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Tottenham wins Carling Cup

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Defender Jonathan Woodgate’s header in overtime helped give Tottenham a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the Carling Cup final on Sunday.

Chelsea opened the scoring with a Didier Drogba strike in the 39th minute but Tottenham equalized in the 70th minute when Dimitar Berbatov converted a penalty kick awarded after Wayne Bridge was called for a handball in the penalty area.

The teams battled into overtime, where Woodgwate delivered the winner in lucky fashion. He redirected a Jermaine Jenas free kick at Peter Cech only to have the saved chance hit off him and into the net.

Credit to Tottenham manager Juande Ramos for proving that his cup-winning abilities weren’t limited to Sevilla. He has helped transform Tottenham from the helpless bunch under Martin Jol to a respectable EPL team that now has a trophy this season.

What did you think of the Carling Cup final? Think Avram Grant picked the wrong squad for Chelsea? Think the Bridge penalty call was harsh? Think Woodgate is a lucky SOB? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. GLORY GLORY TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS!

    It was a well deserved win in that the Spurs out played chelsea a great majority of the game. Ramos most definatly out coached Grant in this one How do you leave out Joe Cole? Thats beyond me.

    About the game, anyone notice the terrible acting job by drogba on the “foul” that cost the spurs the goal? Just curious. The hand ball in the box against Bridge could have gone either way and in the end probably was the right call. Yes, there could have been a penalty called on woodgate when he molested drogba in the box before time was up but it is what it is. I thought Woodgates goal wasnt all luck. The fact is he followed through with the header and the ball went in.. case in point a goal is a goal! Minus the bombardment of chelsea and the desperate 11 men behind the ball of Spurs in the last 15 mins the best team won!!

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  2. Grant is being shown up for the tactical non-entity that he is. After a string of wins against easy opponents, he has failed to beat a number of better clubs. Chelsea is skating by on a deep squad and talent. I have to wonder what they’ve been doing in training, because they seem to have trouble even stringing a few passes together.

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  3. Well lets not forget that Martin Jol was working in an untenable environment. His bosses, the limp Levy and the hapless Commoli (who was poor at Arsenal, and equally damned with this summer’s horrendous off-season) had been openly undermining Jol.

    Now Jol looked like a real moron after he was fired, with all the comments, books, etc. Those were just stupid. He was a good coach, but his teams at time were more based on hustle than on tactics.

    Juande is a superior tactician to Avraam Grant by several multiples. The huddlestone substitution was absolutely brilliant. TH’s precise passing preyed open a static chelsea, utilizing the speed of jenas/lennon perfectly.

    I am curious to see what happens this summer. Will Commoli demote Juande to second fiddle? I can’t imagine that.

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  4. It may be a Mickey Mouse Cup, but it’s OUR Mickey Mouse Cup!

    @ any of the haters, the only silverware y’aa have so far this season is in your kitchen, if that.

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  5. @ mark

    “Carling Cup? Yawn. This competition ranks slightly above the US Open Cup.”

    so which round was YOUR team knocked out?

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  6. i was working at this game (waiting tables on chelsea wives!)… but in the second half of extra time, chelsea looked far superior and were denied a penalty kick after a horrible foul in the box (i forget who it was on), but regardless, i’m always happy to see them defeated!

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  7. Crap first half, pulsating 2nd half and extra time. Sometimes, you make your own luck. Yeah, I’m biased, but few would deny that Spurs were the better team and deserved the win today.

    Zokora was a monster today, despite his booking and his piss poor attempt on the breakaway.

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  8. This really show how out of his depth Grant is. Poor tactics ( yet again) and absolutely no ability to influence the game when things are going tough.
    To play Anelka on the left side of midfield, leave out Joe Cole and instead play SWP on the right wing, where he hasn’t had one good game for Chelsea since he joined the club, is beond joke and he has to leave now!
    How Roman, Kenyon and Bruce Buck can sit and watch this garbage and then try to tell us fans that the club is moving forward under Grant is so crazy and far out that you really have to laugh!
    Since Grant took over from Jose the team has been on autopilot but now when leadership, motivation, tactical awareness is needed Grant goes missing and it’s only downhill from here Imafraid. At least in we were entertaining back in the old days even though we were carp. Now we are both crap and boring.

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  9. Spurs truly deserved this one. They outplayed Chelsea and did not give in when they went down 1-0. Things are looking up at Spurs thanks to Ramos!!

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  10. Glory glory Tottenham Hotspur! Fantastic result. Spurs played their hearts out and with a UEFA Cup spot guaranteed for next season, Juande Ramos can rest players in league games as need be so Spurs can focus on winning this season’s UEFA Cup. Playing PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16 is not going to be easy — today’s win gives the tiniest bit of respite.

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  11. I think this really outlines Avram Grants tactical ability. I was always of the opinion he wasn’t a top manager, and had inherited a high quality squad. I think this game begins to unveil some real information about him. His squad selection was questionable, the 4-3-3 he played just didn’t work, and Alex has been performing much better than Terry has recently, yet he went with Terry. I don’t think Grant is a long term solution for Chelsea, but great to Tottenham to win a cup, i’m a big fan of Juande Ramos.

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