London Calling is weekly column about English and London football
LONDON CALLING
by Chris Ballard
In the 9 month slog of a Premiership season, last weekend was much like any other. A top of the table clash ended in a draw, the next best few managed to win, and QPR continued the proud Harry Redknapp record of being a terrible team despite getting paid fortunes.
At the top it was prototypical Goliath vs Goliath match.
Immovable object Man City met unstoppable (except against Bradford) force Chelsea in a match that couldn’t have screamed ‘draw’ any louder even it if was a drunk and enjoying a Christmas game of Pictionary with the family. It is theoretically possible that these high stakes, high profile games that exist on a heady mix of hype and hyperbole could attain the heights of the pre-match build up, but sadly – in most of them, at least – that isn’t what happens. The players will huff and puff, but neither sides’ house will blow down and they’ll settle for a point.
It’s likely that an addled mind is catching up with me, but I can barely remember the details of the match itself. I’m pretty sure it ended 1-1, and I remember thinking for a while that it was a better game than I expected it to be, but beyond that…it’s hazy. Hardly the stuff of legend, that’s for sure. The real soap opera behind any Chelsea game these days is Jose Mourinho, a man apparently so highly strung he could be mistaken for a Himalayan harpist. Coupled with his history with opposite number Manuel Pellegrini, the football itself became rather a sideshow.
Of course, that is a large part of Mourinho’s genius; by making the story about himself, he moves the narrative away from a lackluster performance his team may have turned in. It is a shame because there are legitimate questions about how Chelsea can replace Cesc Fabregas if he remains injured (the answer so far is “probably not with Ramires”) and how often they can afford to have Diego Costa’s inner Mr.Stampy come out to play.
You suspect other teams would have been pilloried for losing an FA Cup tie at home to a team from 2 divisions below them, but not Chelsea. Instead, Mourinho is vociferous in post match comments about how bad his team were, ensuring the back page headlines will again be about him.
With Arsenal, Manchester United and even Tottenham winning over the weekend – and Southampton losing on Monday – the race for that coveted 4th place spot remains murkier than the pile of just-ploughed snow at the end of your drive.
And, like that same snow, when it all goes away you’ll of course find that everything will be as it always was and Man Utd & Arsenal will finish 3rd and 4th. One of the biggest complaints about the Premier League over the past decade or more has been that the same old teams end up competing for the same places and you have to question the wisdom of creating an environment in which having 15% of the league better than you is considered success.
It’s for that reason that teams like Southampton (or Everton, or Newcastle not too long ago) are considered interesting, and given that awful description of ‘plucky’ – which is essentially a nicer way of saying “not winners” – before inevitably faltering, dropping down the table, and having their best players cherry-picked by the big boys.
At the other end of the table, Leicester continue to flounder – as many expected they might – and Queens Park Rangers wisely accepted the resignation of Harry Redknapp, a man who has been in charge of more expensive drops into obscurity than Simon Cowell.
It’s questionable whether or not his replacement can make a difference – especially given the closure of the transfer window – but as Oscar Wilde once said; “We may all be in the gutter, but some of us are looking up at the stars…or at least Hull, and then we’ll see where it goes from there”
