All that money swilling about in the Middle-East and Phil couldn’t stump up for his burger. 
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Why should he pay?
He thought Jesus had just pulled it out of a basket with the loaves and fishes.
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I couldn’t be fucked to come online last night. Was just feeling so fucking deflated.
Twenty minutes to go, 1-0 up, and we are Southampton – we don’t conceed goals. Even with Chelsea dominating possession and looking lively, I just had that sense of confidence which you gradually acquire on a six-game unbeaten run, without conceeding.
Then Shane Long went off, and everything changed.
When you lose Shane Long, no matter his replacement, it is like having a man sent off. Because Shane gets through the workrate of two players every game. Now if Mane had been his replacement, it would’ve been like going down to ten men. But with Pele coming on, it was like going down to nine.
We had no more threat of our own on the break, and all the defensive work Shane gets through with his immense closing down and tracking back was also lost, meaning that our midfield was already more overran. So the pressure began to come in constant waves. With no outball available and no-one to hold it up further up the pitch to wait for support and give the defence time to push up, we were then pinned back.
I’ve been critical of Pele recently – but I have to say – he completely changed the game today.
Before his introduction, we simply did not have anyone up front with such a natural ability to give away possession. You have to hand it to the guy, his finishing may be going through a dry spell – but he has perfected the act of ignoring the simple possession-retaining pass in favour of the fucking inane fancy “flick of concession” down to a fine art. 
I’m not a “Pele basher”. I’ve always loved the guy since he arrived, and for a long time, I couldn’t imagine him not being in the side. Even through some of his previous dry spells in front of goal, he used to offer a great outlet to the side. I appreciate that he is coming back from an injury, and is not going to come back in at the top of his game. But his hold up play used to be the one thing we could rely on, to help us through the transitional stage of moving the ball out from the back to the front when we were under pressure.
I don’t know what has happened to him, but he simply does not do this anymore. The ball just bounces off him at unpredictable angles like a static tree-stump – or he tries the ridiculous at the most inopportune moments, and gives away possession.
It is difficult to have to slate a player you used to really like and appreciate – but currently Pele is offering us absolutely fuck-all, and is fast becoming a complete liability.
I know, the goals were not all completely his fault, but his actions (and lack-thereof) certainly contributed to both.
Anyway, enough negative venting. To take a couple of positives from a thrown-away game – Clasie and Romeu were both for the most-part superb again. Clasie is geting better and better with each game. He was immense yesterday. Romeu (and probably Shane had we gone on to win 1-0) would be his only worthy challenger for our Man of the Match.
A deflating result all things considered. Not because we lost to a rapidly improving Chelsea side full of quality players, who in the end deserved something from the game – but because both goals came from our own fuck-ups or misjudgements. Something we had seemingly erradicated from our game over recent months.
Would rather be heading to Dean Court with our unbeaten run still intact, as it has effectively added further pressure/expectation to a game we need to approach in our recent self-assured, confident and relaxed way of playing.
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A deal of truth in that, Jack. I can’t help but wonder if Koeman was actually planning on replacing Austin and not Long, but then Shane was injured and had to come off. Pelle was ready to come right then on so on he came. But either way I’d agree about Pelle - he just looks like a player devoid of form and confidence right now. I think his attempts at clever flicks are a symptom of this; when they don’t come off his confidence takes yet another hit, and so he tries another, more audacious flick. Which also goes wrong. And so it goes on. He’s like a gambler on a losing streak, who keeps making bigger bets in an attempt to get back on track; but he loses every one of them. But in Pelle’s case it will probably just take a goal or two to get him back on song. Hard to see where that will come from right now, but then form’s like that.
Agree entirely about Long. He gives so much to the team. Some criticise his finishing (and yes, it is erratic), but if he were a consistent finisher in addition to his other attributes, he’d be worth several times what we paid for him.