In A Blue World Where All Publicity Is Bad Publicity

[Dorset]

The official site of CFC - Pat Nevin (Tues 15/12/09)

“There are a few questions being asked of Chelsea at the moment. Are the wheels coming off? Is the early season form going to disappear as 2009 fades? Has the Achilles heel finally been discovered with the loss of goals - yet again from set pieces - against Everton on Saturday afternoon? Maybe a better question would be, has Carlo Ancelotti been walking under any ladders or kicked any black cats lately?

Let's be fair, and I hope I am to Everton, a team who I am particularly fond of having spent almost five years at Goodison Park, but being serious either they were very lucky or we were incredibly unlucky at the weekend. Our goals were classic finishes, but have a close look at each Everton effort, they were dripping with jamminess.â€

So [should have] endeth the debates that have raged around the team since Saturday. Whether we want to zero in on Petr, focus on frailty brought about by defending too deeply, or beat ourselves up in a fit of pique purely because we kid ourselves that dropped points against Everton are as rare as hens teeth, the real truth of the matter is that we were extremely unfortunate not to take all three points from Everton and everybody, including a post match candid David Moyes, knows it.

However, what is so galling from a Chelsea perspective is that only a couple of hours later a sorry excuse of a home performance by United against Villa was allowed, by an ever compliant Media, to slip quietly out of the public consciousness and into the record books without the slightest picking over of its entrails. No mass media deliberation for them and their fans on how the Old Trafford ramparts were stormed, or why a club once proud of its home record should succumb without so much as a rearguard action, or, most surprising of all, how it could possibly be that a team with legendary reserve strength be down to what ’Arry would almost certainly have called ’the bare bones‘?

If the man in the street didn’t know the Media better he’d be thinking that the recent rejuvenated political adage - a good day to bury bad news - was being applied here, but that can’t be right, can it? No, surely not, as it presupposes a general wish on the Media’s part to ignore basic maths to suit themselves, to the extent that they go overboard on examination in circumstances where the Chels prodigal drops two points whilst at the same time battening down the forensic hatches on the three points lost by the favoured son.

Indeed, having this crazy bias would doubtless herald the sort of topsy-turvy world in which you’d see a footballer win a prestigious Sports Personality of the Year award for no other reason than he plays for a certain club and is nearing retirement after an admittedly brilliant career. Forget the mere fifteen Premiership appearances in the year in question [sod the year in question, in fact] you might even see a whole host of up-to-the-minute world champions in various sports left behind as also-rans. Now that would be really farcical, wouldn’t it? Far-fetching even further, and you’d have to laugh at this, some newspapers might even devote several pages to praising the said player and his manager in the aftermath of the event in what could only be described as a placatory gesture to a certain sector of the footballing community that gets far too much Press adulation at the best of times, never mind on the trumped up occasions.

Anyway, enough of this ridiculous fantasy world, back to the reality of an increased lead for Chelsea in the Premiership race, after gaining that point against Everton, and a look forward to the forthcoming fixture versus Portsmouth tomorrow. By then, of course, we will know whether United are level on points with us or not, whether Gomez or Green is coming our way as a replacement for Petr and whether Ryan has any more newspaper column inches dedicated to his name as a result of sparkling performance at Wolves expense or a non-appearance due to that little hamstring niggle he has at the moment. Bless.

Not that any of this will impact on what we do against Pompey though, because nothing less than a win will keep our own particular wolves from the door. Hunting in packs, these newshounds seem to know no bounds where CFC’s concerned and you can almost predict the reaction to all three possible scenarios. Indifference to a win, elation for a draw, unbridled joy over a defeat and, should you want to compare these emotions with those in print for United from the previous evening, just reverse that order and take it on the chin like you always do.

[Ruh Buh Juh]

However, what is so galling from a Chelsea perspective is that only a couple of hours later a sorry excuse of a home performance by United against Villa was allowed, by an ever compliant Media, to slip quietly out of the public consciousness and into the record books without the slightest picking over of its entrails. No mass media deliberation for them and their fans on how the Old Trafford ramparts were stormed, or why a club once proud of its home record should succumb without so much as a rearguard action, or, most surprising of all, how it could possibly be that a team with legendary reserve strength be down to what ’Arry would almost certainly have called ’the bare bones‘?

I didn't realise that until you posted that - completely right, as usual Dorset. Excellent post.

[Jones1905]

Fantastic post.

[PloKoon13]

I hate to sound patronising, but you're spot on yet again Dorset.

Man Utd have shown just as many, if not more, frailties than us this season, yet it's our players and our manager who are under scrutiny. What a joke...

[BLUENUT]

I hate to sound patronising, but you're spot on yet again Dorset.

Man Utd have shown just as many, if not more, frailties than us this season, yet it's our players and our manager who are under scrutiny. What a joke...

and our supporters!!

And our keeper, despite during Van Dert Sars injury thier keeper (whoever was playing) was flapping like a flightless bird.

Apparently we even miss Tevez and Ronaldo, but they don't ;)