Chelsea 3 Bolton 0
Andres Villa-Boas and Frank Lampard kissed and made up. So maybe that was part of the project, or maybe not. But Lampard played his best match of the season, which is not saying much, but he showed some leadership when it was needed, and a win is a win. Scoreboard. That’s all that matter now, The AVB Project® be damned. If nothing else, Lamps was a leader of men, which he should have been all along this season. He played like a guy who was tired of having splinters in his ass. And that was a good thing. He got his 150th goal in a Chelsea shirt.
Now I thought it a bit odd when I caught AVB’s reaction to David Luiz’s opening goal at the 48 minute mark. It appeared to me that he didn’t seem pleased, as if he was thinking, “THIS is not how I want us to score?? THIS is not what I have in mind.” He didn’t react or crack a smile…he seemed to be mystified by Luiz’s goal and scowling as though his precious project was more important. Odd reaction.
It’s tempting to say that Old Guard of Lamps, Cole, Essien, and Drogba saved the day. And while there might be a grain of truth in that, I’m not convinced that this is a repeatable process. First off, this was freakin’ BOLTON we’re slapping a beatdown on, not a quality team like Manchester United or Norwich City (both of whom played a thrilling tilt at Carrow Road today that saw United pull 1-2 win out their squeaky bum on a Ryan Giggs goal in extra time). Secondly, while Lamps and AVB made up, it’s a Pyrrhic romance at best. The changing of the guard is inevitable, and the days of Lamps, Drogba and the rest are numbered. One only hopes that they can get over themselves, and comport themselves the way Old Man Giggs and Old Man Scholes did today at Carrow Road…..comport themselves with character, style and grace on the pitch. They need to be part of the solution instead of continuing to be part of the problem.
But for the moment, perhaps the AVB Project can be put on the back burner in the interest of that magic modern invention called the SCOREBOARD. The same lineup that started on Saturday, should start again against West Brom next Saturday. The only change I’d make is start Torres and leave Drogs on the bench. Also…Romeu should be on the bench instead of Meireles who should sit up in Row Z for the rest of the season.
Anyway, a win is a win, no matter how ugly or impure.
Which reminds me, the Daytona 500 is about to begin. So…off to the boozer I go. And I hope Brad Kesolowski does NOT win…I don’t fancy taking a Polish Victory Lap today.