Boro v Chelsea
FA Cup Quarter Final
Saturday 19/3/22
K.O 17:15
After the hurly burly of the frenetic Championship race to reach the riches of the Premiership, we turn now to the glamour of the FA Cup. An institution in our game that was originally played at 3 p.m every Saturday. I used to relish the excitement of possibly drawing a big name team, culminating in a final at Wembley and this year that dream may come true!
Turning to the present time, we now play FA Cup fixtures on different days of the week, at various times and have a semi final and a final at Wembley. What happened to tradition? Is the magic of the FA Cup still alive? For Boro fans this year especially, the answer is, a most emphatic yes.
The quarter final of the F.A. Cup (I love writing that!). The quarter final of the F.A. Cup will be played on a Saturday, albeit at a quarter past five in the evening and shown live on BBC Television around the world.
Boro, who have currently dropped down to 7th place in the Championship, play Chelsea who are currently third in the Premier League. On paper there would appear to be no contest between the teams as it is rumoured that Chelsea have at least seven players who are earning over £200k per week and a squad who have been assembled for millions of pounds. Compare that to the Boro squad, who have been cobbled together to form a team from their much vaunted Academy. Added to that are some free transfer players, a few loan players and a handful of players signed at reasonable fees.
This is a game where we cannot really compare stats for both teams as Chelsea are literally in a different league. The Boro must hope that the weary legs of Crooks, Jones and Howson can be reinvigorated and produce match winning performances for the team. It is pleasing that Connolly and Balogun seem to be finally fitting into the Wilder brand of football and both produced their best performances to date on Tuesday against Birmingham. If Lumley can continue his match winning saves on Saturday then we must surely be going to Wembley!
I expect all the Boro team to perform and now Dijksteel has been returned to the defence we have our renewed pace down the right hand side to integrate with Jones. I must admit I fancy Paddy to score on Saturday as his driving runs through the middle from defence seem to find holes whatever the opposition.
Chris Wilder admitted at the press conference on Monday that he had sampled the hospitality of Premiership Fayre and watched a Chelsea game first hand at their ground with his coaching team. It is doubtful if he learned anything as Chelsea could pick two different teams to face the Boro and still win the game.
Not being defeatist about our potential to win on Saturday but I do think that Chelsea despite their problems will prove to be a more difficult team to beat than our previous F.A. Cup opponents this year.
The problems and pages of news that Chelsea have accumulated this week and last are manifold.
The Ricketts family - owners of the Chicago Cubs - have confirmed that they will bid for Chelsea on Friday. Billionaire hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin is also involved in the bid.
A group that includes Sir Martin Broughton and Sebastien Coe are also reportedly set to make an offer to buy Chelsea in the coming hours. The consortium will launch a takeover bid in the next 48 hours before Friday’s deadline.
In another potential blow to Chelsea, it is rumoured that Manchester United want to appoint Chelsea Manager Thomas Tuchel as their new manager. Ralf Rangnick’s interim tenure at Man U suffered its biggest setback to date when United were dumped out of the Champions League On Tuesday following an insipid display against Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford. United are said to have been impressed at the way in which Tuchel has handled himself and fronted up in the midst of the unprecedented situation at Chelsea.
UEFA are confident that Chelsea will be able to continue their Champions League campaign this season despite Roman Abramovich’s wider sanctions
after his assets were frozen by the UK government. The EU placed a similar punishment upon the Russian’s shoulders. Some feared this might directly affect the involvement of Thomas Tuchel’s men in Europe. Their ability to fulfil away fixtures continues to be discussed, as they only have a budget of £20,0000 per each game on the road.
On a brighter note for Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel saw his side progress to the quarter-final of the European competition after sealing a 2-1 win over Lille on Wednesday.
“UEFA officials and the EU have had discussions and Chelsea can continue to play in the Champions League and maybe returning to France in May for the Champions League final.”
Chelsea have also been put under pressure by their sponsors “Three” to remove the telecommunications company's logo from their club shirts.
The Blues are now operating under a special license - severely limiting their revenue streams - and shirt sponsors “Three” have suspended their partnershipworth £40million per annum. However, the logos have yet to be removed from the club's shirts.
Chelsea have also been handed a major boost ahead of their upcoming FA Cup quarter-final tie at the Riverside after they were cleared to fly to Teesside, The Champions League holders had been facing the prospect of a round trip in excess of 10 hours for Saturday's televised encounter due to the sanctions.
So Diasborians let’s see who will be flying high on Saturday evening? Chelski or the Boro? Will we be Blue or Red in the face after cheering out Boro heroes on to Wembley !
Me I’m going for. 2-2 after extra time and winning 6-5 on penalties !
OFB
Many thanks, OFB.
All I'm saying is that the way the games have fallen, I've done the previews for the third, fourth and fifth rounds, so no pressure!
Andy
So is the pressure on you? Me ? Or the Boro?
😄
OFB
The fact is that Chelsea have only become a super club since Roman Abramovich took over in 2003. Like many London and southern clubs they are comparatively a young club when compared to the Lancashire and Midlands clubs having not been formed till 1905 the 126th club of those still in existence who have played in the English Football League, 29 years later than Boro who are 25th chronologically in that particular table.
Chelsea, unlike a number of clubs who started as rugby or cricket clubs, were formed purely on a collection of footballers in the ‘Rising Sun Pub’, Holborn and applied for membership to the Southern League. But they didn’t win their first Division One title until 1955 having been the butt of the jokes of many comedians, especially the late Tommy Trinder chairman of neighbours Fulham whose standard catch word was “You Lucky People!”
Their first FA Cup win didn’t occur until 1970 against Leeds United when Ken Bates was the owner, but were almost relegated to the Third Division in 1982 when they finished 4th from bottom, although they won the Second Division title in the following season to regain their First Division status. Nevertheless it was Boro who won the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1988 to replace the Pensioners in the First Division.
Then of course Chelsea won their Second FA Cup Final against Boro in 1997 under Ruud Gullitt. Up to then Chelsea’s record might have been better than Boro’s, but it was the financial input from Roman Ambromovic that set them apart from the likes of Boro. Since then Chelsea have won 5 Premier League titles and 8 FA Cup wins.
Boro have only met Chelsea twice at home in the FA Cup, the first time in a 3rd Round match at Ayresome Park in 1993 which Boro won 2-1 with goals from Tommy Wright and Willie Falconer when the crowd was a paltry 16,766. The second time was a 5th Round meeting at the Riverside which Boro lost 0-2 before a crowd of 29,796, so can tomorrow’s match be described as the decider? I’m not as precise as OFB, but I agree that Boro will win after extra time and a penalty shootout.
Thanks for the starter OFB and the optimism. Having seen Chelsea beat Boro 3 times at Wembley, they are the team I dislike most so it will be great if we can beat them. I hope that in spite of the evident tiredness the team are able to raise their game as they did against Manchester United and Tottenham. I was disappointed that Chelsea didn't have a harder game against Lille on Wednesday.
As some have suggested earlier, I also prefer to be at the Riverside and to enjoy(?) the atmosphere rather than watch matches on TV. At least, as I will be staying with my sister, I only have the train journey to pay for this time though I have booked my hotel rooms for the next 3 home games. As I live alone I don't have to worry too much about the cost of hotels and meals though inflation will definitely be reducing the value of my pensions. I will be renewing my season card for my 10th year.
Great intro and certainly we will all be watching from Bahrain.
Were any of our members at the Boro Chelsea game in 1967 when Eric Mac Mordie scored two goals to send 1st division Chelsea crashing out of the cup to recently promoted second division Boro?
It was this game that convinced me to become a Boro supporter following the hype of the Oxford match ... many of my classmates at SGS were at the match and that's all they talked about for the next week. Sadly I didn't go but sure wished I had been there.
They all knew someone who knew the guy that stole Peter Bernetti's medals from behind the goal - did he ever get them back and was the perpetrator ever caught?
Unfortunately I think this will be the end of our glorious, giant-killing cup run.
Whilst we’ve beaten Man Utd and Spurs - quite convincingly for the latter even if it was only 1-0 - I think Chelsea are a level above those two and the competition gets serious around the Quarter Final stage.
I expect us to bring our best and give them a game but they have so much quality and, crucially, are very strong at the back unlike Man U and Spurs.
I don’t know if Tuchel will rest one or two but I noticed that Mason Mount and Reece James didn’t start in the Chanpions League for them which suggests they might against us. James, in particular, has been explosive when fit from right wingback.
Hoping for another win by any means ahead of the international break but I think this might be it for us. Boro 0-2 Chelsea.
Thanks for the starter OFB and the optimism. Having seen Chelsea beat Boro 3 times at Wembley, they are the team I dislike most so it will be great if we can beat them. I hope that in spite of the evident tiredness the team are able to raise their game as they did against Manchester United and Tottenham. I was disappointed that Chelsea didn't have a harder game against Lille on Wednesday.
As some have suggested earlier, I also prefer to be at the Riverside and to enjoy(?) the atmosphere rather than watch matches on TV. At least, as I will be staying with my sister, I only have the train journey to pay for this time though I have booked my hotel rooms for the next 3 home games. As I live alone I don't have to worry too much about the cost of hotels and meals though inflation will definitely be reducing the value of my pensions. I will be renewing my season card for my 10th year.
Wembley I hate the place, seen us score one and never win there.....
On the other hand I love Wembley though as I have watched my beloved Cas Tigers win 3 times out of 4 attempts, but then my life hasn’t always revolved around Boro, it just seems like it at times. I bet Martin Bellamy loves the place also as Wigan won 8 times in consecutive years from 1988 to 1995.
Exmil,
Thanks for that information, hopefully it will finally shut Chelsea's whingeing up. Closed doors, sporting integrity, long bus journey, we want to fly and we can't, finally being allowed to fly. What a pity Boro can't play in Blue and Yellow, and win.
Well done to Boro. A great example set.
UTB,
John
Thanks OFB for another excellent starter.
Won't be watching live tomorrow as we have a prior engagement with the golf crowd for our monthly meal, so will record it and hope no one tells me the score over the dinner table but not holding my breath on that one!
I am in agreement with Andy, I don't think we will score against a very good defence and certainly better than our last two opponents. I expect that will will give them a game but their much stronger forward line will overpower us during normal time. Boro 0-3 Chelski sadly. 😎
Worth posting twice UTB.
Come on BORO.
I've been worried that this might be a Premier League scalp too far ever since we pulled them out of the hat. Nothing to make me lose that anxiety in fact I suspect a lot of this week's shenanigans has been about building up a sense of injustice in their players who will come on our pitch with a point to want to make and determined to humiliate us.
So. Best I can imagine is that we go down fighting hard. Boro 1 - Chelski 3.
Proud to read about Boro donating the Boro part of the gate receipt for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. What a difference, us and Clelsea. Never mind they should beat us easily, we are in a totally different class in every truly important respect.
Has anybody else had problems renewing their season ticket online.
I received my renewal email from MFC, tried to renew…….all I got was an “error” message after going through the process.
Good Article in the Guardian regarding the comparable history over the past few years in the Premiership of Chelsea and Boro
OFB
Has anybody else had problems renewing their season ticket online.
I received my renewal email from MFC, tried to renew…….all I got was an “error” message after going through the process.
Pedro
I tried to buy Peterborough tickets online yesterday. It all worked until the payment, which was refused 4 times on 2 different cards. Like you, i got the error message. I had to join the interminable queue (90 minutes!!) of callers to the ticket office. The previous day I’d seen a tweet from Boro that someone had forwarded: apparently, either the banks or the government have brought in a new system designed to enhance online security. The tweet said this has caught out a large number of businesses, as it’s been introduced earlier than expected, including Boro. The source said the club is working very hard to fix the issue asap. My guess is you may have to wait a few days before you try again.
Great intro and certainly we will all be watching from Bahrain.
Were any of our members at the Boro Chelsea game in 1967 when Eric Mac Mordie scored two goals to send 1st division Chelsea crashing out of the cup to recently promoted second division Boro?
I was at that game, Allan! I was just 14 at the time. I remember my Dad took me, which was unusual, and we sat in the lower tier of the main stand, the only time I ever did so until I was there for the last game at Ayresome. I don’t remember much about the Chelsea game, though I seem to recall a great atmosphere. I do seem to remember that very soon after Chelsea signed our impressive young left back, Geoff Butler, so I guess he must have had a very good game against them.
Proud to read about Boro donating the Boro part of the gate receipt for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. What a difference, us and Clelsea. Never mind they should beat us easily, we are in a totally different class in every truly important respect.
How very true! It makes you proud to be a Boro fan, doesn’t it?
This is an amazing gesture by Steve Gibson. Ive done a back-of-fag-packet calculation. Let’s say ticket prices average out at £15, taking into account old codgers like me and the prices for youngsters. It may be more than that, admittedly. Let’s also assume a minimum crowd of 30000. That’s gate receipts of £450000, at a conservative estimate. Boro get 45% of that, so that’s about £202000. They may decide to take out some of the costs of fielding the game, such as staffing, stewarding and the like, though it doesn’t sound like that from what has been said. Whatever, the sum involved would probably be enough to pay the players’ wages for a week?
It says to me that not only is Steve Gibson a man of immense stature, humanity and generosity, he’s also pretty confident that the financial future of the club is not in doubt. We’re evidently not in danger of being hit by FFP sanctions. Perhaps Gibson has also begun negotiating a deal for Djed Spence and knows we’ll be due a healthy windfall in summer?
If only the government (taking Chelsea’s share) and the FA would repeat this fantastic gesture and give their shares to Ukraine, too. Fat chance of that happening.
I think we’ll lose tomorrow. I just hope we give them a good game and a serious fright.
Good Article in the Guardian regarding the comparable history over the past few years in the Premiership of Chelsea and Boro
OFB
And another one in the same paper, OFB, and just to remind us of how important sporting integrity is in the mindset at Chelsea:
I've copied the direct quotation from Tuchel here,
“If somebody buys a club for this amount of money then it’s about challenging on the highest kind of level, then it’s about trophies, then it’s about winning and then it’s about being the best you can"
Not that any of us was ever in any doubt, it is all about buying success.
The Kevin Keegan quotation about just loving it doesn't even come close to how much I would love it if lightning will strike for the third time today despite my prediction.
CoB
Not sure what to expect tonight only hope that we can give them a good game and not be embarrassed. As we have two weeks off I wonder if Watmore might start and run himself into the ground and harry them into a mistake. The referee tonight is Paul Tierney , the last time he refereed us was also a cup tie against a Premier League team from London beginning with C and we won. It was Palace with Lewis Wing’s strike.
With a sellout crowd of around 34,000, I estimate gate receipts will be between £840k and £1m. So, that will mean a donation in the order of £400k and possibly more.
Not an insignificant sum. I hope that the BBC don't forget to acknowledge this on air tonight.
This makes the donation even more impressive.
Come on BORO.
This makes the donation even more impressive.
Come on BORO.
The question you posed on the EG website Exmil is very pertinent ie where does this leave the club in respect of FFP. An important point which the EG has not addressed! 😎
@KP-in-Spain
I think Financial Fair Play has been adjusted to account for lost revenue due to Covid - indeed, I think UEFA have even suspended it for European competitions.
Here is an article about a change of rules for FFP due to Covid at a recent EFL club meeting...
https://www.efl.com/news/2022/february/meeting-of-efl-championship-clubs/
I suspect few clubs will be punished unless there was obvious overspending and the plan for amortisation of player registrations will further spread costs.
Anyway, just beginning to get excited about today's big game - possibly the biggest since Boro were in the PL. A win today and Boro head to Wembley and an even a bigger game - However, I think Chelsea could be a far tougher proposition than either Spurs or Man Utd as they are a more consistent side with a good manager who won't be complacent.
Thanks to OFB for his excellent preview, which highlighted that Chelsea football club are somewhat distracted at the moment from their Abramovich fallout - with some bizarre thinking coming out of the club. Whether this will filter down to the players and effect their focus is another matter but they also have just returned from a tough game at Lille so another trip to Teesside may blunt their edge.
I think today's game is dependent on Boro being quick out of the blocks and getting at Chelsea before they settle - if they do then I wouldn't be surprised to see Boro go into the break a couple of goals up if the Chelsea players are in anyway distracted by all the off-field problems.
Anyway, let's hope for a good display and maybe, just maybe, another day for Boro to enjoy being in limelight!
Belated thanks OFB for the Headliner.
Just hoping we put on a good show in front of a packed partisan home crowd.
One has to assume Mr Gibson will have all his ducks in a row with regards to FFP and the effects of the Pandemic will allow that to happen.
https://footballeconomyv2.blogspot.com/2022/03/big-losses-at-boro.html
However the above link states that the average wage at MFC is 12500 per week.
I am not convinced many are worth that, never mind the likes of McNair and Howson rumoured to being on around 20K.
I’m not underestimating Boro’s task tonight as Chelsea have only failed to score twice away from home this season, at Man City 0-1 and at Wolves 0-0 so for Boro to score tonight might be deemed to be far-fetched so it’s imperative that Boro don’t concede a goal tonight especially an early goal. However, cast your minds back to the 24th of January in the 4th Round of the FA Cup in 2015. That was the day that Boro shocked the world with a 2-0 away win against Man City, but arguably a greater shock that day was Chelsea losing at home to Bradford City 2-4 as the Pensioners had won the FA Cup 3 times in 4 years under 3 different managers, 2-1 against Everton in 2009 under Guus Hiddink, 1-0 against Portsmouth in 2010 under Carlo Ancelotti, and more significantly 3-2 against Liverpool in 2012 under Rafael Benitez. The defeat against Bradford City was under Jose Mourinho in his second spell with the club. So Chelsea at that time were top of the tree especially as FA Cup matches were concerned. Having said all that, beating Chelsea tonight would be Boro’s greatest achievement in their history as a second tier club, and I still think that Boro will do it if not in extra time, on a penalty shoot out.
As for Steve Gibson’s donation to the Ukraine appeal it just shows our Chairman’s compassion and generosity to good causes. Boro have already been guaranteed prize money of £180,000 by reaching the Quarterfinals of the FA Cup and that will be doubled if they win tonight.
Taylor at fault for both Boro goals
Chelsea have seem a weak link down that side
OFB