It's been a crazy ten days since my last post - there has been an almost continuous feast of games (leaving me too full to have the energy to write!) I feel like I have been attending a football banquet:
- An amuse-bouche of a tasty but forgettable Chelsea victory in the fifth round of the FA Cup
- A colourful 'buffet' of Premiership starters
- The main course of Champions League action
- A slightly wilting salad of Europa League games (not so wilting if you are a Spurs fan!)
- The sweet anticipation of the sixth round of the FA Cup
Starting at the beginning:
Our 2-0 win over Middlesbrough which resulted in our progression into the sixth round of the FA Cup was not the greatest of watches. The first half was slow and uneventful. A few minutes into the second half Ramires gave us the lead (with a goal which brushed Fernando Torres on the shoulder before hitting the back of the net: the closest Torres came all match to scoring! ), and Moses scored the second from a clever pass by the substituted Eden Hazard. The highlight of the game was Rafa's post match rant, assuring disgruntled Chelsea supporters he was leaving in May and urging them to stop wasting their energies on banners and songs criticising his presence and asking them to get behind their team. He also said whoever gave him the title 'interim' manager had made a big mistake and had left him fighting from a position of weakness. He is not my favourite person at the moment but I thought he had a point especially about the fans getting behind the team. I also felt sorry for him reading some of the banners.....Looking back to the Premiership last weekend, Chelsea managed to 'Bagg' three points after their 1-0 win over West Brom. Fortunately for us, Romelu Lukaku, who is the Baggies top scorer, was unavailable due to the terms of his loan from Chelsea. It is ironic that whilst our wounded and seemingly 'bleeding out' striker, Fernando Torres, is struggling to find a second goal in 17 games, Chelsea have loaned out the young and hugely talented Belgian striker who is helping keep West Brom in the top half of the Premier League table by scoring almost every game. The 1-0 score line is not a fair depiction of a game where the Blues were totally comfortable and in control. They played with a renewed vigour and hunger. Had Rafa's post Middlesbrough rant had a positive effect on the team performance after all? Well the banners were still out at Stamford Bridge and the songs were being sung but the fans did seem to get behind the team more than they had done in the last few weeks. It's a bit of a 'chicken and egg' quandary - did the fans respond positively because the team was playing well or did the team play well because they felt supported? We wouldn't need to ask or try to answer these or a myriad of other questions if our team's performance had not been more than inexplicably erratic this season.
I suppose erratic is better than dismal, which brings me to QPR! Having said that, they managed to win their third game of the season against Southampton on Saturday and scored two goals taking their total number of goals scored this season to 21 - one more than Derby County's record of fewest goals scored in a season by a Premier League side (2007-2008) - so even if they are still relegated they won't have the worst scoring record in the Premiership! So Harry has two reasons to be grateful for Saturday's win over the Saints. It was a great present for Redknapp who was celebrating his birthday on match day, as was the Southampton manager Pochettino - alas no cake for him!!
I feel like I am going from one extreme to another but I did warn you it was a colourful 'buffet' of games - from dismal to dynamic - and sadly I am not talking about Chelsea but Tottenham and yes the 'Bane' of my life Gareth Bale was back in action for Spurs against Arsenal at White Hart Lane in the North London Derby on Sunday afternoon. It was an important game for all three mentioned teams and their positioning in the top five of the League. I was hoping Wenger's faltering Arsenal would come fully armed and ready to Crush AVB's seemingly invincible team, after all historically Arsenal have dominated this meeting. It is a sad state of affairs which sees us having to rely on other teams to do our dirty work. Here I was again cheering on yet another 'not Chelsea' team (if you remember it was West Ham last time out!) to get them to deprive Spurs of three points which would keep them ahead of us in the top of the table. Well my support was rendered as useless as it had the previous time by a super charged Bale doing what he does best. If I admit defeat and concede to agreeing with AVB when he compares Bale to Messi and Ronaldo, perhaps the young Welshman may stop showing off so much.... Either way Tottenham beat Arsenal 2-1 and stayed third in the table leading Arsenal by 7 points and us by 2. What struck me about the match was the extent of support given to their team by the Tottenham fans - the noise at White Hart Lane was deafening for the entire 90+ minutes of the match - at no point did they tire or falter... Chelsea fans are you listening??? Going back to the 'chicken and egg' dilemma, perhaps if our team shone as brightly our fans would sing as loudly....
Now to the juicy main course of Manchester United v Real Madrid in the Champion's League... a hugely anticipated deciding second leg. Ferguson shocked us all by leaving Rooney on the bench and the returning Cristiano Ronaldo seemed a little choked by being back at Old Trafford where he spent his formative years. Huge controversy surrounded the match caused by the Turkish referee, Cuneyt Cakir, showing Nani a red card in the 56th minute of the game. At the time of the sending off Manchester United were leading 1-0 (2-1 on aggregate). The substituted Luka Modric (ex Tottenham player - feeling like Spurs are taking over the world!!) scored an equaliser for Real within minutes of being introduced on the pitch and three minutes later Cristiano Ronaldo athletically stretched and found what should have been an unreachable cross to put Madrid ahead and through to the quarter finals of the Champions League. A 'distraught' Alex Ferguson refused to attend the post match press conference and his team failed to supply the obligatory two players for interview after the match as required by UEFA leading to a fine being imposed on the club. Is it me being old fashioned but what happened to 'sportsmanship'?
After all Man U are not the first to be at the wrong end of a questionable red card decision. Or is it just that Alex Ferguson's bullying tactics have saved them from being subjected to as many questionable decisions as other clubs. Personally I thought it was a red card - but as most of you know and I openly admit, I am rather biased when it comes to Man U - but on the night Roy Keane also felt it was a red card and for me that is as impartial as you can get. Also I think it is a bit much for Fergie to blame the ref for losing the game. Remember the same referee red carded John Terry in the second leg of Chelsea's Champion's League semi-final against Barcelona at the Nou Camp in 2012. Chelsea played over 50 minutes with ten men (as opposed to 34 minutes played by Man U) and still managed to beat the so called 'best team in the world'.
I rate Jose Mourinho as a manager and looked forward to his post match interview - especially as he was the only manager who bothered to give one - but was rather disappointed by what felt like a PR exercise to guarantee his smooth take over form Sir Alex at the helm of Manchester United. Saying 'The best team lost' was not something I would expect a winning manager to say, especially at the cost of his own team. I gather his interview with Spanish TV was less biased to his wanting of the Manchester job. Talking of Spanish TV, I have to commiserate with my potential future son-in-law, who is a dedicated Valencia fan - they were unable to hold out against PSG even in the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic who was on a two match ban as a result of being sent off in the first leg. Note to Alex Ferguson: other teams who have suffered sending off still go on to win.... sorry couldn't resist!
In contrast Tottenham came out of the gates running, scoring two goals (yes, Bale's name is on the score sheet - but won't be in the second leg as he will miss the game after being penalised for diving) within 18 minutes and a third to emphatically beat InterMilan. Also in the Europa League I was pleased to see Newcastle managed a scoreless draw against their Russian rivals, Anzhi Makhachkala, boding well for their second leg. I was sorry they lost in the Premiership at the weekend to Swansea as they had a lot of chances but at least Laudrup's men were worthy victors.
Finally, going full circle, looking at our 6th round FA Cup tie with Manchester United on Mothering Sunday (best Mother's day gift - thanks to those who arranged it!! I know I am sad...). I had hoped that Madrid beating Man U mid week would play into our hands for this fixture, but sadly I think the manner in which they lost may make them hungry for some one's blood - if no one of Turkish origin is available they may settle for anyone dressed in blue!!
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