Chelsea, in the past two seasons, have not performed in the league to the level that the man above (Roman Abramovich, not God) would have liked; this is evident from the number of managers the club has been through in that period (on their 4th now). Both years, the team had been flying high in the early months of the season, before collapsing in November (that cursed month) and falling into the fight for a UCL spot. It's clear that the team didn't lack the quality to contend for the title, because both years Chelsea succeeded in Europe, the first year winning the Champions League, and last year winning the Europa League, in Amsterdam, against Benfica. At the start of the year, many pundits were predicting the Blues to win the title. While that still looks like a possibilty, Arsenal's stunning play and City's home form has uncovered the crack's in Chelsea's house, and those cracks must be filled if Mourinho wants to win the title. However, the squad, especially under Mourinho, has changed it's outlook almost entirely since last year, and still has the quality to, at the very least, contend with City and Arsenal.
The most noticable difference in Chelsea's change of style from last season is their overall outlook. Under Mourinho, the Blues look now to win games 1-0, 2-0, or, if on the road against a upper-half-of-the-table team, draw 0-0 or 1-1. Mourinho, earlier in the year, called winning 1-0 the "easiest thing in football." One of the problems about Chelsea playing this way is that they don't have the Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o or Ronaldo that Mourinho is used to. Mourinho's sides start games by pushing for a goal, and then drawing back into a tight shell that only a coordinated defensive unit can build and maintain. However, without the world class striker to put away early chances, Chelsea are left to defend and hope for chances off the counter. Now, the lack of a forward who can score is made up for by the plethora of world class midfielders, who are more than happy to put their name on the score sheet; Eden Hazard, Oscar and Frank Lampard have all scored more than Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto'o, the main strikers for the team, in the league, while Andre Schurlle has tied Torres' total. Eto'o and Torres haven't brought the consistency that Mourinho would like to see, although at times both have stepped up to help the Blues in big situations, namely Eto'o's winner against Liverpool last Sunday and Torres' winner against City earlier in the season. But I digress; Chelsea have, on the whole this year, played more defensive, and this has lead to Blues not losing at home in the league.This has also led to the alienation of Juan Mata; he just doesn't fit the system. While Eden Hazard has started to become a Ronaldo-esque player, and Oscar resembles Wesley Sneijder, Mata just doesn't have a place. Now Mourinho has told the Spainard that the "door is open" for him to leave, and United, a team rumored have been compiling a deal for him in the summer, are again keeping tabs on him. This is a sad scenario for Chelsea fans, seeing as Mata was voted the club's Player of the Year for the past two years running, and is indeed a high quality player; but Mourinho is ruthless and focused on winning. No time for sentiment apparently.
The Special One has to go out in the January transfer window and fix Chelsea's problems. Rory Smith notes that the Blues need a forward, central midfielder, a center defender and a few fullbacks. I don't fully agree with that opinion, because that while Ashley Cole has had a falling out with Mourinho, he is still a great player; Azpilicueta is also a good backup for Ivanovic. The Blues have two great center defenders, Gary Cahill and John Terry, while David Luiz can fill in for them at times; there they do need some help. But the midfield isn't a problem for Mourinho, and as Oscar has shown, he is a good defensive player and is willing to participate in the defensive effort. The forward spot is obvious. Mark Worrall offers some better suggestions for the Blues in January. Atletico Madrid are reported to be offering in form Diego Costa or Koke in exchange for Thibaut Courtois, the 21 year old Belgian goalkeeper who is touted to be the next star goalie. With Petr Cech only 31, he could certainly tender the nets for the Blues for 5 or 6 more years; however, giving up such a bright prospect for an immediate answer to the striker problem seems a little irrational. It would however solve the problem of juggling Cech and Courtois, as the Belgian has been on loan at Atletico for 4 years, and surely wants a more stable atmosphere. All in all, this transfer window and the deals that Chelsea does, or doesn't, make in it will determine whether this season is a building one or a title one.
On the whole, Chelsea have the quality to at the very least contend for the title. Although they may not finish the task this season, the Blues have built the foundation of a title winning team for years to come. Jose Mourinho still has cracks to fill, for sure, but with the money of Roman Abrahmovich behind you, and the smarts of a two time European Champion in your head, Chelsea fans should be expectant and looking forward to years of high quality football.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
The Ball Becomes Clearer
Over the course of the past two weeks, with four rounds of games taking place, the contenders, namely Arsenal, City and Chelsea, and the "pretenders," primarily Liverpool, but also Tottenham and Everton, were separated. As the race for the top clears, the dog-fight that is the relegation battle got only thicker, with only 9 points separating 20th place Sunderland from 10th place Hull City.
The busiest time of the year for Premier League clubs started off on the 21st of December, which saw Liverpool win at Cardiff 3-1, sending top of the table. City beat Fulham 4-2, starting their rise to the top. United also won 3-1 at home against West Ham. Sunday saw Tottenham recover from the 5-0 beating they took from Liverpool the previous weekend to beat Southampton 3-2. Everton also kept pace with the leaders by beating Swansea 2-1 in Wales. Then came the big clash, Mourinho v Wenger. That day Mourinho bested the Frenchman, compressing his Chelsea side into a tight, united defensive unit, capable of breaking out on a moments notice to score on the counter. Arsenal were entirely baffled, and Chelsea, picking up half the possession that the North Londoners had, doubled both the Gunners shots and shots on goal. Although the game ended in a 0-0 draw, Chelsea were clearly the better team. Some said that the game was a disappointment, but it shouldn't take anyone by surprise that a Mourinho team, on the road, against a league leader, fought a defensive battle.
The next round of games came on Boxing Day, with United starting the day off with a tight win at in form Hull City, 3-2. Both Chelsea and Arsenal won, beating Swansea and West Ham respectively. Then came the match of the day, Liverpool at City. The Reds opened the scoring when one touch play from Jordan Henderson and Luis Suarez resulted in Raheem Sterling being put through the back line; he rounded Joe Hart, and just as he prepared to take the shot, Fabio Coutinho stole it from him, claiming the goal for himself. City tied it up when, off a corner in the 30th minute, Vincent Kompany rose up, pushing off Martin Skretl, and heading the ball into the net; Joe Allen tried to keep it out, by the goal was meant to be. Then, in stoppage time of the first half, City started a break; Jesus Navas put Alvaro Negredo through, and the Spainard chipped Simon Mignolet; the goalkeeper really should have kept the ball out, but instead palmed the ball back into the net. Twice Raheem Sterling nearly equalized for the Reds, but once was flagged for offside, in what proved to be a very poor call, and the second time skyed the ball. The Reds were unlucky to come out of the Ethiad empty-handed.
The weekend round started with both City and United winning 1-0 games on Saturday; that day was also highlighted by Hull City's 6-0 thrashing of Fulham. Sunday saw Arsenal win a gritty 1-0 game at Newcastle, allowing them to top the table again. Everton and Tottenham kept pace with the leaders still, but the day was truly highlighted by Liverpool and Chelsea's clash. Mourinho came out on top of his protege, Brendan Rogers, 2-1. Martin Skrtl opened the scoring for the Reds off a 3rd minute free kick; the ball came first to Branislav Ivanovic and Luis Suarez, at the near post, and bounced down in front of goal. Skrtl reacted quickest, and Cech was caught out by the deflection. Eden Hazard equalized in magnificent fashion, curling the ball past Simon Mignolet sublimely. Samuel Eto'o put the Blues ahead in 34th mintue, getting on the end of an Oscar cross to tap the ball just past Mignolet. Much was made in the week of Howard Webb's poor referring decisions, but in the end, Chelsea deserved all three points.
On New Years Day, not much changed; Arsenal stole two goals late at home against Cardiff to stay top of the league, while City won at the Liberty Stadium against Swansea, 3-2, to stay a point behind them. Chelsea put on a masterful display at Southampton, coming out 3-0 winners. Thus the top 6, following the busy Christmas period, looks like this: Arsenal (45), City (44), Chelsea (43), Liverpool (39), Everton (38) and Tottenham (37). While it looks as though the bottom 3 are still in the race, in reality Liverpool are the only real contender of the three. Right now, it's a three horse race between Arsenal, City and Chelsea.
The busiest time of the year for Premier League clubs started off on the 21st of December, which saw Liverpool win at Cardiff 3-1, sending top of the table. City beat Fulham 4-2, starting their rise to the top. United also won 3-1 at home against West Ham. Sunday saw Tottenham recover from the 5-0 beating they took from Liverpool the previous weekend to beat Southampton 3-2. Everton also kept pace with the leaders by beating Swansea 2-1 in Wales. Then came the big clash, Mourinho v Wenger. That day Mourinho bested the Frenchman, compressing his Chelsea side into a tight, united defensive unit, capable of breaking out on a moments notice to score on the counter. Arsenal were entirely baffled, and Chelsea, picking up half the possession that the North Londoners had, doubled both the Gunners shots and shots on goal. Although the game ended in a 0-0 draw, Chelsea were clearly the better team. Some said that the game was a disappointment, but it shouldn't take anyone by surprise that a Mourinho team, on the road, against a league leader, fought a defensive battle.
The next round of games came on Boxing Day, with United starting the day off with a tight win at in form Hull City, 3-2. Both Chelsea and Arsenal won, beating Swansea and West Ham respectively. Then came the match of the day, Liverpool at City. The Reds opened the scoring when one touch play from Jordan Henderson and Luis Suarez resulted in Raheem Sterling being put through the back line; he rounded Joe Hart, and just as he prepared to take the shot, Fabio Coutinho stole it from him, claiming the goal for himself. City tied it up when, off a corner in the 30th minute, Vincent Kompany rose up, pushing off Martin Skretl, and heading the ball into the net; Joe Allen tried to keep it out, by the goal was meant to be. Then, in stoppage time of the first half, City started a break; Jesus Navas put Alvaro Negredo through, and the Spainard chipped Simon Mignolet; the goalkeeper really should have kept the ball out, but instead palmed the ball back into the net. Twice Raheem Sterling nearly equalized for the Reds, but once was flagged for offside, in what proved to be a very poor call, and the second time skyed the ball. The Reds were unlucky to come out of the Ethiad empty-handed.
The weekend round started with both City and United winning 1-0 games on Saturday; that day was also highlighted by Hull City's 6-0 thrashing of Fulham. Sunday saw Arsenal win a gritty 1-0 game at Newcastle, allowing them to top the table again. Everton and Tottenham kept pace with the leaders still, but the day was truly highlighted by Liverpool and Chelsea's clash. Mourinho came out on top of his protege, Brendan Rogers, 2-1. Martin Skrtl opened the scoring for the Reds off a 3rd minute free kick; the ball came first to Branislav Ivanovic and Luis Suarez, at the near post, and bounced down in front of goal. Skrtl reacted quickest, and Cech was caught out by the deflection. Eden Hazard equalized in magnificent fashion, curling the ball past Simon Mignolet sublimely. Samuel Eto'o put the Blues ahead in 34th mintue, getting on the end of an Oscar cross to tap the ball just past Mignolet. Much was made in the week of Howard Webb's poor referring decisions, but in the end, Chelsea deserved all three points.
On New Years Day, not much changed; Arsenal stole two goals late at home against Cardiff to stay top of the league, while City won at the Liberty Stadium against Swansea, 3-2, to stay a point behind them. Chelsea put on a masterful display at Southampton, coming out 3-0 winners. Thus the top 6, following the busy Christmas period, looks like this: Arsenal (45), City (44), Chelsea (43), Liverpool (39), Everton (38) and Tottenham (37). While it looks as though the bottom 3 are still in the race, in reality Liverpool are the only real contender of the three. Right now, it's a three horse race between Arsenal, City and Chelsea.
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