The worst penalty ever

nah not Shimbomba’s (© David Pleat).

The one that should have won it, the piss weak telegraphed effort, if you can use the word effort in the case of that individual.

Two bad games and Europe is over again with a whimper, no doubt my ticket allocation will come through soon like last year.

First leg was a shocker and the second leg followed the same pattern in the first half. Bad team selection and tactics by Ramos, a diamond with Jenas at the front and everything going through the middle was never going to work against a team that didn’t have to win.

It was only when width was added that chances were created and as John Barnes so expertly pointed out “width is provided by the wide men” – and some wonder why he never got another management job after Celtic 🙄

To beat PSV 1-0 on their own patch, while playing the vast part of the 120 minutes with only 10 men is good going but there should have been more. This whole campaign there hasn’t been the spark and snap to the play that there was last season. Start the game fast, bang in an early one and keep going for it, creating more and more chances, this year the games just started slowly and never went anywhere and it never worked, last year full of confidence before, during every game, not this.

Team selection doesn’t help, Lee at left back was a wrong one this time round, bring on Lennon for Ledley was a mistake when it meant leaving Jenas on when he’d spent most of the previous hour as the shadow of a PSV player. It was an ideal opportunity to replace him as he was indicating he was injured and wanted out, one good run into the box during which you knew all along he hadn’t got a clue what to do with the ball resulted in bugger all but an injury that saw him somehow disappear even more than before.

What does O’Hara have to do? There’s a kid with talent, and a left foot, who never hides or shirks, is always wanting the ball and doesn’t pad his passing stats with aimless pass backs, he shouldn’t have replaced Keane, who was missed.

So the magnificent Berbatov had to run himself into the ground chasing deep into the midfield to make up for this man shy situation, oh what a goal.

Steed could have won it with another cracking effort but as soon as the PSV ‘keeper pulled of that save, it had penalty hero written all over it.

So those pens, some lucky ones Gomes got close, very close, far too close and then Jenas has the chance to win it, he minces up with the ball only going to be placed in one direction at just the right height for a diving keeper, useless piss weak effort so in character for someone who somehow ended up with the captain’s armband.

He had another great chance to prove his detractors wrong and again he delivered his usual performance and a major choke to end it all. Still living off the Ar5na1 game and the England call up means he doesn’t really have to bother. This is why I gave him the man-of-the-match for the 4-0 stuffing of West Ham, his injury in the first leg of this tie meant he missed the weekend league match. What does he care, picks up his weekly wad and gets picked no matter what.

Forget Chimbo, his was useless and the way it looked like he’d been pushed forward from the centre circle and he trudged to the box no one thought he was going to anything more than stuff it up but as bad as it was it doesn’t touch the one that could have, should have won it.

And as long as there as so many out there are accepting of this level of mediocrity just because he can run around and puts in the odd decent showing, usually against the likes of Derby – this is as good as it gets.

So Juande doesn’t get his hands on the UEFA Cup for the third straight year and he has himself to blame for a major part in that and the end of season party is on tonight…