Giles Smith's Midweek View

[Miguelito 459]

i deleted cause i still feel stupid for posting it now

[warnie_666 1,081]

GILES SMITH`S MIDWEEK VIEW

Posted on: Wed 25 Aug 2010 Season ticket holder and columnist Giles Smith is back for the new season, and is urging patience as the side strive for seventh heaven...

A friend texted me at the end of the Wigan game. 'Once again,' he wrote, darkly, 'we have failed to score seven.'

There was no denying it. For the second time in the space of eight days, a seventh goal had proved elusive.

It's a worry. We seem, at the moment, easily capable of getting on top in games, gradually asserting ourselves, beginning to control the play, eventually breaking the deadlock and then adding a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth and a sixth.

But as yet, you would have to say, we appear to lack that killer instinct to press on from there, use that patiently built-up advantage to go for the jugular and put the game properly out of reach with a clinching seventh.

That's all very well against the more limited sides (no disrespect) such as West Brom and Wigan. One's concern is whether it will be enough further on in the year, when we are 6-0 up against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, where, come the end of the 90, we might be more likely to rue a missed opportunity to slam the door shut.

No cause for major alarm bells yet, though, surely. It's very early in the season, after all. Teams are bound to be feeling their way forwards at this stage, coming gradually into form and fitness, not least after the strains of a World Cup summer which, for many key players, has led to a slightly truncated pre-season. It would be unreasonable to expect a side to come pelting off the blocks and hit peak goal-scoring form straight away.

And no doubt Mr Ancelotti and his trusted staff are having a good look at it on the training ground, even as we speak, and working on a few things - such as, for instance, encouraging Salomon Kalou to get further forward or urging Didier Drogba to be more actively involved outside the box. It would be nice if John Mikel Obi could look up and pick out an advancing striker from deep every now and again, too. And if Yossi Benayoun could have the courage to get himself into attacking positions on occasions, that would be good, too.

But it's just tweaks and minor adjustments, I would say, and, with the talent available to us, I'm sure we'll be in our full goal-scoring mode before long. In the meantime, a bit of patience from us supporters wouldn't hurt. It will come right eventually, I feel confident - perhaps even against Stoke at home this weekend. (But again, if it doesn't, and we have to settle for six - patience.)

Of course, we weren't the only team scoring six and conceding none in the last round of fixtures. On Saturday evening, after our result in Wigan matched the one at the Emirates, an Arsenal supporter suggested to me that 6-0 was the new 1-0.

When Newcastle also managed it, on Sunday at home to Aston Villa, he revised his estimate downwards, suggesting that 6-0 was possibly even the new 0-0.

I then read a quote from Graham Sharpe, the spokesperson at William Hill, claiming that 6-0 'seems to be the new 2-0'. And he's a bookmaker, so he must have thought about the maths.

Again, though, it might be a bit early for this. Call me conservative, and a bit of a stick-in-the-mud, but for now, I'm continuing to think of 6-0 as the old 6-0. Which is to say, not 7-0. But still pretty good.

Certainly the league table has had a pleasant shape to it this week, especially for those of us with a touch (or more) of OCD. Ones, noughts and sixes - what perfect balance across the columns, home and away. All the tins in our fridge are currently label-outwards. All the towels on our rail are perfectly lined up. Enjoy it while it lasts. I certainly intend to.

Meanwhile, to be the only Premier League team with a 100 per cent record after merely two games, is, I would suggest, slightly unexpected. Counter-intuitive, even. Or even plain odd. Actually, I'm almost suspicious about it - like it might be some kind of plot to lure us into a false sense of security. (I felt the same way about Manchester City's performance against Liverpool on Monday night.) We need to be on our guard against this kind of thing. People will do anything when you're defending champions.

Don't let them get inside your head, is my advice. And remember that a league campaign is a marathon, not a sprint. Which is why we are right to have set off as slowly as we have done.

Source: http://www.chelseafc...2133014,00.html

Personally i thought this article was really annoying. He is complaining that we havent scored 7 yet in the first 2 games. that we have "only" scored 6 in both of our games. how is that not really good?

When he said somen about when we are 6-0 on liverpool and man u, we will rue the chances we got, that was beyond stupid. first off i dont know if we will get that many great chances agaisnt man u (maybe liverpool) to score that many and secondly if we are up 6-0 there is no way that we will lose of even tie it. we are too good for that, our defense is solid, we proved that last game.

I dont know about yall but i think 6-0 is really good in both games and i know that we havent hit our peak yet but we are scoring freely. he sounded like 12 isnt really good in 2 games. Thought that article was complete and utter crap. what about yall?

You clearly lack a sense of humor and sarcasm.

[Miguelito 459]

You clearly lack a sense of humor and sarcasm.

haha now i feel stupid. never thought of that. i dont know why i didnt cause i am one of the most sarcastic people. my bad then haha

[Corlett 202]

He's American, did you honestly expect anything else?

[Miguelito 459]

He's American, did you honestly expect anything else?

oh good one...

[Manuf 1,448]

So what that he's American? They are more than enough humorous.

[Madmax 9,219]

I love Giles Smith.

[CHD 30]

How the hell did anyone not ''get'' it

[BlueLion. 21,491]

American humour is quite different to British humour, you have to respect that. British comedians employ irony and sarcasm much more than our cousins across the Pacific, I find. We also tend to be a lot more outrageous

[zolayes 14,489]

for how good american written humour can be ,,,,,read Kinky Friedman

[Miguelito 459]

yes thank you guys, we (americans) just dont think of that kind of stuff at first