Premier League Match 29 - Chelsea 1 Southampton 1

Saints Fans Look Terrified as Tadic Steps Up.....

Since we last played and beat Palace at home, we have been on holiday which is very nice for all concerned.  I was one of those slightly alarmed that the players were playing ice hockey but it appears we got by with no injuries to anyone.  From the videos that were produced, no one seemed to be a natural on skates aside from Ralph Kruger of course who you would expect to be good as he was a professional ice hockey player.  I can’t imagine that ice and snow sports were big news in Kenya and Senegal when Vic and Sadio were growing up.

The slow news week with just a few FA Cup games last weekend has been filled with ‘Saints player moving to …. XYZ Big Club’ stories.  After the stress of last summer and how it turned out since, we really shouldn’t be surprised or stressed by this really.  I am accepting that Morgan and Clyney will go but I would take this if we somehow manage to sign Toby Alderweireld.  It’s said that we have a clause that we  can sign him for approximately £7m but that Atletico Madrid can buy back the clause for £1.5m.  Personally, I think that if they buy out the clause that we should then offer £15m to sign him.  He’s that good and would be worth it.  Also, he wants to stay by the sound of it.

The one league match from last weekend saw Spurs beat QPR and move above us in the league and so we’re now 7^th which is where everyone who has made a comment in the media is expecting us to finish.  The FA Cup Semi-Final draw still leaves open the possibility of an Arsenal v Liverpool final which would mean that 7^th place in the league qualifies for the Europa League.  I’d take that right now and with the fixtures we have we should be able to achieve that if not better.  The 10 games we have left start with Chelsea away today and end with Man City away but the other 8 are all winnable with the crunch one being Pochettino and his Tottenham bastards at home.  Our 5 defeats out of 5 record against Spurs needs to end.  Meanwhile, Chelsea managed to play 90 minutes against 10 men in the Champions League and got knocked out by PSG.  There is no way that their exit is going to help us today but the fallout from that game has revolved around the antics of the Chelsea players.  The ‘Respect’ campaign for officials has clearly gone to shit as they had 9 players around the referee when Ibrahimovic committed a yellow card tackle which the ref then deemed as a red.

Ronald has rung the changes a bit with Steve Davis and Dusan Tadic in for Djuricic and Elia who is injured.  The two most significant changes though see Shane Long picked ahead of Graziano to play up front and Toby Alderweireld is back with Maya Yoshida somewhat unlucky to drop to the bench.  The fact that we have a bit of pace up front to play against Terry and Cahill should be interesting but this game is going to be won in midfield with Big Vic and Morgan up against Matic and Fabregas; the former only playing because the FA decided that retaliation is not too bad an offence if you’re retaliating against a tackle which the FA think is not too bad because they didn’t ban the perpetrator.  That last sentence didn’t make sense so it’s perfect for describing the consistency of the FA Disciplinary Commission.  Useless twats.

You of course need to start well against Chelsea at the Bridge and we do the opposite as Big Vic tries a dance move on the ball and loses it.  There’s that horrible moment when you see loads of Chelsea players teaking towards your goal.  Hazard, Willian, Oscar, Fabregas and Diego Costa… shiiiiit!.  Willian eventually smashes a ball across the goal and we clear it for a corner but I’m immediately taken back to St Mary’s when we had to defend like bastards.

Our first attack sees Bertrand win a corner off of Ivanovic who surprisingly, stays on his feet.  Our set pieces haven’t been great this season but this one takes the biscuit as we manage to conceded a goal from it.  Tadic puts over a decent corner but everyone misses it and off goes Hazard.  We get men back but eventually Hazard rolls it intot he path of Ivanovic who thought about diving but instead puts a lovely first time cross right onto the head of Diego Costa who has a free header and can’t miss – which he doesn’t.  Both Fonte and Alderweireld have been attracted towards the left where the cross came from and Costa has peeled into the place where José should be.  Bollocks.

If anyone was expecting us to just lie down and accept our fate then they were to be disappointed as we flew onto the attack with Bertrand and Tadic combining superbly on the left and Tadic getting to the line and puling back to Mané who hit a decent shot from the edge of the box which looked to have Courtois on the wrong foor but he adjusted and blocked it.  Good shot, good save.  The ball isn’t cleared though and is eventually fed back in from the toher side by Clyney, Big Vic backheels it and Tadic turns and curls just over the bar.

Terry and Cahill are getting given the runaround by Sadio Mané and he plays a 1-2 with Big Vic and bursts into the penalty area where he’s trashed by Matic.  There’s a bit of ball in the challenge but he’s taken Mané out first and we’ve actually been given a penalty at the home ground of a big club.  Jesus.  Dusan Tadic has spooted the ball up again and I have painful memories of the two shite penalties he’s taken for us so far.  Up he steps and it’s a horrible one down the middle with no pace on it which hits Courtois’ toe as he dives out of the way before bobbling into the net.  Collective sigh of relief and thank fuck for that.  Come back Rickie Lambert, James Beattie and Matt le Tiss.

Mané is a man possessed and Chelsea look severely rattled.  He skins Matic again and feeds Tadic who shoots and sees it blocked by tht eoutstretched arm of Cahill.  It’s handball all day long as his arm is out at 90 degress to his body but not given.  It’s outside the box but if that’s not handball then what is.  The ball bounces to Mané who tries an overhead kick but he’d given offside in dodgy fashion and then the same happens to Shane Long as Tadic picks him but the flag is straight up again and this decision is 100% wrong.

More chances follow and Tadic tries to pass when he should shoot and two minutes later he gets another chance as Mané puts him away.  This time he drills is low from the left but Courtois gets down well to pull off another decent save.  The keeper is floundering around though a few minutes later as Bertrand plays a 1-2 with Tadic, gets in behind and crosses low and there’s all sorts of carnage as the keeper dives and fumbles and defenders clear it against eachother and Shane Long is in there sniffing but eventually they smuggle it away.

Up the other end and a bit of controversy as Ivanovic tries to move onto a ball in the box and breaks free of the defender and goes down in a heap with his arms flailing everywhere.  The reply shows that Tadic did clip his heel but he’s gone down like the diving bastard that he is and not been given it.  A clear case of a reputation preceding a player.  Serves him right, the wanker.  We have one more attack to survive before half time and Fabregas crosses from the right and Costa gets up well but this time heads over.  Half time and we’ve probably been the better side.  Playing Long and Mané up front has worked superbly.

We start the second half well when Ivanovic thinks about having a dive but instead lobs a shite throw-in across the pitch which is intercepted by Mané.  He’s about five yards from the edge of the box when Matic cynically takes him out with no attempt to take the ball.  Mike Dean clearly goes to his pocket as it’s a yellow card all day long, sees that it’s Matic who is already on a yellow card and decides not to send him off.  It’s as clear a booking offence as you could ever wish to see but not today.  What the fuck is that all about.  Maybe we should have nine players around the ref giving it the large one.  Mourinho on the sidelines immediately tells Ramires to get warmed up. 

So, we have a free kick from 30 yards which is tapped to Alderweireld who smashes it, on target and Courtois takes off to turn it over the bar.  It’s a great effort in the context of our season of shite free kicks and a decent save.  We could have done with it a couple of yards to the left but still a good effort.  We go close again soon after as Tadic appear to be crowded out in the penalty area but with some severe dancing feet he manages to get himself free past 4 players.  With the ball on his left foot and having made the space, he should have smashed it but instead teed up Long whoses effort was blocked.  I can’t understand that having danced past 4 players and with the chance of ‘goal of the season’, he passed it!.

Ramires is on for Matic which is Mourinho’s admission that they clearly got away with that one.  I’m sure he’ll mention that in his post-match interview.  Reagrdless, Ramires introduction sees them turn it up a notch and begin to look threatening.  Next up is Costa heading towards goal and Jose Fonte trying to hold him up.  In truth, fraser should be off his line and taking everything out but he hesitates and Fonte has to deal with it which he just about does.  Costa goes down in time honoured fashion and punches the ground when he doesn’t get given anything.  I have no idea what he is upset about.

Costa then picks up the ball on the left wing and just bulldozes his way towards goal but Jose stays with him and eventually knocks it out for a corner.  Costa decides to act all hard man and gives him a shove for no reason whatsoever.  The corner comes over and Forster paws it away to Ivanovic who though tempted to dive like a little bitch, hammers it across and Costa lunges at it, diverting the ball onto the post before Big Vic hammers it away.

Now it’s one way traffic towards our goal with Costa attempting an overhead kick which skews nicely for Hazard to head wide from an offside position.  In roder to stem the tide, Ronald Koeman sends on Djuricic and JWP for Steve Davis and Tadic on 71 minutes.  It makes no difference whatsoever as Willian crosses and Oscar heads at goal only for Fraser to block as far as Hazard who shoots from a narrow angle only to see Fraser again get in the way.

With 10 minutes to go, Remy and Cuadrado are on for Chelsea and Graziano Pellè is on for Shane Long who has run himself into the ground and been very effective against the pedestrian Chelsea centre backs.  We are still dealing in scraps though so it’s disappointing when Mané lashes wide from a good position and it’s downright annoying when Djuricici wins a free kick on the left wing and JWP crosses it straight to the keeper.

90 minutes are up and you neturally get the feeling that Chelsea are going to be given every opportunity to score.  A move breaks down and JWP has it, only to be completely taken out by Hazard which allowes Azpilicueta to hammer in a shot which Fraser shovels wide of the near post.  The corner comes over and remy hammers in a shot which is blocked by Forster.  Terry’s follow up is also blocked before the shagger smashes the rebound wide.

The four minutes of added time are up and we clear the ball and Pellè challenges Ivanovic in the right back slot and the Serb throws the most ridiculous dive to win a free kick.  He really is a despicable twat.  In it comes and out it goes again and we get the final whistle.

You gotta be happy with that.  Two games against the Champions-elect and we haven’t lost.  It proves that when we have a full squad to choose from then we are a match for anybody.  You still need a manager to pick the right players though and we have that alright.  The front two of Mané and Long were a nightmare for Terry and Cahill to deal with and Morgan and Big Vic meant that Matic was nowhere in a game that he shouldn’t have been playing in anyway.  The return of Toby Alderweireld was massive as well as he is different class.  It’s no slight on Maya Yoshida who has been pretty good this season – it’s simply that Toby is better.  It’s mainly the calmness that he brings and it was a bonus to learn that we have someone who can smack the cover off a dead ball and get it on target.

Post-match, Jose Mourinho tried his best not to moan about the officials but in the end he failed.  He clarly thought that the foul on Mané didn’t warrant a penalty and he thought Ivanovic should have had one.  Oddly enough he didn’t mention the fact that Matic shouldn’t have been playing anyway and should have been sent off on 47 minutes, giving us the second half against 10 men.  Shut the fuck up Jose.  Take a leaf out of Ronald’s book and don’t talk about the referees.  The interviewers tried to get Koeman on the Matic issue but he dead batted it saying that he didn’t like to see players sent off in a perfect illustration of how to diffuse a leading question.  Ronald was understandably delighted with a point and took the opportunity to big up the contribution of Fraser Forster.  He’s not the finished article by any means (as anyone who was screaming at him to get off his line when Fonte was trying to hold off Diego Costa will tell you) but if you want a keeper with great reflexes who stands huge and is a bastard to get the ball past then there’s few better.

Jose obviously has an issue with the ref so let’s talk about Mike Dean.  First off we have the penalty shouts.  Well Matic got the ball but he’d already fouled Mané as he went for it so that was a penalty and you could easily argue that he was the last man and he should have been sent off.  Tadic on Ivanovic was a foul but it serves the cunt right that he fell down like he’s been hit by a train and his past reputation meant he didn’t get it.  Serves him right.  He really is a massive horrible cheating twat as illustrated by his massive dive in the last few minutes when he was defending.  Having already been booked it would have made my year if he’s got a second yellow for that.  Even though he didn’t, he’s still a massive horrible cheating twat and no wonder Suarez bit him.  The other penalty shout was for the Fonte, Costa, Forster issue which was never a penalty in a million years.  Dean bottled sending off Matic at the start of the second half but overall I thought he did pretty well.

With Spurs getting buried 3-0 at Man United we moved back up to 6^th and so on to next week when we have Burnley at home who are coming off the back of a superb 1-0 win over Manchester City.  Fair play to them for that but it of course is a game we should be winning and we owe them one after our crap 1-0 defeat at Turf Moor.