"HEEEEE'S BEHIND YOOOOOOOU!!!"

So I heard myself shouting over and over again, this afternoon, while watching Chelsea play Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.  It is Panto season after all!


We needed to win to stay in touching distance of the League leaders, and we did just that thanks to a stellar performance by the entire team, especially Eden Hazard, who shone as brightly as any star in the Christmas sky!  Congratulations to John Terry for making his 600th appearance for the Blues and heading up a masterful defence.  It was a blinding game from start to finish and I was surprised to find myself agreeing with Gary Neville, of all people, when he described the intensity of the Super Sunday fixture:

"Sometimes up in the commentary box you do games and you don't have time to breathe and it just felt like one of those days. It was exhilarating to watch first minute to 90 minutes, it absolutely felt frantic and blood and thunder all the way through, incidents all the time that kept the crowd involved."  

(It somehow sounded better listening to him saying it with his distinctive Mancunian accent on TV but hopefully you get the gist!)

I was pleased to see David Luiz make a début appearance in midfield under Mourinho. His pace and quick thinking added a much needed tempo to our game on Sunday.  I like to watch him licensed to shoot in midfield - when he plays as centre half he reminds me of a chained animal pulling at his shackles in order to escape up the pitch (more often than not he manages to break free and compromise the team defensively). I know Jose was pushed into the decision as a result of injuries and Ramires serving a ban, but hope he may rethink his plans for Luiz as a result.

There were numerous contentious decisions during the match as well as a handful of injuries on both sides.  Branislav Ivanovic, who has been a constant force in the Chelsea side this season, left the pitch, injured, some thirty minutes into the game, which had seen him reunited with Luis Suarez and his teeth. (I may be taking the Panto theme too far, but Panto horse comes to mind!) Frank Lampard was also substituted at half time and Liverpool lost Sakho, Glen Johnson and Joe Allen to injury during the game. 

There were penalty shouts on both sides, and a few skirmishes but the referee, Howard Webb, did not award either side a spot kick, or resort to pulling out a red card.   I am hoping in the after math of 'Sorry Gate' that neither manager will receive, or should I say make public that they received, a call from Mike Riley, apologising for Webb's possible 'mistake/s'.  (I wonder if Steve Clarke's indiscretion had anything to do with his subsequent and untimely dismissal.)

The experienced referee had a good game... (probably most Chelsea fans would agree!)
OH NO HE DIDN'T! 

The experienced referee had a shocker of a game.... (borrowing the words of Alan Shearer in MOTD)
OH YES HE DID!

Sorry the panto theme seems to be taking over but I am also practising my lines as we are going on our annual pantomime outing this evening to see Aladdin! You are lucky I'm not writing this tomorrow - it would be even more annoying to read!

In the post-match interview it was good to see ‘The Happy One’ really happy for a change. Jose Mourinho was in a very festive and jolly mood as he hailed the Premier League and the ‘monsters’ (he explained he used the term in the 'good' sense of the word!) who play in it! He also applauded the tradition of playing throughout the festive season which he said he loved…. As do I – who could imagine a Christmas not sandwiched between fascinating football fixtures.

All in all yesterday was a perfect way to see off 2013 – a year which was mixed in fortune for the Club.  I am happy to say goodbye to 2013 myself – two operations in eight months… the second of which I had two months ago and I have been using as an excuse for not writing a post since October.  I probably would have continued the dearth had I not been given a nudge by an unexpected source!

I can't end without paying tribute to Malky Mackay, the last of the six Premiership managers to lose his job this season.  It seems more than appropriate to discuss the unfair treatment of the enigmatic and revered Cardiff City manager in this particular post - the new controlling and comical owner of Cardiff City, Vincent Tan is a perfect Pantomime villain.... 

The Blue birds shall be Red dragons.....

The goal keeper shall begin to score goals....

I shall manage the club even though I'm still familiarising myself with the offside rule....

It's my Cardiff and I'll Boo if I want to....

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

Captain Fantastic

Well here it is - my first post of the 2013/14 Football season! Why did it take me so long to knuckle down?  I don't really know - in my head I was writing posts way back in the Summer (about Spain's demise in the Confederation Cup and Chelsea's pre season Asia tour), but when push came to shove I just couldn't get down to it.  Maybe my writer's block had something to do with Jose's return to the Bridge. Even though I can't pinpoint the cause of my block, it was hearing the phrase 'Captain Fantastic' which spurred me into action!

My post Summer resolution is to go to the gym everyday (trying to reverse the effects of a few months of Spanish cuisine). Yesterday afternoon, whilst mind numbingly bobbing up and down on the cross trainer, I tuned into Chelsea TV, which was showing a replay of the second leg of the 2005 Champion's League game between Chelsea and Barcelona, at the Bridge.  It was good to see the likes of Joe Cole and Damien Duff in Chelsea Blue and a little weird to see Samuel Eto'o playing for the opposition. As John Terry headed in Chelsea's fourth and subsequently winning goal, the commentator referred to him as 'Captain Fantastic'.

The last few years have not been great for JT:

January 2010  - revelations of Terry's alleged affair with his team mate's fiance led to Fabio Capello removing Terry as England's Captain.

November 2011  - Terry was placed under police investigation following an allegation of racist abuse made at Anton Ferdinand during a West London Derby against QPR


April 2012 -  The Blues skipper was dismissed in the first half of the Champion's League semi-final at the Nou Camp for an off-the-ball knee in the back of Alexis Sanchez.  His ban meant he could not take part in the final in Munich.

July 2012  -  Although Terry was acquitted by the Magistrates of the racism charges, the FA charged the Chelsea defender for using "abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour" which "included a reference to the ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race of Ferdinand".   He received a four match ban and was fined.  Terry subsequently announced his retirement from England's national footballl team.

November 2012 -  During his first game back after serving his ban, Terry picked up a knee injury which ruled him out of the first team until  the end of January 2013 by which time the newly appointed Manager Rafa Benitez had decided Terry was no longer his first choice centre back.

None of this makes for comfortable reading.  I don't think who Terry chooses to have a physical relationship with should in anyway impact his performance as a footballer, nor do I think it should be in the public arena.  I agree footballers more than ever are role models and have a responsibility to set an example by refraining from abusive language and behaviour.  If Terry had insulted the former first team Spurs goal keeper by calling him a 'F****** BALD C***', (as I heard a few thousand supporters chanting in the shed end of
Stamford Bridge during a Tottenham game), would he have been placed under police investigation or banned and fined by the FA?  Or perhaps if the adjective used was GINGER? Would that have led to such recrimination? I think we all know the answer to that. When does competitive banter turn into racist slander?   Don't get me wrong, I am all for an end to racism (I myself was labelled as 'black' in my twenties - this label alone did not offend me, it was the fact that it was used as a means of trying to insult and demean me which did the damage). I don't want to get into a long debate about it all - I do think PC is going a bit far and I also think the footballer should be separated from the man (after all Liverpool FC have managed to overlook their striker's cannibalism!).

I am not asking anyone to 'like' or 'respect' John Terry as a man, but I do think he deserves respect as a great footballer and perhaps even one of the greatest defenders in Europe at his peak.  As a Chelsea supporter I am more than happy to see JT reinstated into the team where he belongs and I share Jose Mourinho's faith in him.


I can't finish without remarking on some of the amazing happenings of the last couple of months:

Frank Lampard became England's eighth Centurion.

Arsenal and Liverpool are top of the Premier league.

Arsene Wenger went shopping!

Gareth Bale went on an all inclusive Spanish holiday.

Joe Hart lost his mojo.

The first Premiership manager was sacked after just five weeks (Fascism doesn't pay after all!).

West Ham beat Tottenham 3-0!

Jack Wilshere got caught smoking.

Jose Mourinho had his worst start to a season - the 'Happy One' looked positively miserable.

Juan Mata got the Iker Casillas treatment.

John Obi Mikel scored his first Premier League goal in 185 appearances and subsequently Roman Abramovich was seen to smile publicly!!

And yes there is so much I could say about Manchester United, but I would never stoop so low!!

Totally Frank

I am embarrassed to admit that it has been 39 long days since my last post and so much has happened since then....

I can only really blame one person for neglecting my blog: Frank Lampard!!

Early on this season rumours were flying around about Frank's future.  Chelsea FC seemed reluctant to offer their prolific midfielder a new deal and the media were constantly speculating about Lampard's fate, linking him to numerous clubs including LA Galaxy.  Some regular readers of my blog may have picked up on my growing frustration at how appallingly Chelsea were treating their best midfield player ever.  I couldn't believe the club were willing to let him go and felt utterly helpless...Then it came to me... I would make him a cake to let him know what myself and other 'Super Frankie Lampard' fans thought of him.  Even though this thought came to me as far back as December (in anticipation of the January transfer, which thankfully did not materialise!),  it was only after I was recovering from my back operation in February that I began to take the project seriously.

Manly football fans, if you are still reading, then please don't stop - I know cake baking is not hugely synonymous with football but it was the only way I could think of getting my message of solidarity to Frank!

I knew I wanted to include a model of Frank on the cake and in mid April I began trying to make Frank's head from icing - modelling with icing is very difficult as it doesn't retain it's shape well and seams are hard to disguise - clay is much easier but obviously not edible.  I was struggling with the shapes and colours and how life like I wanted it to be.  On one of my visits to Stamford Bridge, I got drawn to Peter Osgood's statue.  I remember thinking there should be a statue of Frank.... and so the idea was born.

I also knew I wanted to use edible photos on cubes of cake - whenI was young we had photo cubes with photos on each face of the cube. I decided to give each cube a theme. By the time I started the cake Frank had scored his 201st goal and was two goals short of breaking Bobby Tambling's all time top scoring record.   I wasn't sure if he would break the record this season - thanks to Rafa leaving him on the bench every other game.  So I dedicated one cube to his goal tally with photos of his last four goals (198 - 201) with 201/2/3 and a question mark.  I finished the cake the day of our second leg Europa League semi-final at Stamford Bridge against Basel (which I went to!! and we won!!).

I know a wonderful gentleman who was able to deliver my cake to Frank's home on the day of the match.  Frank was kind enough to send me a signed photo saying thank you.  I haven't framed it yet - but I will!!

Although Frank started the game, he did not score on that occasion - but 9 days later in our penultimate premiership game against Aston Villa, Frank's magic returned and he scored a double, first equaling and then breaking Bobby Tambling's record and so Frank Lampard became the highest scorer in Chelsea history with 203 goals.

Four days later Frank captained Chelsea to win our first Europa League title, making Chelsea the first club ever to be holders of both European titles simultaneously (even if for 10 days only).  As if becoming champions of Europe again (well kind of !) wasn't amazing enough, I was introduced to Frank the next day, at Stamford Bridge, hours after the announcement that he had signed a one year contract extension. Everything I had heard about him was true - he is a real gentleman and extremely humble. I felt hugely privileged, not just because of the timing of meeting him, but because I got to explain to him the motivation behind my cake. Although I am relieved that Chelsea FC have acknowledged Frank's importance to the club for now, I hope they will learn to nurture such heroes and treat them with the respect they deserve.

Frank Lampard is a true Legend.  I feel extremely honoured to have been able to tell him so!

Sergio Aguero Hits Rock Bottom

We are out of the FA Cup.....

It is ironic that the football club which denied us four consecutive FA Cup wins back in 2011,  is also the club responsible for knocking us out of the 2013 tournament and denying us the 'five out of seven' statistic.  Yesterday's semi final defeat at Wembely also brings to an end Chelsea's run of 29 games unbeaten in open play in the FA Cup competition.

  

Juan Mata called it 'A bitter return to Wembley'.  

I must admit the alarm bells started ringing a week ago while I struggled to watch the Manchester derby amidst the commotion of a weekly dart's evening which has evolved at our house since the introduction of the  dart board back in January.  Annoyingly, Manchester City looked like they were finding the form they had been missing this season.  Sergio Aguero came off the bench with something to prove and scored the winning  late goal, almost duplicating his heroics in the deciding game of last season, which saw City nicking the premiership from their Manchester rivals.

Even though the elusive sun had found its way through the clouds to shine on Wembley, I can't say the same for the fatigued Chelsea team.  Manchester City started the stronger and more determined side. The giant figure of an 'on form' Yaya Toure charging from box to box, dusting off any Chelsea resistance with embarrassing ease, set the tempo of the match.  The Ivorian midfielder, who is almost impossible to stop when he gathers a full head of steam, was instrumental in City's opening goal and was voted 'man of the match'.  Sergio Aguero doubled the lead two minutes into the second half and his goal seemed to somehow kick start  the Chelsea come back.  The introduction of Fernando Torres (Zorro!) into the game at 65 minutes, almost instantly led to Chelsea's first (and sadly only goal), another implausible and athletic goal for Demba Ba.  It needed to be something special to get past the six foot eight gargantuan figure of City's second goal keeper, Pantilimon.  Unfortunately our spirited second-half fight back wasn't quite enough to enable an equalizer, let alone a winner.  

I don't want to make excuses for why Chelsea lost and won't even discuss the 'should have been' penalty from Vincent Company's contact on Fernando Torres (the picture says it all!!).  I do just want to address the issue of Benitez not playing Frank Lampard.  My objection is not related to Frank's nationality,or the Englishness of the FA cup, or the fact that there were two foreign managers urging on nineteen foreign players and only three starting Englishmen - although come to think of it, maybe that should be my objection!  In the absence of Didier Drogba, and his much needed potency in front of goal in crucial matches, we needed a 'big player' to step up to the mark and help score an equaliser at Wembley.  In my opinion, Frank Lampard was the right man for the job.  Frank has played in 32 of the last 34 semi-finals and finals the club has been involved in.  If anyone understands what the Cup means to Chelsea FC it is Lampard.  The same could  be said of John Terry who was also sidelined by Benitez and kept Frank company on the substitutes' bench.  

My other issue with the match - and yes it has taken me four paragraphs to get to why my post is titled as it is - was Sergio Aguero's unpunished, unnecessary, unsportsmanlike and altogether rather barbaric attack on David Luiz's nether region.  Again the picture says it all.  I wish I could be as generous as David Luiz who said this about the attack:

"People said to me it was a bad tackle but I didn't see it because it was in my back. I don't like to speak about bad things. He needs to be honest with himself, he is a great player and scores great goals, makes a lot of people happy with his goals, and this is not his style. Sometimes people are angry for five seconds and do bad things, but I forgive him."

I found Aguero going unpunished by the referee, Chris Foy, nearly as offensive as the foul itself. I read the following in an article about the tackle in the Telegraph and found it very amusing: 

" Foy’s failure to punish Aguero was compounded by his decision not to award Chelsea an 88th minute penalty following Vincent Kompany’s shirt tug on Fernando Torres. Such was the anger among Chelsea supporters towards Foy, the Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy was bombarded with condemnatory tweets due to fans mistakenly blaming him for the team’s defeat. In response, Hoy tweeted, ‘I guess Chris Foy’s having a shocker again today! :-)’"

Talking of violence on the pitch, I am pained to discuss the recent violence amongst football fans, namely Millwall fans at Wembley during the other FA Cup semi final against Wigan, and Newcastle fans after their 3-0 defeat by Paolo Di Canio's newly energised Sunderland.  Since watching the television coverage of the fighting, I have been haunted by the images of frightened children crying amongst the unruly fans.  Here is a quote from one of my posts a few weeks ago which I wrote after West Ham fans pelted Terry and Lampard with coins and missiles: " I really hope we are not returning to the times when the words 'football fan' and 'violent thug' were synonymous."  All I can do is reiterate these words.  

On a positive note, Zorro returned to a snow surrounded astroturf pitch in Russia to score the opening goal for Chelsea in the second leg Europa League quarter final against Rubin Kazan.  The 4-1 aggregate did not dampen the Russian club's enthusiasm and they bravely fought on. With Rafa resting all three amigos, the team did well to hang on.  It was all a bit nerve wracking especially when Rubin Kazan took the lead after a very dubious penalty decision.  Although the game ended 3-2 in favour of the home side (I should say the lodger's side as the Rubin Kazan ground was deemed unfit for play by UEFA and the game was played in Moscow instead), Chelsea won 5-3 on aggregate and meet Basel (who knocked out a 'Bale-less' Tottenham side) in the semi final of the competition.  Newcastle United also lost to Benfica leaving Chelsea as the last English team standing in Europe for a second year running.

The fight for third and fourth places in the premiership is hotting up with Arsenal making a late run.  I hope we can keep our heads when all about are losing theirs....

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

 

Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

Perhaps some of Kim Jong-un's tough talk this week has spilled into the Chelsea dressing room and specifically into Fernando Torres' ears.... the troubled Spaniard just scored two goals in one evening equaling his total number scored in his last 22 games! Ironically, Torres scored his 17th goal of the season in the 17th minute of Chelsea's first leg quarter final Europa League clash against the Russian Club Rubin Kazan. Although 17 (and even 18!) is a pretty respectable figure (and is definitely better than 11 which was last season's goal total), it seems fairly lacking when compared to 57 goals scored by Lionel Messi so far this season.  I shouldn't put a downer on Fernando's much needed two goals - and once again find myself hoping, (along with thousands of other blues supporters), that his latest conquests will go some way towards healing his bruised ego and that ultimately, his confidence and scoring prowess will be restored. sadly, I must add that experience has taught me not to hold my breath...  I was a crazy 'Zorro' fan as a child and don't know if that is responsible for me thinking that the fact that Torres was sporting a mask to protect his broken nose when scoring these goals, may actually work for him as a long term tactic.  Perhaps the mask helped protect more than his nose - is that where the expression 'saving face' comes from?  So maybe he should keep the mask as a regular feature - a bit like Petr Cech wearing a rugby hat to protect his skull - it could be the 'Mask of Torres'! I must also add that the Spaniard broke a club record by scoring on Thursday evening - the first player to score in seven different competitions in one season.

As implied by my 'Meat Loaf' loving title, we have won two out of our last three games since my last post, and we are hours away from the fourth - I started the post on Thursday evening having been inspired by Torres - then lost my mojo for a couple of days and now find myself chasing the clock before our kick off this afternoon against Sunderland (and their newly appointed, self proclaimed and self denied fascist manager, Paolo Di Canio) - all this so my title stands - I could always just change the title but that would be too easy and being a Chelsea supporter has taught me a thing or two about doing things the hard way!

I was privileged enough to be at Stamford Bridge on Monday and watch the slaying of the Red Devils. It was an honour to witness, first hand, Demba Ba's goal and Petr Cech's super human save from yet another cheeky Hernandez header. I can honestly say we deserved to win the match and look forward to our semi-final clash with Manchester City at Wembley.  Manchester City denied us the FA Cup in 2011 - had we won, we would have made FA Cup history by winning the cup four consecutive years.  Lets hope we can get past Mancini's men as we did their neighbours and find ourselves in yet another Cup Final.

At Stamford Bridge, I found myself sitting between two senior citizens - quite useful as it was a freezing cold day and their extra layers went some way to warming me up - as I discovered when one of them left his seat for a few minutes and I froze!!  Yes I was alone as I could only get one ticket but also recently find the ticket prices and the economic climate forcing me into more of a 'billy no mates' situation as I can't really justify spending an extra 50 or 60 pounds in order to give myself the comfort of having a buddy sitting next to me.  writing this, I have just realised my 'billy no mates' status extends into non football life too - I was trying to think if there was anyone I knew who could fund their own football habit and accompany me to the Bridge - my ageing  brain got stuck on the first part of the question: 'anyone I knew'.....!  Sorry I am being a bit self indulgent, getting back to where I was sitting - at half time I started chatting to the friendly gentleman on my right - he has been a season ticket holder for 30 years and knew many of the supporters sitting around us.  I felt his views deserved my respect... he said even though the team has a lot of individual talent, he was increasingly frustrated by the players looking like they... quote:
"think they can walk the ball into the back of the net!"

Demba Ba did prove him wrong on that but I guess I know what he means.  Talking of Ba, I know the goal was spectacular, but the last few matches he has played I have found myself getting quite frustrated with him (and at times 'Torres' frustrated!).  My 'heating' friend from the match and his mates all seemed in independent agreement with me during the first half of the FA Cup quarter final.  Statements such as : "it's getting so bad I want Rafa to bring Torres on", were being exchanged amongst other light hearted jabs at Ba's apparent inadequacies.  After the 'goal' the tide seem to turn.  Had Ba's game really improved or are supporters fickle enough to forget any complaints once a goal is scored.  If that is the case then Fernando is in luck!

I really should write my posts more often so they don't go on so much....

If you find yourself bored at all, I recommend you try and watch at least the highlights of the three Europa League games involving English Clubs - the Tottenham and Newcastle games were really good value.  I was much more entertained watching those games than the Champion's League draws on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.  I am not just saying that because Chelsea is out of the Champion's League, I think I am being objective!  Although it was great to see Beckham back in Europe taking a free kick.  I found myself willing PSG on and was thrilled with their 90 +4 min equaliser, much to my daughter's boyfriend's annoyance - he supports Barca after Valencia.  Talking of my daughter's boyfriend, F, he has become a champion score predictor for all kinds of matches.   As I gave up predicting Chelsea scores, F and my daughter K, took over the mantle.  Since January, F has received four emails from Chelsea FC congratulating him on 100% correct predictions of score and scorers.  His success has unfortunately led him into the bookies where he won quite a few pounds correctly guessing Real Madrid would beat Galatasaray 3-0 and that the Malaga v Dortmund tie would end in a draw. Winning is the biggest promoter of gambling and F is either very lucky or psychic!  His horse came in fifth yesterday in the Grand National so hopefully his betting ways are only temporary! (My 66-1 each way bet came in fourth - I chose it because of it's name: 'Oscar Time'!  Thanks Oscar!)

So many crucial players picked up injuries this last week:
Ashley Cole, Lionel Messi, Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale.... the list goes on but I have mentioned the most obvious (and important to Chelsea's campaign, apart from Messi of course!).  I feel a little guilty about Gareth Bale as when Lennon went off injured in their game against Basel (who did well to score two away goals even though the match ended 2-2), I had a fleeting and hugely uncharitable thought: "wouldn't it have helped our top four Premeiership chances more if it had been Bale".... I am ashamed of this 'intrusive thought' which found it's own way into my brain, a little like a pocket of 'hot air' involuntarily finding it's own way out of oneself, usually in the company of important strangers!  Writing f**t would have been easier but I didn't want to offend any sensitive readers!  I would never wish injury on any player - I think it must be the worst thing for any sports person to deal with and I repeat, the thought was an involuntary one.  Needless to say that when Gareth Bale was stretchered off near the end of the match, I was filled with guilt and remorse.  I wish all the injured players a speedy recovery.  AVB has since confirmed Bale will only be out for a couple of games... Oh no another intrusive thought/f**t ... "why couldn't he wait till after the Chelsea game..."

Talking about Swiss football teams just reminded me, check out this clip:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iipck7ZVlw0

Better end as am off to Stamford Bridge again today to see for myself any evidence of Paolo Di Canio raising his arm to a 45 degree angle!!

Last thing before I go,  a few lyrics from Meat Loaf to end with:

"Now don't be sad (Don't be sad) 
'Cause two out of three ain't bad 
Now don't be sad (Don't) 
'Cause two out of three ain't bad 
Baby we can talk all night 
But that ain't getting us nowhere..."

A Corporate Footballer

Thirteen whole days and no Chelsea game - yes there were International games but somehow they just didn't seem to fill the void....  You know that feeling when you are really hungry and nothing you eat seems to hit the spot - and now having had almost a fortnight of Chelsea fasting, I am preparing for a contrasting week of binging - four games in eight days to gorge myself on - don't expect a post for a while as I may just be too full to get finger to keyboard....

During this barren couple of weeks the story of Michael Owen retiring at the end of the season has caught my eye.  I watched him interviewed on Football Focus and felt myself  experiencing a mixture of emotions - I couldn't decide if I liked him or not - if I felt sorry for him or not - and if he deserved my sympathy or not.  Through the years I had never taken the time to formulate any real feelings about him other than he had been an incredibly talented and injury stricken player who had fallen from grace in the footballing community and most importantly, was easy on the eyes!  I had been fortunate enough to see him play in a Liverpool shirt on a rare visit to Craven Cottage back in the day and remember being quite moved by his physicality!!

So much has been said about the struggling striker and much of it has been criticism.... Criticism for his seemingly selfish, cold, detached and ruthless attitude to football - for his ability to treat football as a 'job' as opposed to a lifestyle - for never showing true passion for his club and often appearing to put Country over Club by cynically and prematurely finding fitness just in time for England campaigns resulting in more long term injury and club absence.  He has never been the badge kissing type.  You could argue that at least he wasn't being fake.  Yes there are some club die-hards in the footballing world like JT and Gerrard but there are also the likes of Van-Persie, who swapped an eight year old Arsenal shirt for a Manchester United one with the ease of a playground Pokemon swap.

In his glory days, Owen scored 158 goals in 297 appearances for Liverpool.  In 2001, after helping Liverpool achieve the treble, he was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or making him Europe's player of the year.  The last English player to have won the prize was Kevin Keegan, back in 1978 and 1979 - No English footballer has been awarded the prize since Owen.  During the course of 89 England caps he scored 40 goals and he became the only player ever to have scored in four major tournaments for England.  Looking back at his achievements it is difficult to understand why Owen is treated more like a deserting soldier than a sporting hero.


Even commentators have stooped low enough to disregard his achievements by calling him a 'one trick pony' and attributing all his talent to his amazing pace, which when lost through injury cost him his career. Owen himself has accused Liverpool of not looking out for him as a youngster and compromising his health by overplaying him.  Perhaps fans find such open hostility towards their club too much to bear on top of the player's arrogant and aloof demeanor whilst sporting the Liverpool shirt and obviously preferring the England shirt.  It has been suggested Owen's major career goal was to eclipse Bobby Charlton's international goal scoring record of 49.

Michael Owen's time at Newcastle isn't fondly remembered by many Magpies either.  Newcastle United fans felt short changed by the £16 million pound striker during his four years at the club. One positive I found about Owen's time at Newcastle was a quote from Kevin Keegan which contradicts the views that Owen's only talent was his pace.  As England coach Keegan had seemed to prefer Andy Cole up front but at Newcastle he turned Owen into an attacking midfielder with considerable success. Compensating for the striker's loss of pace, Keegan cleverly utilised Owen's brain and undervalued technical abilities.

"Michael can keep the ball all day, sees a pass and knows when to release it, he'll score lots of goals from deep and, if he can stay fit, he'll play on in midfield until 36 or 37," he said. "I didn't realise what a good footballer Michael was before."

Owen's move to Manchester United, on the back of Newcastle's relegation in 2009 was not only extremely unpopular but also doomed through injury.  In his last season at Old Trafford, Owen only made 4 first team appearances. He also found himself on the bench the majority of the time even if he was fit to play.  This pattern continued after his move to Stoke City. In a blog on his decision to hang up his boots, Owen said this about his time at Stoke:

 "I signed for Stoke with every intention of playing more football than in recent seasons. It hasn't transpired. Yes, I've had a couple of small muscle injuries but it would be wrong to blame my lack of action on fitness. I have been available for a higher percentage of games this season than in my previous two. It just hasn't happened and the simple fact is, it is either the manager's opinion that I am not good enough to get into the team or that I don't fit into the system that we adopt. That is an opinion that I accepted a long time ago and I totally respect."

I am still undecided as to whether Michael Owen has a strategic football mind or his success did just stem form his incredible pace.  The proof may lie in his future management potential. The retiring 33 year old striker says he is open to moving into coaching or management.

I find myself far too invested in the unresolved tale of this sporting hero who is possibly more hated than revered.  Perhaps it has struck a chord because of the similarities to the on going 'Fernando Torres' dilemma.  Liverpool superstar turned laughing stock...

Is Liverpool responsible for what happened to Owen?  I can't answer that question but annoyingly find myself needing to use the 'F' word - would things have been different if Alex Ferguson was in charge?  It is strange how most quandaries lead back to the age old 'Nature v Nurture' argument.  Was Owen born with an injury prone body or was he mismanaged?  Does Cristiano Ronaldo owe Fergie a debt of gratitude for his injury free career or was he born a gladiator?

All I know is that I am left with an overwhelming sadness when thinking about Michael Owen's career.

"I retire in the knowledge that everybody knows where they were when 'That Goal' nestled into the top corner of the Argentinians' net!"

It really doesn't seem like a fitting end for a footballer who showed so much promise.

I haven't mentioned anything Chelsea for far too long - so congratulations to Lampard, Oscar and Hazard scoring in their International games - I know Oscar only scored in a friendly but it was a great ball which he slipped past Italy's Buffon.  Also congratulations to Petr Cech for winning his 100th cap for the Czech Republic in the same season that he played his 400th Chelsea game.

I would like to end by wishing Michael Owen well with his future endeavours, whatever they may be...

Silver Linings Playbook

Perhaps there is a silver lining to what has been a turbulent season for Chelsea:

As you know (and I probably over emphasised in my last post!) we managed to stay in the FA Cup last eight by coming from behind to draw with Manchester United.  The replay on Easter Monday at the Bridge will decide our fate in the competition.

Last Thursday evening we also managed to book our place in the last eight of the Europa League competition by converting a 1-0 deficit against Steaua Bucharest into a 3-2 victory.

On Sunday afternoon we beat West Ham 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to move back into third position in the Barclays Premier League.  (Remember we squandered an early lead at Upton Park back in December in one of Rafa's early matches in charge of Chelsea and the Hammers won 3-1.)

And last but by no means least, Frank Lampard managed to break the deadlock and score his 200th Chelsea goal by heading in a well placed cross from Eden Hazard, in our match against the Hammers.  Yaaaay Frank!

So things are looking up for Chelsea.... I hope they manage to maintain their momentum when they return after the International break - although they will be returning to an even more cramped schedule: 4 matches in 8 days...

Looking back to last weeks action, our Thursday evening second leg match against Steaua Bucharest was my first time back at Stamford Bridge since my back operation last month.  Although initially it was exhilarating to be back at the Bridge, with hindsight it was probably a little premature of me to anticipate lasting the match on very uncomfortable seating (am not being precious - just relative to my back problem the seating is almost toxic).  On top of my physical limitations the atmosphere from the extremely vocal away fans seemed more threatening than usual.  When a Chelsea fan ran onto the pitch and taunted the raucous Romanian rabble, they morphed into a giant rabid dog, foaming at the mouth, trying to clamber over the barriers to rip apart the interrupting foolish fan. I have to be honest and say this was probably my own distorted view as I felt the vulnerability of a wounded animal in sight of its predator.  To add to my anxiety I discovered most of the seating behind me was occupied by Romanians making a rather feeble attempt to pass as Chelsea fans and when Bucharest scored their first away goal, just before half time, it became more than clear that not only were the fans directly behind me from the enemy camp, so were a multitude of others scattered all around the ground in the 'blue' stands.  Most of these intruders didn't even bother disguise their allegiance to the visiting team.  My daughter E, who had accompanied me, did her best to normalise my concerns but even she wasn't thrilled by feeling surrounded by Romanian fans.  (Perhaps pathetically) we decided to watch the second half in the comfort of our house away from the threat of the enemy and close to the bulging, but by no means bothering, refrigerator full of food! I feel blessed to live close enough to my team's ground to enable such decision making - although I would rather be 'man' enough to have lasted the length of the match... (Also have to thank my daughter for bringing the 'Hailo' app into my physically challenged life: the best and most reliable way of catching a cab in a hurry!)

Once home we were relieved to see Chelsea come out fighting in the second half.  Juan Mata's early lead had been neutralised by the away goal just before the break and we needed at least two more goals and a clean sheet in the second half to win.  I was thrilled to see John Terry score one of his usual potent headers from a free kick - maybe he will earn more playing time from Rafa now.  Shockingly, Fernando Torres scored the third and winning goal of the night.  He could have made it four as he unusually stepped up to take on the challenge of a penalty awarded for a bad foul on the amazing attacking force of Eden Hazard.  As he lined up to take the penalty the television camera showed a close up of his face.... he had incurred a bloody nose from an 'inadvertent' kick in the face by a Romanian defender while he was lying prostate in the box protesting what he thought had been a penalty shout.  Not unusually, he was ignored by the ref who turned the same shade of red as the blood pouring from the Spaniards nose, when confronted by the wounded Torres.  Watching the close up of his bloodied and hyper ventilating face, every inch of my body was shouting out 'don't do it' - everything about his demeanor was saying he would miss.... one ball thumping off the cross bar later and I felt tears stinging my eyes in sympathy for a player I have come to criticise regularly.  Perhaps my own, still fresh in the mind, experience of 'losing my bottle' had brought on the sympathy or even his bloody nose may have put him in the 'wounded animal' category - a class which I felt more than a part of that evening.  Either way I dispensed with some negative disappointment towards the flailing striker and really from the bottom of my heart wish he finds his way - be it on or off the pitch...

Talking of negative disappointment... although this should be a very positive post, considering our exploits this last week, I am disappointed - no, not in Chelsea but in the behaviour of some fans of West Ham United on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.  Early in the game, just before Lampard gave Chelsea the lead, jeering West Ham fans threw coins at John Terry as he warmed up on the side lines.  Although JT responded quite eloquently by bending over and stretching with his back turned to the hostile fans, displaying his smiling cheeks, Lampard's goal seemed a much more fitting response!  Frank, having spotted Terry on the sidelines, veered in his direction to celebrate and the two were then pelted with more coins and dangerous missiles by the rowdy Hammers.  I have since learnt that two West Ham supporters have been arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence and one for criminal damage (for theft of a chair - hope he wasn't intending on throwing that..!!).  I know I am probably sensitive to 'health and safety' issues at the moment but I really hope we are not returning to the times when the words 'football fan' and 'violent thug' were synonymous.

I want to end on a positive - a quick shout out for my recently elected favourite player, Eden Hazard, who I thought was brilliant most of the match on Sunday and danced his way into the box and scored another sublime goal giving us a 2-0 lead.  I know you should not have favourites and I want to reassure my daughters I have never had favourites at home!! I genuinely admire all the players in the squad but there are times when I watch Hazard when I forget I am watching football - it is more reminiscent of the sensations I feel when watching a breathtaking act in Cirque de Soleil - it is art...

A quick congratulations to Wigan firstly for their convincing win over Everton to get into the semi-finals of the FA Cup... a great victory.  Secondly for their somewhat controversial win against Newcastle United on Sunday bringing hope to Latic fans that they may be looking at yet another season saved from relegation.  Newcastle substitute Haidara was rushed to hospital after a horrific tackle by 21 year old Wigan forward Callum McManaman making his full 90 minute debut, who went unpunished. A much aggrieved Alan Pardew admitted after the match that referee Mark Halsey apologised for missing the challenge at half-time. The forever calm and positive Roberto Martinez refuted the notion of the challenge being malicious and blamed the exuberance of youth.  He also said Wigan deserved being on the right side of some contentious decisions and all teams at times are beneficiaries of luck and chance.... It's not just because I like Martinez and his managerial qualities that I find myself agreeing with him!

A quick thank you to Fulham for beating Tottenham in the other London Derby on Sunday... Another silver lining.... Berbatov scored for Fulham against his old team, giving Fulham manager Martin Jol an ironic win over Tottenham.  When he was manager for Tottenham, Jol had signed Berbatov and Gareth Bale amongst others.

Finally I actually got round to watching 'Silver Linings Playbook' this week... A great script and cast, just got a bit too Hollywood sickly sweet at the end but I guess it had to live up to its title!   Let's hope Chelsea can live up to the same title and no ending will be too sickly sweet for me when it comes to the blues!

Man Who???

Ok it probably is a way too premature and cheeky title but just couldn't help myself and if we end up losing the replay at the Bridge I would never have been able to say it - so for now let it stand even if temporarily!!

It was almost the perfect Mother's Day: Lunch with my family in the country (although the pub was freezing - my blood still hasn't thickened to the level of a true Englishman/woman!!); an almost perfect afternoon of football (again in the bosom of my family - cosy but noisy!) followed by an incredible outing to the newly opened viewing platform of the Shard......... I was thinking how appropriate it was to go from watching Chelsea to the Shard as both invoke similar feelings at various times: amazement, awe, wonderment, fear, sickness, panic, excitement, despair, more amazement, more fear, more despair.... but in the case of the Shard I think the overwhelming feeling is a positive one.... I can't say the same about Chelsea always, although Sunday afternoon was one of those games which had everything and ended on a high note.

After Manchester United's controversial exit from Champion's League midweek, I was dreading our visit to Old Trafford for the 6th round FA cup tie against Fergie's men who felt robbed of their place in Europe and their chance at the treble this season.  Rooney and Hernandez (who has a good scoring record against Chelsea) headed up a strong but Van Persie-less Manchester side.  Demba Ba, Oscar and Mata started for Chelsea while Torres and Eden Hazard were on the bench.  I am quite happy when Fernando is not in the starting line up but feel quite strongly that Hazard is an essential part of our (sometimes wanting) firing power. 

Even before my 'warm chocolate fudge cake and cream' from my lunch had had a chance to exit my stomach Manchester United had scored.  In fact within eleven minutes of the kick off they were leading 2-0.  Their first goal was the result of a perfectly judged and unexpected long ball from Michael Carrick which found the head of Hernandez and lobbed over an unusually badly placed Petr Cech into the goal.  The second was a result of a Rooney free kick and also found its way past a helpless and seemingly unaware Petr Cech - I would like to think his view had been blocked by the heaving mass of bodies in the box.  I had a moment of panic and distress thinking it's all over... I know 'It's never over till it's over' but when faced with Manchester United, they will more often than not be the side to benefit from the saying. 

The 'Rafa bashing' amongst both sets of supporters began to gather momentum: "sacked in the morning..."

After Chelsea's rather dismal and limp performance against Steaua Bucharest on Thursday evening the writing seemed to be on the wall.  Before half time Petr Cech made a crucial save denying Rooney, which rebounded and was in danger of finding the back of the net off the head of David Luiz for an own goal, but Cech had found his form and was quick in reacting to make it a double save.

Oh I almost forgot, the other excitement of the afternoon which was going on almost simultaneously was the premiership clash between Liverpool and Tottenham (or should I say between Suarez and Gareth Bale), at Anfield.  Obviously I couldn't watch the match but the changing scoreline was of significance as I have been hoping for a team to stop the recent surge of Spurs under AVB and more importantly they are ahead of us in the league by 2 points so any Tottenham defeat is more than welcome.  Suarez opened the scoring for Liverpool and by half time Bale had assisted Jan Vertonghen to equalise.  This match had begun 30 minutes before ours so as we went into half time Bale had again been instrumental to Jan Vertonghen scoring his second goal and Spurs took the lead at the beginning of the second half. (Congratulations to Vertonghen - he scored last time out for Spurs as well in their 3-0 win over Inter Milan - ArseneWenger will be gutted to have missed out on him: the defender had the opportunity to sign for Arsenal in the summer of last year and he might have taken it were it not for Thomas Vermaelen, the club's captain, who he counts as one of his closest friends in the game). I am a little superstitious and always look for signs (usually of doom and gloom!) and Spurs leading seemed the perfect opportunity for me to decide the day was going to be a wash out for Chelsea and that not only would we be out of the FA Cup but we would also be trailing Tottenham by 5 points putting more pressure on our premiership clash with West Ham - a fixture which we lost at the beginning of the season.  As you can see I am a bit of a glass half empty person!!

Going back to Man U and Chelsea, Benitez started the second half making me re evaluate my judgement of his managerial skills.  Within six minutes of coming back onto the pitch he made a double substitution (one of the earliest substitutions he has ever made..)

I'm losing my flow as I can hear the UEFA Champion's League Anthem in the background heralding the start of the second leg match between Barcelona and AC Milan at the Nou Camp.  Milan won the first leg 2-0 leaving Barcelona with a lot to do.  This means I may have to take a break for 90 minutes before finishing this post!!

Half time at the Nou Camp - the score 2-0 (both Messi - first one sublime in 5th minute, second amazing in the 40th minute - can't help spotting a symmetry of scoring 5 minutes into and 5 minutes before the end of a half).  Barcelona are on a mission.... quote of the week from the match commentator about playing Barca at the Nou Camp:

"You gotta bring your own ball when you come here cos they don't let you play with theirs!"

Full time, two more goals for Barca (David Villa and Jordi Alba) and they win 4-0 (4-2 on aggregate), the first team ever to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the second leg of a Champions League match.  I felt for AC Milan who never really got into the game.... Also Galatasaray beat Schalke with a 3-2 win (4-3 on aggregate) - great news for Didier Drogba who took the last kick of the 2012 Champion's League competition - he may end up in two consecutive finals - a long shot but an interesting thought.

Ok enough Champion's League and back to Chelsea at Old Trafford in the 6th round of the FA cup - apologies to those of you who struggle with so much chopping and changing - I feel like this is a bit of a 'Love Actually' style post and I know not everyone manages to follow different threads at the same time...

As I was saying Benitez made a double and early substitution bringing on John Mikel Obi and Eden Hazard for Lampard and Moses.  I am sorry that Lamp's 200 goal is eluding him and appreciate why fans got angry with Rafa for the substitution in principle - but in practice I have to be honest and say Frank has not been at his best the last few games.  As it happened it was a great call from Rafa.  Six minutes after coming on, Hazard curled in a stunning shot into goal, revitalising the Blues.  Juan Mata continued to work his magic and even the introduction of Van Persie and Danny Wellbeck did not dampen the Chelsea spirit or their obvious dominance which led to the second and equalising goal from the less favoured left foot of Ramires who was freed to go forward more by the arrival of Mikel in midfield. 

It was so exhilarating to watch us play so well against a formidable opponent.  We kept pushing till the dying minutes and should have won the game but for David De Gea's foot keeping out a Juan Mata goal by a whisker... Fergie said his team (specifically full backs and central midfield players) were exhausted and lost their legs... Chelsea were the team who got back from a trip to Steaua Bucharest in the early hours of Friday.... enough said.

Now going back to Tottenham and my doom and gloom scenario - sorry for chopping and changing again but have decided this is the style of this post and I rather like it...

Just as Ramires scored our equaliser at Old Trafford I remembered to check the score at Anfield and realised it was Mothering Sunday after all... Liverpool had come back to beat Spurs 3-2. Thank you Liverpool...

I am going to Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening for the second leg of our Europa League game against Steaua Bucharest. I hope we can keep up our revitalised form to keep us in Europe and then we have the challenge of getting back to third place in the Premiership by winning our next game as well as somehow coming back to beat Manchester United as and when the FA Cup return match takes place at Stamford Bridge.

Enough of football - I just briefly want to share with you the last part of my Mothering Sunday - which was even more exhilarating and emotional than the afternoon of football - 'the view from the Shard' - as organised by my beautiful daughters...  The view was breathtaking but more than that it was the architecture of the building which lent itself to the magnificence of the experience.  I have been to the top of many tall buildings but none gave me the same sensation of free falling into the skyline as did the Shard - the floor to infinity glass panels maximising the sensation.  It's a must see...