Zzzzz

Chelsea are crying about the FA's decision to uphold most of Nemanja Mati's ban meaning he misses Sunday's Cup Final. Their statement is so overly dramatic you'd think they are perpetual victims of systematic punishment when the reality is there is no transparency or consistency with any of the decisions made and the manner in which those with power to influence (the FA and the managers) conduct themselves.

Hypocrisy and contradictions are key components of all the kidology that plays out post-match. The past is instantly forgotten. A 'proper old skool' tackle is what you call it if it's your player lunging in whilst it's 'career threatening' if you've had it dished out to you.

I find the psychology behind the soundbites played (off the pitch) amazing value for entertainment. We all know what a bad tackle looks like and how it should be punished. Yet such a simple thing gets fragmented to fuck in the aftermath (regardless of whether the ref has dealt with it during the game). An incident is dismantled and rebuilt to fit and protect the club the coach is managing. Again, you get why this is done but it doesn't really help with attaining the consistency that the game lacks so badly.

What remains brilliant is the amount of times a coach can contradict himself along with the media ignoring incidents they don't value important because the weight of the narrative to push whatever agenda they perceive as click-bait isn't heavy. Ryan Mason get stamped on? Nah, you're alright. Let's not make a big deal. Maybe we should? Maybe everyone should go in heavy with the propaganda and treat incidents the same way rival coaches do.

At the moment it's only a select few that seem to look towards manipulation by media. Makes me wonder how the officials will treat this Sunday's game. Or is that a paranoid perspective to take?