S13M10: Elijah Adebayo is the devil

In 12.5 seasons, we've had 6 perfect scores. Every season, we get probably ~750 attempts at the perfect 10. So it's about 9,000 predicted matchdays.

6 out of 9,000. 0.07% probability. We've had a few near misses over the years, but none as close as this week.

As the injury time board went up at the City Ground, we were 8 minutes away from a perfect week. 7. 6. A long ball was punted forward from Luton player A to Luton forward, Elijah Adebayo. I've been on his wikipedia so you don't have to. Career highlights include loans to Slough, Bognor Regis & Cheltenham. He was at Walsall for 3 years. I'm sure this is a career highlight for him. 

He has 2 players around him. Joe Worrall, defending a lead in injurytime like my small children, embarassed himself, his family and the entire City of Nottingham. He's the captain and went AWOL. Adeboyo cushions on his chest, swivels and smashes it low past the helpless Matt Turner. Point rescued.

Pffffffffffffft. That's the sound of air coming out a balloon.

You've taken this very personally, I hear you say. Correct. Because, dear reader, it was I with the 10 in the bag until this demon stole my crowning achievement. 450 of those predictions are mine. My personal success rate is, well, not 0.07%. But it could have been a sensational 0.2%. That would PROVE* the hypothesis that it's worth doing 10 match accas - you'll win in the long term. But alas, I remain at a 0% success rate. 

So, "Elijah Adebayo" or the Great Satan as I'll now be calling him - I'm coming for you.

Also you Joe Worrall. Also you.

*sort of. Your own money is at risk.

Some other stuff happened to, but who cares any more? What's the point when people like Adebayo are free to roam the earth like the sociopaths that they are.

Liverpool won the Merseyside derby. Wolves got a late winer at Bournemouth. Brentford hammered a very bad Burnley side. City beat Brighton, Newcastle thumped Place (should play Rob Holding). Chelsea fluked their way to a 2-0 lead and then let it slip, and Man Utd beat Sheff Utd. Villa thumped West Ham and Spurs beat Fulham comfortably. You all happy now?

Urgh. Adebayo.

S13M9: Perspective

 Im not going to lie. I really struggled with whether to even write this blog. I've spent precisely 0 time on football in the last 2 weeks. I should have been revelling in Arsenal finally beating Man City - consuming all the content. I'm not even sure I've seen the goal. Everything well and truly put in perspective.

Here's the thing. I love football. I love Arsenal. I couldn't quantify the amount of time I've spent over the years on football. Only a few weeks ago, I nearly collapsed from celebrating Gabi Jesus' late cake-topping cherry against Man United - at that moment, all I felt was ecstasy. To juxtapose one late Brazilian Gabi's winner against a Manchester club against another only weeks later breaks my heart.

So why am I posting? In truth - I don't know. I think because if I stop - I don't know if I'll ever start it up again. Because I've continued through greater personal tragedy than the last 2 weeks. But the truth is - I think I'm doing this because it's what I do - 35ish weeks a year, for 13 years. This isn't me sticking 2 fingers up at terrorism - saying you'll never stop me living my life. It's just numbness on autopilot.

As I'm sure we all do - I'm hoping that this feeling goes - for the right reasons - and I can get back to irreverently writing something nonsensical.

S13M8: I Refuse

Country music has never really been my thing, but Wynn Stewart, may well be the official poster boy of the PGMOL. As lovers of the Bakersfield Sound will attest, Another Day Another Dollar is true in many ways.

Sorry. I meant VAR. Another day, another sodding VAR controversy. I just can't. I'm not going there again. It's BS.

I've spent quite a lot of time in my career working on protocols, human factors and communication. This lot seem to just make it up as they go along and I'm not having it. Bin them all off.

Still, there was other stuff to discuss. Villa. WTF is happening there. Arsenal clicked beautifully on the south coast gaining comfortable wins as did Newcastle and West Ham.

Annoyingly for my prevoiusly committed words, Luton seem determined to get more points than that Derby side. Annoyingly for Pep's dismissive words, that Korean Guy got the winner in a shock loss for Man City. Not a shock loss for Man Utd, who have lost 6 of their last 9 games in all comps. ETH for the first manager to be sacked?

Notts Forest drew with Brentford whilst Chelsea finally got a goal and, then another 60 seconds later to win the Fulham Broadway derby.

Sorry - I can't go into more detail about the Spurs-Liverpool win. 3 points for Spurs, but an absolute farce ruining the game. Though, to be fair, nobody forces Liverpool players to keep getting sent off. 4 in 7 PL games. Filthy.