Hello my good football people, trust you’re doing well…
Had a tough week last week as my old man passed away after a horrible couple of years of aggressive dementia.
It was more relief than grief when he took his last breath, but tough nevertheless. His passing evoked so many memories of my time with him, some quite difficult, others quite beautiful.
He programmed me with a great outlook on the world at a young age. He also loved football and encouraged me to play and watch. In the very early 70s along with one of his closest friends, (SA exile Ronnie Kasrils) and his kids (devout Gunners) we used to go to our local club Hendon FC.
They were in the old Isthmian League which was a division or two outside the English 4th Division. Hendon had drawn Reading in the FA Cup and on that day Claremont Road was packed to the rafters, including Reading’s firm who walked around in bloodied surgeon outfits, the atmosphere was tense and scuffles broke out all around the ground! I think our dads got a bit of a fright (and who wouldn’t when looking after little kids).
Following those very early years, Ronnie used to take his kids to Highbury, my dad used to take us to Upton Park (he supported West Ham). Thankfully, my uncle and older brother were both Chelsea fans and took us to the Bridge on a more regular basis.
I always had a laugh when the famous Chelsea song bellowed out of the Shed End “My ol’ man said be a West Ham fan, I said, f*** off, bollox, you’re a c**t”.
Yeah my opening football years were full of gritty memories, in some often quite frightening situations, Upton Park and Stamford Bridge were tough places to go as away fans and I f*****g loved it, something that kept me magnetised to the game and part of the Chelsea family.
The proud passion, fighting spirit and salty realness a long cry from today’s supermarketesque wank fests.
So glad I was brought up in an environment where you needed to be able to hold your own on and off the pitch, not that I was some kind of tough guy, but it helped me get through those crazy UK days of (sometimes) near anarchy!
Thanks dad for encouraging the love of football, (amongst other things) and turning a blind eye when I used to have punch-up’s on the pitch. RIP… gonna miss you.
Back to business and another couple of tell all performances. Once Chelsea loosened up a bit and switched Armando Broja for Nicholas Jackson up front, it was plain sailing.
A solid performance, yet for the best part of the game way too patient, too slow and too conservative.
Of course we understand during this transitional phase it’s not gonna be gung-ho. But yoh, it was painful at times.
'Very, very pleased.' 😁 pic.twitter.com/Tb68L0oIWK
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 8, 2023
Up in Manchester and I was a bit confused by Erik ten Hag’s statement, a win against Brentford “has to be the turning point in the season”.
Ok, two goals in additional time to save face showed some of that old Fergie spirit: “We kept going, we kept the belief and we kept fighting then we got the reward in the end”.
But come on? The team was sh**e again, really just a lower-mid table side struggling for confidence and playing very ordinary football. Elsewhere, the game of the weekend was of course at the Emirates.
Matchweek 8 complete ✅ pic.twitter.com/QQ3oTwYHY0
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 8, 2023
Despite what the commentators were saying, I found it completely captivating. It was definitely a Bukayo Saka and Kevin de Bruyne short of a creative classic, but still, it was toe-to-toe, nothing in it, hard fought and a lesson on how to contain great attacking sides.
And what a psychological boost it’ll be for Arsenal and the (as always) super annoying, mascara smudged masquerading Mikel Arteta.
This was a coming of age, the day the teenager left home, the growing up of a side that fell away like an embarrassing premature ejaculation last season.
Partey ➡️ Tomiyasu ➡️ Havertz ➡️ Martinelli
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 9, 2023
Super-sub impact 💥 pic.twitter.com/QlJmDVTRNU
Although I don’t see them lasting the marathon, what an amazing irony that (in what could be) the Gunners greatest season for decades, Spurs might just ruin it for them this time around! Unfortunately, we’re moving into another international break, before we come back with a really tough game for Man Utd as they face Sheffield United while Chelsea face the Arsenal at the bridge, hope Kai Havertz plays.
His nonchalant gimmick is already wearing thin at the Emirates, but it aint gonna change, in his head he’s Dennis Berkamp.
Take care, chat next week, bye byeee…