Over Land and Sea

by Wessexbrony

Strength in Depth

Saturday 23rd September

“So who’ve we got today?” Dinky asked, as she lay cuddled up to me on my bed like she’d done virtually every weekend since her arrival in London – and had used to do with Derpy prior to being relocated.

“Let me see,” I half-yawned, turning my head to where a fixture list was blue-tacked to the wall. “23rd, 23rd...Wigan at home. 3 o’clock kick off, so we can enjoy a nice, lazy Saturday morning.”

“Are they good?” Dinky asked.

“Last season? Yes. This season...not so much,” I replied. “They’re fourteenth in the league and have only won one match so far. If we play like we did against Celtic then we should win comfortably.”

The tranquillity was interrupted by a gurgling noise.

“Well, suppose we’d better get up,” I yawned, rising from my bed. “How does fried egg on a muffin sound for breakfast?”

A bit later, the two of us had our breakfast whilst Sky Sports previewed the day’s Premiership matches.

“So, does Fontana miss this game?” Dinky asked.

“No, he’s available for this one,” I replied, “But then he’s suspended for the games against Tottenham and Man Utd. The question is whether Mourinho plays one up front or puts Doyle on the bench.”

Danny Doyle was a 16-year-old youth player who was impressing in the reserves, and had played in the friendly against Motherwell back in July. There were rumours that Sunderland and Aston Villa were both interested in signing him on loan.

“What do you think he’ll do?” Dinky asked.

“If the last two seasons are anything to go by, one up front with wingers either side.” I answered.

“Let me tell you, I’m glad the international break’s over,” I said, as the two of us headed down King’s Road along with Rainbow Dash.

“Tell me about it!” Rainbow Dash replied, “I mean, it only gets good when the actual tournament starts. Meanwhile, we have to wait longer to get back to the proper stuff!”

Although 3 o’clock matches weren’t shown live in Equestria, the BBC showed their Final Score show on BBC Equestria every Saturday afternoon. As such, Derpy and Twilight were in the Traveller’s Rest as Simon Brotherton announced the latest news from Stamford Bridge.

“Well, this is interesting,” I said, as the big screen showed the lineup. “Terry and Lampard both being rested for Benfica on Tuesday.”

Of course, the amount of talent in Chelsea’s starting eleven should still have been enough to see off Wigan, and indeed the Blues started brightly, creating a couple of chances early on. It was in the eleventh minute that the game really got going, as Arjen Robben took the ball down the left before crossing into the area, where Drogba volleyed it past Chris Kirkland at the near post to give Chelsea the lead.

Chelsea continued to dominate, and Fontana, eager to get goals under his belt before his suspension, went close in the 29th minute, missing a shot wide of the post. Drogba, looking to double Chelsea’s lead, sent a shot harmlessly over in the 32nd minute after going for the spectacular, before Fontana was flagged offside after going for the rebound from a Chris Kirkland save. And then, in the first minute of stoppage time, the next goal came.

“And we can bring you news of a second goal at Stamford Bridge! Which way has it gone?” Ray Stubbs asked, hoping to create some suspense for the viewers of Final Score.

“It’s another goal for Chelsea,” Simon Brotherton replied, “Ashley Cole got forward and passed to Fontana, who looked to cut inside into the box before trying his luck, Chris Kirkland was able to save it, but then Drogba got to the rebound and slid the ball over the line. Chelsea two, Wigan nil, just on the stroke of half time!”

“Well, this is more like it,” I said, as I passed Dinky a chocolate bar during the interval. “You should have seen us the last two seasons; there was barely a team that could match us.”

Chelsea continued to attack in the second half, looking a lot more like the side which had dominated the Premiership in the past two seasons. In the 49th minute, a shot from Michael Essien went wide when it had looked easier to score.

The fans, however, didn’t have to wait long for the third goal. Fontana received the ball from Essien and went on a superb run, beating two Wigan defenders to break free into the area before firing the ball past a third defender and Chris Kirkland to make it three.

Despite the fact that the game was now surely safe, Chelsea were in no mood for mercy, and it was only the offside flag which prevented Drogba from breaking clear in the 58th minute.

Barely ten minutes later, a long ball out of defence was received by Ballack, who flicked it into the path of Fontana. The Spaniard took one touch before sending a curving shot into the top corner from the edge of the area.

After that, Chelsea took their foot off the pedal, but Kirkland still had to be alert to keep out a shot from Drogba with eight minutes to go.

Chelsea 4-0 Wigan Athletic (Drogba 11, 45+1, Fontana 52, 66)

The win had seen Chelsea climb to sixth in the table, but the big news coming from elsewhere in the league was that Manchester United had finally dropped points, being held at Bolton. Liverpool remained second with a 2-0 win at Manchester City. However, it was in the evening kick off that the big news of the weekend broke. Arsenal came to the Madejski Stadium off the back of three consecutive wins but were undone by a superb performance from Reading, who won 2-0 to move up to fourth in the league.

As the pundits voiced their opinions on Mourinho’s selection on that evening’s Match of the Day, I thought ahead. Benfica, Tottenham and Manchester United were up next for Chelsea, three tough opponents. Even Tottenham would be harder than in recent years, having come within a whisker of Champions League qualification the previous season. Still, today’s result had made not just me, but Dinky and Rainbow Dash too, think that Chelsea were now back on track.

Author's Note:

The chapter title refers to squad depth; Having a very good starting eleven won't mean much if the backup players fail to match the starters in quality.

Wigan Athletic were the surprise package of the 2005-06 Premiership season, challenging for the European spots during the early half of the campaign. The muffins mentioned are the English variety.

Rainbow Dash's thoughts on international breaks (during which clubs play in qualification matches for the World Cup/Continental competitions) are common among football supporters.

Final Score has been a staple of English football since the 1950s. Since the turn of the millennium, it has expanded to give goal updates from around the country. Ray Stubbs presented the show until 2016, while Simon Brotherton, in this case, would be the Match of the Day commentator assigned to cover Chelsea vs Wigan and provide updates.

Match of the Day, the BBC evening highlights show (repeated Sunday mornings) has been part of English Football culture (as has its theme tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft-mqAyUxNA) since 1964. (Except for when ITV held the highlights in the late 70s, early 80s and 2001-2004). Tottenham finished fifth in the league in the 2005-06 season, losing fourth spot (and the final Champions League place) to Arsenal on the final day of the season largely thanks to a batch of dodgy lasagne.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

Another well made chapter! Looks very good for Dinky, expect the foal caring service would cheat

[Wessexbrony]

9435803
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