Sunday, December 22, 2024

Are Chelsea certainties for the Premier League title?

Didier DrogbaChelsea faced a tough test when they faced Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. They past the test with flying colours by beating the Gunners 3-0 on their home turf. It seemed so clinical.

Not outstanding

I didn’t think Chelsea’s performance against the Gunners was especially outstanding. However Chelsea have that in their locker under Carlo Ancelotti, the fact that they don’t have to be at their best to claim maximum points.

They have produced some outstanding performances this season and won. However they have produced some poor performances and still managed to pick up points.

Drogba brilliant

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is currently in superb form. The powerful striker is one of worlds best on his day. His histrionics with the diving and acting in certain games can be infuriating but I think most people would still love him in their team. He has every quality necessary for a top world striker. He has pace, strength and fantastic heading ability. He also does a great job helping out in defence when his side are under pressure.

Different side

Chelsea look like a different side from last season thanks to boss Carlo Ancelotti. Last season’s Chelsea finished third and only started playing well when Guus Hiddink was brought in as boss. Ancelotti has carried that momentum on into this season and I cant see Chelsea losing.

Ancelotti has brought those great Italian football attributes of discipline and organisation. The squad of players is basically the same squad as last season but they look like a different team. I have always thought of Ancelotti as a top boss and he is only enhancing his previous good reputation at the Bridge.

His career stagnated slightly at Milan. This was down to some of his squad being older than the Chelsea pensioners. His stay at San Siro was trophy laden. He won two Champions League trophies and lost another final against Liverpool in the famous 2005 final in Istanbul. Ancelotti has just the pedigree needed to make Chelsea Premier League champions again and challenge for the Champions League trophy.

Absentees in January

Chelsea will lose four players to the African Nations in January. The Blues will be the hardest hit of the top Premier League sides. They will lose the previously mentioned Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou to the Ivory Coast, Michael Essien to Ghana and John Obi Mikel to Nigeria. Chelsea will miss Drogba and Essien as they are key players but their fixtures in January aren’t as hard as they could be. They can cope without the four stars for a month and still be well in the Premier League title race.

Two horse race

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and Tottenham’s Harry Redknapp have both recently claimed the league title will be a two horse race. I have to agree with the two veterans. How can you see past Chelsea and the champions for the Premier League crown?

Arsenal are eleven points behind Chelsea and Liverpool are a further two points behind. The likes of Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester City are just not consistent enough. I thought Liverpool would put in a realistic title challenge this season but their awful season so far has surely ruled that out now.

Chelsea good tip

In my view Chelsea are the strongest team in the Premier League this season and will probably claim the title come the end of the season. The Blues would have to slip up big time to let United back into the title race. However you can never write off Sir Alex Ferguson and his team.

Chelsea also still have to visit Old Trafford which could prove the pivotal game of the season. What is clear is that every other team in the league is lagging behind the top two. Arsenal are just a few tough players away from being a top team but unfortunately they are still vulnerable to physical sides. If Arsene Wenger sorts that out next summer then they could be a real force next season. It would make be nice to see a different name on the Premier League trophy but it looks like we will have to wait another season for that.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Nugent


David is a freelance football writer with nearly a decade of experience writing about the beautiful game. The experienced writer has written for over a dozen websites and also an international soccer magazine offline.
Arguably his best work has come as an editorial writer for Soccernews, sharing his good, bad and ugly opinions on the world’s favourite sport. During David’s writing career he has written editorials, betting previews, match previews, banter, news and opinion pieces.

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  • Chelsea FC Fan

    0 0

    haha…I know Dave – i’m being a little ungrateful…”but it is difficult to see past the choices that have not yet been made” (TEST: anybody know where that quote is from?).

    I am very happy with the Blues…almost too happy, so I have to be protective of my boyz…I had to calm the storm otherwise someone else would have said it and probably take a shot or two at CFC (like Brad has been doing – ha! (jk))…it’s too early to tell, and the game is so unpredictable, that within 3 weeks a lot could change.

    As a Blues fan, Fergie worries me – he has a knack for finding diamonds-in-the-rough and they are still sitting on that 80million Ronaldo fund…I have a feeling they are going to sweep up some of Chelsea’s prospects this transfer window which is really going to hurt in the future. Also, they are sitting in 2nd place and trying to figure out their game…???…what’s going to happen if/when they do?

    January 2010 will be a turning point in Chelsea’s wonderful season so far – I just hope it turns out for the better.

  • David Nugent

    0 0

    It seems your team really can’t keep you happy CFC Fan!

  • Chelsea FC Fan

    0 0

    stop stop stop stop…

    Nobody is declaring anybody is winning anything when we’re not even half-way through the season.

    No doubt – CFC are looking great, but it’s almost too good…haha – you just can’t keep a fan happy, can you…January will turn some boys in to men and when the Nations cup is over, I think a little more of the dust will have settled and a clearer picture of the EPL race will imerge.

    I really expected the Gunners to put up a bigger fight and even thought that this would have been the game for Chelsea to lose in order to instill that sense of urgency again, but I was wrong…I even captained Fabregas on my fantasy squad hoping to double-up some big numbers – but he got me 2 or 4 points maybe. I have to confess – I am cheering the Gunners on b/c I am loving their offense (which really misses RVP) – they’ve gotten me a lot of points this season in the fantasy league, so i’m bandwagoning a little.

    Anyway, one week at a time…this week they lose and we win, next week maybe they win and we lose…who knows. There’s still a long way to go.

  • Chelsea FC Fan

    0 0

    stop stop stop stop…

    Nobody is declaring anybody is winning anything when we’re not even half-way through the season.

    No doubt – CFC are looking great, but it’s almost too good…haha – you just can’t keep a fan happy, can you…January will turn some boys in to men and when the Nations cup is over, I think a little more of the dust will have settled and a clearer picture of the EPL race will imerge.

    I really expected the Gunners to put up a bigger fight and even thought that this would have been the game for Chelsea to lose in order to instill that sense of urgency again, but I was wrong…I even captained Fabregas on my fantasy squad hoping to double-up some big numbers – but he got me 2 or 4 points maybe. I have to confess – I am cheering the Gunners on b/c I am loving their offense (which really misses RVP) – they’ve gotten me a lot of points this season in the fantasy league, so i’m bandwagoning a little.

    Anyway, one week at a time…this week they lose and we win, next week maybe they win and we lose…who knows. There’s still a long way to go.

  • David Nugent

    0 0

    It seems your team really can’t keep you happy CFC Fan!

  • Chelsea FC Fan

    0 0

    haha…I know Dave – i’m being a little ungrateful…”but it is difficult to see past the choices that have not yet been made” (TEST: anybody know where that quote is from?).

    I am very happy with the Blues…almost too happy, so I have to be protective of my boyz…I had to calm the storm otherwise someone else would have said it and probably take a shot or two at CFC (like Brad has been doing – ha! (jk))…it’s too early to tell, and the game is so unpredictable, that within 3 weeks a lot could change.

    As a Blues fan, Fergie worries me – he has a knack for finding diamonds-in-the-rough and they are still sitting on that 80million Ronaldo fund…I have a feeling they are going to sweep up some of Chelsea’s prospects this transfer window which is really going to hurt in the future. Also, they are sitting in 2nd place and trying to figure out their game…???…what’s going to happen if/when they do?

    January 2010 will be a turning point in Chelsea’s wonderful season so far – I just hope it turns out for the better.

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