Football FanCast columnist Dave Mooney analyses this whole "the team didn't deserve that" phrase and feels that it is one that doesn't hold much weight.

It's Tuesday night and I've just got back from the pub. Well, not just got back, I'm skewing time slightly so that I don't have to talk you though how I did the washing up and made cheese on toast. I just didn't think those bits would interest you, but if you'd like to know more, just get in touch.

Anyway, I'd been with a group of friends watching Liverpool play Chelsea and Riise give us one of the best diving headers I've seen, but at the wrong end (a real PES goal, for anyone who plays that series). One of the things that was utter most was "Chelsea don't deserve that" and it has set me off thinking. 

A lot of people I know often say "they didn't deserve that" when a late goal has been scored - John Motson even said it on Match of the Day when Stevie Ireland scored that cracker against Reading earlier this season. There appears to be a stigma of ‘lucky' that goes with a last minute finish, but is that actually true. 

I, for one, think that there are two kinds of luck - the luck that you "make yourself", where a player might go on a mazy run and get a few fortunate bounces along the way, for example, when the ball sits up nicely for someone to volley, or it's deflected into the net. Then there's the second type of luck, where people would say that so and so "didn't deserve that". And it's that second type of luck that I don't think exists. 

Now, I know it sounds like I've just contradicted myself, but hear me out. 

If someone takes a shot that the goalkeeper should save, but he makes a mistake and it hits the net, then I don't think that the striker has been lucky. The goalkeeper knows what he should do, but has done it wrong. 

And I think this principle extends to last minute goals. Both teams know that the game isn't over until the referee blows the final whistle, so they both know they have a limited amount of time to attack or defend. If one does the job successfully, then that's no luckier than an estate agent making a sale thirty seconds before he leaves for work.   

A team who finishes seventh in the Championship on goal difference hasn't been unlucky to miss out on the playoffs. They just haven't been as good as the team in sixth. It may seem harsh, but every team in the league has played each other and they have all had the opportunities to win and some have taken more than others. 

Now, you could throw in arguments that include different levels of resources - like money or players available - and that is a factor. But in those situations, you expect teams to know their limitations and use them to their advantage. 

Going back to City, for a moment, we can see a prime example. Last season, Stuart Pearce, in my opinion, played the end of the season perfectly. While I'll argue that his signings were possibly the best he could have hoped for, after the low level of funds he had available to him (most of which went on Samaras), he knew that they weren't good enough. And, in order to get any points, he knew that we had to base our performances on not conceding goals. He saw the best way to keep the side in the Premiership was to make the game a dour affair.

Now, I'm not advocating that style of play, but it was what was necessary to keep the team in the league. So, it wasn't luck that kept us up and the teams below us weren't unlucky to finish where they did - they just didn't play to their strengths as well as City did. 

Chelsea, on the other hand... Well, they were lucky!

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