The £575, 000 signing of Sheffield United's
Vinnie Jones in August 1991 provoked a mixed response from Chelsea's followers.
The notorious midfield hard man had many detractors and his assertion prior to
his debut that 'We've got a few boys here who will be useful if it all goes off
in the tunnel' was the cause of much squirming. The fact that he won over the
doubters so quickly, and so fully, bears testament to the fact that when he let
his feet do the talking, he was no mean player. Vinnie made an outstanding
debut at home to Luton on the last day of August and set up the opening goal
for Graeme Le Saux in a 4-1 victory. His willingness to interact with the
supporters made him a firm favourite on the terraces and before every game,
home or away, he would respond to the chant of 'Vinnie, give us a song' by
putting his finger to his lips for silence and then belting out the first
strains of the old Chelsea favourite One Man Went To Mow. In February 1992 Chelsea travelled to Liverpool
having failed to record a single League victory at Anfield for 55 years. To their horror, Liverpool discovered this
day of February 92 that the Crazy Gang spirit lives on. Just when the class of
`92 had managed to hold their heads high again with pride, two of those kids
from the Bash Street Gang turned up to lay down the banana skins once more and
the former champions took another heavy tumble. The contempt which Wimbledon
always used to show for Liverpool, culminating in an historic victory for what
some people saw as Evil over Good one unforgettable day in May four years ago,
surfaced again as Vinnie Jones and Dennis Wise, two of their old boys,
delivered to Chelsea a historic victory over the Reds.
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JONES & WISE with the Crazy Gang (Season 1987-88) |
Chelsea had not won a
league game at Anfield in 55 years, but records and reputations count for
nothing with characters like Jones and Wise. On the contrary, they are like a
red rag to them. It is hardly surprising, then, that they treat the ``this is
Anfield'' sign hanging over the players' tunnel at Liverpool with such disdain.
The story goes that Wimbledon players once defaced it with spittle on their way
to the pitch, but Jones, for one, appears to have modified his manners since
those days. Instead, on Saturday, he attempted to hang his own sign, which read
``We're bothered ?'', beneath the intimidating Liverpool plaque, but was
prevented from doing so by the police. One would hesitate to go as far as to
say that he allowed his football to do the talking instead, but he certainly
made a fairly poignant statement after 21 minutes with an impressive, dipping
20-yard drive ``I don't suppose Ian St John will give me any credit for it''
over the head of Grobbelaar in the Liverpool goal.
It was the Merseysiders who
looked bothered then, and though the erratic Rosenthal pulled them level ten
minutes later with an emphatic finish, they never displayed the fluency and
resolve which had overcome Arsenal in midweek. In one of the shortest press
conferences on record, 16 seconds to be exact, Graeme Souness, the Liverpool
manager, accused his players of committing the cardinal sin of any performer of
reading his reviews and believing them. ``Very disappointing the most
disappointing performance at home since I've been at the club,'' he said.
``Players were guilty of believing what was said about them since Wednesday
night. All in all, a totally inept performance. I apologise to our supporters
for that performance.'' And with that, he turned on his heel and left. Thirteen
League games without defeat had encouraged talk that Liverpool might yet win the
championship. Had they defeated Chelsea, they would have been a mere six points
behind the leaders, but this game revealed how much they still miss Barnes and
Rush, while the absence of Thomas in midfield and Nicol in defence meant that
they were flawed in all departments. Blatant misses by Rosenthal and McManaman
prompted Le Saux, the bubbly young Chelsea midfield player, not without some
justification, to suggest that Liverpool are not as lethal in front of goal as
they used to be. ``I don't think anyone is intimidated by them any more,'' he
said. ``Their reputation has almost disappeared.'' Those Chelsea players old
enough to know better not to write off Liverpool were content merely to express
their gratitude for the opportunity their opponents' predicament afforded them.
That included an uncharacteristic slackness in defence which Wise punished for
the winner in the 74th minute. It could have been worse for Liverpool, but for
Grobbelaar, at his extrovert worst/best, saving Wise's 83rd minute penalty
following a trip by Marsh on Allen.
Vinnie JONES striking with a spectacular 25-yard
volley, as The Blues clinched a famous 2-1 win :
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Source : http://www.kaisermagazine.com/ |
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