Posts tagged CarlingCup at FanHouse

Y'know, Robbie Keane probably deserves better than this. After all, if you had just won your first trophy in nine years, you, too, would probably dance in a manner that made you look like a complete fool.

Clearly, this video is the handiwork of embittered Arsenal supporters, who know full well that if Robin van Persie ever did this dance, he would probably rip his Achilles tendon.

(H/T: The Offside)

Tottenham Hotspur's Carling Cup victory may feel like a rip-off later this week, but it might have a ripple effect on the rest of English football.

On the one hand, this was Tottenham's first trophy since 1999, and it's the kind of victory that could propel a club to go on a major run. Spurs may not have a shot at a league title, but they are still in the UEFA Cup, a title that Juande Ramos has won with Sevilla in 2006 and 2007, and his players believe a double is a real possibility.

What's more, winning the Carling Cup gives Spurs an automatic UEFA Cup bid next season. That's one less European spot available to the Premier League table, where the battle for fourth place remains tight. Everton climbed back into the drivers seat with a 2-0 win at Manchester City yesterday, while Liverpool and Aston Villa are only 3 points back and Portsmouth are nipping at their heels. Villa is already preparing for the worst by applying for the last Intertoto Cup.

Perhaps most importantly, though, Tottenham's dominance on Sunday sent a message to the rest of the world: Chelsea is in chaos.

Don't tell Tottenham Hotspur players the Carling Cup is a meaningless competition -- or the supporters who will be dancing in the streets in London tonight. When you haven't won a trophy since 1999, any hardware will do.

For Spurs defender Jonathan Woodgate, any goal would have done, too. His extra-time header, which bounced off Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech's fists and back off his head, won it for Spurs, who upset Chelsea, 2-1, to take the Football League knockout title in Wembley Stadium.

The injury-prone Woodgate joined Spurs last month from Middlesbrough as Juande Ramos attempted to help solidify Tottenham's woeful backline, which held firm after Didier Drogba's goal in the 39th minute. Spurs dominated possession in the first half and had numerous scoring opportunities but were unable to convert.

Their big break came in the 70th minute when a sideline judged called Chelsea's Wayne Bridge for handball in the penalty area. Dimitar Berbatov converted for the equalizer. Spurs might have clinched in extra time, too, if Didier Zokora had any clue what to with the ball.

Pundits will credit Ramos' diet and workout regimen for Spurs' extra stamina in extra time, but the bottom line is that Spurs were clearly hungrier than Chelsea throughout the entire match. If they play like this for their UEFA Cup matches, they might even get a double.

He may be old and glum, and he may look like Bela Lugosi without his makeup, but Chelsea manager Avram Grant is not interested in taking crap from anyone.

Just days after Frank Lampard complained to the press about not playing, Grant has hinted that both Lampard and John Terry may be left out of the lineup for Sunday's Carling Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Lampard has played sparingly since tearing a muscle in that 4-4 Boxing Day corker against Aston Villa, while Terry returned earlier than expected from a broken foot. Grant has suggested that he doesn't want to rush injured players back into the lineup, but the fact that it's Lampard and Terry that might be benched will only remind everyone that those two were Jose Mourinho favorites, and Chelsea hasn't played too badly without them. The Blues' last loss was December 16 at Arsenal.

Chelsea is currently the only club in England still in the running for all four titles -- the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup. The Blues are looking to win their third Carling Cup in four years, while Tottenham is seeking its first trophy since 1999. Kickoff is 10:00 AM ET on Sunday.

It's impossible to underestimate how much Tottenham Hotspur's 5-1 win over Arsenal last night in the Carling Cup semifinal means to that club. It's not only Tottenham's first win over its North London archrival in any competition since November of 1999, but it's also the closest the club has been to winning any competition since it reached the Carling Cup final in 2002.

And Emmanuel Adebayor was not happy about it.

Frustration boiled over late on when, with (Arsenal) trailing 4-1 and preparing to take a corner, (Nicklas) Bendtner, who had already put through his own net, and the substitute Adebayor started pushing and shoving each other at the far post. Tempers were frayed further once the Dane had been cut -- there were suggestions that he had been head-butted by his team-mate -- with the pair eventually separated by their captain, William Gallas.

And here we thought big clubs didn't take the Carling Cup seriously.

In English soccer, upsets always seem to happen at a high rate in the Football League Cup -- or, as the sponsors call it, the Carling Cup. This is mostly because the Carling Cup lacks the prestige of the Premier League and the FA Cup. Sure, it's nice to be the last club standing among England's top 92 clubs, but really, it's just one competition to these people on top of all the others, and managers seem quite content to throw their youngsters and reserves out there to get some experience.

Whenever that happens, so do the upsets. This is how Michael Mifsud, the two-time Maltese Sports Person of the Year, can walk into Old Trafford with Coventry City, a club that finished 17th in the Coca-Cola Championship last year, and score two goals to beat Manchester United, 2-0.

Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Edwin van der Sar, among others, weren't anywhere near the pitch. Kids like Anderson, Nani and Chris Eagles, who are expected to be the future of Manchester, got the start in this one. They also got run out of their own stadium by the best soccer player in Malta, who's so good he takes a gig with a club that hasn't been in England's top flight since 2001. At least he put it on goal, though. Nani was spraying his shots toward the corner flag. If these guys can't score against a second-division side, this club has problems.

Thanks to the Maltese star, Coventry join 15 other clubs in the fourth round. The only other notable upset was Leicester shocking Aston Villa, 1-0. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton, Tottenham, Blackburn and Portsmouth all advanced. As for Man U, I guess their youngsters will have to find something else to do -- like finding Ronaldo some new hookers, perhaps.