By 41 Years A Blue
October 14 2006

Considering Carlo Cudicini's injury looked worse than Petr Cech's at THUGGISH Reading tonight where the Champions had to play with John Terry in goal for the final minute, Carlo attended the local hospital and has subsequently been discharged.

It is quite remarkable that Carlo has been allowed to go home considering he was stretchered off with his neck in a brace and breathing through an oxygen mask after the horrific challenge by Reading's centre-back Ibrahim Sonko.

Whatever you think and I have already said what I have think, considering the 'Special One's' reputation I find his remarks about both Cech and Carlo' incidents rather restrained.

Jose said "The second is a violent fall.

"For me it is a fall for a yellow card. The way Carlo hits the ground was unlucky.

"But the first challenge is unbelievable," referring to the 20 second challenge at the start of the game by Hunt on Cech. Jose said, "The goalkeeper grabs the ball, has the ball in his hands, slides because he dives and the pitch is wet, and the player goes direct for him.

"He cannot go for the ball and goes with his knee on his face. If he didn’t break a bone in his face, Cech is a lucky boy.

"I am not saying the intention was to send my player to hospital. That is something only the Reading player can say. He says that it was not intentional and I believe players. But it was a very stupid challenge and it was a challenge for a red card.

"In every game, you see players jumping over the keeper, players avoiding the keeper or going with the foot to the ball. But when the player goes with knee direct to the face, he doesn’t want to avoid.

"It is one for the authorities to look at in the same way they looked at Thatcher on Mendes."

This is what Coppell had to say, "There is no way Hunt went there to do damage," he said. "The referee was ten yards away, he was in a great position to see the incident and he didn’t book him. Hunt was not laughing at anyone being injured. No-one in my team would laugh at an opponent being injured."

Regarding Hunt and his laugh after the Cech challenge, Jose saw it differently. Jose claimed that he saw Hunt appearing to laugh and gee-up his team mates immediately after the incident.

As I have said before, Didier Drogba showed Hunt and every other Reading player who wanted to watch, the correct way to jump over a goalkeeper once the goalkeeper is in possession of the ball. Dids jsut didn't do it once, he did it twice.

 COME ON CHELSEA

GET WELL PETR AND CARLO

41 YEARS A BLUE