Always a delight, Tenner reveals that money can’t buy happiness.
To get one thing clear straight away, my support for Chelsea has never – and will never – waiver. Even if we were relegated to the Vauxhall/Dr. Martens/Vans/Sotheby’s conference and managed by Harry Redknapp I would still be there (though possibly throwing stones at Harry).
Regardless, as delighted as I am to have a club now that are Premiership champions, challenge for every trophy and have a squad that is the envy of virtually every club in the world I can’t help but disappointed with some aspects of “Chelski”.
Predictably, it’s the diving and attitude that have me irked. I’ve never been one of those fans who vociferously contests every decision against Chelsea regardless of how blatantly correct it is, and have generally been able to see issues fairly. The behaviour of Robben against Liverpool, Drogba against West Brom and Mourinho’s overall ability to anger everyone he comes in contact with have left me feeling somewhat uneasy. Despite Peter Kenyon’s best efforts, we are already the most hated team in the Premiership and quickly becoming one of the least favoured around the world for our behaviour on and off the pitch.
Of course there is the argument that everyone hates a winner, people were sick of both the Liverpool and Manchester United dynasty’s that removed most of the competitiveness for the biggest domestic prizes. But there are no memories of Kenny Dalglish or Ryan Giggs rolling about in the grass to get players sent off, or Paul Scholes winding opposition players up in the press. Football started down a slippery slope with Arsenal’s foreign legion as they brought a new level of ‘continental’ flair to our leagues, and we seemed to have picked up that mantle and added some WWE style storylines and feuds to the mix.
I’m grateful for and delighted at the success and potential of the Mourinho/Abramovich era. Who wouldn’t be? But that doesn’t mean I don’t find myself wishing that Arjen Robben would stay on his f*cking feet.