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Independent:
Champions expose United's flaws with show of might in ManchesterManchester United 1 - Chelsea 3By Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent11 May 2005
Jose Mourinho can consider his Premiership season complete. The last citadel in his all-conquering tour of the country fell last night and that Manchester United could still be overcome by a Chelsea team - under-strength and with nothing save pride to play for - says much about the pedigree of the new champions.
It also says much about how far behind them United have fallen. Not only has Mourinho put 20 points between himself and Sir Alex Ferguson but his team have become the first opponent of United's in 103 games to come from a goal behind to beat them. The Portuguese coach did not greet this second Old Trafford victory - as he did his first with Porto last year - with a dash down the touchline, but he is proving an implacable opponent for Ferguson.
At least one of the Premiership season's great runs came to an end even before kick-off last night, but no one could really blame John Terry for absenting himself from the rest of Chelsea's campaign. With the job done, the 24-year-old this week finally resolved to undergo a toe operation.
The Chelsea captain will have noted Sir Alex Ferguson's "sincere congratulations" at the new champions "formidable achievement" in his programme notes. But the praise ceased there. "We need to remind them," Ferguson said, "that staying on top is sometimes more difficult than actually getting there."
The guard of honour that United formed to welcome Chelsea out of the Old Trafford tunnel extended to their supporters who know when it behoves them to be gracious. They applauded Chelsea the same way they did Ronaldo when he scored a hat-trick for Real Madrid here two years ago. Yet last night there was a sense among the home support that there could hardly have been a more apposite time for a show of might from their team.
United looked like they might deliver just that in the first 10 minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo dropped a shoulder and forced his way past William Gallas while Robert Huth bounced off Wayne Rooney when he attempted to dispossess the United striker. Glen Johnson stationed on the right side did not look like one of Jose Mourinho's most inspired tactical choices. Carlo Cudicini made heavy work of turning aside a Ronaldo drive.
United's goal on seven minutes was not exactly a testament to the strength of a Chelsea defence without Terry. A corner cleared to the edge of the box went from Roy Keane to Paul Scholes who cracked in a shot that Huth could do no better than deflect straight to the feet of Rooney. He drove in a low angled ball across the goal, the kind of cross Chelsea dealt with all night in Munich last month, but this time Ruud van Nistelrooy forced it home.
It was only the Dutch striker's fifth Premiership goal of the season, but as a portent for the game it could scarcely have been more encouraging. Where United lost their way after that will stand as an epitaph to their season. The momentum that they had gained, especially in midfield, was lost and within 10 minutes Chelsea had equalised with a goal that said much about United's troubled confidence. Tiago collected the ball a generous 30 yards from goal and, with few other options, stroked a curling shot at the top right corner of Roy Carroll's goal. The United goalkeeper's failure to get a glove anywhere near it looked, at first glance, like poor judgement. A second viewing confirmed however that the Portuguese midfielder had picked his spot perfectly and, scraping the inside of the post, caught the United goalkeeper moving in completely the wrong direction.
The bewilderment that the cameras caught in Carroll's face suggested a man who feared for his FA Cup final place, but on the evidence of a second viewing that would be harsh. Joe Cole went close to scoring a second on 39 minutes when he collected the ball from Eidur Gudjohnsen and swept a shot just wide of the post. When Van Nistelrooy was sent through, Ricardo Carvalho jockeyed him away from danger.
Darren Fletcher also rattled Cudicini's bar on 56 minutes, but the unfolding story at the other end was more pertinent. The irony of Rio Ferdinand facing the same club who have been relentlessly cast as potential suitors was hard to avoid. But that he should have had enjoyed such an inauspicious performance against them will have been hard for United's support to accept.
When Eidur Gudjohnsen broke through on to Tiago's through ball on 61 minutes, the United defence, Ferdinand included, failed to offer a token of resistance before the striker lifted an accomplished finish over Carroll.
Chelsea's grip on the game looked comfortable while United faltered. The panic in their area manifested itself in Wes Brown's sliced attempt at a clearance that cannoned off Gallas and only narrowly fell wide. Joe Cole added the third from Lampard's left-wing cross on 83 minutes from a position that was undoubtedly offside. But the point had been made and it can only be interpreted as grim news for Old Trafford.
Manchester United (4-4-1-1): Carroll; G Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre; Ronaldo, Fletcher (Saha, 72), Keane, Rooney; Scholes; Van Nistelrooy. Substitutes not used: Howard (gk), Smith, O'Shea, Fortune.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; Geremi, Huth, Carvalho, Gallas; Makelele; Johnson (Jarosik, 72), Lampard, Tiago, Cole (Grant, 90); Gudjohnsen (Morais, 86). Substitutes not used: Cech (gk), Forssell.
Referee: G Poll (Hertfordshire).
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Telegraph:
Chelsea snatch record from UnitedBy Henry Winter at Old Trafford (Filed: 11/05/2005)
Match details
In pics: Premiership action
Man Utd (1) 1 Chelsea (1) 3
Manchester United's hopes of proving a point or three against the new champions disappeared in embarrassing fashion here last night. Goals from Tiago, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole not only inflicted upon United their only home League defeat of the season, but also allowed Jose Mourinho's men to rewrite the record books.
Record-breakers: Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole celebrate Victory enabled Chelsea to break United's Premiership record 92 points and 28 wins in a season. After going behind to Ruud van Nistelrooy's goal, they took comfortable control and now have an astonishing record of 94 points and 29 wins. Those United fans who remained to the end clapped Chelsea off the pitch. United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, was reminded painfully how far his team are behind Chelsea.
While United's in-house television company had been hosting a debate on "are Chelsea worthy champions", their manager was lauding Mour-inho's "formidable achievement". Writing in his programme notes, Ferguson promised "no cheap Portuguese plonk in the manager's office tonight, but fine wine deserving of a champion". The visitors brought some vintage flourishes of their own, notably the Premier Cru finishes of Tiago and Gudjohnsen.
Ferguson had made his players form a guard of honour for Mourinho's title-winners, a sporting gesture although possibly done to remind his charges that their standards have slipped. Old Trafford's reaction to the sight of the new champions was warm applause, albeit spiced with a flurry of boos. "Have you ever won the Treble?" came the query from the Stretford End. Chelsea fans reacted by chanting "One Malcolm Glazer".
Even the visitors' baiting of their United counterparts failed to raise the temperature much. This was "after you Claude" Makelele fare. In the first half, especially, the game had the low-heat feel of a Community Shield, which it could well be if United overcome Arsenal in the May 21 FA Cup final. United appeared to have one eye on Cardiff, while Chelsea had two on Cancun and other imminent holiday destinations.
The pervading spirit of pacifism did not suffuse two men in red. Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane have their pride and both of them powered into Chelsea. Keane was soon cautioned for catching Cole, and could have walked for upending Frank Lampard.
By then United had scored, and Keane and particularly Rooney played their parts in Van Nistelrooy's eighth-minute poacher's goal. From the wreckage of a United corner, Keane laid the ball back to Paul Scholes, whose firm shot was diverted by Robert Huth to Rooney. The England international drilled the ball into the box for Van Nistelrooy to pounce from close range with a confident flick. Chelsea screamed for offside but Glen Johnson had played the Dutchman on and failed to react to the incipient danger. Chelsea's defence is simply not the same without John Terry, who spent yesterday undergoing an operation on his troublesome toe.
Chelsea responded stylishly to the rare indignity of falling behind in a Premiership game. Within 10 minutes the champions were level. Tiago, collecting possession 35 yards out, spotted that United players were dropping off him expecting a pass to a blue shirt, so he seized the moment and let fly. The Portuguese international caught the ball beautifully, but it was still extraordinary that Carroll failed to move. Maybe the United keeper was expecting the ball to speed wide, but it faded in.
United briefly threatened, Ricardo Carvalho denying Van Nistelrooy with a wonderful late interception, while the busy Rooney also went close. But cometh the hour, cometh Chelsea again, with an attack that cut straight through United. Lampard fed Tiago, whose driven low pass was controlled by Gudjohnsen and and dinked over the on-rushing Carroll.
The champions twisted the knife with 10 minutes remaining, though the verdict from United's perspective was death by misadventure. Wes Brown's suicidal clearance was cut out by Lampard, who darted into the area and cut the ball in to Cole. Exploiting astonishing largesse from the linesman, the clearly offside Cole turned the ball home. He was then replaced by the home-grown defensive midfielder Anthony Grant, who insiders at the Bridge say has a real chance.
Match details
Manchester United (4-3-2-1): Carroll; G Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre; Fletcher (Saha 71), Keane, Scholes; Ronaldo, Rooney; Van Nistelrooy. Subs: Howard (g), Smith, O'Shea, Fortune. Booked: Keane, Van Nistelrooy. Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; Geremi, Huth, Carvalho, Gallas; Makalele; Johnson (Jarosik 71), Lampard, Tiago, J Cole (Grant 89); Gudjohnsen (Nuno Morais 85). Subs: Cech (g), Forrsell, Grant. Booked: Makelele, Lampard, Gallas. Referee: G Poll (Tring).
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Times;
Chelsea march into historyBy Oliver KayManchester United 1 Chelsea 3 FORMING a guard of honour to applaud Chelsea’s champions on to the Old Trafford pitch was supposed to be the ultimate indignity in a season of depressing underachievement for Manchester United, but further humiliation was to follow last night as they were outfought, out-thought and, in the end, comprehensively outclassed in a defeat that may have had Sir Alex Ferguson wondering if he will ever claim victory over José Mourinho.
This was Ferguson’s sixth meeting with Mourinho since United were drawn against FC Porto in the last 16 of the European Cup last season and the sixth time that the notion of sorcerer against apprentice seemed rather misguided. They share many things — and afterwards, Ferguson had promised, they would share a “fine wine deserving of a champion” as distinct from the “cheap Portuguese plonk” he was offered at Stamford Bridge in August — but theirs are careers and teams that appear to be moving in opposite directions as the balance of power in English football continues to shift.
It is hard to say what was the most impressive aspect of Chelsea’s victory. There was the number of records that they broke in the process; there was the fact that they did it without a host of first-choice players, including John Terry, who will miss England’s tour to the United States after undergoing surgery on his toe; there was the fact that they came from behind to win, the first team to do so against United in 103 league matches; and, most remarkably, there was the fact that victory left them 20 points clear of the eight-times Premiership champions.
Mourinho called it “amazing”, while Ferguson preferred simply to call it “a fantastic game of football”. High on quality throughout, in a sense it was, but it was also a game that served to demonstrate the gulf that has opened between these teams over the course of the season.
United started well enough, taking an eighth-minute lead through Ruud van Nistelrooy, but Chelsea, after achieving parity through Tiago’s spectacular goal, were well worth the two-goal margin they gained through second-half goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole.
Chelsea, having been applauded on to the pitch, were given an even warmer ovation after the final whistle by an Old Trafford crowd who recognise class when they see it. Those same supporters even stayed behind long enough to applaud the United players through a somewhat sheepish lap of honour of their own, but that was one of the few positives of the night for Ferguson, who, in advance of the FA Cup Final against Arsenal on May 21, must have been disturbed by the carefree manner of his team’s defending.
It all started so well for United. Van Nistelrooy pounced for only his fifth Barclays Premiership goal of an injuryravaged season, tapping home from Wayne Rooney’s driven cross-shot, but nine minutes later the champions were level, Tiago letting fly with a 30-yard strike that flew into the top corner past Roy Carroll, who, on this occasion, was not to blame.
Up to that point, Chelsea had been disappointing, but thereafter they were by far the better team. Cole, in particular, grew in influence, curling a shot inches wide as the interval approached, but they were helped by the collective travails of a United defence that seemed to have opted for Horlicks, rather than the traditional cup of tea, at half-time.
Wes Brown and Mikaël Silvestre were wretched, but it was Rio Ferdinand who was at fault when Chelsea took the lead on the hour, failing to intercept Tiago’s pass and allowing Gudjohnsen to beat Carroll with a cool finish.
Darren Fletcher rattled the Chelsea crossbar, but Frank Lampard seized on Brown’s poor clearance to set up the excellent Cole for a tap-in with seven minutes remaining. There should have been an offside flag, but, by that stage, Chelsea’s superiority was beyond question. “That’s why we’re the champions,” their supporters sang, to the apparent amusement of Mourinho. Ferguson, for once, could only watch. And learn.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-3): R Carroll — G Neville, R Ferdinand, W Brown, M Silvestre — D Fletcher (sub: L Saha, 72min), R Keane, P Scholes — W Rooney, R van Nistelrooy, C Ronaldo. Substitutes not used: J O’Shea, Q Fortune, A Smith, T Howard. Booked: Keane, Van Nistelrooy.
CHELSEA (4-1-4-1): C Cudicini — Gérémi, R Carvalho, R Huth, W Gallas — C Makelele — G Johnson (sub: J Jarosik, 72), Tiago, F Lampard, J Cole (sub: A Grant, 90) — E Gudjohnsen (sub: Nuno Morais, 86). Substitutes not used: M Forssell, P Cech. Booked: Makelele, Lampard, Gallas.
Referee: G Poll.
MARK OF CHAMPIONS
Chelsea set three Premiership records last night
29 wins — beat 28 set by Manchester United in 1999-2000
94 points — beat 92 set by Manchester United in 1993-94
9 successive away league wins — beat Arsenal in 2001-2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guardian;
Chelsea ease into record books
Kevin McCarra at Old TraffordWednesday May 11, 2005The Guardian
Chelsea, with two trophies secured, could have tolerated a defeat but it was Manchester United who endured all the suffering. At the end of their final home match there was a galling trudge of honour for the players in front of fans who had also seen them consigned to third place a year ago. Jose Mourinho has begun to resemble a grim reaper and Sir Alex Ferguson must shudder and wonder how much life can be left in his tenure unless he engineers a transformation soon. A wonderfully sporting crowd applauded the victors but they will not bear many more nights like this. Chelsea broke into United's home and, like vandals, smashed the records that Ferguson had proudly collected. Mourinho's side have now amassed the most points ever achieved in the Premiership. They have also run up 29 league wins, where United only ever reached 28. It is the times to come that obsess Ferguson and fill him with concern. Joe Cole was fractionally offside when he tucked in the third goal, after Wes Brown had mishit a wild pass to Frank Lampard, but Chelsea were a formidable side after the interval despite the absence of, among others, Petr Cech, Arjen Robben, Damien Duff and John Terry.
For the first time in 103 league matches, too, United were beaten after taking the lead, with the harm done by a makeshift line-up. While with Porto, Mourinho knocked Ferguson's team out of the Champions League, and this season he has floored them in the League Cup and completed a double in the Premiership.
The Portuguese is a grave threat to his rivals, but wealthy United are among a handful of clubs in the world who are equipped financially to meet on broadly equal terms. The pressure on Ferguson would not be so severe if he did not enjoy such great resources. Though United had acceptable spells and may beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final, that will not suffice when the memory of the Premiership, and this match in particular, looms in so many minds. There are several excellent players but the creation of a potent team is as elusive as ever.
Despite Terry's absence Chelsea's competitiveness was not much diluted and Tiago, after an indifferent season, was a prominent figure. Ferguson had written in his programme notes that he wanted "to put down a marker with Chelsea". By the end, the visitors had erected a monument to their achievements.
United did start as if they meant to make it an unhappy night for Lampard and co as Ruud van Nistelrooy got his first league goal since November 27. The Dutchman knew that Glen Johnson had kept him onside and held his position to turn in a cross-cum-shot from Wayne Rooney in the seventh minute.
Chelsea, however, began to pass the ball with more patience than Ferguson's men and their poise grew. None the less the equaliser was astonishing because the prolonged move that led Claude Makelele to lay the ball off to Tiago still left the midfielder 30 yards from the target. His swerving drive left the goalkeeper Roy Carroll still and spellbound before it brushed the inside of a post to fly high into the net.
United would later revive and cause havoc, with Ricardo Carvalho making a perfect challenge to stop Van Nistelrooy from capitalising on Paul Scholes's pass. But shortly before the interval Mikaël Silvestre was caught in possession and on the counter-attack Tiago and Eidur Gudjohnsen opened up space for Cole, who cut inside to bend a finish marginally wide. Once more it was proving impossible for United to show they were even on a par with Chelsea, despite Ferguson's far-fetched protestations about minor factors such as refereeing decisions making all the difference to the campaign.
Mourinho's team excelled after the interval. They fashioned opportunities because of the space they enjoyed on the break, but they were also the more measured team. A splendid pass by Cole after 49 minutes sent Johnson clear but he lacked the confidence to finish with his left and cover arrived.
United were persistently adventurous and there was, for a while, a contrast of styles if not eras. Where Chelsea bided their time, Ferguson's players were belligerent. After a neat combination between Cristiano Ronaldo and Scholes, Darren Fletcher swept a 25-yard shot against the bar.
It was to be Chelsea's stealth which broke the deadlock. Though United were correct to protest that Geremi had raised an arm to foul Ronaldo, they should have been more vigilant as the visitors sprang into the attack. Tiago's through-ball was exquisite and Gudjohnsen scored with ease.
Chelsea are the conundrum to solve and United, on this evidence, are bereft of answers.
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Sun:Man Utd 1 Chelsea 3 THE ICEMAN STUNNETH ... Gudjohnsen chips goal No2 By IAN TUCKEYSunSport Online
CHAMPIONS Chelsea pulled off one of the season's classiest comeback wins - to humiliate Manchester United with a stack of new records.
The Blues dictated the last half-hour to reach 94 points - beating United's Premiership record by two - as well as wrecking the unbeaten home term of Alex Ferguson's full-strength side.
Chelsea's recovery was so comprehensive that it mocked the claims of United boss Alex Ferguson and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that the three teams are on a par.
United's initial edge in urgency led to Ruud van Nistelrooy's opener, but the Blues soon defied the absence of key men like John Terry and Arjen Robben.
The busy Tiago, for once outshining Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele in midfield, hit a superb 30-yard leveller to underline United's need for a new keeper.
Then, when Chelsea finished much the stronger, Eidur Gudjohnsen clipped a stylish second goal due as much to United's defensive failings as the Blues' elegant probing.
TI GLEE ... Frank Lampard (left) hails Chelsea's first scorer Tiago
Joe Cole tucked in a late third from an offside position to add an irrelevant touch of injustice.
It all left the Blues celebrating a ninth away win in a row and a staggering 20-point lead over third-placed United, who they have beaten three times out of four this season.
And Chelsea chief Jose Mourinho has still NEVER lost against United.
Fergie had acknowledged the Blues' first title in 50 years by ordering his players to form a pre-match guard of honour.
Gary Neville, in particular, looked far from comfortable with that - while other serial winners like Roy Keane and Paul Scholes must surely have been equally fired up by the rare reversal of circumstances.
Early on, then, Cristiano Ronaldo and main menace Wayne Rooney regularly tested Chelsea's stand-in keeper Carlo Cudicini.
Then van Nistelrooy prodded in Rooney's seventh-minute cross-shot for his first Premiership goal since November.
But United's long-known keeper problems resurfaced within 10 minutes.
Tiago found plenty of space to whip in a right-footer with little backlift that flew in off the top of the right post - Roy Carroll barely moving, perhaps thinking the shot was going wide.
Blues' duo Cole and Tiago promptly became the major influences in midfield.
And United's limited response was flattered by Darren Fletcher thundering a right-footer off the bar 10 minutes past the break.
RESPECT ... Alex Ferguson (right) greets Jose Mourinho
After that, though, it was Chelsea's rhythm and confidence that improved - peaking with the type of breakaway strike that United at their best used to serve up regularly.
One second Ronaldo was tumbling under Geremi's challenge on the edge of the area.
Then, almost before you could say "United are going to finish third for the second season running," Tiago was sending Gudjohnsen through the middle to wait for Carroll to move and then dink the ball cleverly in over the keeper's diving body.
Cole completed United's misery as Old Trafford began to empty, tucking home once Lampard had exposed gaps in the home defence to cross from the left.
Many of the United fans still present at the end clapped the Blues off.
But scarcely half the ground was full by the time Fergie's men took their supporters' muted applause following an indifferent Premiership season.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN: TIAGO (Chelsea).Scored one cracker and made another.
MAN UTD: Carroll 5, G Neville 5, Brown 5, Ferdinand 5, Silvestre 5, Fletcher 6 (Saha 6), Keane 6, Scholes 7, Ronaldo 6, Rooney 7, Van Nistelrooy 7. Subs not used: Howard, Smith, O’Shea, Fortune. Booked: Keane, Van Nistelrooy.
CHELSEA: Cudicini 6, Johnson 6 (Jarosik 5), Carvalho 7, Huth 7, Gallas 6, Geremi 7, Tiago 9, Makelele 8, Lampard 6, Cole 8 (Grant 5), Gudjohnsen 8 (Morais 5). Subs not used: Cech, Forssell. Booked: Makelele, Lampard, Gallas.
REF: G Poll 8.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mirror:
FOOTBALL: OLD GUARD MEETS THE NEW GUARDMan Utd 1 Chelsea 3 The Grudge FinaleOliver HoltIT WAS a gesture that seemed to belong to another time.
A time when a manager and his players didn't have an excuse for every defeat and a referee to blame for every decision. A time when respect underpinned rivalry more than animosity. A time many of us have never known.
The decision of the United players to form an honour guard for Chelsea's champions and clap them on to the Old Trafford pitch was a move of such class that it almost disguised the fact United are now labouring painfully in another side's shadow.
Almost but not quite. Because that honour guard was a poignant and powerful symbol of the passing of the flame.
Advertisement It was the prelude to a match when the team of the past confronted the team of the present and the future and were humbled again, a match that showed United just how wide the chasm has grown between them.
This was a Chelsea team without Damien Duff and Arjen Robben and John Terry and Paulo Ferreira and yet still it was comfortably better than a United side close to full strength.
Chelsea's second goal, in particular, was a strutting example of their dominance and United's ills.
Rio Ferdinand, whose protracted contract negotiations have started to affect team spirit at Old Trafford, looked anything but a £120,000-a-week defender when he failed to intercept a through-ball to Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Gudjohnsen advanced calmly on Roy Carroll and lifted the ball over him and into the net. And so United were left to try to search for solace in that honour guard at the start.
It takes a certain strength to demonstrate that kind of humility, to stand there and applaud a team you have chased in vain all season.
For men as proud as Roy Keane and Gary Neville to do that suggests not only a recognition of Chelsea's achievement but a conviction that they can return to the summit next season.
It may even have been Sir Alex Ferguson's way of reminding his team of exactly what they have surrendered by forcing them to pay homage to Jose Mourinho's side.
This was a reminder to United of the time when they were kings, one more desperate attempt to jolt them out of relative mediocrity.
Men like Keane, Neville and Paul Scholes, of course, have never forgotten how Tony Adams and Lee Dixon waited by United's changing room door to shake each of them by the hand after the classic 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay in United's treble year.
Last night they found their own way of emulating it. Applauding their generosity of spirit made a pleasant change from picking a way through the tangle of problems that seem to have beset the club that are Chelsea's role model for success.
Malcolm Glazer's threatened takeover, Ferdinand's shameless meetings with Peter Kenyon, and doubts about how long Ferguson will continue in the job are casting a long shadow over United's future.
Ferguson was as generous as his players in his welcome to Chelsea. He made it plain that Mourinho's side had already changed the landscape of English football.
"We know Chelsea have raised the financial stakes but money isn't the total reason for success," Ferguson said. "There's still a team to be built, balance to be created, tactics to be applied and spirit to be generated.
"All this Jose Mourinho has done and, what is truly remarkable, in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
"To come into the Premiership and leave us all standing is brilliant and everyone at Manchester United offers sincere congratulations.
"In winning the Premiership so handsomely, they have raised the bar for the rest of us.
"It had never particularly worried me that we were slow starters each season because after all the league is a marathon not a sprint. But now I have to question that kind of thinking because Chelsea this season turned it into a sprint from start to finish.
"We must be better prepared because we don't want to be playing catch-up again in the league."
Fine words. And all those who love fine football and respect what Ferguson has achieved must hope United rally again next season.
The abiding memory of last night, though, will not be of anything United did on the pitch but of that honour guard.
And of the Chelsea fans singing a particularly cruel ditty. "We were here when you were good," it went.
They're the kings now. It may be quite a while before they have to form an honour guard for anyone.
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