Anelka says players to blame for Chelsea defeat

Anelka says players to blame for Chelsea defeat

Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:20am GMT



LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka said the players should take the blame for Saturday's FA Cup humiliation at Barnsley rather than manager Avram Grant.

The Israeli coach has admitted he is under the microscope again at Stamford Bridge after the 1-0 quarter-final loss in Yorkshire followed soon after the League Cup final defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.

"We knew it was going to be difficult because (Barnsley) played with their lives and everyone in the dressing room was determined to win this game. Sometimes in football, things go wrong and you have to accept it," Anelka, signed by Grant in January, told Chelsea's Web site (www.chelseafc.com) on Monday.

"Barnsley played well and sometimes these results happen. The tactics were right. Chelsea is a big club and we should be better than this.

"The criticism must be about the players because we didn't play well and we have to accept the fact. We know the media will be after the manager but you know as players when you played well and we didn't."

Grant looked stunned after the defeat to the Championship (second division) side, Chelsea's first against lower league opposition since 1999.

"When I am responsible for the team and when my team loses at Barnsley, there will be many negative things said about it," Grant was quoted as saying in Monday's Guardian.

"The team that played at Barnsley, even though we had a lot injuries, was good enough to win."

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by N.Ananthanarayanan)