Moneyball

Yesterday two games of football were played that have possibly never had more riding on them from a purely financial point of view.  West Ham's play-off final vs Blackpool and Chelsea's Champions League showpiece against Bayern Munich were worth comfortably over 100 Million GBP between them, due to what was at stake for both sides.

Promotion to the Premier League is well documented in terms of the financial windfall it brings.  West Ham had spent big last Summer in order to secure an instant return following their relegation in 2011.  With a squad packed with international experience and Premier League stars, there was a sense from many that they had gone all in, gambled the house, and would be facing up to some kind of oblivion if the promotion was not secured.

Meanwhile, across London, Chelsea found themselves in a situation that the only way they could gain entry into the Champions League 2012/13 would be by defeating Bayern Munich in their own backyard, the magnificent Allianz Arena.  Having finished 6th in the League, failure to complete in UEFA's pride and joy would perhaps not be a disaster for Roberto Di Matteo's men, but it would certainly represent a significant financial blow and a challenge to keep up with the pack ahead of them.

West Ham have Ricardo Vaz Te to thank once again, the striker purchased in January has popped up with a number of late goals for the Hammers, none more valuable than this 87th minute winner.  Having finished third and within touching distance of the top two, it's hard to argue against Sam Allardyce's men deserving their reward.  I'm not happy though.  From a Southampton point of view, I wanted Blackpool to come up as the (perhaps unfair) assumption would have been that they would be more likely to struggle than West Ham.  Furthermore, West Ham have more financial clout than we do and will presumably be a bigger lure to the types of players that we might otherwise have gone in for...certainly I see this as a minor blow to the Saints' prospects next season.  That aside, I think it's fair to say that the Hammers have not won many friends this season - the brand of football they play (hardly surprising given Sam Allardyce is in charge) is far from easy on the eye and even their own fans have spoken out against it.  They have carried a sense of superiority, of assumption, and I would not have been alone in enjoying a bit of schadenfreude had the Seasiders performed their own bouncebackability routine. 

West Ham have done it though and can look forward to renewing hostilities with old friends Chelsea next season...European Champions Chelsea. It's quite a phenomenal achievement - certainly at the semi-final draw I think the Blues would have been outsiders for the trophy; and even more so way back at the half-way stage of their clash with Napoli following a 3-1 defeat that looked to be the end.  It was the end for Andre Villas-Boas, and whilst it rankles with me to see the improved performances from the same set of players (can't help thinking they engineered his exit by being so shite), plaudits have to go to Roberto Di Matteo for delivering a double including the holy grail, Old Big Ears himself, for the first time in the club's history.

The fact of the matter is that for the last 300 minutes of Champions League football, Chelsea have parked the bus.  They looked to defend, showed very little attacking intent, but crucially took the few chances that came their way.  It was an approach that triumphed over a profligate Barcelona, who will presumably know exactly how Bayern are feeling right now.  "How did we lose that?"  The Bavarian giants had numerous chances to win this game in relative comfort, but their finishing was just inept.  Mario Gomez does not fool me with his 40-odd goals record - he is nowhere near the class that such illustrious stats would imply.  You can see how he scores a lot of goals, his positioning and movement are clever, he is strong and will unsettle many defences, plus he enjoys service from the likes of Robben, Ribery, Lahm and Schweinsteiger.  At the elite end of the game though he is not quite up to what is required.

Didier Drogba on the other hand showed yet again that when you reach the business part of the season, he is the man to rely on.  First of all with a bullet header to rescue Chelsea when all seemed lost, it was fitting that it was Drogba who rolled home the winning penalty.  He nearly went from hero to zero mind you with his clumsy challenge on Franck Ribery (French fans will nervously await the injury news there) but I never for a second thought that Arjen Robben was going to score from the resultant penalty.

I found it odd that Chelsea reverted to their negative approach in extra time, having snatched the game away from Bayern they had their opponent on the ropes, and having made an attacking substitution in introducing Fernando Torres, they could have wrapped it up within the 120.  Playing for penalties against a German side with a 3 and 0 record seemed foolhardy, but they needn't have worried.

Despite the initial miss from Mata, Petr Cech was again colossal for Chelsea and saved extremely well from first Ivica Olic and then Bastian Schweinsteiger; it was fitting to see Drogba run straight to Cech once victory was confirmed.  I'm pleased for Chelsea, or at least I was until I started to watch the celebrations. 

I'll try not to go too overboard here, but have you ever witnessed a more self-obsessed, limelight hogging, mercenary bunch of complete and utter absolute scum than that?  When the captain is going up to receive the trophy...GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY.  The likes of Jose 'Dear Christ use a pair of tweezers' Bosingwa, David Luiz and laughably even Paulo fucking Ferreira insisting on standing right in the way boiled my blood.  Twats.  I appreciate the desire to get your hands on the trophy and to celebrate, but this just seemed to be all about them with no appreciation for their place in the scheme of things or the pecking order at the club.  They struck me as the kind of pricks who you'd have to block from your facebook feed as they would constantly be posting about themselves.  Running around snatching the trophy off each other, bundling in to every photo just to be front and centre...Pathetic.  And as for that scumbag JT, three things: 1) why the fucking hell was he dressed in football kit given he played no part in the final, was never going to, and arguably did more than any of his colleagues to prevent them from getting there; 2) how does he have no sense of self-awareness of irony to be so vociferous and self-aggrandising in his celebration, despite having sat and watched like the rest of us; 3) please can something, anything, happen to prevent him from being part of the England set-up ever again.  An understated, humble, embarrassed raising of the trophy while dressed in a suit was the way to go John.  A despicable man.

It's not fair to tarnish the rest of the squad with that brush though and the simple fact remains that England again has a Champion of Europe, which is a great thing.  Players like Frank Lampard (who was excellent in a composed and withdrawn role) Ashley Cole (leading left back in the world, yes...prick, yes) Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and of course Ryan Bertrand have worked hard for years and years towards this goal and I don't begrudge them anything.  Chelsea fans witnessed the wrong side of penalties in 2008 so it's good for them to get the right outcome this time.  And for all of us watching, it's yet another bit of drama to remember from this remarkable season.

Oh, and finally: unlucky 'Arry...lol.