Romeo and jolly etiquette
A look at Lavia and other stories of the footballing weekend.
When Liverpool fans on their Shed End balcony vented their spleen at Romeo Lavia it was very clear they weren’t auditioning for the part of Juliet. It was pretty venomous from the travelling section at the Bridge yesterday and their words were accompanied by all manner of hand gestures. “Should have signed for the champions,” they chanted, “you could have won the league.” Lavia calmly strolled past, smiling, after being substituted. He had snubbed them in 2023 and they hadn’t forgotten or forgiven. Liverpool have hardly struggled with Ryan Gravenberch excelling this season as a 6. But Lavia showed his ability, and physicality, against an admittedly weakened Liverpool. If he can stay fit, Chelsea have a gem of a rock in midfield.
Whether the 21-year-old Belgian has done enough to break up permanently the Moises Caicedo-Enzo Fernandez midfield axis is another matter. Caicedo started at right-back against Liverpool, stepping into midfield on occasion before finishing there. But Lavia’s form in midfield, shielding the back-four, wining the ball, gives Enzo Maresca a very strong option.
Play all three, Liverpool-style? Fernandez makes those telling runs from midfield. But Cole Palmer is their No 10. Maybe Maresca continues with 4-2-3-1, Lavia-Fernandez is the double pivot and Caicedo, Chelsea’s player of the year, at right-back, stepping into midfield.
This, of course, causes more conjecture about the future of club captain, Reece James. The England international was the third choice for Maresca at right-back against Liverpool: first Caicedo, then Malo Gusto (for Lavia with Caicedo going into midfield), and finally after 88 minutes, James (for Fernandez with Gusto going into midfield). To complicate matters further, Maresca said in March he sees James as more of a midfielder – where he has Caicedo, Fernandez and Lavia ahead of him for two places. As ever with Chelsea, because of the size of the squad when one issue is addressed, another presents itself.
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Graeme Sharp is a bona fide Everton legend. He won two titles, the FA Cup and Cup-Winners’ Cup at the club. He’s the second leading goalscorer in Everton history. Anyone who knows Sharp knows he cares about Everton. So it was good to see the 64-year-old pictured in the stands at Goodison Park on Saturday. It’s been a while. It felt Sharp was almost in self-imposed exile because of fierce criticism from factions of the Everton fanbase. Sharp was a member of the unpopular board, now changed. Whatever the legitimacy or otherwise of their grievances, Everton fans have to move on and respect a club legend. New stadium, new start.
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Some people greet with only a brief sigh the FA’s decision to have a 4.30pm kick-off for the FA Cup final. Match-going fans will get to and from Wembley somehow, they shrug. Fans find a way, even with the last Manchester Piccadilly departing at 21.01. Television pays the FA bills, they say. Tradition went long ago, they add. Look at semi-final venues and replays. The final is not even the final game of the season any more.
But in an age when concerned sports talk about combating climate change, making thousands of people take cars and coaches rather than trains seems hypocritical. In an era when concerned people worry about the diminution in atmospheres, it’s naïve to alienate those who bring the noise. In a year when the Independent Football Regulator comes in to protect fans, it’s risky of the guardians of the game, the FA, to show a lack of understanding for fans. It’s also bizarre as all the people I know at the FA are passionate football fans, who follow teams and experience all the travel travails. I guess, for the FA, money trumps that.
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One of the most uplifting sights of the season was Graham Alexander hoisted on to a supporter’s shoulders and punching the air during Bradford City’s wild promotion celebrations. Alexander was like a fan, scarf around his neck, then tied around his wrist, revelling in the achievement.
The pressure on Alexander has been huge. Doncaster Rovers and Port Vale had gone up, leaving Bradford sweating on the third automatic spot. Yet it was Alexander named EFL League Two Manager of the Season a week earlier. Grant McCann, who guided Doncaster up as champions, was not even on the shortlist. So the pressure was even more on Alexander.
Bradford had been trying to get out of League Two for six years. Five other managers had tried and failed. Alexander fits Bradford: honest and hard-working, unflashy. He connected with the fans, who took to him. They believed in him.
They turned up in huge numbers for Saturday’s game against Fleetwood. Sensible pricing strategy ensured a succession of 20,000+ gates in the last four home games of the season, and this time there were 24,033, including 1,000+ from Fleetwood, at Valley Parade. Bradford fans were rewarded for their belief with Antoni Sarcevic’s late, late winner.
Even in all the delicious distractions of celebration, Alexander found time to sort a signed shirt for the Adam Stansfield Foundation to auction for charity. That’s a mark of the man as well as the manager.
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Whisper it most sotto of voce but it was quite a good weekend for VAR. The usual caveat applies of frustration at delay, and the handbrake on emotion, but now that technology is here to stay, we have to get it used as expertly, smoothly and consistently as possible. As at the Emirates on Saturday. I’ve looked at countless replays of the moment the ball strikes Bournemouth’s Evanilson and not been able to work out whether it hit him on the elbow or his side. So VAR had to rule there was no clear and obvious error in the goal being awarded. It could also have ruled on Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard fouling Evanilson, dragging him on to the ball.
At the Amex yesterday, VAR bailed out referee Craig Pawson. Andy Madley at Stockley Park rightly recommended overturning a penalty award by showing that Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke didn’t make contact with Newcastle’s Joe Willock, who’d dived. VAR rightly overturned another erroneous penalty decision by showing that Tariq Lamptey fouled Anthony Gordon outside the area. VAR was brought in to catch such on-field mistakes. There was debate over whether VAR should also have intervened when Sandro Tonali caught Matt O’Riley but overall Madley did well. VAR undeniably disrupts the rhythm but it does make the game fairer.
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Reading fans lost a game on Saturday but won their club back. An astonishing 21,481 gathered at the Select Car Leasing Stadium (I don’t mind mentioning the sponsors’ name here as any Royals fan will tell you the Reading-based business have been superb with fans during difficult times). That’s 5,000 more than their previous biggest gate this season. That was partly to support the team try to win a League One play-off place (they failed, losing 4-2 to Barnsley, although Orient’s win at Huddersfield rendered it irrelevant anyway).
But it was also because news spread five hours before kick-off that the unpopular owner, Dai Yongge, had finally sold up to the American businessman and ex-Wycombe owner, Rob Couhig. That 20,000+ turnout, and the fans’ powerful lobbying against Dai, highlighted the quality - and quantity - of fans who Couhig can now rebuild the club on.
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Enjoy the week, and good luck to the English teams in Europe. Arsenal are going to need it in Paris.
Clearly the Chelsea team were alerted to your attendance Henry, put in their best home performance since Dec 1st v Villa. Lavia was playing that match too, what's been going on the last few months though is a bit of a mystery.
Caught your Sunday Edition show this week. The discussion about young players being exposed to the pressures of the game is interesting. Obi Mikel recently disclosed the pressure ManU put on him when he was 17 to sign for them, locking him in a room without representation, intimidating him into signing. His take on it now though is that it strengthened him mentally, moving on and signing for Chelsea... albeit at a cost of £20mil to Abramovich. Fergie excelled at nurturing young talent, but clearly not beyond what would pass for extortion in a parallel universe.
Mikel commented that young players are now overprotected. Being involved in grass roots and interacting with academy football, it's a hard one to call, and what I would say a highly subjective decision. Does it just depend on player's physical condition. I've seen fit boys built like rugby players getting injured at 9yo from playing on multiple surfaces (slick 4G to uneven grass) twisting their knees during technically intense training sessions. Not all boys are made the same way, parents and coaches need to recognise this and give them appropriate rest, but if the system is intent on pushing young players, then it's maybe more of a lottery than it need to be.
Great to see Leeds back in the PL, they came to Chelsea for our first FA Cup encounter since 1970 last season - their fans are brilliant, a great rivalry.
Good luck to Coventry, what a great owner they have, and good for Frank managing them into
the play-offs from 17th.
Graham Alexander was very kind to spare some time to talk with me after a match, in the maelstrom of a very difficult period when he was managing at MK1. The strain of it all was etched in his face but the eyes retained a warmth and sparkle. You don’t get many League 2 memoirs but I’d love to know what went wrong behind the scenes for Graham because he is obviously a talented leader and coach, plus a very decent guy.