En ovanlig text en vanlig säsong
Tabloiderna fortsätter oförtrutet att pumpa ut fördomar med en genomslagskraft extremistiska grupperingar bara kan drömma om. Men det finns också undantag.
De är inte många, men de finns där. Skribenter som vågar vara opolitiskt korrekta och tänka i egna banor. Tack och lov finns de också i sportens värld. En i sammanhanget närmast unik text fångades i dag upp av undertecknad i just en av Englands största tabloider, Daily Mirror. Den är skriven av Oliver Holt, i mars utnämnd till årets sportskribent i Storbritannien för andra året i rad. Och eftersom detta är en sida som håller Chelsea högt så vore det närmast en synd att inte uppmärksamma den ovanliga krönikan.
“I, TOO, FEEL THE SAME ABOUT CHELSEA AS I DID ABOUT LEEDS
- THEY ARE SUPERB
I always seem to miss out when it comes to hating some of the best football teams we've ever had.
I wasn't quite old enough to despise properly Don Revie's Leeds back in the early 1970s.
It must have been because I was too young to know better but I got a boyish thrill out of watching Peter Lorimer's cannonball shots, I liked Billy Bremner's determination and passion and I admired the elegance of Johnny Giles.
I thought David Harvey was a great goalkeeper and for some reason, Allan Clarke was my first football hero.
Back in 1973, I must have been the only kid in the country outside Yorkshire who was gutted when Leeds lost to Sunderland in the FA Cup Final.
Now we're being told that the current Chelsea side sweeping all before it is the most reviled team since Revie's creation conquered the English league.
And you know what, I can't hate Chelsea either. I haven't even tried very hard. Because apart from the fact that they're a bit too good, I can't really see what the problem is.
Okay, I share the general antipathy for the antics of Didier Drogba but he's hardly typical of the character of the side.
Robert Pires has been known to take a tumble or two and it doesn't mean we all have to hate Arsenal.
Amid the general glee about the fact that Chelsea might be about to crumble in the face of Manchester United's onslaught, I really don't see what's not to like about Jose Mourinho's team.
For a start, John Terry and Frank Lampard have emerged in the last couple of seasons as giants of the modern game. They are men of character and substance, men whose force of personality, dedication, bravery and consistency have inspired Chelsea's rise to prominence. Why should we hate a team with two men like that as the kingpins?
Why should we hate a side that's got Joe Cole playing with flair and strength on one side and Arjen Robben dazzling with his brilliant dribbling on the other?
Why should we hate a side that's got the best goalkeeper in the world in Petr Cech and the best defensive midfielder in the world in Claude Makelele? And why should we hate a team that has got Eidur Gudjohnsen in midfield, a player whose vision, subtlety and cleverness make him the closest thing under 40 to Teddy Sheringham? As for their supposed arrogance, I'm not buying that either. Sometimes, I wish Mourinho would be a little more gracious in defeat. I wish he'd shake the hand of the opposing manager after the final whistle. But I still believe he has brought the kind of colour and drama to the Premiership that we desperately need.
There are plenty of things to dislike about Sir Alex Ferguson's behaviour, too, but that doesn't mean we can't see the beauty in the football that his teams play.”
Let's get it right: any manager who plays Joe Cole, Robben, Damien Duff and Gudjohnsen in the same side has an appreciation of the finer things in football.
Mourinho is a manager with talent and charisma. We're lucky to have him, we're lucky to have Roman Abramovich and we're lucky to have a Chelsea side this good.
It's easy to take pot shots at the best team in the country.
But whether Chelsea fold or whether they hold off United's charge, not to applaud them for what they have brought to the English game is as perverse as it is petty.”
