How do you respond to giving up a stupid penalty in the first ten minutes against a team you should beat and then having two red cards dished out against you in the first half? How do you deal with the fact that Chris Foy seems hell-bent on giving you nothing and them everything*? How do you deal with the fact that you play terribly for 45 minutes and then have to continue with just nine men?

*I hate hate hate blaming the referee for things, but sometimes... you've got to blame the referee for things. But that's the last I'll say of Chris Foy.



If you're Chelsea, apparently, you play your god damn hearts out. Yes, we lost, and yes, it was a big waste of points. But the way the players who remained on the field fought in the second half was absolutely heroic. Nine-man Chelsea happily outplayed Queens Park Rangers but couldn't get the goal they deserved, with every single player on the pitch putting in a brilliant shift as they tried to reclaim a point at Loftus Road.

That it didn't end up happening is barely relevant. Points were dropped, yes, but steel was shown, and for that I'm immensely pleased with the performance. At the end of the day, it's just one loss in a season that lasts 38 games, so the impact of this match on the standings isn't huge. What is a big deal is that the team fought hard in the face of stupid odds, and they very nearly made it through.

Stand up and be counted, boys. You did us proud. Oh, and when QPR come to the Bridge? No respect, no mercy. Slaughter them.