Yesterday, I ended up in a position of feeling I had to defend myself against over-generalisation from opposition supporters. Why? Well because sadly, there seemed to be some very vocal supporters at Stamford Bridge intent on living up to the ‘classless’ tag.
I’d read a few comments on message boards ahead of the game to suggest Bridge wouldn’t be warmly received but felt fairly confident only one or two mindless twats would genuinely risk showing themselves up in public by coming out from behind their screens and opening their mouths. Unfortunately though, the minute Wayne Bridge left John Terry stood there with his hand outstretched, it started.
Now I’ll be the first to admit I thought the timing of Bridge’s announcement to stand down from the England set-up was a bit stage-managed. I mean, why do it directly before we faced his club? Why not leave it until afterwards if what you really want is to get on with your life as far away from the spotlight as possible? It stood to reason the eyes of the world would be watching even more intensely once he’d made that decision public.
Still, whatever his reasons for the timing – and we’re hardly in a position to criticise him whatever they are – whether it was to shift our focus off the game, put us under pressure, or simply just to make sure as many people as possible tuned in to see him show John Terry up, Wayne Bridge was entitled to gain at least something out of the mess Terry created.
Evidently though, there was a section of the home crowd who disagreed because despite being a totally committed player during his Chelsea days, not to mention his unforgettable late goal against Arsenal in the 2003-04 Champions League quarter-final that got us into the semis, the former Chelsea favourite was booed every time he touched the ball – well for the first twenty minutes at least, until they got bored or realised how pathetic they sounded.
So what exactly had Wayne Bridge done wrong to deserve that sort of treatment from his former home crowd? Was it because he had the audacity to feel put out enough by his former team-mate and ‘friend’ doing the mother of his child to not shake his hand? Or because he decided to put the success of his national side before his own international career? Seriously, someone needs to explain the logic of these people to me because I just don’t get their point.
If those individuals in the crowd honestly thought they were doing JT a favour today or were showing the Chelsea captain support with their vile behaviour towards an innocent party, then they need to have another look at JT’s game. Because Terry’s performances of late have been anything but worthy of cheering every touch of the ball, and yet these mindless retards chose to hold him up as a saint and Wayne Bridge as the sinner.
Oh and for the record, TheChelseaBlog completely disassociates itself from that type of ‘supporter’.
Blue is the colour
