All Blue Wembley FTW!
Congratulations, Chelsea boyos! At last they got at least part of the reward they've been deserving for the past two years. Well done to all the squad for being brilliant and for celebrating so adorably. I ♥ my team!
Kudos to Ash for making history with his fifth winner's medal, to Super Frank for yet again proving he's the best midfielder on the planet (sod PFA and SWA!) and celebrating in tribute to his dad, to Didi for always coming through in the big finals, and to Flo for another brilliant display topped by an incredible goal. He's making history with us just like he wanted, whatever the recordbooks say. I am relieved the records won't show his hilarious attempts to be gangsta, though. ♥♥♥
Huge thanks and affection must go to our departing Guus for salvaging our season and being a classy guy who honours his committments. I wish he could stay, but I'm glad he got a fitting send-off. It seems he's agreed to work as a technical advisor to the club, so whatever happens on the managerial front we'll have someone with a clue to guide us in the right direction. It's about time, really!
Congratulations also to Everton for their amazing achievements this season, and under Moyes in general. I have massive respect for him as a manager and for his team, not only the way they play but also the brotherhood and spirit in their squad that's not unlike Chelsea's. If they had been playing anyone else I'd have wanted them to win, and I'll be backing them all the way in the Europa Cup next season. I hope they're able to kick on from here with more investment (which they might have had sooner if Liverpool hadn't been allowed into the Champions League at their expense in 2005--grrr, that is so wrong!) and establish themselves in the Top Four. Actually I wouldn't be fussed if we had a Blue Top Two trading trophies every year, and to hell with the Red Trifecta. ;-)
And speaking of hell, Howard "Best Referree in the Premier League" Webb can head there forthwith and take his incompetent assistants with him, along with the lackwits who still resist the incorporation of goal-line technology. Today's game could have finished quite differently, and to be honest after it started I was bucking myself up to endure another travesty in the long line Chelsea have suffered in recent years.
Thankfully we managed to come back and hang on, but really we could have been much more comfortable. Everton's goal should never have counted since Pienaar was a yard offside in the buildup. It's lucky we had a lot of time to recover, but what if that had been the winning goal? I think the linesman on that side was still faffing about at the halfway line and didn't get into position fast enough. That's not acceptable.
Then we have Howard Webb's inconsistent use of yellow cards and complete lack of understanding when it comes to playing an advantage. His booking of Lampard for diving was a disgrace and he should rescind it with a full apology. Though I suppose he was just following this season's unspoken edict that a Chelsea player getting tripped/barged/pulled down/rugby tackled in the box is not a penalty...
And of course Flo's gorgeous shot off the inside of the bar was a goal. At this level there is absolutely no excuse for the authorities not to implement the technology needed to ensure the correct result. Even if it can't be done for lower leagues or in the Premiership, at the very least it should be used in knock-out style cup competitions and playoffs where so much hinges on the result.
So the proper scoreline was really 3-0 or 4-0 if Frank scored the penalty. That's a little harsh on Everton, but I'm tired of final results that don't reflect what actually happened in the match because of poor officiating. Let's hope next season shows some improvement. I won't hold my breath, mind.
Anyway, I'm so very proud of my team for the way they've stuck at it and stuck together through all the hard times over the last three years. In some ways that's a bigger accomplishment that winning the back-to-back titles, because they so easily could have given up the first time they lost that winning feeling. But I fell in love with Chelsea because they were fighters, and they've shown that they'll always give their all for the cause no matter what. I couldn't be more honoured to support them.
Blimey, I'm going to miss them in the off season!
Kudos to Ash for making history with his fifth winner's medal, to Super Frank for yet again proving he's the best midfielder on the planet (sod PFA and SWA!) and celebrating in tribute to his dad, to Didi for always coming through in the big finals, and to Flo for another brilliant display topped by an incredible goal. He's making history with us just like he wanted, whatever the recordbooks say. I am relieved the records won't show his hilarious attempts to be gangsta, though. ♥♥♥
Huge thanks and affection must go to our departing Guus for salvaging our season and being a classy guy who honours his committments. I wish he could stay, but I'm glad he got a fitting send-off. It seems he's agreed to work as a technical advisor to the club, so whatever happens on the managerial front we'll have someone with a clue to guide us in the right direction. It's about time, really!
Congratulations also to Everton for their amazing achievements this season, and under Moyes in general. I have massive respect for him as a manager and for his team, not only the way they play but also the brotherhood and spirit in their squad that's not unlike Chelsea's. If they had been playing anyone else I'd have wanted them to win, and I'll be backing them all the way in the Europa Cup next season. I hope they're able to kick on from here with more investment (which they might have had sooner if Liverpool hadn't been allowed into the Champions League at their expense in 2005--grrr, that is so wrong!) and establish themselves in the Top Four. Actually I wouldn't be fussed if we had a Blue Top Two trading trophies every year, and to hell with the Red Trifecta. ;-)
And speaking of hell, Howard "Best Referree in the Premier League" Webb can head there forthwith and take his incompetent assistants with him, along with the lackwits who still resist the incorporation of goal-line technology. Today's game could have finished quite differently, and to be honest after it started I was bucking myself up to endure another travesty in the long line Chelsea have suffered in recent years.
Thankfully we managed to come back and hang on, but really we could have been much more comfortable. Everton's goal should never have counted since Pienaar was a yard offside in the buildup. It's lucky we had a lot of time to recover, but what if that had been the winning goal? I think the linesman on that side was still faffing about at the halfway line and didn't get into position fast enough. That's not acceptable.
Then we have Howard Webb's inconsistent use of yellow cards and complete lack of understanding when it comes to playing an advantage. His booking of Lampard for diving was a disgrace and he should rescind it with a full apology. Though I suppose he was just following this season's unspoken edict that a Chelsea player getting tripped/barged/pulled down/rugby tackled in the box is not a penalty...
And of course Flo's gorgeous shot off the inside of the bar was a goal. At this level there is absolutely no excuse for the authorities not to implement the technology needed to ensure the correct result. Even if it can't be done for lower leagues or in the Premiership, at the very least it should be used in knock-out style cup competitions and playoffs where so much hinges on the result.
So the proper scoreline was really 3-0 or 4-0 if Frank scored the penalty. That's a little harsh on Everton, but I'm tired of final results that don't reflect what actually happened in the match because of poor officiating. Let's hope next season shows some improvement. I won't hold my breath, mind.
Anyway, I'm so very proud of my team for the way they've stuck at it and stuck together through all the hard times over the last three years. In some ways that's a bigger accomplishment that winning the back-to-back titles, because they so easily could have given up the first time they lost that winning feeling. But I fell in love with Chelsea because they were fighters, and they've shown that they'll always give their all for the cause no matter what. I couldn't be more honoured to support them.
Blimey, I'm going to miss them in the off season!