retired_aurie1201

*coughstevengerrardcough*
Yeah, that Frank Lampard is good
*coughstevengerrardcough*



Really have enjoyed this story! I keep cheering for the opposition, but you tell a good tale.

retired_jgirl87

Your words have merit uskopite, but I'm always true to my team (whoever they are this week!! :p )

retired_katherineturley

how many teams you went through now?

retired_jgirl87

Crystal Palace - 5 games unbeaten
Tottenham - 7 games unbeaten
Bolton - 4 games unbeaten
Manchester United - 3 games unbeaten
Birmingham - 1 game unbeaten
Charlton - 1 game unbeaten
Chelsea - 1 game unbeaten (currently)

So that makes 7 teams altogether. :cool:

retired_bootcamp_nat

You'll never take away those great palace memories in the dawn of the season :cool:

retired_jgirl87

With a weekend off for the FA Cup I had a few extra days to contemplate where I was at with this whole “unbeaten run” thing. I couldn’t deny that things didn’t look good from an aspect of club loyalty. Let’s not be ostriches and bury our heads in the sand here – I had shamelessly moved on from Crystal Palace to Tottenham, then to Bolton and Manchester United, followed by Birmingham and Charlton and now finally to Chelsea. Why had I done that? After much thought I realised that there was only one conclusion. I was on a journey of discovery and it had finally bought me to enlightenment. Here I was now, a Chelsea supporter, with the team unbeaten after 22 rounds of the Premier League season. It was the perfect situation for someone like me who was looking to support a team that would never register a defeat. Chelsea was far and away the superior team of the Premier League this season and even the most sceptical members of the media had already been convinced that they were watching this season’s eventual champions. No, there were no more questions about it. Chelsea was the team for me and I knew now that I had nothing more to fear when it came to wandering on to “the next best thing”. I had found my destination at Stamford Bridge.

Saturday 15th January 2005:

Birmingham v Chelsea – St Andrews, Birmingham

To be honest, it didn’t look like the strongest side that Chelsea could put out on the park, but Jose Mourinho knows what he is doing. Adrian Mutu was playing as the right-hand side attacking midfielder in Chelsea’s 4-3-2-1 formation and he had the first chance after 5 minutes when Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard combined to set him free on the right. Mutu drove a low shot towards Taylor’s right, but the Birmingham keeper managed to parry it and Upson hacked the loose ball clear. The clearance found Gray who advanced down the left and passed the ball inside to Heskey. The big lad drilled in a shot from 20 yards which Peter Cech safely held to his midriff. A couple of minutes later and Heskey was outjumping John Terry to send a header inches over the cross bar. In the 11th minute a poor Cech kick gave possession to Upson and he quickly fed Dunn who in turn slipped a pass into the feet of Heskey just on the edge of the penalty area. A quick turn bemused Terry and gave Heskey room to send a low shot skidding into the corner of the net to put Birmingham 1-0 up. I wasn’t too worried – Chelsea would turn this situation around without too much effort. It was Birmingham we were playing, after all. Robert Huth came up for a corner in the 20th minute and he met Mutu’s kick with a powerful header which Taylor did well to turn away for another corner. Birmingham responded with another effort in the 28th minute as Dunn’s back-header from a Gray free-kick forced Cech to claw the ball out from under his own cross bar. Ballack was roaming at will around the midfield and forward line and he popped up on the left wing in the 37th minute to dribble past Melchiot and send over a teasing cross which Mutu wastefully headed a foot wide when he was unmarked. When half-time arrived Birmingham were resolutely holding onto their 1-0 lead.

At half-time it looked like Birmingham manager Steve Bruce was already planning to hold onto this lead until the end as he replaced the winger Gray with the defensive midfielder Savage. After 54 minutes Arjen Robben floated over a lovely cross for Lampard to head goalwards, but Cunningham cleared the ball off the line when Taylor was beaten. A Birmingham counterattack after 58 minutes saw Gronkjaer break free on their left and when Huth could only half-clear his cross, Savage drove in a fierce shot which Heskey diverted with his shin. Cech somehow managed to change direction and parry the shot with an outstretched arm. Birmingham were slowly pulling further back in defence and even Yorke was generally found in the midfield as they tried to hold onto their lead. Ballack and Dunn traded shots that were easily dealt with by the opposing keepers, but Birmingham were continuing to frustrate our attacking efforts. With 75 minutes gone, Mourinho sent on Felipe Oliveira for Huth as we changed to a more attacking formation. It didn’t make much difference though as the team just couldn’t break through Birmingham’s resolute defence. I was desperately praying that the lads could create something in those final few minutes, but it wasn’t to be. Birmingham had beaten us 1-0 and the unbeaten run from the start of the season had been ended at 22 games.

I was in a daze at the end of the match. I really wasn’t sure what I was feeling. Part of me felt despair at seeing the end of Chelsea’s unbeaten run and part of me felt joy at watching Birmingham pick up a win against the odds. I sat in my seat at St Andrews for a long time contemplating what to do. When I stumbled out of the stadium 20 minutes later I was still no closer to a decision. Much later, on the train back to London, I arrived at a decision. I realised that I had no time for losers. I knew what was up next – Birmingham’s trip to Arsenal in two week’s time.

Birmingham 1 Heskey 11
Chelsea 0

Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Melchiot, Cunningham, Upson, Clapham, Gronkjaer, Dunn, Izzet (Carter), Gray (Savage), Heskey (Till), Yorke.

Chelsea: Cech, Paulo Ferreira (Johnson), Huth (Oliveira), Terry, Babayaro, Lampard, Ballack, Tiago (Makelele), Mutu, Robben, Luque.

My MOM: Emile Heskey is constantly criticised by the media and supporters of other clubs, but when he performs like he did today you can see why he is a regular England international.

High-point #1: Ending the 22-game unbeaten run of those cocky Londoners. Magic!!

High-point #2: Just for good measure I’ll state it again - ending the 22-game unbeaten run of those cocky Londoners. Double magic!!


Next up: Arsenal v Birmingham – Highbury, London

retired_swmchick2006

ooh... That last game seems like you cursed them.

retired_bootcamp_nat

ha... classic!

The one game run extends to three clubs. I'm guessing you might push it to four after the next fixture. Heres's hoping i'm wrong though :p

retired_jgirl87

attjen and haze.13(years old) - I think I got a bit carried away when I saw saw that big fat zero in the Chelsea loss column on the EPL table. What will I do now?

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I’d had a couple of weeks to muse over this latest turn of events. I had been so certain that Chelsea was the team for me, but they had spurned my loyalty by losing to Birmingham in such a poor way. What I couldn’t get out of my mind though was that intoxicating feeling of supporting such a big club and one who were sitting at the top of the Premier League as well. I was now in a bit of a quandary – my head was saying that Birmingham was the way to go, but my heart was looking for something more. The closer that I get to Saturday’s match at Highbury, the more I am secretly hoping that Birmingham might lose and that I will be able to follow Arsenal afterwards. The whole thing is very disconcerting. For some reason I am now looking to the future instead of the present.

Saturday 29th January 2005:

Arsenal v Birmingham – Highbury, London

As usual at Highbury when you played Arsenal, the home side immediately slipped into a short passing, high possession game with the ball spending a lot of time on either wing. Cole overlapped in the 4th minute to create their first chance when he sent in a cross which Henry headed a foot wide. When the ball found itself in the centre of the pitch possession was more disputed, but Vieira or Gilberto would win it and send it wide again. This happened in the 8th minute when Gilberto stepped in to rob David Dunn and spear a pass out to Reyes on the left wing. He advanced and swept a cross-pitch pass to Pires on the right wing. The Frenchman had time to run to the bye-line before pulling the ball back for Henry to sidefoot it home from 8 yards to make it 1-0 to Arsenal. Reyes created the next chance within a minute of the restart as he sent another fine cross in from the left, this time finding Aliadiere who tried an audacious half-volley from 18 yards which sent Maik Taylor scrambling to his right to shovel the ball away for a corner. We’d had limited possession, so when the ball reached Forssell in the 17th minute and he found himself 25 yards from goal, he decided to unleash a shot while he had the chance. Lehmann was completely unprepared and the ball tore past him before crashing against the cross bar and rebounding to safety. Arsenal came back at us and Vieira and Henry both had headers which Taylor needed to be smart to catch. In the 29th minute Pires appeared on the left wing where he tricked Melchiot before sending a cross to the right where Aliardiere was unmarked as he volleyed home from 12 yards to make it 2-0. Upson curled a free-kick just a few inches wide in the 35th minute as we searched for a way back into the game. In the 40th minute Pires replied with an Arsenal free-kick which clipped Kenny Cunningham on the end of the wall and sent Taylor scurrying the other way to bundle it away for corner. Pires took that as well and found Campbell whose header was blocked by the body of Cunningham. Gilberto drove the loose ball goalwards, Taylor dived well to block it and Henry was on hand to crash home the rebound from close range to put Arsenal 3-0 up. At half-time things didn’t look good for us with the Gunners holding a three-goal lead.

The Arsenal youngsters Aliadiere and Senderos must both have had minor injuries because they did not reappear for the second half with Bergkamp and Clichy coming out instead. It was Bergkamp who had the first chance as he sent one of his famous curling efforts into the side netting in the 47th minute. Henry and Vieira continued the pressure with shots that went wide of our goal. Things were not looking good for a comeback as we continually failed to put together any serious attacking moves. After 70 minutes Clapham headed another Bergkamp corner off the line to give Arsenal a corner. This began a period of sustained Arsenal pressure where we just couldn’t hardly get the ball, let alone create any sort of offensive pressure. After several crosses were partly cleared and several half-chances were blocked, the ball was spread out to Pires on the left in the 73rd minute. A quick step-over fooled Savage and Pires crossed to the near post where Vieira surged forward to head past Taylor and put Arsenal 4-0 in front. That was the game over as far as I was concerned. There was still time for an unmarked Vieira to scuff his shot wide from 6 yards out and fall to his knees holding his head in frustration, but it didn’t really make a lot of difference. When the final whistle went, Arsenal had carved out a quality 4-0 win and Birmingham had been resoundingly beaten.

To be honest it was a relief to be rid of the Birmingham period of my life. I’d come to Highbury today with the idea in the back of my mind that Arsenal would win and I had been proved right. It was all very well to be a supporter of one of the Premier League’s middle-tier clubs, but what I really craved was life at the top with one of England’s biggest clubs. I was pleased that I hadn’t splashed out any of my hard-earned cash on some Birmingham gear. I now had enough money to head down to the Arsenal supporter’s shop and get myself the latest shirt. I didn’t even bother taking it off after I had tried it on in the dressing-room. There was no need to as I was going to proudly wear it home on the tube so that everyone knew I was a lucky Gunners fan.

Arsenal 4 Henry 8, 40, Aliadiere 29, Vieira 73
Birmingham 0

Arsenal: Lehmann, Hoyte, Campbell, Senderos (Clichy), Cole, Pires, Gilberto (Ljungberg), Vieira, Reyes, Henry, Aliadiere (Bergkamp).

Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Melchiot, Cunningham, Upson, Clapham, Gronkjaer (Jagielka), Dunn, Carter, Gray, Heskey (Savage), Forssell (Yorke).

My MOM: Robert Pires produced a sublime performance on both wings and was the architect of all four of our goals. He was basically untouchable today.

Good news for the present: Pires, Henry, and Vieira all still have their magic and their desire for more Premier League titles. Magnifique!!

Good news for the future: Aliadiere, Senderos, Clichy and Hoyte are quality youngsters who will be Arsenal’s future. Looking good Arsene!!


Next up: Chelsea v Arsenal – Stamford Bridge, London

retired_jgirl87

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Premier League - 31st January 2005------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |1st | Chelsea | 25 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 55 | 12 | +43 | 62 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |2nd | Liverpool | 24 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 42 | 13 | +29 | 54 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |3rd | Arsenal | 25 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 49 | 21 | +28 | 53 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |4th | Newcastle | 25 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 47 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |5th | Fulham | 25 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 45 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |6th | Tottenham | 25 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 43 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |7th | Southampton | 25 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 40 | 32 | +8 | 39 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |8th | Bolton | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 27 | +7 | 39 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |9th | Man Utd | 25 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 38 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |10th | Aston Villa | 25 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 38 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |11th | Birmingham | 25 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 31 | 32 | -1 | 36 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |12th | Charlton | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 26 | 41 | -15 | 30 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |13th | Portsmouth | 25 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 30 | 42 | -12 | 25 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |14th | Blackburn | 25 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 32 | 38 | -6 | 23 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |15th | West Brom | 25 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 33 | -18 | 22 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |16th | Everton | 25 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 31 | 53 | -22 | 20 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |17th | Norwich | 25 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 35 | -19 | 19 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |18th | Middlesbrough | 25 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 24 | 50 | -26 | 19 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |19th | Crystal Palace | 25 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 23 | 45 | -22 | 18 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |20th | Man City | 25 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 16 | 41 | -25 | 16 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>