Breathless Blues Get Fillip From Wenger
Posted by Zeno in Chelsea, Jose Mourinho | 3 April 2006
The tabloids and broadsheets both rushed to play down Chelsea’s 4th consecutive poor away display at St Andrews on Saturday. A 7-point gap with 6 games to close it… it’s not a case of Ferguson being unable to achieve it, but rather Mourinho’s inability to let a lead like this drop with the finish line in sight.
If Chelsea aren’t concerned, though, they should be. The signs have been in evidence for some months that teams have learned more effective ways to deal with Chelsea’s system. Chelsea’s wingers looked anonymous on Saturday, with Robben surrendering possession as often as he delivered a decent pass and Damien Duff phoning in his usual slightly off the pace contribution. What happened to the Duffer we bought? If whoever has stolen him could return him to his Range Rover in the Cobham car park, no more will be said.
Yes, Birmingham put in a performance of some spirit, but an on-song Chelsea should have blown away the illusion of security and re-acquainted them with the familiar feeling of picking the ball out of their net. But the big-name players – Drogba arguably the only one that rose in any way to the occasion – vanished. I can think of one decent 50-yard pass that left Frank Lampard’s boot all afternoon. The rest was dross. Early in the season, we looked as though we couldn’t give the ball away even if we tried. By April, we look sluggish and short on ideas. I don’t honestly think the title could go aglay, if you’ll excuse the Burns-ism. But has the Champions League exit really done so much to knock us off our stride?
Of course, Jose thought that the game should have been ours thanks to del Horno’s strike. From my angle, I’m pretty sure Carvalho was involved in the build-up, which makes it offside. See, there’s another example. Even the most blinkered Chelsea fan might have noticed the odd slice of luck going our way earlier in the season. The occasional deflected goal, perhaps, or JT’s bout of penalty area juggling going unnoticed by the referee. Now, we ain’t getting the breaks. And in football, I firmly believe that you make your own luck. Can’t get a deflected goal without taking a few shots, can you?
So according to Jose, we need to win our three remaining home games. The last one, of course, is against our nearest challengers Man United. But help was on hand from an unlikely source this weekend. “If Abramovich calls me, we can help him next Sunday. Chelsea have dropped points they should not have dropped but are still in a very good position,” said that cuddly character Arsene Wenger. Cheering on the Gooners will be a new experience for all of us, I’m sure.
Comments
So the question is, (not being a Chelsea or United supporter) who would I prefer to see win the league. Good to see Mourinho's ego dented slightly, but equally to see Fergie lose out yet again would be a treat !
Mourinho is already as smug as he's going to get - he thought he had it sewn up a month ago so victory now won't be as sweet knowing it's got tight.
However, if United manage to steal it from Chelsea they will be absolutely unbearable.
So come on Chelsea, spare us all from the hordes of Surrey lordng it over us again!
Zeno says: aha, but how much sweeter for Chelsea after a little uncertainty at the end, surely?
