Chelsea FC: Crisis? What Crisis?
Chelsea’s woes in the league continued as they were yet again seen dropping points away from home. This time it was away to Newcastle. Chelsea has managed only 4 points from a possible 15; the resultant lapse in performance has seen them drop to second place
for the first time this season.
Chelsea has had all the problems at once and a smooth sailing ship only a month ago is now argued to be under ‘a serious crisis’. Assistant coach Ray Wilkins who was doing a great job at the club was relieved of his duties; news that has rocked the fans and
players alike. Chelsea’s sporting director Frank Arnesen has also decided to leave the club at the end of the season pointing question marks about what is going on inside the multi-million dollar franchise.
There has also been speculation that Chelsea are lining up a replacement for Ancelotti in the form of Pep Guardiola. The media has thrown literally everything at the club, but still the blues are second in the league just two points behind Manchester United,
who will be visiting Stamford Bridge mid December - Crisis? What Crisis?
Chelsea has, I believe, done very well considering the fact that the former chapions were missing the likes of Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and John Terry. How can a team perform if it is without its two best midfielders and the Captain who insures that there
is stability at the back?
It is to be kept in mind that there is always a part in the season when everything is going against you and luck just won’t be on your side. Take the Birmingham game for example; Chelsea had more corners in that game than any other game this season. And mind
you, the Blues have been winning 6-0’s on their day. Had it not been for a certain Ben Foster, this would have been yet another walk in the park as the former Manchester United goal keeper arguably had the game of his life to keep the defending champions away.
Again, in the Newcastle game, the Blues were dominant in the second half and came close on many occasions to taking the lead, but again lady luck was to deny them. However, it could be considered as a good point away from home considering Newcastle’s heroics
recently against Arsenal. Reinforcing the point though, Chelsea has set very high standards since the start of their 2010 title defence and should have won these games.
As Ancelotti has said things are going to get fine once the trio of Lampard, Terry and Essien is back in the team. Chelsea has been missing the defence penetrating passes of Lampard, the energy of Essien and the solidity of Terry in the heart of defense. Yes,
Chelsea has been poor in the last one month. Yes, the Stamford Bridge outfit have failed to live up to expectactions but the reality of life is that the Blues are just two points behind the leaders in the league and have won all five of their Champions leave
matches and find themselves on the verge of making history as the first British side ever to win all 6 of their group games.
So where is the crisis? A lot has been said in the papers about the club lacking ‘stability’ and that the Russian owner, Roman, is not happy with the style of play. However it is worth reminding that Chelsea scored 103 league goals last season under the same
manager - an all time record. The league champions were the league entertainers, easily surpassing expectations. Considering their not-so-far season performance last time, it seems rather foolish to work the mind on the possibility that Roman is not happy
with the way things are going. The crux of the matter is that all the problems have hit the Blue ship at the same time. However, such things are part of the business and potential title rivals should not be in any illusion that the Blues are going to let the
championship slip easily. The players and the manager definitely have a point to prove to those that question their credentials this term – Things are bound to spice up within the next month and it would therefore be unwise to write off Roman’s Army just yet.
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