It looked set to be a
nearly perfect opening day. And it so very nearly was. QPR were getting
hammered at home, perfectly demonstrating how shocking their defending and
performance can be; Liverpool were embarrassing in defeat, Suarez’s missed
chance tally almost into double figures; Arsenal couldn’t find the net either
(despite actually looking quite good…) and Stoke were cruising at 1-0, a debut
goal from Michael Kightly. Really, the only disappointment for me was that West
Ham were leading.
I should probably
explain my opinions on certain teams. As a Stoke fan, I think it is fairly
acceptable to dislike Arsenal purely for the way the Arsene Wenger has labelled
us, even though his team’s disciplinary record has been worse than ours for a
few seasons. However, my real dislike for Arsenal goes back to a third round FA
Cup tie in 2003. Wayne Thomas had given us the lead, but Arsenal clawed us back
thanks to a couple of set pieces from very debatable refereeing decisions.
Reyes, Pires and Ljunberg were all extremely capable of throwing themselves to
the ground for free kicks and that’s exactly what they did. Even Wenger
admitted that the decisions had been harsh.
West Ham are another
team that I have despised for a few years. This is largely due to the behaviour
of their fans. Large portions of their supporters seem more intent on winding
up the opposition fans, rather than watching the game. Of course, every club’s
fans enjoy doing that, but I have never see nit to such an extent as at Upton
Park. The other thing that really riles me about them is their belief that they
belong in the top flight. They have been relegated enough times with decent
players and management to be entirely undeserving of this ridiculous belief.
I was devastated on
the final day of last season, as I’m sure football fans, neutrals and
foreigners alike were, because QPR had managed to avoid relegation. Now that
they have plenty of money to dish out, they seem to feel that they too have a
right to be in the Premiership. It is infuriating to see them buying so many
players, but unbelievably satisfying when these players fail to perform. I can
only hope that all their spending doesn’t save them from the drop this season.
I have a real problem with Mark Hughes. I remember when the rumours began that
he might take over from Neil Warnock. My dad said to me the day before he
arrived: “Hughes will only go to QPR if they give him at least £30M to spend.”
We were both in agreement that he is a hopeless manager without funds. And sure
enough, he was given £30M. He is an embarrassment to their team and to the
Premiership in my humble opinion.
Of course, my most
hated team continues to be Chelsea. I have always lived near Chelsea, so I am
unfortunate enough to be friends with several Chelsea fans, although many more
surprisingly emerged in 2004…. As the vast majority of the universe would
agree, John Terry deserves to be transported away and never allowed to return.
It’s a shame because there are many Chelsea players that I really like, but all
I can do is despise them while Terry continues to be a part of the club. I was
disappointed to see them win the Champions League, but have to respect that
tactically they rose to the challenge. Failure for Chelsea this season would
please me greatly.
And so, it was almost
a perfect day, until Reading’s 90th minute equaliser. I am confused
as to why the referee gave the penalty after playing an advantage for Reading,
but I suppose you can’t win them all. Here’s to another cracking season.
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