Sometimes it is still possible to be proud to be English and still be a proud football lover before the FA Cup quarterfinals.
One of those rare nights occurred on Tuesday when Chelsea’s Frank Lampard scored, Joe Cole turned it on and John Terry produced the winner in a fascinating last 16 Champions League win over Barcelona.
Chelsea’s true-blue English heroes, made even more special by Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers churning out whole squads without an English accent to be found, were magnificent.
Terry and Lampard threaten the foreign monopoly on the Player of the Year accolade, handed to Eric Cantona, Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola, Thierry Henry and the like in recent years.
Truth is, of course, Chelsea were outplayed by the La Liga leaders. And Manchester United’s shambolic 1-0 defeat at the San Siro against Milan pointed up the inadequacies of the Premiership.
Frantic, hopeful players such as Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and Quinton Fortune — booked a minute after coming on — were exposed, as was a yet-to-find-his-feet Ruud van Nistelrooy.
So here we are. FA Cup quarterfinal week without Chelsea. With the League Cup already on the mantelpiece, Jose Mourinho will be hoping to avoid the big guns in Europe with the Premiership all wrapped up after last week’s emphatic win over naff Norwich and their superchef chairperson Delia ”let’s be ‘avin you” Smith.
Arsenal and Manchester United are left counting on the FA Cup to provide some sort of silverware at the end of a disappointing season in the shadow of Roman Abramovich’s millions and Mourinho’s personality.
But who knows? We have a few Englishmen out there ready to undo those dreams. Peter Crouch and Jamie Redknapp at Southampton, the soon-to-retire Alan Shearer at Newcastle, Jon Stead at Blackburn and, well, Spurs may try an Englishman or two.
Here’s how the weekend’s quarterfinal actions shapes up.
Bolton vs Arsenal
Yup, plenty of foreigners on show here. It’s possible, with Sol Campbell still injured, Ashley Cole will be the only Englishman on the pitch. But we all still care passionately about the old trophy though don’t we? Bolton have had a good run since their pre-Christmas slump and Arsenal are a bit up and down — so I can see a replay here with the Gunners sneaking it. Dennis Bergkamp could be the key though Henry’s alleged hat-trick against Portsmouth will boost confidence.
Verdict: Bolton 2 Arsenal 2.
Saints vs Man United
What’s this then? Van Nistelrooy of the long face at one end, the generally long Peter Crouch at the other. And Southampton’s Crouch is the form player. I wonder if Sven-Goran Eriksson has noticed this string-bean Englishman’s talents yet? Harry Redknapp certainly has. Bearing in mind United’s paucity of goalkeeping talent, Crouch could just earn the Saints a surprise march to the semifinals. United were far from sparkling at the San Siro on Tuesday.
Verdict: Southampton 1 Man United 0
Blackburn vs Leicester
No prisoners will be taken here. Rovers’ Scottish striker Paul Dickov in particular will be up for this one with Leicester not doing well enough in the Championship to frighten Mark Hughes’s rugged lot. They only drew 0-0 with Burnley last weekend though coach Craig Levein reckons they’ll be able to ”’concentrate fully on the cup” now. That won’t be enough.
Verdict: Blackburn 2 Leicester 0
Newcastle vs Spurs
Tottenham have been my cup favourites from the start. Not because of their long tradition and that Ricky Villa goal all those years ago. It’s got more to do with Martin Jol’s ability to lift his side for the big games, the ones that matter. Graeme Souness has done what he can with the disparate group of players he inherited from Bobby Robson and, of course, they ruined Chelsea’s quadruple effort last time out in the Cup. But I’m sticking with Spurs — unless Lauren Robert gets another free-kick within distance late on or Alan Shearer feels he’s destined to end his career with a final appearance in the Stanley Matthews style.
Verdict: Newcastle 1 Spurs 2