Bearing all this in mind it is unsurprising that every sports media contributor, whether it be a pundit or journalist, believe Chelsea are sewn-on champions. So obvious is this supposition that the same folk are now naturally wondering if Chelsea can go the League season unbeaten. The narrative is already building up to a cataclysmic crescendo. The storm will break when we lose a game. If this happens whilst there is still a chance that we won't be champions the ensuing media-frenzy might rival the Liverpool parade to the title earlier in the year (until we put a stop to that nonsense).
Everyone is waiting for us to lose; either to give themselves a glimmer of hope in the League, or so they can start writing incredible trash about a 'crisis'. And frankly, so am I - waiting to lose I mean. I do this because: Firstly, the sooner we lose the sooner the media can take a more even-handed approach towards us. This will lessen the pressure. Secondly, earnestly believing that we will eventually lose is the most I can do to ensure that it does not happen. That's called superstition. The Manager thinking the same is the best surety against complacency (which is our only potential issue according to everyone.)
So what issues do we have?
Let's talk about our defense. It has been lauded - after all it is the joint second best in the League. However, it sounds better than it is. Look below to see the plain truth:
Best Defensive Records - Goals conceded
- Southampton - 5
- Chelsea, Swansea - 11
- Man City - 12
- Arsenal, Stoke - 13
- West Ham, Man Utd - 14
It's good but it's not the best is it? If you include other competitions you see that Chelsea have managed to concede at least one goal in most games. In 17 (undefeated) games we have kept only four clean sheets. They are:
- Leicester h 2-0
- Aston Villa h 3-0
- Arsenal h 2-0
- Maribor h 6-0
Those are all teams that we would expect to get clean sheets against. We also conceded against Strawberry Town. If we return to the former list, we see that Chelsea's defensive results are not dissimilar to that of Swansea, Man City, Arsenal and Stoke. West Ham and Man Utd aren't much worse than us. Southampton are much better than us defensively and they lost their best defender to Liverpool. We should note that what clean sheets we do have were all gained in home games. This means that invariably we have conceded when playing away. It's not a good trend and it will eventually catch up with us.
Why is this?
Ivanovic has been awesome in attack this season. However, he has been doing so much attacking that he is inevitably doing less defending. This does not mean that he is any less the defender we know and love, it's just that he's not always there anymore. Aggressive full-backs are necessary to help break down parked buses which is great, but the space left behind is an obvious target for opponents. This brings us to one of the men who would fill that space - Gary Cahill.
I like Cahill. He is a humble fella and he was there in Munich. But that does not make him a world-class, or even a great centre-back. When we bought him back in January 2012 did we think we were getting the next great English centre-back? I don't recall feeling that. He hasn't done much wrong, but he is clearly limited and needs Terry next to him to be comfortable. His commitment, physicality and ability to make excellent blocks commend him highly. However, he does not read the game that well because otherwise he wouldn't have to make so many desperate, if incredible, blocks. Furthermore, he is strangely non-committal when an attacker dribbles at him. A long-term concern would be what happens when Terry retires (which can't be long now). I don't think Cahill can lead our centre-defense, and neither can Happy Zouma. We will need an authoritative replacement for Terry.
Talking about Terry: If we were to lose him we would be in trouble so fingers-crossed for Varane.
Fabregas has been wonderful for us. How many assists already? But again he does come with drawbacks when played next to Matic. He just ain't a defensive-minded player. People ghost past him too easily and then they can confuse Cahill to score. Personally, I feel the trade-off is well worth the while - long may Fabregas play for Chelsea.
Negative though the above has been, I think it important to highlight the reality that our defense has room for improvement. Comparisons to our team that only lost one game 04/05 in the League are quite farcical. That team could win one nil easily. This team, as we saw in Manchester, can't. If we had avoided conceding in Manchester I might be here joining with, rather than disproving the hype.
The Attacking Side
We are playing the best 'anti-football' in the League. Bus to Bugatti? People forget how we played great football at the start of last season - but that only culminated in a 2-3 defeat away to Stoke. Assaidi who? Then we got pragmatic and almost won the League.
Honestly, I do not have many concerns regarding our attack. We have wonderful team goals and plenty of talented individuals who can change a game. We might even be able to suffer an absence of Hazard. What we can't afford to lose for any period of time is Costa. The goal-threat just isn't substantially there without him. For me, Drogba has lost his touch and pace so isn't much use apart from as a fire-fighter for stoppage-time corners. But I think Remy is a perfectly adequate stand-in when he gets fit again.
Champions elect are found in Spring, not Autumn. Let's count our trophies when they are in the cabinet, not the newspapers.
