I love Martin Samuel almost as much as I love John Terry.

 

Is Martin Samuel a Chelsea fan? The bloke defends us so much he must be! Pretty much the only one out there in the written media who will stand up for us.

Edited March 4, 201511 yr by Celery1989

Is Martin Samuel a Chelsea fan? The bloke defends us so much he must be! Pretty much the only one out there in the written media who will stand up for us.

 

Not in the slightest as far as I know. He's just a good writer, but he's not alone in writing favourable articles about us. In fact he's very vocal in his opposition to FFP which is the complete opposite of the view our club takes. 

Is Martin Samuel a Chelsea fan? The bloke defends us so much he must be! Pretty much the only one out there in the written media who will stand up for us.

I believe you'll find that Mr Samuel is a fan of a certain East End club who we'll be playing later on today.

More credit to him then, as JT has never been all that popular with their fans (he left their youth set-up for ours, and it's got progressively worse since).

JT is Chelsea would be unthinkable without our Captain Leader Legend, someone else who agrees.

 

 

And while we're at it

In football terms, ‘world-class’ is an imprecise definition. Technically, it could refer to any player worthy of involvement in international football, yet representing the national team does not in itself make a player world class. It is more rarefied than that.

World-class has lately come to mean any player of exceptional ability, so that Raheem Sterling or Wayne Rooney would qualify, by comparison to their contemporaries. Yet that is unsatisfactory, too. Would either player be included in the strongest national teams in the world: Germany, Argentina, Spain?

So how is this? To be world-class, a player must be at such a level that he would get into any team, anywhere. Germany or Barcelona; Real Madrid or Argentina; Bayern Munich or Italy. Using that criteria, one would argue England has just one genuinely world-class footballer, and he no longer plays for his country. John Terry is world-class

He would make Germany’s team, he would make Real Madrid’s team. Even at 34 he is among the select few who would walk into any starting XI on the planet. Jose Mourinho told Kurt Zouma he would be starting in central midfield against Tottenham Hotspur just two days before the Capital One Cup final. It was exceptionally brave management, but Mourinho also knew he had back-up. Zouma would be playing in front of Terry, the master stopper and outstanding captain of his generation. It was a nuanced risk.

Zouma deserves enormous credit for the way he filled Nemanja Matic’s shoes but Terry’s influence would have been vital. Just as England missed him hugely in Brazil — Luis Suarez has never scored a goal with Terry on the field — Chelsea have a mammoth job when it is finally his year to retire. Zouma is 20 and has time to become a major influence at Stamford Bridge. Becoming the next Terry is another matter entirely.

Taken from. Martin Samuel

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football

That brought a lump to my throat !

I believe you'll find that Mr Samuel is a fan of a certain East End club who we'll be playing later on today.

 

Yeah, I heard this too although I have absolutely no evidence for it.

he's said so on many occasions when on 'sunday supplement'.. deffo a pikey ;)

Terry's not only the best Chelsea centre back in the Premier League era... he's the best there's been full stop

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2547611/Heres-veteran-Terry-deserves-new-deal-Chelsea-ASH-WEDNESDAY.html

I always read the DM, they are not always complimentary, so it is good to see editorial change, another good article BD

At the end of this fevered, streaky oddly inevitable 1-0 victory at Upton Park John Terry could be seen limping around, holding his lower back and finally clearing the ball as West Ham launched another attempt to break through the apparently unbreachable blue membrane around Chelsea’s goal. Meanwhile, at the other end, Didier Drogba scrapped and fought and spoiled, a one-man time-wasting device. Looking up you half-expected to see Jiri Jarosik coming on, Paulo Fereirra covering at right-back, Sylvester Stallone abseiling down off the corrugated roof. Somehow in the last two months of a title campaign launched in a flush of youthful attacking football The Unbeatables have become something closer to The Expendables.

 

Chelsea kept on rolling along at Upton Park. The only goal of a thrilling match was scored by Eden Hazard in the first half while West Ham were unlucky, Diafra Sakho missing a stream of chances. At the end of which it was a victory chiselled out of that champion resilience that runs though this team, given a familiar kind of ballast by Chelsea’s’s freshly re-contracted captain, a leader from the back whose presence continues to drive a relatively callow team on towards what would be a first league title for the rump of this Mourinho Mk2 Chelsea.

 

Terry had a genuinely shaky match at times, exposed to the pace of West Ham’s strike pair of Sakho and Enner Valencia without the triple-ply protection offered by Nemanja Matic. The captain might have been sent off for a second booking.

 

He was certainly exposed several times in a performance of weary limbs and accumulated strains. And yet somehow this still had the feeling of a very Terry kind of occasion, the sort of midweek cross-town derby win that tends to keep the engines thrumming towards a league title at this time of year. It has of course been a very Terry kind of week, with José Mourinho confirming the offer of a new one-year contract to take his captain into his third decade at the club. It will be a rare achievement too if Terry does win a Premier League title 10 years on from his first.

 

Seven managers and 20 different central-defensive partners down the line here he is, still leading the team, with his own loss of mobility – Terry was never quick – counterbalanced by fine positional intelligence and a simple winning spirit.

 

Terry is, of course, a local boy in these parts, a West Ham academician before he left for Chelsea aged 14. Not that there is any residual fondness at the Boleyn Ground for a player who, like Frank Lampard, has always been an object of venom.

 

Here the home and away sections spent a large part of the match trading Terry-based insults while Terry’s touches were heartily booed throughout. With 14 minutes gone he was booked for a horrible foul on Valencia – not malicious or violent, just embarrassingly rustic, Chelsea’s captain grabbing hold of his man as he passed like a middle-aged security guard in pursuit of the local skateboard crew. Terry trotted away, reflecting perhaps on the absence of Matic who is particularly expert in shielding his stately captain from marauding attackers several years his junior.

 

Here Kurt Zouma was asked to reprise his midfield-hustler role. He had another dogged match too although at times the differences between a fine, all-round defensive athlete and a genuine elite-level midfielder were clear once again as West Ham pressed Chelsea back, a familiar pattern in recent weeks for these gristly, resilient league leaders.

 

Poor old Chelsea, under the pump again but they just keep on running away with the league. The opening goal came against the run of play but was still somehow totally unsurprising. Cesc Fàbregas swivelled in midfield and played a nice pass out to Ramires on the right. His whipped cross found Hazard in the centre and he buried the header.

 

It was the first time since January that two of Chelsea’s attacking players have combined to create a Premier League goal. But this has been the trajectory of Chelsea’s season, a team that began in a flurry of attacking football but has spent the past few weeks in rear-wheel-drive mode, bolstered by a brilliant, match-saving goalkeeper and a defence that radiates an intangible, veteran assurance.

 

It is hard to overstate Terry’s influence even after a performance where he looked at times scarcely able to compete but still somehow entirely convinced of his team’s eventual victory. If Chelsea do win the league this season he will have a captain’s share in four of Chelsea’s five title wins and 15 of 25 major honours won in the club’s 109-year history. Little wonder Chelsea are so keen to hang on to a player who for all his decelerating powers and physical travails, and whatever one’s opinion of his assorted non-footballing adventures, remains a specialist in how to win. 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/mar/04/chelsea-west-ham-john-terry-driving-force-title-road

 

 

At the end of this fevered, streaky oddly inevitable 1-0 victory at Upton Park John Terry could be seen limping around, holding his lower back and finally clearing the ball as West Ham launched another attempt to break through the apparently unbreachable blue membrane around Chelsea’s goal. Meanwhile, at the other end, Didier Drogba scrapped and fought and spoiled, a one-man time-wasting device. Looking up you half-expected to see Jiri Jarosik coming on, Paulo Fereirra covering at right-back, Sylvester Stallone abseiling down off the corrugated roof. Somehow in the last two months of a title campaign launched in a flush of youthful attacking football The Unbeatables have become something closer to The Expendables.

Chelsea kept on rolling along at Upton Park. The only goal of a thrilling match was scored by Eden Hazard in the first half while West Ham were unlucky, Diafra Sakho missing a stream of chances. At the end of which it was a victory chiselled out of that champion resilience that runs though this team, given a familiar kind of ballast by Chelsea’s’s freshly re-contracted captain, a leader from the back whose presence continues to drive a relatively callow team on towards what would be a first league title for the rump of this Mourinho Mk2 Chelsea.

Terry had a genuinely shaky match at times, exposed to the pace of West Ham’s strike pair of Sakho and Enner Valencia without the triple-ply protection offered by Nemanja Matic. The captain might have been sent off for a second booking.

He was certainly exposed several times in a performance of weary limbs and accumulated strains. And yet somehow this still had the feeling of a very Terry kind of occasion, the sort of midweek cross-town derby win that tends to keep the engines thrumming towards a league title at this time of year. It has of course been a very Terry kind of week, with José Mourinho confirming the offer of a new one-year contract to take his captain into his third decade at the club. It will be a rare achievement too if Terry does win a Premier League title 10 years on from his first.

Seven managers and 20 different central-defensive partners down the line here he is, still leading the team, with his own loss of mobility – Terry was never quick – counterbalanced by fine positional intelligence and a simple winning spirit.

Terry is, of course, a local boy in these parts, a West Ham academician before he left for Chelsea aged 14. Not that there is any residual fondness at the Boleyn Ground for a player who, like Frank Lampard, has always been an object of venom.

Here the home and away sections spent a large part of the match trading Terry-based insults while Terry’s touches were heartily booed throughout. With 14 minutes gone he was booked for a horrible foul on Valencia – not malicious or violent, just embarrassingly rustic, Chelsea’s captain grabbing hold of his man as he passed like a middle-aged security guard in pursuit of the local skateboard crew. Terry trotted away, reflecting perhaps on the absence of Matic who is particularly expert in shielding his stately captain from marauding attackers several years his junior.

Here Kurt Zouma was asked to reprise his midfield-hustler role. He had another dogged match too although at times the differences between a fine, all-round defensive athlete and a genuine elite-level midfielder were clear once again as West Ham pressed Chelsea back, a familiar pattern in recent weeks for these gristly, resilient league leaders.

Poor old Chelsea, under the pump again but they just keep on running away with the league. The opening goal came against the run of play but was still somehow totally unsurprising. Cesc Fàbregas swivelled in midfield and played a nice pass out to Ramires on the right. His whipped cross found Hazard in the centre and he buried the header.

It was the first time since January that two of Chelsea’s attacking players have combined to create a Premier League goal. But this has been the trajectory of Chelsea’s season, a team that began in a flurry of attacking football but has spent the past few weeks in rear-wheel-drive mode, bolstered by a brilliant, match-saving goalkeeper and a defence that radiates an intangible, veteran assurance.

It is hard to overstate Terry’s influence even after a performance where he looked at times scarcely able to compete but still somehow entirely convinced of his team’s eventual victory. If Chelsea do win the league this season he will have a captain’s share in four of Chelsea’s five title wins and 15 of 25 major honours won in the club’s 109-year history. Little wonder Chelsea are so keen to hang on to a player who for all his decelerating powers and physical travails, and whatever one’s opinion of his assorted non-footballing adventures, remains a specialist in how to win.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/mar/04/chelsea-west-ham-john-terry-driving-force-title-road

You can just smell the bitterness in that article.

You can just smell the bitterness in that article.

 

You think? I thought it was a quite decent assessment of JT, Chelsea and our performance last night. 

You think? I thought it was a quite decent assessment of JT, Chelsea and our performance last night. 

 

Not a massive fan of The Guardian's sports writers but that was pretty accurate.

Not a massive fan of The Guardian's sports writers but that was pretty accurate.

 

If Jamie Jackson or Paul Doyle writes something, you know it's not going to be particularly nice about us, especially if it's Doyle. 

 

Dominic Fifield gives us a fair run, he's probably the most pro Chelsea of their writers and Ronay is a mixed bag... When he actually focuses on writing something insightful rather than just a jumble of nonsense adjectives he can come up with some decent stuff and is, in my opinion, for the most part fairly objective.  

What was the second yellow he could have got? I must have missed it

What was the second yellow he could have got? I must have missed it

 

I think they're talking about when Kouyate ran into the back of him and cut his eye... I think some saw it as deliberate obstruction, I think it was just an unfortunate coming together with neither player looking where they were going as they were both focused on the ball. 

Yeah that was never a foul, if anything the West Ham guy ran ful pelt into John so it was a collision and nothing more.

Yeah that was never a foul, if anything the West Ham guy ran ful pelt into John so it was a collision and nothing more.

That's certainly how I saw it, and how the commentators on the stream I had saw it too.  They even said it should have been a second yellow for Kouyate.

Ronay is a mixed bag... When he actually focuses on writing something insightful rather than just a jumble of nonsense adjectives he can come up with some decent stuff and is, in my opinion, for the most part fairly objective.  

 

He's a pretentious berk, clearly he has the creative talent to be one of the best football writers around, but he is too consumed by his own ego to write anything meaningful.

 

Most of his articles feel like an aimless soliloquy, an ode to his own vocabulary, saturated in self-absorbed sarcasm. Most of the points he tries to make could be communicated in about a tenth of the word count, and it would be just as poignant. He clearly has a sense of humour as well, but his style makes it comes across as acerbic and thus the humour is lost. If he had one drop of the self-doubt that Jonathan Wilson puts himself through he'd already be twice as good as he is now.

 

Clearly a very talented writer, but I find him far, far too irritating to truly enjoy.

Most of his articles feel like an aimless soliloquy, an ode to his own vocabulary, saturated in self-absorbed sarcasm. Most of the points he tries to make could be communicated in about a tenth of the word count, 

 

There's a beautiful irony here Ploks. 

 

But yes I do agree, sometimes whatever point Ronay can be raising can be lost in sea of nothing sentences that appear more focused on trying to fit in his new favourite word then actually making any decent argument. 

 

He can be a frustrating writer to read because he quite often does raise nice point of discussion. 

There's a beautiful irony here Ploks. 

 

But yes I do agree, sometimes whatever point Ronay can be raising can be lost in sea of nothing sentences that appear more focused on trying to fit in his new favourite word then actually making any decent argument. 

 

He can be a frustrating writer to read because he quite often does raise nice point of discussion. 

 

Haha I challenge you to find any football fan who isn't a hypocrite!

 

Completely agree, it's exactly like when I discovered the word 'dilettante', which fast became my favourite insult and which subsequently got shoehorned into every rant I made which was directed at a person. Thankfully I eventually found that it applied perfectly to Russell Brand; it was only then that I made my peace with 'dilettante' and moved onto 'pusillanimous'.

Love a bit of ronay. Theres space for something other than gossip, moralising and wise-after-the-fact analysis in football writing imo

Love a bit of ronay. Theres space for something other than gossip, moralising and wise-after-the-fact analysis in football writing imo

 

I'm not entirely sure Ronay does offer more than that, he just does it in such a style that it feels like he's trying to con me into thinking that he has told me more than he actually has. Granted, he doesn't indulge in rumour or innuendo and it's certainly not paint-by-numbers football journalism but most of the articles of his I have come across read like literary self-gratification.

 

That said, I'd very much like to be convinced otherwise if you have any particular favourite pieces of his; clearly he's intelligent and generally speaking I don't like resenting intelligent writers as it feels a bit like I might miss the high-quality parts as my judgement is clouded by my dislike of the parts which bother me. I particularly enjoy reading well-articulated opinions which disagree with mine as it challenges me to improve my own opinions and often I end up learning something new.

 

I would be interested to hear who your other favourite football writers are. I was tempted to make a thread about it (in light of the amount of time we as a forum spend talking about sh*t journalism) but my list is embarrassingly short for someone who spends so much of his time reading about football.

I'm not very familiar with Ronay's writing but I liked that article. I wasn't able to watch the whole match and I feel like I got a much better feel of how the game went from Ronay's article than MOTD's butchered highlights and shallow analysis. 

I feel like I got a much better feel of how the game went from Ronay's article than MOTD's butchered highlights and shallow analysis. 

 

To be fair you could probably say the same if you asked one of those magic 8-balls.

Haha I challenge you to find any football fan who isn't a hypocrite!

Completely agree, it's exactly like when I discovered the word 'dilettante', which fast became my favourite insult and which subsequently got shoehorned into every rant I made which was directed at a person. Thankfully I eventually found that it applied perfectly to Russell Brand; it was only then that I made my peace with 'dilettante' and moved onto 'pusillanimous'.

You are making it quite hard for non-English people on here. I don't usually have to look up words on a football forum.

Cheers though, for improving my vocabulary with your intriguing choice of favourite words.

Edited March 5, 201511 yr by CFCholland