Eight facts

This Chelsea phenomenon is very peculiar.


It is now ten years since Abrahamovic took over, purchasing the club with a total investment of approx £140 million. With their success last night, they have now won eleven trophies in that period, including the Champions League and the Premiership three times. This is an admirable record, despite all the begrudgery.

Fact 1 – money can buy success.

Looking a little further back, it the ten years preceding Abrahamovic’s involvement, they won four trophies – more than Spurs, Everton and Leeds on a combined basis for the same period (Everton – one FA Cup; Spurs - one League Cup). Their victories in this period included the European Cup Winners Cup.

Fact 2 – some of the groundwork was done by the earlier owners and management.

Fact 3 – Chelsea have lorded it over the rest of us for longer than we might want to admit. Our criticism of them buying success may not have deep foundations.

Last night they won the Europa League, a competition they unilaterally derided a few months back, before they were ignominiously dumped into it by Juventus and Shaktar Donetz, two of the current powerhouses in European football. If they claim following yesterday’s victory that they are the first club to hold both European trophies at the same time, they are overlooking the fact that they are also the first Champions League winners to end their defence before the knock-out stages.

Fact 4 – they only sing when they’re winning. Once a meaningless competition, the Europa League now has them swinging from the crossbars.

Fact 5 – Spurs went out of the Europa League in the quarter-finals and Everton didn’t qualify.

Let’s then look at their management, and focus on Chelsea’s infatuation with Mourinho and vice versa. On his part, I suspect the loyalty is to Abramamovic’s billions (on the basis that he’s easily parted with portions of it) and not to the investment bankers who block-book the seats at Stamford Bridge.

But what of the supporters belief that no-one else can do the managerial job for them? Shades of the adoration Fergie has at United but built upon 39 months engagement rather than 312. Since Mourinho left - less than six years ago - there have been eight managers if we include Butch Wilkins who took charge for one game. And we know what happened to him.

Fact 6 – neither loyalty nor patience are a prevalent trait at Chelsea.

There is no doubt that Mourinho did well during his first period there but in reality how well?

To analyse this I assign points to the winning of various trophies and games as follows:

Winning the Champions League - 50 points

Winning the Premier League - 30 points

Wining the Europa League - 20

Wining the FA Cup - 10 points

Winning the League Cup - 7 points

Winning a Premiership game - 3 points

Drawing a Premiership game - 1 point

We then apply that to the remaining seven Chelsea managers and the following league table emerges:

Manager - games in charge – points for CL - points for PL - points for EL - points for FAC - points for LC - points for league wins - points for league draws

De Matteo - 42 - 50 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 10 - 0 - 72 - 9 Total 141 average per game 3.35

Mourinho - 185 0 - 60 - 0 - 10 - 7 - 372 - 40 Total - 489 - average per game 2.65

Hiddink 22 0 - 0 - 0 - 10 - 0 - 48 - 5 Total 53 average per game 2.40

Benitez 48 0 - 0 - 20 - 0 - 0 - 81 - 10 Total 111 average per game 2.31

Ancelloti 109 - 0 - 30 - 0 - 10 - 0 - 201 - 20 - Total 251 average per game 2.30

Grant 54 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 108 - 13 Total 121 average per game 2.24

Scholari 36 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 60 - 11 Total 71 average per game 1.97

Villa-Boas 40 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 57 - 11 Total 68 average per game 1.7

Thus Roberto de Matteo is Chelsea’s most successful manager or - if the credit for the Champions League win is allocated over a complete season - AVB might lift himself off the bottom of the table.

Fact 7 – Jose Mourinho’s record as Chelsea manager is not significantly better than that for others who succeeded him and is bettered by Roberto de Matteo.

Fact 8 – While Chelsea continually want more from their managers, Spurs appear to be willing to settle for mediocrity. Spurs have spent this season giving credit to AVB for what he has achieved (and this included two manager of the month awards) and his record is essentially the same as what he got canned for at Chelsea.

AVB at Chelsea 40 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 57 - 11 Total 68 average per game 1.7

AVB at Spurs 53 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 78 - 16 Total 94 average per game 1.77

Irrespective of my irrelevant argument and logic, the Special One will come marching into the Bridge one day very soon and the Chelsea fans will smile again. It is opportune that it will occur at a time when Manyoo and ManCitee will also have new managers – Mourinho might be able to capitalise on the upheaval at the Manchester clubs and push Chelsea back into the position their money deserves.

Surely jumping up and down about the Europa League shouldn't be keeping a club like this happy for too long.

This one's for Mise le Meas

The best way to deal with adversity is to tackle it face on, as Gareth Bale is seen to be doing in the photo above.  Accept your defeat and move on.

Well done to Leeds, the romance of the Cup is still alive and best of luck at the Itihad in the next round. 

For Spurs, the old cliche - at least that distraction is out of the way and so to the pursuit of the Champions League 4th place spot.  

Caoineadh U Murchu - Leeds 1 Chelsea 5

Progress report - everyone is on the credit list so far

The 1st of October and the serious stuff is starting. We are now on the run-in.

Top marks to David Moyes and the Everton boys – it eventually looks as though you are going to mount a serious challenge for a Champions League / Top 6 spot (delete one as appropriate). Jelavic looks to have been a quality buy and the air of confidence floating around Goodison may be self-fulfilling. Maybe their early exit from the League Cup will actually work in their favour.

AVB at Spurs has moved from being the unwanted man to the enigma, with very few of us knowing what he is truly capable of. A stunning win at Old Trafford answers some of the critics but there remain serious doubts as to his style of play and his ability to get the players to execute on it. A few shrewd buys (Dembele and Vertonghen catch the eye) have masked the departure of Modric well.

Chelsea move on with monotonous intent. And why not – aren’t they Champions of Europe? Saturday’s win at Goonerland was the first real challenge they have had nevertheless and it remains to be seen how they fare when the going gets tougher. October 20 at the Lane should be interesting. Despite any doubts we may have, the destiny of the League must surely be a matter between themselves and City.

Leeds – great win over Everton and it does not appear as though they’re letting the Cup run (?) distract them from the bread and butter of the Championship. Silly results like losing at home to Hull need to be eradicated but Warnock still appears to have the nous to get them back up to the top level. It’s been such a long time.

                      

Let's ramp it up, team.

White boots you poof ........

Alan's sponsorship deal with Hummel didn't go down too well with Billy Bremner.   

In reality it didn't turn out to be tto lucratve for Ball either as he subsequently revealed:

"To be honest they were crap, like cardboard, so I got the young apprentices to paint my Adidas football boots white. It was great, till one day it rained and the black came through. A not too happy watching Hummel rep saw what I’d done so I said goodbye to the two grand.”

Here we go again

A few games into the Premiership and plaudits to Moyes and his bunch of journeymen at Goodison.  Two tremendous results reverses their normal early season form and must surely give them the confidence to push on and aim for a top six finish.

Good start for Leeds as welll, in a season which is likely to be challenging, if only because of the number of evenly matched teams in the Championship.  Play-offs beckon.

Poor start for Spurs and the unrest over AVB commences.  More modest sights have been set at the Lane than in pror years.  Will we finish above previously mediocre teams like Everton?

And finaly another good start for Chelski although not the hardest set of fixtures.  Closer inspection to come although if Torres keeps his shooting boots on maybe anything is possible.

How about this?

1. Man City
2. Chelsea
3. Man United
4. Arsenal
5. Liverpool
6. Newcastle
7. Spurs
8. Everton

A big job for Neil Warnock

Mike, he's calling you a moron......

17 April 1971 Ray Tinkler's day of glory

Leeds had thrown away their chance of the 1969-70 title: attacking on three fronts, Don Revie prioritised the European Cup and FA Cup over a trophy they'd already won, sending the kids out against Derby in the league and effectively handing the championship to Everton. But having subsequently come a cropper on all three, they wouldn't be making the same mistake twice, and the following season went hell for leather in the league.

Leeds were favourites going into their last four games. They enjoyed a two-point advantage over their only rivals Arsenal, who had two games in hand but still faced a visit to Elland Road. It was looking promising for them down the home stretch. Then the referee Ray Tinkler made his infamous decision to wave the West Brom striker Tony Brown on, with Colin Suggett miles offside but not interfering with play, allowing Jeff Astle to tap in. "Leeds will go mad, and they've every right to go mad," freestyled the legendary Barry Davies, as Revie skittered around the pitch in a hot funk while waving a travelling blanket, an assorted rabble of Elland Road regulars following his lead.

"Mr Tinkler made a mistake and Leeds have every reason to feel annoyed," chorused Eric Todd of this newspaper, "but there was no excuse for the disgraceful scenes that followed. Broken windows will not mend broken hearts. The referee's decision, like that of the editor, is final." Leeds won their remaining three games, a run including victory over Arsenal, but the Gunners held their nerve and took the title by a point. Leeds fans to this day harbour a grudge against Tinkler, and indeed his decision turned the title race on its head. But it's worth remembering that Leeds wouldn't have been so desperate had they not stuttered slightly over Easter, with draws against Newcastle and Huddersfield; that they were already a goal down in the West Brom game after a calamitous error by Jack Charlton; and that Bertie Mee's Arsenal were the real deal, a 19-year-old Ray Kennedy the star of their run-in.

Taken from the Guardian.

Sniffer Clarke meets his hero

Chelski asked for a photo of himself with Sniffer Clarke from the Leeds trip so her he is, together with a photo of him with Shifter Murphy on the same day.

Also posted is a picture of the intrepid four at the City of Manchester Stadium waiting to watch a bunch of overpaid tossers struggle to beat an absolutely crap West ham team. It's no wonder they are getting on so well in Europe. And to think they took our spot.

Money is ruining the game - even in the Championship

Even Leeds are not immune from the power of money in the modern game as today it looks like one of their better players will leave because of the financial and contractual issues associated with his employment rather than the football issues.

Schmeichel joined the club on a Bosman free transfer from Notts County thirteen months ago, has a year left on his contract and is now being sold for £1 million.

No doubt paraphrasing the words of Ken Bates, Leeds boss Simon Grayson stated: “We feel this is the right deal for the club. We spoke to Kasper’s agent at the end of the season about a contract extension and it was apparent that it was going to be difficult to agree a deal. Given the fact that he has one year left on his contract, we feel this is in the best interests of Leeds United.”
In other words take the money now and trade the club's football ambitions and aspirations for hard cash.

Schmeichel through his representatives said: “At the end of the season, Leeds United and I both made a commitment to honour the last year of my contract and try to win promotion. Therefore, it’s with great disappointment that I have learned that Leeds have accepted an offer from Leicester. I want to put on record that I have never asked to leave Leeds United, nor did I reject an offer for a new contract, since one was never put to me. I was enjoying being a Leeds United player and was looking forward to winning promotion this season with the club.

We too often blame greedy players for the financial malaise that has hit the game but this time the club must shoulder all the responsibility. All Schmeichel can be accused of is arrogance (a statement through his "representative" - why not deliver it yourself Kasper?) and total stupidity (I was looking forward to winning promotion this season with the club).

And by the way Leeds - if you're looking for bargain basement alternatives, too late for Brad Friedel - he's already spoken for.

At the risk of repeating myself

Look I told you already son, when I went to Spain we were home and hosed..... how many times do I have to tell ya, lad?

You're as daft as a brush you mad Irish twat.

Keep the home fires buring - the real Irish diaspora

"I'm really worried about your friend from Brussels you know, if he doesn't get the thatch on his new (third) house before nightfall, his English breakfast will have gone awfully cold" repeated Vera, whose genuine Irish hospitality and warmth was something which Brusselsblue could no longer comprehend, having accepted d'Estaing's Euro several years ago.

Billy, don't be a hero

The absolute embarrassment of it all.

Thanks for talking to us, Mr. Deane

Fuck man - I've really no idea why I wasn't in the 1971 Soccer Stars in Action sticker book, now leave me alone will you, you bunch of Irish post-Celtic Tiger has-beens. Especially you, mate (ponting to Gerry).

Make-a-wish fulfils another kid's dream

Mike cheers because this is the first time he's been to Elland Road. Brian cheers because it's the last time he's going to Elland Road.

Dirty Leeds

Seeing as we’re going to new territory this weekend (Elland Road) I felt it was important that I do some reconnaissance.

Another ground will be ticked off on the list of “been there, done that” and more importantly we’ll be trying to unravel the mysteries surrounding the “Dirty Leeds” subculture or species which continues to survive in the environs and history at Elland Road.

The Leeds fans are undoubtedly fanatical, with the club boasting attendances which would put many Premiership clubs to shame and which have barely faltered as the club began its’ downward slide eight or nine years ago. This enduring fanaticism is driven partly by past glories and partly by the feeling which has developed around Leeds that “nobody loves us but we don’t care”, akin their cousins in the south, Millwall and Wimbledon.

And let’s face it – traditionally nobody loved Leeds and they didn’t care.

In fact they loved it –so much so that they are slightly perturbed with the current populist sympathy vote which Leeds evoke - how many times do we now hear statements like “the Premiership needs Leeds”, or “poor old Leeds, play offs again”. It’s as though their pattern of failure has evoked sympathy and they’ve effectively donned the mantle of the poor guy in the corner in the wheelchair. Used to be a fine winger once, you know, so sad to see him like that now.

While public opinion may have removed them from the top of the most hated list and replaced with, quite rightly, the money boys at Manchester City and Chelsea and the perennial winners of everything, Manchester United, to Leeds fans their mantle is sacrosanct – a symbol of Northern defiance and of working class aggression.

So why were Leeds hated?

We need to go back exactly fifty years to identify the fulcrum, if nothing else. March 16th 1961 and Don Revie takes over as manager of Leeds United. During his tenure which ended in 1974, the club became one of the dominant forces in English football, winning a succession of trophies at the end of the sixties and in the early seventies, but also became reviled.

Like so many of his peer Northern managers, Revie grew up in abject poverty in Middlesborough and obtained an outlet from his grimy surroundings through the medium of football. His early upbringing nurtured both a ruthlessness and a desire for financial security (which was later to influence him in decisions surrounding the England job). The ruthless streak shaped his first actions on being appointed manager of Leeds – that of purging what he later called 'a dead club' of its rotten core – getting rid of 27 players in his first two years.

To those that he brought in, he adopted a different approach - Revie created brotherly spirit among the squad. 'Our whole ethos was built on loyalty,' says Peter Lorimer - 'We all fight for each other, we all work for each other. If someone kicks me, he kicks all eleven of us.' Revie involved the players' families, to heighten the sense of togetherness. He organised social nights for the players, including rounds of carpet bowls, dominos and bingo. 'We had 15 years of what no man gets,' Lorimer says. 'Every day you'd go to work and it was an absolute pleasure. You couldn't wait to get in your car and go down to the ground and be amongst the lads.'

But Revie's loyalty could reach a more sinister level. In 1971 Gary Sprake was involved in a drink-driving accident, seriously injuring a female passenger before fleeing the scene. When police turned up to arrest Sprake shortly after the crash, Revie intervened and the incident was covered up: the goalkeeper's car was reported stolen and he received a mere police censure instead of more serious charges.

Perhaps this ruthless and sinister approach was ultimately what gained Leeds their reputation on the pitch. They espoused a high-tempo pressing game suffocated opponents and overwhelmed those that tried to outpass them – was Ireland under Charlton modeled on this, without the skill? If your side tried to kick them, Leeds would kick back twice as hard. They feigned injuries, harassed officials and pinched, kicked and hit opponents. The player on the goal line at corners, taking the ball to the corner flag to waste time – all tactics reputedly brought into the English game by Leeds.

Revie created an attitude within the club not seen before in English football. At the time it was called 'professionalism', but this was no complimentary term; instead it encapsulated the cynicism, physicality and relentlessness of Leeds. To many, Revie is the man who ended English football's age of innocence.

The image of 'Dirty Leeds' was reinforced on the terraces, where their supporters earned a reputation for viciousness. The reputation endures - Elland Road has the highest number of Football Banning Orders compared with other grounds in England. Their supporters even now appear to revel in the criticism and condemnation heaped towards them. It will certainly be very interesting to see some of them at first hand, albeit those in the Billy Bremner suite may not be representative of the hardcore.

As we observe human nature and try to understand the psyche behind Leeds, let us remember that we have had one in our midst for the last thirty years. One who has been capable of inflicting horrific injuries to those around him with his renditions of the old Stylistics classics; or of insulting people in a heinous manner by falling asleep in mid-sentence in a London sports bar. So as you observe the local wildlife with removed indifference, stop and occasionally cast a brief glance closer to home.

Bring on the weekend.


Postscript:

The sad part is that behind the Dirty Leeds image was a team of exceptionally talented players. Norman Bites your Legs Hunter is often tagged as the face of “Dirty Leeds” but this overlooks the fact that he was inaugural PFA Players Of The Year in 1974 (voted by his fellow professionals – a question of honour among thieves maybe); Bobby Collins, Jackie Charlton and Billy Bremner all won Footballer of the Year; Leeds contributed seven players to the 1970 England World Cup squad; their 1969 title-winning team comprised a starting eleven of internationals; and of course Johnny Giles was the shining light in our own national team for several years. Add to this the fact that Revie was twice named Manager of the Year and you can get a very different impression of a complete footballing unit.

It’s probably best to conclude by remembering one of Revie’e first acts as new Leeds manager – that of changing the colour of the kit from royal blue to all white to emulate Real Madrid, the all-conquering European champions.

In the immortal words spoken to George Best by the hotel waiter – where did it all go wrong?

Time marches on

Watching the Spurs Real Madrid match last night and specifically the after match analysis which had Giles, Dunphy and Brady giving it the usual guff.

Eoin, listening to Gilesy spouting on infallibly about some key feature of the game turns to me and says - That's shite, who is that guy anyway? A question I had never anticipated and it brought it home so succinctly - like all football fans we are locked in a bottleneck, a short time period when all our real idols flourished, where all the great matches occurred, great goals were scored and life-long loyalties were developed. For us the late sixties and early seventies define that period - before that long shorts and boots above the ankle; after that overpaid uneducated louts. Sad, and time moves on so swiftly.

Never one to miss an opportunity I advised Eoin that he played for Leeds in the sixties, was one of the filthiest players in the English League and played a few times for Ireland. Some day he might learn the truth but that's another day.

Bandit country

Not sure if this is an April Fools trick (don' think it can be) but I was browsing the Leeds United official website today and I came across a page where they were asking for supporters views on Leeds cult heros. Vinny Jones was mentioned and the above picture was shown - Vinny tackling a kid it would appear. Something very wrong here - if the picture is real, it's hardly the stuff of cultheros and if it's a photoshop job, it's equally dubious behaviour "creating" a picture in which a little kid gets a dose of adult hardman tactics.

Looks like we're heading into bandit country indeed.

While on the subject of photoshop, the correct use is shown below where the Man City squad picture was embellished to include Wayne Rooney, Diego Forlan and Zlatan Ibrahamovich (wishful thing from a City fan) and also Where's Wally who appears in his traditinal red and white in the fourth row (in case you were haveing trouble finding him yourself).

The picture appeared in the Aris Thessaloniki programme for their home game with City earlier this season. Classic stuff!

The Mise le Meas Championship Weekend 2011

Well, it's all sorted out now with arrangements made for the first and last Mise le Meas Championship weekend on April 30th / 1st May. On the basis that Leeds are going to mess it up in the play-offs, we may as well get this Elland Road thing out of the way now because we ain't gonna see them featuring regularly at the Lane, Bridge of Goodison anytime soon.

Mise le meas should be in great form and his knowledge of all things Leeds will be tested as we come face-to-face with some diehards as, over lunch, we quaff the finest wines the region can produce. Time therefore to get familiar with a few of the ground rules:

1. Don't mention Clough and don't look for his picture on the wall in the Legends Suite


2. Pretend you're related to Johnny Giles


3. If you can't understand what a local is saying to you just reply "Ecky thump, by gum" and offer to shake hands


4. Remember it's Emmerdale - not Coronation Street


5. Easy on the faryard animals noises and no sudden sheep sounds when near the gents


6. A great topic for debate is the War of the Roses - it appears no-one knows who won it. The daft buggers.


7. Don't mention Cantona either - a big no-no


8. Please keep an eye on Mike if he wanders. Nostalgia, emotion and elation will be rampant and the locals might not take too lightly to the stuff we put up with.

Finally, remember these guys idolise Billy fuckin Bremner:

An interesting footnote on Emmerdale from Wikipedia:

The farmyard filming techniques of Emmerdale Farm were originally modelled on the revolutionary soap-opera The Riordans, made by RTÉ, Ireland's broadcaster, from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1970s. Th e Riordans broke new ground for soap operas by being filmed largely out of doors (on a farm owned in the storyline by Tom and Mary Riordan) rather than the usual practice of British and American soap operas, of shooting almost completely in studios (where 'outdoor' scenes were sometimes filmed indoors). The Riordans pioneered farmyard location shooting with real farm animals and actors driving tractors.

In the 1960s and 1970s, outdoor filming of television programmes using OBUs (Outdoor Broadcast Units) was in its infancy due to the far higher costs involved and the reliance on things like the weather that were out of the control of the programme makers. The success of The Riordans showed that a soap opera could be filmed largely out of doors. Yorkshire Television sent people to The Riordans set in County Meath, Ireland to see the making of the programme at first hand.

So put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Leeds 4 Preston 6

Boys, we have got to get down to Elland Road while this stuffs going on. Looks like the old days are back.

Disappointing result for Leeds though, particularly having led 4-1 after 39 mins.

Keep an eye on this lad though - looks as though he could go places - impressed for Ireland when he came on as sub against Las Malvinas, and has scored some super goals in the Championship to date. Keith Tracey of PNE.