Chelsea
'Autumn Champions' Suffer Winter Wobble
Deadly Harry Kane
By Gary Watton
January 7 2015
The running joke amongst the Chelsea faithful of Three Points Lane became a horrible Nul Points Lane as the Blues made the worst possible start to 2015, a year that promises so much, but on the evidence of this shambolic visit to norf London, it could conceivably produce very little, apart from more glorious near-misses in the quest for silverware.
Oh well. At least John Terry scored yet again, although his effort from close range was merely a damage limitation exercise. He even netted in the same fixture last season. Good old JT. What a legend. Maybe the same could not be said yet of his defensive partner, Mr Cahill, who endured a torrid time at the lane, at the hands of the exceptional Harry Kane. Young Kane's reputation will be based upon his outstanding performance in this fixture. However, will he build upon his heroics here, or is he the latest in a growing list of players and teams [Newcastle especially] who produce their best against Chelsea and then go back into their shell thereafter?
Meanwhile, on 'Match Of The Day' the surprisingly astute Robbie Savage was being rather savage about Nemanja Matic's efforts, or perhaps lack of them. He correctly observed that Matic was pulled all over the place by the movement of Eriksen, which consequently left Cahill and Terry more exposed than usual. Regrettably, Fabregas was unable to fill in the void vacated by the big Serb. Furthermore, a Chelsea pundit suggested that Mourinho's insistence upon playing his best eleven week after week had left the likes of the unrested Matic and a few others "drained" for this derby encounter. There may be some truth in this, but ultimately both teams have had an equally heavy workload in December with Capital One Cup, European, and Premiership commitments a-plenty.
I must confess to being bemused that Mourinho only used two of his three substitutions when clearly a third reinforcement was called for. Why has Remy scarcely kicked a ball in anger since his fine goal against the same opposition a few weeks ago? Why was the proven battering ram of Drogba withheld when he has a good track record against Tottensham?
Personally I think that Thibaut Courtois has escaped criticism for way too long, most probably because his clean sheets have been a consequence of a well-drilled midfield and defence that has succeeded in keeping all manner of invaders at bay. However, there have been few occasions this season when the big Belgian has been called upon to make an important save. Instead, he has been largely redundant, thanks to the efficiency of those in front of him. The thing is, on the rarest of occasions when your defence and midfielders let you down, then it is up to the goalkeeper to bail his teammates out, and unfortunately Courtois was unable to do that. Whereas De Gea has proven himself especially in early season by rescuing his team when they were struggling, on the one occasion when the Chelsea team were crying out for escapology from their goalie, he was unable to deliver. Of course it was not TC's fault that Chelsea lost. Nevertheless, he needs to prove his cosmic status. While Schmeichel saved ManUre maybe about a dozen points in a season, I cannot think of one point or one outstanding save that the Belgian superstar has achieved. Is he really worthy of a start ahead of Petr Cech? I really wonder.
Next on the Premiership horizon will be the thieving Magpies of Newcastle United. Back in early 2010, Sir Alex Ferguson was asked how he hoped Arse-nil would cope in their next match at Chelsea. "I hope they batter them", Fergie replied. Of course they didn't. Anyhow, I do sincerely hope that the Blues "batter" Newcastle, with a minimum of a four-goal margin. That defeat on Tyneside looks all the more costly, and all the more ridiculous, given that Newcastle have subsequently deteriorated against all and sundry. We really should annihilate the Geordie swine in order to avenge those three precious points that should never have been lost. Alan Shearer stated that "Newcastle thoroughly deserved" that win. I beg to differ. They got lucky, with Chelsea fluffing chances and Cisse converting the only two that they created. Hopefully, they won't be so lucky on Saturday the tenth. As for Tottensham, there was no luck or even bad refereeing decisions responsible for their win. They just happened to play very well on a day when Chelsea chose not to. Mind you, even a bad Blues outing resulted in a face-saving five-three, a result which remarkably leaves Chelsea and Manchester Mercenaries tied on identical points, goals scored, and goals conceded! However, it's my belief that the momentum is clearly with Manchester Wannabes who have wiped out an eight-point gap and are looking ominous now, assisted by a certain Mr Lampard.
Tottenham Hotspur 5 CHELSEA 3; half time: 3-1. Thursday 1st January 2015.
CHELSEA goal scorers: Costa; Hazard; Terry
CHELSEA team: Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Willian, Fabregas, Oscar, Matic, Hazard, Costa. Used substitutes: Ramires, Salah.
CHELSEA LEADING SCORERS:
Costa - 14 goals
Hazard - 11 goals
Drogba - 6 goals
Fabregas, Oscar, Schurrle, and Terry - 4 goals
Matic and Remy - 3 goals
Ivanovic, Ramires, and Willian - 2 goals
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07/01/2015 16:11
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