Nasty words that begin with C... erm, cynic? Because that is all it is, cynicism. I have faith in Ancelotti because of his achievements within two years at Chelsea. Granted this season has been nothing but a disappointment, but you can attribute that to particular things such as the squad being too small to begin with. It is something that many of us were saying at the start of the season - we knew as soon as we suffered a few injuries we would be up Shit Creek without a paddle, and we were absolutely correct. I don't think its fair to blame Ancelotti for the fact the squad only got smaller and weaker over the summer, and you can't blame anyone at all for the bad luck we had with injuries. The measure of any good side is seen in the way how they cope with injuries, yet when you're missing your two best goalscorers in Drogba and Lampard, we're bound to struggle. Filter in the point that we have an ageing squad that can only play so well, and I think over the period of 24 months he has come in, inherited a squad that is not suited to his style of play yet come in and guided us a Double and what looks likely to be a second-placed finish the season after. My faith in Ancelotti has been shaken, but I am going to stand by a man who I have rigorously defended in the past. He signed a three year contract, so we might as well give him that third year for him to reestablish himself in the mind of the supporters. Last season when we were beating teams 7-0 he could do no wrong - funny how times have changed. Ancelotti can only be blamed so far for the catastrophic capitulation we endured - the greatest blame lies with the fact our squad is too small. Too few players means nothing but players playing more games, and that means tiredness and fatigue. Add in the fact there is next to no competition for places (though part of this is because Ancelotti does have his favourites), and it is clear to see why we have fallen short this season. With a productive summer - in terms of bringing in new players. A season like this was bound to happen, you can't expect players like Drogba to carry on playing like they were in their mid-twenties. Bring in some fresh blood, drop the negativity and see what happens next season. We had a season exactly like this in 08/09, but because Hiddink came in a papered over the cracks with an FA Cup win, there were few words of concern. He came in and laid down the blueprint for success in the immediate future, but that has been undermined by a ridiculously small squad. Now we have to regroup and rebuild, and we will come again. At the end of the day this boils down into the same old argument, featuring recycled points and churning out opinions that have been stated a million times before. This is basically a disagreement between those who choose to Keep The Faith and those that want change. Don't get me wrong, I'm disappointed about this season too and I think we need an almighty shake-up. I just think the faith that was shown in Ancelotti was very fickle, and it disappoints me further to see how people can offer blank words as an argument.
