THE 39 STEPS

Last night’s match, at a cold and rainy Stamford Bridge, was possibly the most frustrating 90 minutes (97 minutes!) I have had to endure….. A London derby against Big Sam’s faltering West Ham – it should have been a dead cert considering our recent form, and with Arsenal having dropped 2 points at St. Mary’s, it was the perfect opportunity for Mourinho’s men to advance their title challenge.

Chelsea had 39 shots at goal (the most by any team who failed to score in the Premier League since the 2003/4 season), in contrast to West Ham’s solitary attempt.  The match ended 0-0 thanks to resolute defending by the visiting team.

 

The young Spanish keeper Adrian was unbeatable and produced a string of brilliant saves.  He was assisted by a wall of defenders who showed such commitment, fearlessly throwing their bodies in front of the ball and any Blue opponent who happened to be in tow. Even the returning striker, Andy Carroll, spent more time in his own box than Chelsea’s and was pretty impressive in defence. Making his first league start of the season, the injury prone Carroll was a little rusty in attack and fortunately for us fluffed his lines in the goal mouth, squandering a possible and much needed three points for the Hammers.

Martin Keown eloquently described the Hammers performance as full of “determination, belief, desire, heart and the will to win” , not sure if it was a will to win or just a will to survive.  It was not a ‘pretty’ game of football but I have to admit that I stand in admiration of Sam Allerdyce, who used all his experience to create an impenetrable force that withstood the brilliance of the likes of Oscar, Hazard and the much improved Willian.  Even Super Frankie Lampard found himself ineffective after being brought on to impact the game (it is only fair to be honest at this point and say that Frank's failure to score was not solely due to West Ham's tactics, I am saddened to say he too fluffed his lines in front of goal….).

Anyway, it’s done…. No going back…. Now we just have to look forward to our next league game – and yes it is against the team that has been hailed this week as ‘possibly the best team in the world’.  I think that is an exaggeration but am a little cautious about refuting it outright – last time I cast doubt on pundits showering praise and plaudits on Gareth Bale, he went on to command the largest transfer fee in football history!

I must thank my younger daughter for assisting me today in the creation of the ‘word ladder’ which transforms the word ‘steps’ into ‘shots’ in 39 steps.  As soon as I found out Chelsea had 39 shots in last night's game, I was immediately reminded of the Alfred Hitchcock movie of the novel 'The 39 Steps'. Obviously the thriller has very little in common with a Chelsea football game apart from the number 39 (unless you chose to compare the novel's hero with Jose Mourinho: 'Richard Hannay, an all-action hero with a stiff upper lip and a miraculous knack for getting himself out of sticky situations' - the stiff upper lip bit lets the comparison down somewhat!!). Inside my warped brain I visualised a 'word ladder' which converted the word 'steps' into the word 'shots' in 39 steps - as a reflection of the frustration endured during the match, watching shot after shot be blocked or saved or missed - 39 times! 

The only problem was it can be done with as few as 3 steps: 

STEPS STOPS SHOPS SHOTS 

Thank you to my daughter for having the tenacity to persist with such a pointless (and frustrating!) task and finding a solution with 39 steps!  

Talking of frustration, the sight of Juan Mata running around Old Trafford being helpful and effective in their 2-0 win against Cardiff City was hugely frustrating!! He also confirmed two of Vincent Tan’s mythical beliefs: the colour Red and the number eight can be lucky for some!

Check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKug2aA_rCc#t=18 if you are missing Mata! Very clever.