Squirrel on the Pitch, Groundhog Day in the League

Always a little nutty at Loftus Road

Most people are never very comfortable with change. Some people who will remain anonymous are so uncomfortable with change you may still have on the same socks you did since Friday.* But some of you have to admit that it would have been nice for something out of the ordinary to happen in the league. I mean grasping at the QPR squirrel is all I’ve got, and he’s really just a poor man’s Anfield Cat in all reality. Not even ‘hilarious’ enough to generate a twitter account. Although there is some youtube footage of him saying something as he passed Anton Ferdinand ... lip reading experts are being consulted.

As it stands, the events of the weekend were as follows:

THFC v MUFC

United won while playing a terrible version of what they are trying to pass off as football.

Defoe scores yet fails to affect the outcome of a match. (This would work for England too for those keeping track)

Michael Owen thinks his tweets are fun. Horribly misunderstands the word ‘fun’.

LFC v AFC

Koscielny fails horribly at defense duties. Scores an own goal.

RVP scores.

Suarez dives to win a penalty.

Walcott fails to shoot on target.

WBA v CFC

Torres fails to score.

Manager gets sacked.

Mourinho winds up the press by appearing in West London.

Shenanigans at the training ground. 

NUFC v SAFC

Cattermole very early booking.

Cattermole straight red after final whistle for foul and abusive language. **

Benches and managers get into it after a late challenge by McClean.

MCFC v BWFC

Bolton lost.

Balotelli fined by club for being awesome. And by awesome I mean going to a Liverpool strip club when he could arguably have just gone to the city centre and seen a lot more for the £240000 he's paying.

***

Although there’s a lot of pleased faces in and around SW6 this morning, mine is not one of them. Stop, I know you all want to cheer me up. (Send gifts). I was definitely in the minority. And by minority, I’m pretty sure by the end of Saturday it comprised of myself and AVB as the only ones who thought he was actually up to the task, but who doesn’t like being part of a super exclusive club? I will concede that AVB did not go about things the right way, but has anyone in this situation? I’ll give you a hint... NO. 

As unsurprising as the matches this weekend, rumours abound at what ‘really’ happened. Whether players leaked information to the press or went directly to Roman to complain doesn’t matter. Who has not worked for someone that they thought was a complete dickhead? Sometimes you have to suck up a little pride and get on with your job to the best of your ability. Whether AVB was inspiring them or not, whether they believed in his ideas or not, by playing with a finger up their arse, the only people that really suffer are the supporters who also work for a dickhead and pay a day’s wages for this performance.

AVB should probably have stroked the very large (behave) egos of the players. Consulted them, and made them feel more part of his project. He shouldn’t have isolated himself or the youth team to the extent that he did. He should also have found a very large bin to put Bosingwa and Meireles in. Resting players that are aging is not one of them. Lampard proved this week in and week out by playing far better after he’d sat a game. 

Again, although change is difficult, Chelsea supporters have to accept that the ‘old guard’ will not be able to play 90 minutes for every game in every competition. They have to be used strategically as they have proved they still have so much to offer. I hate to use them as an example, but United have allowed players like Ryan ‘A Premier League Footballer Who Cannot Be Named’ Giggs, to play an important role in their title challenge without burning him out. That’s Natasha’s job.

And now for actually using Manchester United as some form of a model for our own players to live up to I will have to have a shower - maybe in bleach. I may never feel clean again.

Good luck for those of you submitting applications to the again open position. Except you Rafa. You just keep your application to yourself.

jb xx

* It’s time to let them and your smelly feet go.

*  Congratulations to Lee on his 10^th booking of the season. Surely there should be some kind of prize for such dedication to bookings. Maybe a magic show from one Mr. Balotelli? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_DomweVJDY