Bitter War of Words

High Flying

By BlueBlood
February 3 2005

Blackburn's manager waged a war of words after Chelsea's victory at Ewood Park last night. Hughes said: "I was a little bit more upset that the opposing manager was not gracious enough to shake my hand," said Hughes, after seeing his side lose 1-0.

"Sometimes you have to be gracious in defeat but you also have to be gracious in victory afterwards.

"I have no idea why. Perhaps he was too busy on the field with his players." BOO HOO Hughesy, BOO HOO!

However, Mourinho dismissed suggestions that he had snubbed Hughes.

He said: "I shook hands with him before the game two or three times. When the game finished I went onto the pitch with my players.

"I think this is ridiculous, the game has finished, I’m happy, I want to be with my players, I don’t want to be with other people.

"If I see him when I leave the building of course I would shake his hand."

Mourinho also criticised Blackburn’s tactics in the match.

"They felt they couldn’t beat us playing football so they tried to beat us in a different way - direct football, first ball, second ball, being nasty and hard and trying to intimidate players.

"During this afternoon it rained only in this stadium - our kitman saw it - they tried everything. There must be a microclimate here. It hadn’t even rained here at all and yet the pitch was like a swimming pool.

"Then you look at the blond boy in midfield, Robbie Savage, who commits 20 fouls during the game and never gets a booking.

"We came here to play football and it was not a football game, it was a fight and we fought and I think we fought fantastically, with a lot of spirit, with a solid defence, with everyone fighting for the same cause."

Hughes built a reputation as a hardman in his days as a player with Man U, Barcelona and Chelsea of course. At Chelsea he was regarded as a cult hero, instantly loved by the fans when he signed on the dotted line.

But the with performance and antics of some of his team last night, someways crossing the line of hard and physical play, maybe Chelsea fans love affair with Hughes is on the wane.

Ref Uriah Rennie did not do anything to help the situation, by refusing to book Paul Dickov until the hour mark, letting Robbie Savage get away with murder throughout the whole ninety minutes and even having the front to book John Terry for a tackle on Dickov when he clearly played the ball and not the man.

This was a very important victory paid at a heavy price. The fact that Chelsea are now eleven points clear of Man Utd and thirteen points ahead of Arsenal certainly makes a bitter pill easier to swallow.

Jose's Premiership Record 2004-05

v Man Utd (H) W1-0

v Birmingham City (A) W1-0

v Crystal Palace (A) W2-0

v Southampton (H) W2-1

v Aston Villa (A) D0-0

v Tottenham Hotspur (H) D0-0

v Middlesbrough (A) W1-0

v Liverpool (H) W1-0

v Man City (A) L0-1

v Blackburn Rovers (H) W4-0

v WBA (A) W4-1