30th April 2001 Revie took over an ailing side and instilled a new ethos into them, which was that fair play never won anything. He backed this up by bringing the most thuggish players he could find into the team. They immediately started to get results, albeit leaving a trail of injuries to the opposition behind them. Players of such exquisite talent as George Best, Tony Currie, Stan Bowles and Charlie Cooke, to name but a few, were dealt with by the simple expedient of kicking them off the park. "Enforcers" like Johnny Giles, Norman Hunter and Billy Bremner would chase after the key players from the kickoff and deliver a tackle designed to take them out of the game. Teams found it difficult to score goals against them when their playmakers and strikers were nobbled in this way, which was the only reason Leeds ever won anything. Leeds are still using these tactics to this day. Unfortunately none of their current crop of players has the character of their predecessors, who gave it out but crucially were able to take it in return. The present lot are also well able give it out, but when given a taste of their own medicine they don't like it one bit. Almost every time one of them is tackled he screams like a stuck pig and rolls around in feigned agony in an obvious attempt to get the opposing player sent off. This odious behaviour is summed up by the likes of Lee Bowyer and Harry Kewell, the most detestible little shits in the Premiership. In case anyone is wondering why I single out Bowyer, I base my contempt for him not on the fact that he has been charged with five-on-to-one GBH, because the courts will decide if he's guilty of that. My dislike is based on having had the misfortune to see him in action on the pitch against Chelsea. For me, Bowyer's crowning achievement came at Stamford Bridge last season, when he refused to put the ball out of play when Marcel Desailly was in agony from a dislocated shoulder. Not only was this taking unsportsmanlike behaviour to new heights, but it also constituted a danger to Desailly by delaying urgent medical attention. This pretty well sums up his attitude to the game. Kewell and other Leeds players appear to follow the same ethos. They were at it again on Saturday, sickening everyone who watched with their cynical interpretation of the rules of the game. I'm sure all football fans, except possibly the twats who follow them, will join me in condemning Leeds for the cynical murder of the game we all love. PS: Any Leeds supporters reading this and wanting to send me abuse might as well not bother. I had it all last season, and 90% of it was racist, illiterate crap, unworthy of any sort of reply. These people can go and fuck themselves. Any Leeds fans not seeing themselves as being in that category should think seriously about whether they should be cheering when opposing players are carried off after a Leeds player has kicked them out of the game, as the entire Leeds crowd appeared to do at Stamford Bridge last season. 26th April 2001 24th April 2001 All chance of qualifying for the Champions League has now gone, leaving only the vague hope of a UEFA Cup run for next season, thus cutting off the only real source of revenue for Santa Bates' crumbling Chelsea Village empire. With losses of £2.4 million in the last six months, and in Ken's own words "expectations of increased losses" over the year and a share price that values the club "at barely half of its net asset value", old Santa must be having a few sleepless nights. The implications of what's happening must also be a source of severe anxiety for any Chelsea fan who is capable of rational thought, and I'll leave any jokes on that subject to others. Meanwhile it's obvious that a clearout is needed at Stamford Bridge. The current setup has produced what can only be described as an expensive squad of foreign mercenaries who, regardless of their undoubted individual talents, do not have what it takes to run a successful campaign in the Premiership as a team, and I include the management in that description. Call me controversial, but in my opinion the only players who can be generally be trusted to put themselves on the line for Chelsea in every game they play are Dennis Wise, who is clearly suffering from a run of bad form and is thus largely ineffective, and Franco Zola, and it looks like he'll be off at the end of the season. The others are fine when playing against the more fashionable sides, but tend to fail miserably against the so-called lesser teams. As those bastards Man U have proved many times, you need to have the motivation to scratch a result against all types of side to win the Premiership, obvious as it may sound. The unpalatable truth is that there are players at Chelsea who would rather dodge a tackle at The Dell on a Wednesday night because of the risk of injury than they would at Old Trafford on a Sunday afternoon while in Sky's shop window. While that attitude persists Chelsea won't win the Premiership. Some of you may have noticed that the contact email address on this page hasn't been working lately. Apologies for that, it's out of my control, but normal service is now restored, albeit courtesy of Hotmail. 20th April 2001 19th April 2001 Klaus, my spy in the crowd, tells me that the Rottenham faithful were completely silent by the end, as well they might have been with huge London rivals Chelsea taking the piss out of them in their own back yard - any Spurts fans who still think Tottenham are a big club need their heads examining. Chelsea fans were in good voice, taunting the Sperz fans with such classic chants as "One George Graham", "Now you have your Tottenham back", etc. I hope to print a full match report later today. Meanwhile, please take a minute to read the brilliant reports from Klaus and Nialli on the Southampton match, and grovelling apologies for printing them so late - I do not deserve these boys.. 17th April 2001 Now my thoughts on the current situation: Gus Poyet's comment when asked if Chelsea had a realistic chance of qualifying for the Chimps League was both out of character and defeatist - he said that winning all our five remaining matches was "a dream". Come on Gus: get with the fucking programme ! I mean, look at just two of the fixtures - Liverpoo away, Leeds away. For a start off, I can't believe that anyone would think anything other than that it's a racing certainty that The Mighty Blues will crush Leeds - after all, half their team seem to be spending more time in the dock than on the pitch these days, their manager is a self-delusional, wild-eyed loon, and to cap it all their fans smell of shit and have foot and mouth. As for Liverpoo, those loveable shell-suited scallies seem to think that they have a divine right to play in Europe just because they had a half decent team in the eighties, but in case they hadn't noticed that team are now working for the BBC, making fatuous comments about other teams on MOTD. No, mate - they're going down 3-0 to the Chelsea. You heard it here first. 10th April 2001 9th April 2001 Dr Les Knows Best 2nd April 2001 David Rocastle March rants
© 1996-2002
Priesty's Chelsea FC Refuge.
Dirty Northern Bastards
Chelsea lose all chance of qualifying for Europe via the front door, courtesy of a 2-0 defeat at Leeds, the worst team in the Premiership, who should be relegated instead of qualifying for Europe. I can see that I may have caused a few raised eyebrows at this statement, but I will explain: Leeds are a side that is steeped in cynical, dirty play. This has been a recurring feature of their game since they were managed by a character called Don Revie during the early seventies.
Dr Les Loses It Again
Oh Lordy - fresh from a two-week tour of the massage parlours of Thailand, ending in a beastly drug-fuelled orgy on the tropical island paradise of Koh Samui, the abominable Dr Les has fired off a stinging rebuke of what he sees as my defeatist attitude over the Charlton debacle. If you have the stomach for it, his libellous ravings can be encountered here.
Charlton Kings
Outfought and outclassed by Charlton at Stamford Bridge. I never thought I'd be saying that on this page, but Chelsea have a habit of defying expectations, and they didn't let us down on this occasion; the 1-0 defeat by Charlton was a disgrace. Unfortunately the phrase "widely tipped to win" is always bad news when associated with Chelsea Football Club.
Can We Play You Every Week ?
As promised, here's Klaus's first-hand report of the Rottenham debacle (3-0 to the Chelsea in case anyone's forgotten).
We'll Be Running Round Tottenham With Our Willies Hanging Out
Blast ! I wasn't near a computer yesterday, so I didn't have the chance to crow (forgive the pun) about Chelsea's usual massive win at Three Point Lane. Three nil to the Chelsea, as predicted by yours truly. By my reckoning Chelsea haven't lost to Rottenham since 1987, which proves incontrovertibly that Spurs are rubbish and the Mighty Blues are supreme.
The Mighty Blues Go Marching On
Chelsea's 1-0 annihilation of Southampton (match report on the way) over Easter keeps the pressure on Liverpoo, Leeds, Ipswich and all the other no-hopers who seem to think that they are going to qualify for the Champions League. Piffle. The only certainty is the Chelsea will come third in the league, and the usual heavy win at Three Point Lane tonight will keep the boys well on course to achieving that aim.
Dr Les Comes Good
No, not a porno link; much better than that. As unlikely as it seems, Dr Les has come up with a get-rich-quick scheme that CANNNOT FAIL. I'm proud to recommend Les' visionary plan to all my readers.
We're On Our Way To Europe
A superb 4-0 victory at Derby County puts Chelsea firmly in the driving seat as far as qualifying for the Champions League goes. Leeds and Liverpoo will be cacking their pants as they realise the awful truth: they are shit and The Mighty Blues are on their way to third place in the league.
The estimable Dr Les is also bullish about the Blues' chances of European glory next season, and has sent me details of a get-rich-quick scheme based on a betting coup that in my opinion cannot fail. Watch this space...
Champions League In Sight
A hard-fought 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough, with goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen and Gianfranco Zola, puts Chelsea in with a fighting chance of scoring a Champions League berth for next season. If the Mighty Blues could only shake off their appalling away form it would be so much easier, but let's face it, Chelsea Football Club have never done anything the easy way if they can possibly help it. See the match report from the one and only Klaus.
I'd like to take the opportunity to say how sorry I was at the news that David Rocastle had died from a form of cancer at the age of 33. I'm sure all Chelsea fans will join me in expressing their condolences to his family. Rocky was a cultured player with great vision and the ability to pick out an unmarked player with an inch perfect pass from many yards away. Before Dr Les starts, it's fair to say that he didn't produce his best form while at Chelsea, but he was always a pleasure to watch. His unforgetable 35-yard volley against Viktoria Zhiskov in the Cup Winners Cup will always be remembered by Chelsea fans. Rest in peace, Rocky.
