Chelsea v Norwich City (Catalonia)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I am in the third day of my Essex exile whilst looking after my mother. Until I mention otherwise I won't be mentioning anything about it until she recovers.

When you look after someone, even for a hopefully short period of time, the day either is very busy or very boring. As I'm writing this it's eight o'clock pm. Chelsea are playing Norwich City in an F A cup replay. It's on BBC1 , my mother is asleep so I can watch it

I'm supporting Norwich in this. Partly because they're the underdog. But also because their football shirts are in yellow. Yellow: the colour of Catalonia. the colour the Spanish government are afraid of. Oh I know it's mad. But it makes it interesting.

Early minutes there is constant Chelsea pressure. Chances were missed. Tip of a football boot and it would have been a goal chances.

Yellow is a bright colour. But not the brightest of the evening. That belongs to outfit worn by Chelsea goalkeeper Caballero. Best described as Radioactive.

Apparently there is a Chelsea player whose name is pronounced Feng Shui. Always out of position though. Later we're told West Ham want him....typical! He also gives Norwich their closest chance of the game first half.

Chelsea have a chance that's tipped onto the cross bar.

The team in yellow is defending itself well against a team with richer resources. Note the metaphor to Spain and Catalonia there folks.

But more chances come through Norwich's way. More confident as the half progresses.

Kenedy of Chelsea reacts to being fouled by slapping his opponent. Handbags not being available.

First half ends 0-0. Advantage to the Catalans.

But then Feng Shui finds the right position and scores for Chelsea....damn

Norwich do fight back with a chance that hits the post.

Chelsea resort to cheating as Pedro dives in the penalty area. Not just diving but bad diving at that.

As the half progressed Chelsea was trying to bore the game to death. As if the one goal meant that mentally the drawbridge was raised in their players' mind. However the Catalans throw everything to score an equaliser.Then right at the end of the ninety fourth minutes Jemal Lewis scores for the Catalans.

Extra time then.

Willian hurdles over a Catalan defender's leg and falls. Not a penatlty thank goodness. Another Chelsea penalty request is rejected.

First period comes and go. One all still. Catalonia is still in with a chance.

Second period and again a penalty request from Chelsea against Klose...not even Klose.

Towards the end of the second period Pedro is sent off for a second bookable offence. You know it was the right decison because Conte didn't overreact. Another penalty request rejected. Morata gets booked...reacts badly..gets sent off. Chelsea down to nine men.

Extra time finishes . Penalties

Willian for Chelsea Scored.

Olivera for Norwich. Caballero saved

Luiz for Chelsea. Scored.

Madison for Norwich scored with the cheekiest of penalties. The arrogance of youth.

Azpulqueta for Chelsea scored

Vrancic for Norwich scored

Conte for Chelsea scored.

Murphy for Norwich scored.

Hazard for Chelsea scores and Chelsea wins.

So the Catalans lose ......but only just......and tomorrow is another day.

Until the next time.

On West Ham From A Distance And England Football Team Stuff Still Flogged In Wales By Tesco

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well I must admit from far,far away I'm getting nervous and depressed about West Ham at the moment. From a position last season of sixth and into European competition we now lose in the second pre-qualifying round of the Europa League to a team where Google Maps needed to be consulted.

But what's worse is the performance in the Premier League so far. In the first game of the season they lost to Chelsea. You shrug your shoulders and think "well OK Chelsea could not have as worse a season as the last one". So you live with that.

They beat Bournemouth, great. But then they lose 3-1 to Manchester City. And again the ten year old boy in me makes excuses. "They're managed by Pep Guardiola....they're playing great football  against other teams...West Ham have enough injuries to fill any medical TV drama episode...".

However.

In the last three games they have lost to Watford,West Bromwich Albion and Southampton. The fact that they lost is not the issue. If they had lost by a goal you would have grudgingly accepted it. They in fact let in four,four and three goals respectively. Consolation goals do not help. Of course rubbing salt into the wound is the fact that the teams I dislike the most Tottenham and of course the Arsenal are second and third in the league at the moment.

And what I don't understand,from far far away is not the decline but it's speed from where we were at the end of last season. Let me stress I will always support West Ham and will always try to get to as many games as possible. But it doesn't mean that I'm not worried.

Mind you, if there is one place you can hide from a lot of flak if you're a Hammer supporter is South Wales at the moment. West Ham are in the relegation zone at 18th but Swansea City are (at time of writing) just two positions and one point above them. Consequently any conversations with a Jack fan is just mutual moaning at our respective teams at the moment. As for Cardiff City they won on Saturday but still are just outside the relegation zone in The Championship. Their manager's name is Trollope, you would hope that their performance will start becoming more novel.

West Ham then. In Europe and now out of it. Unless things improve (fingers and everything else crossed) they are fast becoming a metaphor for Brexit. And one final thing on this, there is nothing more worse footballing wise than a smug Arsenal fan. If you trust me on anything trust me on that.

You might remember during Euro 2016 I remarked that Official England football figures were being sold in the local Bridgend Tesco. Well in this washout of a day and so many months later I was back in this Tesco branch and......

it's still there

I have mentioned before that Wales must be the only country this happens to. I think that I've mentioned before that you cannot imagine this happening in Scotland and yet the Welsh are supposed to bare this.Also that this was not the only example of this happening through the years and not just around Euro 2016.

Well of course this is much worse now than it was even then given of course that Wales came third in the competition and England embarrassingly crashed out to Iceland. So why are Tesco flogging official merchandise from another country? With behaviour like this do you wonder why people rather go to Aldi/Lidl (and for the record I went to Tesco for a few items I couldn't get at LIDL)?

Perhaps these companies should note that Wales exists and is not a region of England.

Until the next time.