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01 03 2008 West Ham 0 Chelsea 4
Finally back to winning ways albeit against a mediocre side. At last, a formation that made sense. Six changes from the
debacle against Tottenham last Sunday, and a day to fill Chelsea fans full of cheer - a feeling we have not had for a
couple of months. Avram slagged off the media this week, and his fighting spirit seemed to be reflected in a team that
did not shirk one tackle, and nailed the Hammers on the pitch.
It was a good day all round. Sunny weather, meeting Kerry Dixon before the game (not sure why he is hanging around
with West Ham fans though), and 'bouncy'-ing on the concourse in the away end. It is a death trap down there, but the
tightness of the surroundings made it a mad atmosphere, especially at half time as several hundred Chelsea fans tried
to get a beer. Needless to say, half my beer landed on the floor before I even managed to have a sip! Probably serves
me right for trying to walk back through a crowd singing, "Let's go f*cking mental" while holding a pint.
Chelsea should have taken the lead when Anelka was wrongly ruled for being offside. What is the point of training to
time your runs if useless officials are too slow to realise that you are onside? Kalou had a decent game, and Lampard
was brave to take the penalty after the striker was clumsily tripped up in the box by Anton "I think I'm as good as Rio"
Ferdinand. Joe Cole added a superb second, and the excellent Ballack's goal was hit with such ferocity that I didn't even
realise it had landed in the back of the net!
Then yet more refereeing controversy. A tangle between Boa Morte and Lampard - Frank receives a red card, and Boa
Morte does not even obtain a yellow! Certainly seems rough justice... we have had several tackles on our team that
have taken them out of action for months. The perpetrators of these tackles have received no more than yellow cards
for injuring our players, and yet for a minor incident such as this we are gong to lose a player for three matches. It is a
reflection of British society - minor offences such as parking violations by normally law abiding citizens lead to
disproportionate punishments, and those that are guilty of crimes more serious of nature are let off the hook. Vote
Conservative! Er... anyway. Having said all this, Maka was lucky to stay on the pitch for an awful challenge in the second
half for which he didn't even receive a yellow card - see, I can be balanced if I want to be....
Even when we were down to 10 men you never once felt that the Irons would score. JT had a performance that showed
how deserving he is of the captain's armband for Chelsea and England, brilliantly clearing the ball off the line from a
Cole header.
Our support was fantastic - I have no idea why it always seems to be at Upton Park where we have such a wide ranging
variety of songs, but everything from "You're mum's got no tax on her car" to "There's only one Prince Harry" made me
chuckle. Every time I feel I should jack it all in, it's the warmth and humour of fellow Chelsea fans that makes you realise
why you support this tremendous club - which other set of fans would be in such good humour having only just lost a
cup final to one of their most hated rivals? Paradoxically, the West Ham fans who always like to give it large at Stamford
Bridge by chanting how loyal their support is left in droves once Ashley Cole "scored again" (as comedian Lineker put it
on MotD) with almost half an hour of the game still to run!
A great response to a disappointing week. It was sad to lose to an inferior side at Wembley, which was proved by their
4-1 annihilation by Birmingham. For once, I watched the highlights on MotD proud of my team.
debacle against Tottenham last Sunday, and a day to fill Chelsea fans full of cheer - a feeling we have not had for a
couple of months. Avram slagged off the media this week, and his fighting spirit seemed to be reflected in a team that
did not shirk one tackle, and nailed the Hammers on the pitch.
It was a good day all round. Sunny weather, meeting Kerry Dixon before the game (not sure why he is hanging around
with West Ham fans though), and 'bouncy'-ing on the concourse in the away end. It is a death trap down there, but the
tightness of the surroundings made it a mad atmosphere, especially at half time as several hundred Chelsea fans tried
to get a beer. Needless to say, half my beer landed on the floor before I even managed to have a sip! Probably serves
me right for trying to walk back through a crowd singing, "Let's go f*cking mental" while holding a pint.
Chelsea should have taken the lead when Anelka was wrongly ruled for being offside. What is the point of training to
time your runs if useless officials are too slow to realise that you are onside? Kalou had a decent game, and Lampard
was brave to take the penalty after the striker was clumsily tripped up in the box by Anton "I think I'm as good as Rio"
Ferdinand. Joe Cole added a superb second, and the excellent Ballack's goal was hit with such ferocity that I didn't even
realise it had landed in the back of the net!
Then yet more refereeing controversy. A tangle between Boa Morte and Lampard - Frank receives a red card, and Boa
Morte does not even obtain a yellow! Certainly seems rough justice... we have had several tackles on our team that
have taken them out of action for months. The perpetrators of these tackles have received no more than yellow cards
for injuring our players, and yet for a minor incident such as this we are gong to lose a player for three matches. It is a
reflection of British society - minor offences such as parking violations by normally law abiding citizens lead to
disproportionate punishments, and those that are guilty of crimes more serious of nature are let off the hook. Vote
Conservative! Er... anyway. Having said all this, Maka was lucky to stay on the pitch for an awful challenge in the second
half for which he didn't even receive a yellow card - see, I can be balanced if I want to be....
Even when we were down to 10 men you never once felt that the Irons would score. JT had a performance that showed
how deserving he is of the captain's armband for Chelsea and England, brilliantly clearing the ball off the line from a
Cole header.
Our support was fantastic - I have no idea why it always seems to be at Upton Park where we have such a wide ranging
variety of songs, but everything from "You're mum's got no tax on her car" to "There's only one Prince Harry" made me
chuckle. Every time I feel I should jack it all in, it's the warmth and humour of fellow Chelsea fans that makes you realise
why you support this tremendous club - which other set of fans would be in such good humour having only just lost a
cup final to one of their most hated rivals? Paradoxically, the West Ham fans who always like to give it large at Stamford
Bridge by chanting how loyal their support is left in droves once Ashley Cole "scored again" (as comedian Lineker put it
on MotD) with almost half an hour of the game still to run!
A great response to a disappointing week. It was sad to lose to an inferior side at Wembley, which was proved by their
4-1 annihilation by Birmingham. For once, I watched the highlights on MotD proud of my team.
