Ugly win in Wigan a sign of Blue collar work ethic

SUNDAY was not, for the most part, pretty. In fact it was pretty frustrating to watch and there was much moaning around me from supporters who had expected the dazzling display of last week to continue.

But you have to give credit where credit is due — Wigan had done their homework and made the game very hard for us. Just as Portsmouth gave us time and space on the ball, so Wigan gave us neither and were rewarded by constantly dispossessing us and making the Chelsea rearguard earn its money.

It was a good feeling to head back down south not only with the three points tucked safely in our pockets, but also with the knowledge that Scolari knew what it took to grind out a result when necessary.

The supporters that were present also gave the team a particularly vocal acknowledgement at the final whistle — they knew that it was a tough battle won. After all, the last couple of seasons up at the JJB have been far from walk-overs.

So the club have kept the details of Shevchenko’s return to Milan confidential have they? I bet they have! Because you can bet your bottom dollar that we are paying at least part of his wages. Another fantastic piece of business by the powers that be at Chelsea that will obviously help us to reach our goal of self sufficiency by 2010. Our boundless generosity doesn’t end there though — oh no. Ivanovich too is allegedly Milan bound. “Who?” I hear you non-Chelsea-ites ask.

Branislav Ivanovich signed for Chelsea seven months ago for £10million, not an insignificant amount for a relatively unknown player. He was also signed with the knowledge that he was unfit due to the cross-over in seasons between the English league and the Russian league. He then seemed to take an inordinate amount of time to regain fitness, only to get injured (unlucky or what?). He never played once for the first team, despite playing for his international side a number of times during this period.

Rumours that the ground, hotels, restaurants, sports centre and bars at Stamford Bridge are to joined by a laundry are, we believe, as yet unfounded…… It’s early on I know but it is good to hear the wailing from North London — both the red and the white, following their unspectacular starts to the season. Tottenham fans seemed convinced following their spending spree that this was finally the year that they broke into the Champions League places. But how exactly they were going to do that by selling almost all their striking options is anyone’s guess.

Hopefully playing them now before they have a chance to bolster their strike-force and before the various new boys get to know each others’ game, can only be to our advantage.

What is happening at Arsenal is far more interesting though. There seem to be some fundamental problems there despite the calibre of the squad — the biggest of which seems to be their captain.

As great a player as Gallas was for us, he was never captain material; indeed he was exactly the kind of player that needed a good captain to calm him down when he got frustrated and to pick him up both physically and mentally after a disappointment. The picture of him sat on a pitch sobbing his heart out last season was not a new one to Chelsea fans. We saw exactly that after the first knock out by Liverpool in the Champions League.

Arsenal’s enforced frugality of late in the transfer market is now also not only highlighting the lack of depth in their squad, but also drawing attention to the fact that Wenger was not the messiah that many had him down for when plucking footballing genius’ out of obscurity. Not surprising to discover that he had a much better strike-rate when his wallet was bulging. You see if you buy quantity, by the law of averages you are bound to find some quality in there.

I saw it best described on one of Arsenal’s own forums as a case of the “emperor’s new clothes”. Long may their nakedness, in that respect, continue.

I would like a right old thumping of Tottenham this weekend — not just for obvious reasons, but should we score enough goals, we could quite possibly put them bottom and wouldn’t that be nice? I hope the likes of Terry and Lampard have impressed upon the new players and manager the importance of beating Tottenham. It always puts a few coins in the goodwill box that maybe called upon later in the season.