05 Jan 2017 09:26:31
Personally I wouldn't make too much of Chelseas defeat last night. 13 straight wins was no fluke, but everyone loses a game eventually even teams like PSG or Bayern who are so far ahead of their domestic rivals still lose games. I doubt there will be a collapse from Chelsea now, there run of good form is built on a solid defence, add to that a return to form for Costa and Hazard as well as Conte getting the best out of players such as Pedro and Moses. I don't see Chelsea dropping too many points this season.
Look at us for example, we have had a poor start to the season, we drew 5 games on the bounce but we are still within touching distance of the top four. that's the difference between losing and drawing games. At least when you draw you are still picking up points while also denying 2 points to rival teams.
For me Spurs and Liverpool are the teams most likely to have a collapse at some point, their style of play is based on high energy high octane full speed football. Very entertaining to watch but exhausting for the players especially in a season after and international tournament.
Arsenal will likely start to have their post Christmas wobble.
Man City are the interesting one, in theory they have the strongest squad, they have one of the best managers in world football. And yet after a good first 10 games they seem slightly underwhelming. Recently Pep has come across unhappy his team aren't meeting his expectations for some reason. I really don't know what will happen with City over the second half of the season.
That leaves us, we have quietly picked up some very good form. Most inform team over the last 5 games now with Chelseas defeat last night.
We have a manager who knows how to compete in this league, Chelsea for me will walk the league from here on unless they have several key players pick up injuries. It looks like it will be a very interesting second half of the season and we are right in the mix.
05 Jan 2017 09:41:52
To be fair Shappy i don't think Chelsea were that good yesterday to be honest they have their weakness.
I think they will drop a few points from now until the end of the season. I see us and City beating them infact Liverpool will also nick points of them.
05 Jan 2017 10:24:02
Singh, they weren't great yesterday but then everyone has an off day. They will definately drop more points between now and May. But will they drop more points than those teams below them? Probably not imo. All the teams below them imo have bigger weaknesses than Chelsea do.
I don't think the result yesterday will be a killing blow to their title chances.
05 Jan 2017 12:00:33
Good post shappy and I can see where you validate such points.
I, however am going to reserve my judgement on Chelsea until after their next 4 games which are leicester, hull, liverpool and arsenal.
Barring Hull, I think that is a massive run of fixtures especially after a loss. If they can come through those fixtures with a healthy lead at the top then I feel they will surely be in the strongest position.
But I will wait till after those league games as I feel it will either separate them from the rest or bring them right back into the fight.
05 Jan 2017 12:16:51
Angelred, for me the tricky tie in that run for Chelsea is the Liverpool game. Leicester have been very poor this season, they are doing their bit to prove all those pundits calling them "one season wonders" correct.
Hull have a horrendous fixture list where they play us three times in 4 weeks, twice in the EFL cup as well as the mentioned Chelsea fixture. They have just sacked their manager and the new guy will have to hit the ground running with their fixtures. The new manager could give the players a boost, but he has no experience in the EPL and I'm not sure what his english is like.
Arsenal look like they are starting their annual collapse, like clockwork. They will pick it up again around March, but that's long after the Chelsea fixture.
Liverpool are in good form, but then again with Mane leaving for the Afcon and if we beat them then they could be have a wobble against Chelsea. For me Mane has been their most important player this season. He fits Klopps system perfectly. But then they have Coutinho coming back, how he performs after a period on the treatment table will be key in the games against us and Chelsea.
I see two easy games and two potentially tricky games for Chelsea in their next four.
05 Jan 2017 12:44:59
Yes the first 2 could possibly be very easy but I still feel that the following 2 will put them in a stronger position or not.
I'm going to just wait and see because you just never know what might happen. I still feel arsenal, although troubled, will still be able to take points from Chelsea.
I agree, mane leaving for AFCON coupled with the fact that Liverpool play an incredibly high tempo and high output kind of game might leave them open to losing more points as the season wears on.
Maybe its just a hope but I still feel Chelsea will lose valuable points come their next 4.
05 Jan 2017 13:57:24
Chelsea fan here (some may already know that as I've posted on here in the past) . Regarding last night's game, we did play badly. Our attacking players were missing passes all over the place, Kante was a non factor in the middle and our finishing was crap.
Spurs played well. They pressed like rabid dogs, the ref let them get away with a bit too much physicality and they kept the tempo high. However, they only got 2 chances. Unfortunately Alli put them away expertly, but still. For all their "dominance" and our being pretty bad, they only came up with 2 chances. Chelsea on the other hand had more chances in my opinion. And if Hazard had any clue as to how to finish a chance then I think we would've actually won the game. All that despite us playing pretty badly.
So yes, we aren't going to leave the pack behind. It'll be a tight race, but I'm pretty sure Chelsea will be in it. It's a blip, but we're still a strong squad. I don't think the loss showed us to be pretenders, but quite the opposite. Spurs needed a really good game to beat us, and they needed us to waste chances as well. Any other game I'd expect Hazard to get a brace with those opportunities he had.
Also, I've said this before and I'll say it again, you guys are a lock for top 4. You've got way too much talent not to make it, not to mention quite a good manager. I expect that come May you'll be 1st, 2nd or 3rd, but no lower than that.
05 Jan 2017 15:04:31
Jackson,
You have more optimism that me about United. Don't get me wrong we're improving all the time and getting the results we deserve now. But I think we fell too far behind early on.
I agree we have a lot of talent and actually think it will be next season when we see a really good United unit. For this season though I think 4th will be a good finish. I don't see Liverpool or Cheslea outside of the top 2 this year.
05 Jan 2017 16:49:02
It's Leicester's away form that's let them down, Shappy. At home they've been quite solid, and since getting Kasper back have stopped leaking goals. Could be a trickier game than you anticipate.
05 Jan 2017 17:03:44
Could be Somersetred, but then that's the beauty of the EPL. Any team can beat anyone without it really being a total shock. I don't see Chelsea having too much trouble though if they play their best football.