Time for Red sun to rise over royal borough

I WILL admit that I wondered whether I had got prematurely excited after the 7-1, decreeing as I did that “broad, sunlit uplands” now awaited this team.

Certainly West Ham was a darkened trough, and Valencia no better than a cloudy plain. But those two games didn’t really matter, or so I consoled myself; and on Monday night, the sun came out – and how. All is well with the world: “come on, Chelsea, do your worst,” we can now say with something approaching confidence.

However unhappy some of us were about the omission of Berbatov, there’s no doubt Fergie can chalk this one up to his surprisingly rare ledger of unmitigated tactical triumphs. Those of us who loath seeing 4-5-1 deployed at home against anyone soon had to admit that, just for once, it was turning out to be a justifiable call. Rafael and Park take many plaudits, but towering above them all was Anderson, who has shown in his last few games that his first season brilliance may not have been a fluke after all.