Tuesday 9 April
Further proof, in Champion’s League tie at the new Three-Point Lane, that VAR is flawed beyond fixing as Manchester City are awarded a penalty for handball. Sterling’s shot, blasted from a yard away, did hit Danny Rose’s arm. Rose was slipping as he tried to block the shot, his arm was on the way down to be closer to his body… there is no way in the world it was handball. No way his arms were extended beyond his natural silhouette. Yet VAR, drunk on power and watching on television, wanted to be part of the early action.
BT Sport employ Peter Walton to give nasal justifications of the absurd VAR decisions. He thought it was handball because Danny Rose’s arms are attached to his body.
City did the decent thing and missed the penalty. Spurs won the tie 1-0 on the night but lost Harry Kane to an ankle knock for the rest of the season.
Danny Drinkwater has been charged with drink-driving. He was arrested in the early hours of Monday after crashing with three other people in the car. Nobody was hurt.
It puts the cap on Danny’s disappointing season.
Wednesday 10 April
Chelsea U18 0:2 Tottenham Hotspur U18
Another blank for the U18 side, a fourth in five matches but a spirited performance at least kept their goalkeeper on his toes. This had an end of term feel to it as we will finish third come what may and Arsenal will win the section.
Thursday 11 April
Slavia Praha 0:1 Chelsea
A sleepy performance was rescued by a late Marco Alonso header but there was little excuse for turning up expecting an easy game in the quarter-final of the Uefa Cup.
We really looked like a team stuck in first gear as Arrizabalaga had to make a string of saves to keep us in the match. We created half-chances of our own but never consistently challenged until Willian floated over a late cross for Alonso to head home.
The entire night will be forgotten because of the actions of some Chelsea fans in a bar before the match singing “Salah is a bomber”. We’ve even heard fans trying to suggest that the song isn’t racist. Sigh. The petty-minded, lazy Islamophobia demonstrated by this offensive ditty is the exact definition of racist chanting.
Salah is being targeted because he left Chelsea and has made a name for himself at Liverpool. He is Egyptian and a Muslim, to suggest that he is associated with Islamic terrorism is insulting, incorrect and racist.
The same fans who don’t think this song is racist also argue that the Muslims are taking over and will be imposing Sharia law in London: “just like in Birmingham, if we are not careful”.
Nowhere in the UK has Sharia law and the Muslim population of the UK at the last census was 4.4% of the total. Meaning for an Islamic takeover of the UK the other 95.6% of us would have to convert, vote in favour or be looking the other way.
The name of Chelsea has been branded with racist bile since the 1970s when National Front pinheads sold their objectionable newspaper outside the ground and booed our first black players.
Since then independent supporter’s groups have worked hard to rid the club of its racist reputation but the idiots keep coming back.
Thankfully, in the end we will be able to permanently ban the lot of them. What they don’t seem to realise is that on a club trip booked with a photo id and a credit card, if you sing objectionable songs in foreign bars you can quickly and efficiently be barred from the club forever because they know who you are and where you live.
Either keep objectionable, racist rubbish to yourself or go and watch your football at The Den.
Florent Malouda, once of this parish, had his job at Zurich rescinded on Twitter. Malouda had been striking coach at the Swiss club for a few months until an announcement on twitter said he was leaving “by mutual agreement”. To which the 38-year-old replied “really, I didn’t know that…”
Saturday 13 April
Chelsea U18 4:3 Fulham U18
Weirdly Timmy Abraham scored two of the visitor’s goals (brother of Tammy, Tommy, Tummy… etc) but strikes from Marcel Lewis, two from George Nunn and Thierno Ballo earned the points for the home side in their last home game of the season.
Ipswich Town are relegated from the bottom of the Championship after only drawing 1-1 with Birmingham. Lincoln City join Ipswich in League One as they gained promotion from League Two.
Sunday 14 April
Liverpool 2:0 Chelsea
At least we didn’t disgrace ourselves and we probably didn’t feel it was our job to stand in the way of the title race but we don’t look like we will be competing at this end of the table under Maurizio Sarri. The experiment with Eden as a lone striker is a bust. It simply signals surrender to the bigger clubs we use it against.
The football under Sarri isn’t getting any better.
The smoke bomb thrown into the away end was a welcome distraction from the poor display on the pitch.
Worse news could be losing Antonio Rüdiger after he appeared to injure a knee.
But at least the minute’s silence passed off without anyone disgracing the club.
Manchester City 1:0 Chelsea
The FA Cup semi-final ended with an unfortunate own goal.
Monday 15 April
Chelsea U23 1:3 Arsenal U23
It really has been a poor season at this level. Every positive performance had been followed by a rubbish showing. This time at Stamford Bridge.
