We missed Duffman!
Still, we should've won. Lampard twice, Jimmy and Eidur all coming close.
And the man on every back page recently has been Claudio Ranieri. Will he still or will he go? Hopefully he will stay. Numerous players including Frank Lampard, Wayne Bridge, Damien Duff, John Terry, Marcel Desailly and Manu Petit have all stated how badly the manager has been treated, and said that thewy are all 100% behind him.
But after a goal-less draw and little chance of catching the Arsenal, what did Ranieri himself have to say ..... ?
“I said Arsenal could only lose the title but after the Liverpool match I say well done, they are the champions.
“They are the champions because they showed - not quality, because they are full of quality - but fantastic reaction and fantastic character. Well done. In my opinion, they are now the Premiership champions.”
Now we are fighting for the runners-up. Behind us there is a big shark,” he joked, “but we will try.”
Claudio then went on to state that the Premiership was the bread and butter. The Champions League a lovely bonus, but the Premiership is the one.
“The Champions League is a gamble. The Premiership is our season. The Champions League is a dream. The Premiership is our fort, our everything, all the year. Victory, defeat, everything, our consistencies. We can look on the table and think that was a good achievement. It wasn’t easy to improve so much.
“I think every time I can win everything: the Carling Cup, the FA Cup, everything. This is my philosophy.”
“I cannot kill my players. We have two matches in two days and I gave him and other of his team-mates some rest and then they will play next Monday,” he explained.
“Damien is a generous player. He runs a lot all the match and I must consider this. He came back from injury two months ago and he cannot play every match.”
So at Villa tomorrow how will we line up?
Ambrosio for sure. Melchiot recalled? Terry and Gallas? Bridge will be back as Babayaro is injured. What about Seba Veron, is he ready to start? Would be great top see him and Crespo linking together. And what's happened to Adrian Mutu? Will he get a game?
Only the Tinkerman knows ..........