I always tend to frown in mild irritation when Gooners say “four trophies in two years” as if to say the FA Community Shield is on par with genuine honours, but after seeing John Terry’s and Jose Mourinho’s sour faces, it really feels like one.
I’ll be frank – there’s not much to HATE about Tottenham Hotspur. Sure, they’re our local and traditional rivals, but from an entirely personal point of view, I don’t hear the hate simply because I’m not from England. I’ve been taught to hate Spurs more than developed that inherently.
If there ever were clubs I’ve hated by choice, they are Stoke City and Chelsea. Stoke are quite obvious for their brutality and style of play (which in fairness, seem to be dwindling over the years), exacerbated by their stance over the Ramsey situation.
Chelsea, though, reserve a different level of hatred in my heart. Their complete lack of history and culture, the inability of their largely artificial fans to acknowledge their over reliance on a Russian zillionaire, and their disrespectful manager, for whom any shake of hand is borne out of a PR stunt than any genuine show of sportsmanship – not to mention his overly pragmatic, almost cowardly approach to matches that matter.
I’m not for one second doubting Mourinho’s managerial acumen, but his open contempt toward anything that stands in his way is what makes it so difficult for me to praise him. He is, quite identifiably, the bad guy.
Winning the FA Community Shield is more than a good prequel to our Premier League attack. It’s a slap in Chelsea’s face.
I don’t think this was the tearing of a psychological barrier, nor am I confident that we’re winning the Premier League. Indeed, to put a dent on things, I fear matches like these could serve to hide the ugly truths further.
It could be lucky, it could be a tad underserved, and I know it’s unhealthy to think this, but I don’t care. And while there’s always the pessimist side of me rearing its ugly head sometime in the future, I’m just glad it’s not today.
Today’s about that guy who wears the magic hat.
-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]
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