Reason number 3,642 to hate Chelsea: last night we were at a 30th birthday thing on the King’s Road. I don’t know why anyone would want to celebrate these things in a deafening bar full of uber-sloanes, but this was their choice and along with it we went. We spent £30 on six drinks there, £5 on two veggie-burgers and coke in Chicken Cottage, and £2 on two samosas and a naan bread in an Indian we wandered into on the way home. The latter two establishments offered considerably better value for money, we thought. I’m being a miserable git today aren’t I? Oh well.
It was in Chicken Cottage that I saw the Fulham-Spurs highlights on Match of the Day. It appears that we were half-lucky to get the penalty, that Spurs’ goal was fair, and that while Lastuvka might’ve saved the shot, it certainly wasn’t a mistake. So 1-1 was probably more reasonable than it felt yesterday, when I was pretty angry.
Another draw is another draw, which is six in a row, but also the equivalent of winning two and losing four. Meanwhile the unnerving signs of others getting their act together are starting to appear, West Ham unlucky not to beat Newcastle away and Charlton actually beating Portsmouth on the south coast. Meanwhile we tiptoe down the table. Luckily Wigan are abysmal at present, so they should buffer us from the bottom three, but we’re cutting things a little fine and a win or two in the near future would be nice.
The good news is that Vincenzo Montella can only be a game or two away from starting for us, and that has to be a good thing. I remember watching Brian Lara bat for the West Indies and thinking how easy he made the game look, how clearly better than everyone else on the pitch he was. Well the same applies to Montella when he’s on the pitch. Yesterday, for example, he screamed for a throw from Lastuvka, even though there was someone near him. Didn’t bother him, he dealt with the opponent and played a nice pass to a teammate. He does this a lot, always happy to take the ball, always looking for a sensible pass, and usually finding someone. Then there are the goals, which are the game’s currency after all. If he scores a few more we’ll be safe, and it looks like he will. Presumably he’s too good for us and Roma will take him back in the summer, but if he scores goals, likes it here and takes to London, well, who knows? I’m loving watching him play.
