I had the pleasure of watching the FA Cup game between Chelsea and Liverpool last night. Firstly, many congratulations to Liverpool, you were by far the better team, no matter what José Moanrinho says. Secondly, the very best of luck in the final.
I think after yesterdays result people are starting to realise that José Mourinho is not really “the special one” he proclaims himself to be. He has the luxury of managing the strongest and largest team in Europe, if not the world, a team which has spent over £300million on new players in the past three seasons alone.
For all this money spent what has Mourinho produced? Well he won the league last year and will win it this season. He also won The Carling Cup last year, a competition most self respecting clubs don’t really give a toss about anyway (even Leeds put out a weakened team in it).
Chelsea’s league titles don’t impress me. They have the squad size and quality to rotate players in the event of injury, fatigue or suspension. A luxury even the other top clubs cannot boast. You can also afford to make mistakes in the league as at some point you know your rivals will also slip up. Chelsea have made some errors this season (Middlesbrough, Fulham & Man United for example).
Cup competitions and Europe are different to the domestic league. There is no room for error and the pressure is generally a lot more intense. If you mess up, that’s it, you’re out for another season.
Chelsea seem to have failed in all the major cup competitions while under Mourinho. They failed to score against Liverpool in last seasons Champions League, made some bizarre substitutions against Newcastle in their FA Cup defeat the previous year, were totally outclassed by Barcelona the other month and played with some terrible tactics against Liverpool yesterday.
Is Mourinho actually that good or could any old manager get results if he was given the capital that Chelsea possess? Sure, he won The Champions League and title with FC Porto but they only won Europe with some extremely lucky refereeing decisions and the Portuguese league is very, very poor compared to the English Premiership.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new manager at Stamford Bridge for the start of 2007/8 if Mourinho doesn’t deliver next season. To impress I personally believe he will need to win the Champions League, domestic title and the FA Cup.
I dislike Mourinho and Chelsea and hope he leaves the club. Better still I hope their sugar daddy Roman Abramovich gets bored, pulls the plug and goes back to Russia leaving more debts than a third world country. After all, that is how their financial situation stood before they were bailed out in 2003.
I’ll leave you on this note…
YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL,
YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL,
YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL ANYMORE!
YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL ANYMORE!
I’m now back from Elland Road after watching Super Leeds United win 1-0. A nice way to end the last home league game of the season.
The game was a little frustrating, Leeds had so much of the possession, Crewe weren’t in it but The Whites simply couldn’t get the damn ball in the back of the net. They did try however and that pleased me, hard work and commitment is all I ask from my team.
In the second half ex-England international Steve Stone came on. Poor Stoney has been out all season with a nasty injury which has been a major blow for Leeds, after all he is a very good player. When he came running on the crowd really got going and their enthusiasm rubbed off on the players. It wasn’t long until David Healy slammed home the winner. 1-0. Everyone went mental.
Full time came and the stewards became very wary of a pitch invasion. Last year 15,000+ fans ran onto the pitch which did not impress the grounds men. It is important this year that the pitch is kept in good order as there is still one more game to play on it, the Play Off semi final next month.
Luckily most of the fans behaved themselves and remained in the stands. A few morons ran on but were rugby tackled to the floor and dragged into the slums of Elland Road, probably to be strapped down and farted on by Michael Ricketts.
The players and managerial staff did a lap of honour, walking around the pitch applauding the fans and receiving praise in return. All in all a nice end to a decent game. Roll on the Play Offs…
A full gallery of photos can be found here.
I’m in the car, somewhere on the M42 travelling up to Leeds. Using the wonders of modern day technology I am able to write and upload this blog.
We’ve just stopped at a Welcome Break service station where we were a victim of a serious crime, daylight robbery. For a light mid-morning snack and drink we were charged £12.74.
Let’s just break the bill down…
Fresh Orange Juice – £1.95
Filter Coffee – £1.99
2 cups of tea – £3.70
1 slice of Bakewell tart – £1.60
1 chocolate croissant – £1.75
1 raisin pastry – £1.75
Then for the journey I bough a Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato sandwich for £3.69.
My coffee came in a massive trough and tasted like it had been sitting in some tank since last night. I also had a chocolate croissant which was dry and fell to pieces when I bit into it. Also for a “chocolate” croissant it seemed to be lacking greatly in the chocolate department.
The cafés and shops in these service stations can charge whatever the hell the like, even if double the recommended retail price. This is simply because there is no competition. They place their stations in the middle of nowhere where hungry drivers and passengers have no choice but to visit. I thought running an unfair monopoly was illegal!
These service stations are horrible places in themselves. Everyone in them is hot, bothered and stressed all pushing to get to the till and pay for their overpriced food.
God forbid you need to use the toilet, I didn’t go today but on previous visits to motorway facilities it is difficult to find a cubicle which doesn’t have piss, shit and vomit on the floor and sprayed up the walls.
Glad I’m out of there!
I’m off up north to Leeds early tomorrow morning, going to Elland Road to watch The Mighty Whites take on Crewe. Hardly Real Madrid v Barcelona but it beats Bath City against Chippenham Town.
At the moment I am trying to get myself into gear so I can pack an overnight bag for the weekend, tidy my bedroom and also get things ready for work on Monday as I don’t know what time I will be back on Sunday.
I’m getting distracted though, probably subconsciously as I’m too lazy to get going. I’m looking at DanintheMix.com, a strange website about MySpace deaths Dan has linked to as well as writing this blog, all this while listening to The Lighthouse Family.
I haven’t put on their songs in ages. I used to like them until Tony Blair used one of their tracks on a Labour TV ad and ruined it for me – thanks a lot Tony, stop being a twat and get your wife a cheaper hairdresser, my mobile cutter does my hair for £6.50. Call her out to do Sheree’s, maybe then you can free up some millions to keep those nurses you begged to join the NHS just two years ago and are now making redundant.
I digress, what was I originally doing? Oh yes, putting off getting ready… I had better get on… in a minute… first I’ll upload this page… I need the toilet too… mustn’t ignore the call of nature… maybe I should check my e-mails again…
Will I be ready to go tomorrow morning or will I still be time wasting? Who knows!
The World Cup is now less than two months away and naturally many businesses are starting to cash in on football fever. Now Easter is over, football is a great excuse to sell more pointless, overpriced rubbish in the usual dry period up until Halloween.
One of the biggest money makers is the Official England Anthem. In the past we have had some greats, most notably Three Lions by Baddiel and Skinner. We have also had a few embarrassing ones by artists who will remain nameless (you know who you are, you loud mouthed Geordies, why don’t you go back to the jungle).
It was leaked a while ago that indie band Embrace would be singing the England anthem for the 2006 World Cup. I like Embrace so eagerly anticipated this one. Radio 1 played it this morning for the first time…
What a load of rubbish! It’s a nice song but as an England anthem it is pathetic and about as weak as a Steven Gerrard backpass! They may as well have got fucking Radiohead to record it! You certainly cannot see this being sung by millions of fans across the country in pubs and those in the terraces.
The FA’s decision to appoint an indie band to write and perform an uplifting anthem is about as bad as hiring Sven Goran Erikkson as manager.
It’s time to dust off the Three Lions & Vindaloo CDs from past tournaments, two classic and uplifting England anthems, unlike Embrace’s effort.
About Me
So you stumbled across my blog. No doubt after searching for something bizarre on Google. Before you hit that 'Back Button', why not stay and have a read for a few minutes?
If you are after a website which gives advice on how to hack an iPhone X, download the latest Steven Seagal movie, or view nudy ladies, you've come to the wrong place and may now press 'Back'.
However, if you would like a lifestyle blog, written by a 30-something chap, living in Bath (England), feast your eyes on this.
You won't discover how to copy PlayStation 4 games. What you will find is a blog, covering life in the West Country, the highs and lows of supporting two unsuccessful football teams, while sharing a house with a wife and rabbit.
All written by a man, somewhere on the sanity-scale between normal and eccentric.
