The Beautiful Game

This week's football has been bizarre, if I'm honest, and not just due to the random results. The highs and lows, I've experienced, in just over a week are unbelievable really. Of course the emphatic nature of the Manchester and, indeed, the Chelsea loss were dramatic. Merely I sideshow from my perspective though.

I'm not really the go-to person for match reports so I won't even attempt to get technical! What I can do, however, is tell you what I think and how I feel.

First up was Wolves v Swansea. The early kick off meant I watched some at home followed by a run down to the in-laws' to see the rest there. (I'm not married but it's easier than saying my partner's mum and step-dad!)
Now I am fairly sure that most Wolves fans will agree, when I say, we have been playing badly. In this game, we were losing 2-0 and I was a hair's breadth from an outpouring of profanity! Swearing is prohibited around the in-laws so you can imagine my relief when we scored. Twice! There may have been some shouting and jumping around in there too. The team didn't deserve the draw but who cares? They did the business and got a point on the board. Some fans still weren't happy but isn't that always the way? As a 'glass half full' person I saw it as progress.

Then followed a mad dash home for Soccer Saturday. On to Southend v Torquay. Much like Wolves, Torquay had been stuck in a rut without a win. They chose not to alter that situation here. Our defense has been so leaky I was actually pleased it stayed 0-0 for a while! Sadly it didn't last long and we lost 4-1. To be fair though, Southend are flying so it wasn't exactly a shocker.

Naturally, Twitter was a-buzz that evening with the fans of both teams calling for the managers to be sacked and players being slated. All this reactionist panic is so pointless and counter-productive. Adding pressure to your manager and players is hardly likely to incite an improvement in performance! How would we feel if we had a bad day at work, then had to deal with threats and insults for days on end? Surely as fans we should accept that they're already embarrassed and want to turn things around as much as we do.

Admittedly, seeing the top clubs failing disastrously helped increase my optimism. Every team messes up at some point. That said, Sunday's football was as entertaining as I've seen in a good long while.

So, positivity was the name of the game heading in to Tuesday's clash between Torquay and AFC Wimbeldon. Me and my daughter made the trip as usual, and had the pleasure of meeting some fellow tweeters (@ben_tufcfan and @becka_quantick). Both were lovely people, but then they are Torquay fans so that goes without saying.
Anyway, we went through our pre-match routine of buying food, a program and 50/50 tickets then sat on the steps listening to The Wombles! This amused us no end. For some reason, the goal-keepers decided to warm-up in front of us. ( They don't normally!) Inevitably, a stray ball flew in our direction. I escaped unscathed but littlun's chips went everywhere! The waterworks started. Our stewards are lovely though and very kindly got her another portion of chips. Drama, drama!

The match itself was fantastic. We won 4-0!! It was really cold but we jumped around so much we didn't even notice! Our boys had finally got it together and we were absolutely buzzing. It had been so long since we'd kept a clean sheet even that this win felt phenomenal. Back to winning ways at Plainmoor!

Did I expect Wolves to beat Man City on Wednesday? Honestly, after their demolition of Utd, the answer was 'no'. That didn't stop me from hoping though. Football can throw up surprises now and then. On this occasion it went to form but we did score first and the scoreline wasn't as bad as the Utd match. All positives in my book. The team as a whole played much better than they had been which was fantastic to see.
Anyhow, it was only Carling Cup.

Sorry but I have to mention Soccer Am. Seeing Kevin Nicholson cleaning Lee Mansell's house in just a pinny was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life! He's such a good sport and hopefully has learnt not to make bets in future.

Wolves lost to Man City in the league on Saturday. Once again though we weren't embarrassed and kept the score to 3-1. Not too bad at all. My little family were actually at Plainmoor to watch Torquay v Hereford. Despite absolutely shocking conditions, we pulled off a 2-0 win. In my opinion, it was a good game and keeping another clean sheet was just what the doctor ordered.

My daughter is convinced that the wins are due to us painting our nails, bless her. Personally, I think Ellis has solidified the defense and Stevens is just in top form. Add this to an all round class  showing from the usual suspects and it's a recipe for success. Long may it continue!

My hair was less than impressed, however, as the wind and rain made me look like I had a bird's nest on my head! I hope the team appreciate my suffering!

Sunday and Monday night football on Sky was actually fairly decent viewing as a neutral observer. Obviously not as good as if one of my teams were involved but interesting from a Fantasy Football perspective. The Stoke fans decided to chant just before my baby went to bed though. I think she knew I was fibbing when I told her they were saying "banker"!

Tuesday we chose to watch Arsenal v Marseille and stuck it out to the bitter end. This was some achievement considering the match was horrendously boring! From the clips I have seen of the Barcelona match, I am gutted that we didn't switch over. Little Lionel is always a joy to watch. No other player comes close to matching the skills Messi possesses. Fact.

So that the beautiful game dealt with. This week we're all aboard the "Murray-coaster"! :)