The Real Football Man

After proving that the opening week’s efforts were simply not a flash in the pan, the powers that be have extended my contract until at least the end of the season and that means it’s once again time for my Real Football Man review of the week.

Last Sunday saw Chelsea celebrate as if they had won the Premier League at Goodison Park after their 3-0 win over Everton. They certainly did not become unstuck as the Toffees capitulated in the second half to hand Chelsea an all-important three points but not the title….yet.

The way Antonio Conte was celebrating you would have thought he had just found a winning Euro Millions ticket in his jacket, but they must have assumed that Tottenham were going to drop points at White Hart Lane in the North London Derby.

But this is not the Tottenham of old as they ran roughshod over a very ordinary Arsenal side. Claims that the Metropolitan Police are still looking for Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez after a missing person report was filed have yet to be confirmed.

But Arsene Wenger is going to hope that they turn up sometime soon as we are treated to another “Wenger vs Mourinho” clash this weekend. It’s now becoming the equivalent of Wenger having his school dinner money stolen, but for school dinner money read three points.

Tottenham can only win and do their bit in the race for the title. Short of somehow being allowed to play a joker that gives them double points in one of their remaining fixtures, you cannot see how that four point gap is going to be eroded.

When it comes to Jokers then there is only one team that really fits the mould and that is Sunderland. David Moyes has managed to unite the country due to the sheer apathy that everyone has felt with their relegation to the Championship.

The most pertinent question is not whether Moyes will stay on next season but whether or not the club will ever get round to replacing the faded seats in the ground. I guess it’s quite ironic that The Stadium of Light looks so drab these days, then again with the football that is served up it comes as no real surprise.

Manchester United are running out of fit centre-backs, so much so that we’ve teamed up with the club and one lucky reader of this competition will get a chance to play in the Europa League 2nd Leg against Celta Vigo at Old Trafford. Details are at the bottom of the article.

In the Champions League you could pretty much do away with the second legs and prepare straight for the final in Cardiff as both Juventus and Real Madrid look to have established insurmountable first leg advantages.

It was another hat-trick for Cristiano Ronaldo and this time it did not need the help of the officials either. His three-goal haul against cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid means he has scored 103 goals in the competition. Compare that to the fact that as a club, Atletico have only scored 100 and it’s simply phenomenal from the world’s second greatest player.

In the Championship, Huddersfield have managed to create a furore after playing their under 11 team against Birmingham last Saturday. David Wagner’s decision to rest key players ahead of the play-offs has not gone down well in the metropolis of Blackburn.

Blackburn should really have tried a bit harder in the first 45 matches of the season and then they would not have to worry about this situation. Also, it makes a mockery of having registered squads if you can’t utilise it as you see fit.

While in the bottom rungs of the Football League (yes I’m an equal opportunities column) Leyton Orient’s game against Colchester was of particular interest. The game was abandoned and then not abandoned and then ended in farcical circumstances. Then again you can say that the whole reign of Francesco Becchetti as owner has been exactly that.

That concludes my whistlestop tour of what has happened in the world of football, I’ll be back next week. Until then.