Source: Daily_Mail
ASH WEDNESDAY: Ipswich fans make their point against Chelsea and Co
The supporters of Ipswich Town were in good voice on Saturday, with 6,000 or so herded into The Shed and hoping for an FA Cup upset.[LNB]They were there to spread the word for the Championship by knocking out one of the Premier League glamour clubs, but in the end they settled for an enormous banner with a message written in something like 900pt:[LNB]'ANTI-MODERN FOOTBALL'[LNB]Something must have upset these sleepy commuters, insurance broker types and that new breed of personal bank managers who bury their head in their newspapers on the 0708 from Ipswich to Liverpool Street five days a week and then watch Jim Magilton's team try to follow in the footsteps of Thijssen, Muhren and Wark on a Saturday afternoon.[LNB] Ipswich fans unveiled their banner at Stamford Bridge on Saturday[LNB] Perhaps they arrived at Stamford Bridge and saw everything that was wrong with modern football, something they have not seen since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2002.[LNB] More from Ash Wednesday... Ash Wednesday: Smokin' Joe Kinnear and his muddled mind just can't stop making gaffes[LNB]20/01/09 ASH WEDNESDAY: Harry's four-letter blast at his Spurs flops as Tottenham stars go AWOL in relegation battle[LNB]13/01/09 ASH WEDNESDAY: Adams can count himself lucky after schoolboy error on Defoe[LNB]06/01/09 ASH WEDNESDAY: Shameful abuse of Sol Campbell has gone on long enough[LNB]16/12/08 ASH WEDNESDAY: Ince short of common sense and his ludicrous 'vendetta' claims could be last straw for Blackburn's anxious directors[LNB]09/12/08 ASH WEDNESDAY: He's been subbed 15 times already - it's time to give Robbie a break Rafa[LNB]02/12/08 ASH WEDNESDAY: Could this be the season that Arsenal's history boys begin to regret their past mistakes?[LNB]25/11/08 ASH WEDNESDAY: Agbonlahor shouldn't be in Germany after choosing the beach over international duty - but England just can't resist[LNB]18/11/08 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE[LNB] It cannot have been a coincidence that they waited until the teams were read out just before the game until they revealed their bitter message.[LNB]Take Paulo Ferreira, pulling in somewhere north of £50,000 a week to sit on the bench for Chelsea[LNB]. Not even the second best right back at the club. Not even the third best right back at the club.[LNB]He lost his place two years ago when Jose Mourinho signed Juliano Belletti, scorer of the winning goal in the Champions League final against Arsenal in 2006, from Barcelona.[LNB]Ferreira stayed, warming the bench for the majority of the 2006/07 season and then the ignominy of falling behind central midfielder Michael Essien, who played right back in last season's Champions League final against Manchester United, in the pecking order.[LNB]With the arrival of Jose Bosingwa, he is now fourth choice. He ploughs on though, keeping himself fit, as he is required to do under the terms of his contract, in case he is called upon by Luiz Felipe Scolari.[LNB] Paulo Ferreira is paid somewhere north of £50,000 a week to warm the bench at Chelsea[LNB] He is the new Winston Bogarde, the player who never plays. Ferreira's last two appearances for Chelsea were in the FA Cup third round tie against Southend United (1-1) and the penalty shooout defeat against Burnley in the Carling Cup.[LNB]Sat next to Ferreira was Carlo Cudicini, the most highly rated reserve team goalkeeper in the history of association football until he signed for Tottenham [LNB]this week.[LNB]In eight years at Chelsea, the world's best second choice keeper made just over 130 appearances in the Premier League, accepting his fate when Petr Cech arrived from Rennes in 2004 and cashing the best part of £220,000 a month every since.[LNB]He has shown no ambition to move, happy to play up to the part of the best back up keeper in the Premier League during his sparing appearances.[LNB]By all accounts he was absolutely brilliant in the 5-0 win at Middlesbrough earlier this season and he was even better in the 3-0 tonking they gave West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day.[LNB]His reputation persuaded Harry Redknapp to sign the world's best back up on a free transfer, offering Cudicini the opportunity to establish himself as first choice at the club.[LNB]Fair enough, but just how badly did Cudicini want the move? He certainly wanted it badly when Chelsea told him they would not be renewing his lucrative contract this summer, the one he has been sitting on when he signed an extension in 2004 and again in 2007.[LNB]One along from Cudicini was Didier Drogba, keeping out the cold in one of those inviting bench warmers that supporters always insist on buying from the club shop the moment they are 'NOW IN STOCK'.[LNB]Drogba has been the subject of this column before, but what about Chelsea's fans, the 30 odd thousand who stood up to applaud him when he came on as a 58th minute substitute for Florent Malouda.[LNB] Carlo Cudicini became well used to being a reserve at Chelsea[LNB]Just to recap, these are the recent notes made in Drogba's personnel file since the Champions League final: sent off, scored one Premier League goal, criticised the club for failing to support him when his grandmother died when in fact they hired a private jet to take him to the Ivory Coast, barely lifted a leg in the 3-0 defeat at Manchester United, dropped from squad to face Southend in FA Cup replay, left out against Stoke, returns against Ipswich.[LNB]Come on, what is there to applaud about that? [LNB]Drogba should be applauding Chelsea fans, the few thousand who would still support this club if Roman Abramovich pulled the plug and Ipswich had aired the classic Eighties song: 'Stamford Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down ....'[LNB]Instead, they built a hotel, added ridiculous nightclubs, built executive boxes that are not always full and recently added a Marco Pierre White restaurant for the pretentious number among their clientele.[LNB]Excuse me, where'd you get the banner?[LNB] [LNB]
