time from their previous match and preparation time for their next fixture when we have to play two games during the same period.
“Secondly there has been no consideration given to our fans who will be presented with serious travel, work and other issues."
Here’s a table of the fixture run-in with rest days in between the fixtures (Liverpool fans will have to forgive me putting the Champion’s League final in – purely for what-if purposes!):
Ferguson also says that the latter part of the fixture run-in gives us more recovery time between matches (apparently forgetting the extra rest his own club will have between this and next weekend).
Chelsea fans also have had to suffer the Newcastle away game being changed to a Bank Holiday Monday (!!!) as reported by Since 66 in his recent article – although this does give the team a bit of extra rest – but a rest not required or really useful – we’d much rather have the Everton fixture put forward to the original Saturday rather then just 3 days after playing Wigan whilst Man Utd and Arsenal put their feet up!
It’s quite correct that after playing Wigan on the Monday and then what should be a very difficult away game at Everton on the Thursday, we then have more rest before the first-leg semi-final at Anfield on the Tuesday after – but if anything, this is a disadvantage to LIVERPOOL in the Champions League and not Man Utd in the Premier League!
Ferguson is a master of mind games but this latest rant leaves him looking ridiculous.
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Stumbleupon11/04/2008 20:56
Well he wasn't told we have been conspired against by the PL and Sky.
As it happens I think it has worked out quite well HAHAHA
Don't Gamble, Bet Risk Free
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
Quote:tamotu
both sets and teams and fans are goign to complain some times there are bigger gaps sometimes smaller gaps this is how it happens, and stop with the conspiricay theory
(1) We are talking about fixtures which were only re-arranged VERY recently and suddenly for no apparant reason.
(2) We are not talking about re-arrangements due to fixture congestion.
(3) How can you justify making a team play a PL match on a THURSDAY when it is known that they are also playing on a MONDAY - giving Chelsea only 3 days rest and the competition a full weeks rest in a vital league run-in ?
(4) Why not Arsenal or Man Utd? Why only Chelsea?
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008:04:14:15:11:23 by dixon9.
Arsenal and Man Utd - 1 week between 2 league games. Chelsea 3 days.
It´s not rocket science!
And as we saw last night, (and partly due to our managers failings) we rested players for Thursday with disasterous consequences.
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
this is part of playing football at the highest level, if you are still in the cl at this stage of teh season there is going to be fixture congestion nothing anyone can do it about it
i dont think amtrches should be rearranged for tv though, but i dont think it has overly disadvantaged you as your manager should be playing to win every game at this stage of the season
THE CHANGE WAS NOT DUE TO FIXTURE CONGESTION!
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
i am not condoning matches being moved simply to fill tv timetables!
however these players are meant to be very fit athletes, for example an Olympic 10,000m runners will have to run that distance plus training, training runs and warms ups etc three times in about a week, competitively setting pb, ors and possibly wr's the fact is that these players should be fit enough to play this type of fixture list, especially considering the small amount of games some players have had this season
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
this isnt the first time a team has been in this situation at the end of the year though and as a football club Chelsea should be buying so that their squad is capable of coping with these type of situations
Quote:tamotu
...and as a football club Chelsea should be buying so that their squad is capable of coping with these type of situations
You must be one of the very very few football fans that would say that!
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
i think that any squad that reilistacally expects to compete in the premiership and Europe should have a squad that is strong enough to allow them to play games close together
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
they aren't the only team with lots of expensive players but merely i am criticising the complaining about the fixtures and saying why i think there is no real reason to complain
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
1 day rest stop bloody moaning
FFS!
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
After Monday's result, Sky have been bitten in the bum
So who is your team 'born to do dishes?' outta interest.
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Quote:Since 66
So who is your team 'born to do dishes?' outta interest.
Possibly a member of the fairer sex?
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
FFS!
.[/]
If you had performed better in the season then it would'nt matter would it.
Lincoln City.
And yes it could of f*cked up peoples promotion, relegation prospects.
But at our level theres plenty of times especially around national holidays were we get 1 maybe 2 days rest at best.
Your squad is big enough to put out two teams capable of beating everton and wigan. But no its poor ol moneybags chelsea with superfit athletes can't deal with 3 days rest after a game boohoo.
3 days ent a bad amount of rest its what you normally get for a saturday/tuesday type sceanario, now you get more days rest for your next game than everyone else and if man utd lose at blackburn then its advantage you.
As it happens last nite's result was a good one whereas Wigan was sh88e in comparison and you cannot legislate for a 'keeper having a blinder aka Chris Kirkland.
And you are right that your team plays alot over a period of a week - once upon a time so did the Premiership when it was the 'old Division one.'
With the CL game against Liverpool coming up - Chelsea have got two days more rest - so it has turned out quite well.
Don't Gamble, Bet Risk Free
I really despair at how some people dont get the point!
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
If manure had been the one's told to do it, whiskey gob would have thrown his toys out.
Quite ironic that he's still moaning. Probably feels it's mind games.
Sir Alex Ferguson has complained that Chelsea have a big advantage in tomorrow's title six-pointer because they have had an extra day's rest after the clubs' midweek Champions League games.
Chelsea faced Liverpool on Tuesday night while Manchester United travelled to Barcelona on Wednesday night for their semi-final, giving them under three days to recover before tomorrow's lunchtime fixture at Stamford Bridge.
"The fixture is not fair in terms of the timing between the two games," said Ferguson. "Chelsea have four days to get themselves ready ... There is no question that is a big advantage because, unfortunately, all we have are 60 hours. It is not fair but once you shake hands with the devil there is nothing you can do about it."
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Can you believe it? We had to face Wigan on the Monday and then Everton on the Thursday whilst they had a whole weeks rest between their corresponding league games!
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
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