Cripes, they did it again
Well, now, this is really too much. A come-from-behind victory against the 10th-best team in Spain? Okay, they're below Recreativo Huelva, but still....
The European magic continues. And let's hope that if nothing else, it gives the team a bit more confidence about playing in the Premiership. It won't be easy, of course, with continued injuries and Duff having gone under the knife, but perhaps Pompey is the sort of target that's realistic for building on our 1-1 victory at the Emirates.
---
Chelsea to leave Stamford Bridge? Yes, and presumably Fulham to move in afterwards, right? Mr. A might have more money than Croesus or Creon, but he still likes to see a little return on investment, it seems.
The European magic continues. And let's hope that if nothing else, it gives the team a bit more confidence about playing in the Premiership. It won't be easy, of course, with continued injuries and Duff having gone under the knife, but perhaps Pompey is the sort of target that's realistic for building on our 1-1 victory at the Emirates.
---
Chelsea to leave Stamford Bridge? Yes, and presumably Fulham to move in afterwards, right? Mr. A might have more money than Croesus or Creon, but he still likes to see a little return on investment, it seems.
posted by Daniel Altman at 9:32 AM
10 Comments:
Calling all TDH conspiracy theorists....
In advance of the Bremen v Chelsea match, oddsmakers slightly favored the German side over Chelsea, which had already qualified. Mourinho played a strong team but somehow managed to fall 1-0, notably the minimum goal difference in a loss.
Now Bremen sit two points ahead of Barca, in second place in Group A, with one match still to play. Barca must beat Bremen at home to qualify, otherwise Bremen go through.
So, did The Special One arrange a special stitch-up to try to avoid meeting the Catalans in the knock-out phase?
Oooh now that's a bit too complicated for midnight on a long Sunday when the drinking started with the four-o'clock kick off at Old Trafford... but I'm going to say yes, purely on the basis that I am prepared to believe anything scurrilous about Mourinho, however half-baked...
A desperately-needed three points for our lads, meanwhile. From the Radio Five commentary it sounded like only David James stood between Pompey and a cricket score (and I don't mean an English cricket score, either).
Well, we all knew Pompey were just pretending, didn't we?
Sad to say, I'm establishing a worrying precedent at my local. When I come down to watch the Toon, they lose. When I stay away, they win. The barman - like most people in Hong Kong, an inveterate gambler - has started asking me in advance whether I'm going to show up. I kid you not.
All this comes down to one thing: you all have me to thank for the recent run of good form. Hell, if I hadn't caught a glimpse of that 1-1 scoreline at the Emirates in play, perhaps we would have gone on to win that one, too.
There's another talisman, though. The only other Geordie in my neck of the woods recently came back from Ingerlund with a black-and-white scarf, which has been looped over the rafter at said local. Could it be the charm we need to stop the injury blight?
I did see most of the Manure-Chelsea clash. It was a bit like being the Maldives watching the Axis and Allies slug it out in World War II - a far-flung little country watching the entrancing clash of superpowers throwing everything at each other. (Though it has to be said, "everything" probably would have been SWP in the 85th minute rather than Ferreira in the 92nd.)
I didn't think much of the game. United looked the better footballers, but in the second half, Chelsea basically bullied their way into superiority. Essien was, as ever, a beast.
Young Joe should have started, at the expense of either Ballack or Lampers. I'd like to see an orthodox 442, with Robben, Maka, Essien and Cole, just to see how it works. With Maka and Essien, it would be solid, and the creativity would be trebled with the two wingers.
Lampard looks like he might just be getting back into form. But Ballack isn't doing much of anything. And Sheva, ah well...
People are talking as though Chelsea are going to unload tens of millions of pounds worth of players in January - Sheva, Ballack, SWP.... I doubt they'll do that much. And did you hear this nonsense about David Villa leaving for 100 million? Ridiculous. He's not worth half that, even to Chelsea.
Ballack was rubbish. It's the first time I've really seen him play and I was really unimpressed. I was always rather dubious of his supposed class, even at Bayern Munich, and this pretty much confimed my doubts. Sheva just isn't fitting in to that team. Mind you, Drogba took a season to get the hang of it, now look at him. Essien was superb.
Is anyone else starting to get really excited about the Dyer/Martins partnership?
Dammit, Palms, there you go tempting fate again. How can you in good conscience raise our expectations about, of all people, Kieron Dyer? If he lasts to the end of the season without getting injured again, I'll buy you a drink in Malawi.
And it's about time we're starting to see some return on investment, anyway. I'll get excited when people start performing better than they're meant to. But we're just now discovering a bit of what we were supposed to be enjoying for the last few years. Let's hope it lasts. We're still in 17th.
Okay, maybe I need an ice cream to cheer me up or something. Grrrr.
yeah, i did jinx Dyer didn't I? Still, we do look a better side with him in it. Whether we get sucked into a relegation dog-fight or push on and possibly challenge for a European place, will probably depend on dyer staying fit for a prolonged period. I'm still optimistic of a good cup run though.
Aren't we lucky that from about 4th place down, teams are pretty mediocre. My optimism extends to us going on a bit of a run and ending up in the top 7. It's not that unfeasible. Or maybe I'm in a state of delerium after suffering through five years of this shit.
With that kind of talk, we're going down for sure!
Post a Comment
<< Home