Having said all that, you have to say that Leeds did a good job of following O'Leary's instructions, which were clear: do anything you can to get Chelsea's players booked or sent off. Chelsea get no marks for failing to ignore the blatant cheating, and should know better. O'Leary is a disgrace, and should be kicked out of the game, but will probably end up getting a knighthood for managerial genius. That's football, and you have to take the rough with the smooth, but it's pretty hard when faced with this kind of shit. Vialli appeared to have lost the plot big time when he said after the game that Leeds had the look of champions - if that is how future champions are to be made then it's time we all started to question the way the game is going in this country.

No doubt some people will laugh, but I was brought up to believe in what now appears to be the old fashioned and outmoded concept of sportsmanship and fair play, just like most people of my generation, but there was precious little of that coming from the brave new world that the Leeds team inhabit, personified by Lee Bowyer refusing to put the ball into touch when Marcel Desailly was lying in agony from a dislocated shoulder. I bet the Leeds team and manager are feeling proud of themselves this morning, and will express amazement and outrage when it's suggested that their game plan was cynical and unworthy. They will accuse Chelsea of sour grapes, but they know in their hearts what the truth is. It's recorded on video for all to see.

Once again I find myself sickened at the goings on in football, and I'm finding it hard to motivate myself in the face of the continual erosion of everything good about the game that has sustained me as a diehard fan from the age of nine. Once again yesterday at least half the Chelsea crowd showed their "commitment" by leaving just when the team needed their support. Five minutes after Leeds's second goal the ground was half empty. I believe that if they'd stayed and screamed their heads off it might have made a difference to the final score, but that would have been a sign of character, and we can't be having that...

The positive aspects of yesterday's game, if you can find any, were that nobody could accuse the Chelsea players of giving up without a fight; for the first 70 minutes Chelsea ran the game and made Leeds look like what they are: a mediocre team of professional whingers and cheats. The turning point was Franck Leboeuf's crazy sending off. We were already shaky after first Marcel Desailly (dislocated shoulder), then his replacement Jes Hogh (pulled hamstring) were taken off. From a team featuring a back four that were easily holding off the Leeds attack, they went to a team with a hastily-reconfigured back three featuring a recognised defender on the right (Bertie Ferrer), a Ģ10 million pound striker (Sutton) in the centre, and a youth team winger on the left (Jon Harley) who's never played in defence before. It didn't take much to realise that we were in deep shit once that had happened.

Predictably Leeds then went and scored from the first shot they'd had on target all afternoon, and the scene was set. The referee played his part by constantly awarding Leeds free kicks when even a blind man with his head in a bucket of shit could see that he was making the wrong decision. Chelsea never gave up, though, and I felt some pride that they continued to attack even when one man down. Leeds just dropped back deep and flooded their penalty area with diving players. It was like watching a beginner's class on Streatham Ice Rink. They added to their score with an undeserved soft goal from a free kick, which led to the mass defection of Chelsea fans in the direction of home. I was fuming, but at least I didn't give up. I was still yelling that we could win the game even when the ref had his whistle to his lips to blow for full time. I was always taught that you're never beaten until the fat bird sings or the whistle goes, whichever is first, but apparently that's unfashionable now as well.

In the spirit of the blind optimism for which I have previously been famous, I predict that Chelsea will be in the top three at the end of the season, as well as winning the European and FA Cups. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this will be the case. Bring on the men in white coats with the liquid cosh.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish a very Merry Christmas to all my readers, and may the New Year bring all you desire. The convictions of Harry Kewell and David O'Leary for fraud would be a good start for me.