Coming To Terms

It's about time that I took this step; I now see that there are times when one must face facts and acknowledge certain truths previously ignored. That's right, I am going to do the unthinkable and give Didier Drogba his due. I can't recall dissing Drogba here on the site (which is fairly surprising considering the number of shots I've taken at Spurs over the same time period), but private conversations here on 116th Street have yielded a plethora of insults. We've hammered Didier over his lack of technique, lack of goals, perceived arrogance, perpetual diving, theatrics rivalled only by his drama queen of a manager, his first-choice status over Hernan Crespo, his benefit of playing alongside the World's Most Expensive Decoy (Andriy Shevchenko), and, first and foremost, that hideous perm. Plainly speaking, we are player-haters.
So maybe it is that we're in a slightly sympathetic mood towards Chelsea because of John Terry's injury, or perhaps Drogba's new cornrows instill a newfound sense of respectability, but we are here to say (gulp) that Didier Drogba is indeed a great striker. Where we once scratched our heads over his inclusion in the Chelsea side at the expense of Crespo, we now wonder where the Blues would be without him this season. Watching him in the Carling Cup final today (by the way, is it me or did Chelsea seriously over-celebrate that trophy?) there was no question that he was the most lethal threat by far from a fairly pedestrian Chelsea attack. The Arsenal back four was traumatically overmatched against him, and he's been doing this all season, in all competitions. With most of Chelsea's attackers underperforming this season, he's taken it upon himself to carry the load, and he's likely to finish at 35 goals or higher this season. Did the Shevchenko signing motivate him? Had he finally become fed up with Frank Lampard leading the squad in goals every season? Did his FIFA 07 rating really piss him off that much? Perhaps it's just that he's finally settled in England, or maybe he decided to really go after that Vidal Sassoon money, but either way, he's having a hell of a season. Didier Drogba, I salute you; now drop those braids and let that soul glow!