In a season where there has been precious little to celebrate I just wanted to register just how good today has been for me from a footie stand point. Maybe when this season is over if we are able to salvage something of note from the entire campaign we may be able to look back and say it was this day that we had the rubicon turning moment.
So why do I have a wide grin on my face rather than the scowl I have invariably come away with most weekends this season? I list below my reasons; some may apply to others on this forum, some may be unique to me but for me this weekend could have hardly gone better.
1. Chelsea win at Stamford bridge and actually played decently. This is an event that has recently become rare and I savored the entire spectacle.
2. Chelsea moved one spot up the table to 15th..putting some distance between us and the harrowing deep waters of the relegation zone.
3. The gunners lost.. and against a West brom side they had no business losing to. While some of my glee stems from the vicarious glee I derive in seeing the gunners suffer so they can feel some of the pain we as a club have endured, far more relevant and substantive is that it keeps them as one of the top 4 teams in the BPL right now within reaching distance if we can only wake up from the deadly malaise that has been afflicting our team for some time now.
4. Along the same lines; city lost and literally got taken to the cleaners by Liverpool..and at the Etihad too. This was such a treat for me. I love jurgen Klopp and so even though I have no affinity for Liverpool whatsoever, I am happy for him and as stated above seeing the Citizens suffer some pain so they can feel some of the agony we have had this season is always carthatic and good. Further, again as another top 4 team this ensures that they are not running away with the title. Since we are not retaining the BPL title ( i have long made my peace with that..i am a realist not an incurable romantic) I still think they or the Gunners will eventually lift the title this year but personally I prefer they win it than the gunners. Till then though I want them to have to suffer and be put to the sword at every opportunity. Their path to the title would be best filled with pain and hurt and hopefully that will be all they win this season when it is all said and done.
5. I am so happy for an old friend of Chelsea who has often not been given the credit nor respect that he deserves or is due. I speak of Claudio Ranieri who has in my mind been thus far the runaway BPL manager of the season. His Leicester City side are currently BPL leaders an incredible feat considering their humble starting point , their tiny budget compared to the league big boys and the fact that Ranieri, one of our former managers is in his debut season with them. this guy has often been given a very raw deal as a manager..his time with us, his time at Roma, at Inter, at Monaco..invariably he always ends up being blamed when things go bad and not given the credit he deserves when things are going well under his management. I also like that his a gentleman and has dignity and class despite it all. While I still hold out some emotional hope and prayer that we may yet pull of an incredible miracle and still steal a top 4 spot, if it is fated that we fall out of that hallowed fraternity this season it would please me tremendously if Leicester City are the outsider team that make up the numbers and take our place. I would rather they than Liverpool, Spurs or Everton ( or frankly anyone else). This of course assumes that ManU, City and the Gunners will almost certainly be in that top 4 bracket when it is all said and done.
6. I watched the El classico today with no real ties or favorites but with my disdain for the self entitled Galacticos of Real Madrid I leaned towards a Blaguarana victory. I was treated to a feast of top shelf footie artistry. Luis Enrique has to be given huge credit..this is not the tiki-taka barca of the Pep Guardiola era..this is a far more verstaile, in my opinion far more deadly and way more entertaining side to watch. Barca handed out a merciless beating to Los Blancos and I honestly thoroughly enjoyed seeing those galacticos get their behinds beaten thoroughly. Their pain was my delight. Anyone who watched the match knows that the score could easily have been 6-7-0 rather than the final 4-0 scoreline. Barcas domination even without Leo Messi till he came on as a sub late in the second half was so complete it essentially quietened the crowd at the Santiago Berneabeau to the point that the usually raucous berneabeu was like a grave yeard by the middle of the second half.
Furthermore ( and I know some here would frown on this but I actually appreciated it) the Santiago fan base rose as one to applaud Andres Iniesta when he was substituted of in appreciation of the “crème de la supreme” performance he had as he led the demolition onslaught that put Real to the sword. Much as the same fan base did some years back when Ronaldinhio gaucho single handedly dismantled Real while playing for barca at the Berneabeu the Real fan base again showed that they had enough class and honesty to acknowledge superior talent and world class even when they were on the receiving end of a shell lacking..Kudos to them for that.
And so this weekend of footie has been a special and satisfying one for me and hopefully for the Chelsea fan base as well as for our owner, board, manager and players. A weekend with a win, 3 points, moving up the table and no refeering or FA related incident. Long may the trend continue. KTBFFH.
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