Azonto Epistle 24: The Winning Mentality

As I turned on the TV, it was 12 minutes played and 1 goal was recorded in favor of the away team, it was Chelsea who were down by a lone goal so early in the game by Cardiff City. It was the same feeling I had last season when Norwich came to the Bridge and scored an early goal, at the end of the match, it was 4-1. “There is no way we won’t win this game” I said to myself, with my confidence as high as we were already cruising to victory. The players had it well written at the back of their mind by the manager and maybe it was the players’ sense of winning mentality they have cultivated under Jose recently that has been transformed to the fans who were shouting on top of their voice. Sometimes, in games like that, you need a real awakening and I think Cardiff did exactly that for us by scoring so early. On the other side, my friend who is a Manchester United fan had abandoned their match to come and oppose Chelsea when we went down by a goal, after his team had scored so early in the game against Southampton, thinking it was an easy walk in the park for them. After all, they had the greatest young talent with a unique all-nation or UN nationality, gracing the pitch, Januzaj, the next big thing since Macheda. Our equalizer wasn’t really one of the usual ways of scoring goals though, but their goal too was one which could have been easily avoided on any other day as I watched the replay.  Perhaps that Marshal howler he made to gift us our equalizer thanks to the experienced striker, Samuel Eto’o was a poetic justice served on him when he got away by catching the ball off his line. From there, he started looking shaky thanks to the vociferous Chelsea fans at the Bridge. So as it ended, it was a case of déjà vu and the 4-1 win could be said to be a bit  harsh considering how they played but it was one we all knew could happen even when we were a goal down, didn’t we?

“The Disappointed Ones”
One of our rival clubs in Manchester seem to be seriously battling with consistency under “The Chosen One” Moyes, and the media have conveniently refused to call it a “crisis” as they usually do when we suffer a setback. But the seriousness of Manchester United’s situation is that they can hardly get a decent result at Old Trafford, I’m not being sarcastic but I surely can’t remember a match they won there under Moyes since they hanged that banner “The Chosen One” there…apart from that bizarre win against the newly promoted Crystal Palace side aided by a questionable red card and an equally questionable penalty kick. How could the entire Manchester United team attempt to copy someone’s creation of “The Special One” and edit it to “The Chosen One” what at all happened to originality. Maybe if they felt Moyes could be mixing it in with the originator of “The… One” in football management then the next time United turn up at the Bridge we could as well make a banner for them as “The Disappointed Ones”. With the same team and even an upgrade of the title winning team of last season under Ferguson, Moyes has been flattering to deceive so far and it seriously worries me. When I look at the table and see Manchester United lying humbly at positions which used to be occupied by Everton under Moyes, you can only have a one reason that it’s because the manager was an Everton manager, they are getting an Everton results. Big teams thrive on winning mentality and if under a new manager things start this way, you can only be affected psychologically. No wonder after scoring very early in the game, they started looking very nervous and the equalizer hit them just like what we were experiencing under AVB. Those days, we could score 3 against United and you will still feel like we can’t hold on to the win and it happens, 3-3. There were times when you score an early goal, you feel it was meant to be a draw and it will hunt you until your fears are confirmed. This is exactly the position the defending champions find themselves in. It is a situation you won’t wish for your enemy but football being as it is let’s leave them to sort themselves out. After all, they have had a fair share of good times under Sir Alex.
Back to Business
The international break rudely interrupted our fine form we were enjoying and it when it resumes you tend to lose a bit of focus especially if your manager is not as proactive to avoid that like it happened to us in the Everton game as well as Basel. So it was a good thought by Jose by keeping the boys in camp to specially prepare them for the match. It has certainly paid off. The next few matches ahead are very important to our forward movement – Schalke away, Manchester City at home to show or quality and Arsenal away to emphasize our depth and seriousness to compete in all cup matches. I will be very keen to watch us battle with Manchester City who have been a thorn in our flesh for the last two seasons. They are the typical “village champions” champions who make all the noise at the domestic level and embarrass themselves in Europe. I don’t remember an English champion who allows the likes of Villareal, Ajax, and Napoli to spank them like that in Europe. They chicken out in their own stadium when they meet giants like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. That is why the EPL is crying for a brave European warrior like Chelsea to save hoist the flag in Europe.
Hanging Around The Top
After being out of contention of league title for a while, it’s good we are hanging in there at the top and if you look at the sides we have played as compared to our rivals, you can only think we will be there or there about after the 38^th fixture. We won’t make any noise of winning the title but we won’t also fold our arms and throw in the towel so easily. After all, if Arsenal still believe they can win the title, we’ve got to also show the guile to be there. These days, our substitutions have been the deciding factor for us. If you can bring in Oscar from the bench or Hazard or Willian or Torres or even Mata, then you know your team has a depth in quality. So it was great to hear people moaning about the many attacking midfielders we have in our team because you know as a fan and a manager that it is only a good thing to have. We didn’t want to find ourselves in a situation where we will substitute Antonio Valencia for Ashley Young or Rafael for Smalling or Vidic for Evans, did we?
To draw this Episode to a close, let me say that, Hazard and Andre Schurrle are going to give it a good fight at the left wing. Hazard was immense against Cardiff and most of our attack started from his area. Maybe as he watched Schurrle putting up a good game from the same position, he needed to step it up. We really know that Hazard boy is a special talent and it is a matter of consistency he needs. The difference between him and Schurrle is that he is more accurate in front of pole he scored 2 out of 3 shots on targets and in the last two games, he has scored 3. Well Andre saved all his goals for the German national team as he bagged a hatrick to rescue them from 2 goals down in the second half of their game against Sweden. We know if Schurrle adds goals to his games, he will be real handful for opposition teams. He has got it all, strength, height, pace, techniques and above all work ethics. I’ve already said he will be the bargain of the summer transfer for just 17M Pounds. And hey, KDB is still yet to show what he has in offer which I really know he has a lot. And if you care to know, Michael Essien is still Michael Essien and you can only watch his clip against Egypt in the world cup qualifier.
Let’s hope the coming matches will be played with that winning mentality we are forging.
KTBFFH!!!
By Seth Adusei (twitter@sethaadusei)