A Little Lunacy!

Notice anything new? Of course you do, silly! The blog has got a new hat err… I mean header! I spent a while scouring the web for something that would suit the identity of this blog – nonsensical, lazy and pointless. But maybe I’m the one and only owner of such a property in BlogLand, indicated by the lack of any suitable images.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. In my case, it was more like ‘When you can’t whack something off the web, get off your lazy arse and make it yourself’. And the result is there to behold – a 5-minute effort that would make Picasso turn in his grave.

Nice, sharp and to-the-point.

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Chelsea 1-1 Burnley

Burnley win on penalties.

Ouch! This was not in the script. Not at all. In cup competitions there are instances of David slaying Goliath every now and then, but when that Goliath happens to be Chelsea FC, the earth is bound to shake a bit more than usual.

Didier Drogba, returning from injury, gave Chelsea the lead after being set up by Lampard. Frank Lampard himself had just come on in place of Belletti, who had gone off injured. Drogba celebrated his goal by tossing wads of cash into the crowd, like a crazy millionaire. Err, actually he just picked up a coin that had been thrown onto the pitch and tossed it back to its rightful owner among the 6000 Burnley supporters. And Didier can expect a call from the FA very soon.

With 20 minutes remaining, Ade Akinyibi equalized for Burnley. Both teams finished the game with 10 men. Franco Di Santo got injured and all 3 Chelsea substitutions had already been used. Burnley’s Steven Caldwell was sent off for picking up a second yelow card. Burnley held on to force a penalty shootout after the score remained at 1-1 after 120 minutes of football.

And what is it with Chelsea and penalties? I don’t remember us having won a penalty shootout in a million years! Burnley goalkeeper Brian Jensen saved Mikel’s shot in sudden death, sparking massive celebrations among the travelling fans.

So Chelsea suffer their third defeat under Mr.Scolari and are out of the Carling Cup. And something tells me, I might have jinxed this game by mentioning the giant-killing acts of the past season too many times in my preview. Oh well, at least now we can concentrate on the other 3 competitions and try to finish off games before they reach penalties.

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It’s that time of the year when teams from the lower leagues are drawn against some of the biggest clubs in Europe, fighting for pride, glory and giant-killing honours. No, it’s not Football Manager time, it’s the Carling Cup!

Chelsea are up against Burnley from the second tier of English football, who will no doubt be looking to do a Barnsley. After all, the giant-killers Barnsley beat Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea as well, to reach the semi-finals of The FA Cup last year. Maybe Barnsley had Lady Luck tied up in the luggage compartment of their team bus, but that’s no excuse for taking a lower-league opponent lightly.

I’ll expect Mr. Scolari to field a strong team, with a mix of youth and experience. Drogba is likely to start after bidding farewell to the medical staff, who must be having their hands full these days. I hope Ivanovic starts as well; the poor lad hasn’t put a foot wrong and still can’t get a game! And please, oh please, give Di Santo some time on the pitch. Apart from these, I don’t expect wholesale changes to the Chelsea lineup.

As for the result, barring a calamity of gigantic proportions (a fancy phrase for complacency), we should win this one comfortably.

P.S. – Those who can’t watch the game on TV, tune into a stream of your choice from here.

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