A fortnight free of Premier League fixtures saw redemption for the national side and the rise of a new England hero, not to mention one of the most chaotic transfer weeks in living memory. This weekend it was back to Blighty with a bump for Londonist United, our team of capital-reared characters, as we enter week four.
Yesterday, new British transfer record signing Robinho lined up for his first game in England wearing a lighter shade of blue than many expected, to face his erstwhile suitors at Chelsea. If the Londoners were dazed by a proposition unthinkable even three weeks ago, then the form book quickly rebalanced itself: the Brazilian's debut goal for newly pecunious Manchester City was rapidly answered by three from the visitors. Frank Lampard continued to justify his inflated salary package with a finely finished goal, while Joe Cole, head swathed in bandages following an unfortunate encounter with an elbow in the mid-week international, provided a pair of assists. However the game's latter stages saw John Terry handed a straight red card after bringing down a City attacker forty yards from goal with a covering defender nearby. A poor decision by the referee, and one that Chelsea will appeal, yet the England captain may miss Saturday's clash with champions Manchester United.
Elsewhere, we continued to be cheered by Jermain Defoe's London birthright, as he continued an explosive start to the season by netting Portsmouth's two goals that helped them beat Middlesbrough, for whom Mido contributed a goal. Tottenham fans may be bemused that two of the League's top scorers as of now are those formerly misfiring Spurs.
From the rest of the team, little of note was offered. Scott Parker somehow contrived to miss a late sitter as West Ham sputtered to defeat at West Brom (a game in which our keeper also conceded three), Jimmy Bullard hustled and bustled for 90 minutes as a tidy-looking Fulham team came out on top against Bolton, while Sol Campbell was unable to help Portsmouth keep a clean sheet.
Which leaves us rooted to the foot of the Londonist league, if by only a few points. Seeing as we missed the first two weeks of the season, that's no mean feat, though our unedifying position of 1,194,730 for the overall game makes for ugly reading. That said, in September alone we fare much better, in 182,741st place. As the singer from M People once wisely predicted: we're moving on up, nothing can stop us.
Image from Herschell Hershey's Flickrstream via the Londonist pool
