Title Run In

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

If we score 20 goals fom now till end of the season we will win the league IMO

[lionsden 4,689]

Plenty of people including neutral fans and pundits overrate our squad massively. Make no mistake about it, the table does lie and our position in the league as been mostly down to a combination of factors i,e Jose influence, luck ( in huge quantities) and ofcourse the rock solid defence and structure leading to the best defensive record in the league , this is where jose's influence has been most evident.

Looking at it objectively however, most of our players including those in the starting eleven really aren't all that good and people's perception of players like Oscar, Luiz, Ramires,Lampard (current version ofcourse),Schurrle, William and co is a far cry from reality and there's no need to even acknowledge the striking situation as that will be pointing out the obvious.

If we do an unbiased analysis of our squad starting with the first eleven, in my opinion, the defence which is our main strenght aside, only hazard and perhaps Matic at a push would/could get into other "top 6 teams in Europe's starting eleven. which other players in our team excluding Cech, hazard and some of the defenders would make it into the starting eleven of Bayern, Madrid, Barca,Dortmund,PSG,Man city.

And other teams like Arsenal, Juventus, Liverpool et al have suprior midfield and forward than us collectively.

We need to lower our expectations and realise that our squad is a combination of highly mechanical,technically deficient players, young players who haven't yet reached their prime and players who are talked about only in terms of potential rather than ability and some flat out overrated players etc.

And this is why I'm always baffled when majority see us as a major force domestically and in Europe based on our squad strength. The last time I looked at our squad and felt we deserved to be rated amongst the big boys and merited the expectation that often accompanies Europe's elite was the 2008/09 season. even the double winning squad was far from flawless.

To summarize it, Our squad and starting eleven is massively overrated by most.

[zolayes 14,489]

Plenty of people including neutral fans and pundits overrate our squad massively. Make no mistake about it, the table does lie and our position in the league as been mostly down to a combination of factors i,e Jose influence, luck ( in huge quantities) and ofcourse the rock solid defence and structure leading to the best defensive record in the league , this is where jose's influence has been most evident.

Looking at it objectively however, most of our players including those in the starting eleven really aren't all that good and people's perception of players like Oscar, Luiz, Ramires,Lampard (current version ofcourse),Schurrle, William and co is a far cry from reality and there's no need to even acknowledge the striking situation as that will be pointing out the obvious.

If we do an unbiased analysis of our squad starting with the first eleven, in my opinion, the defence which is our main strenght aside, only hazard and perhaps Matic at a push would/could get into other "top 6 teams in Europe's starting eleven. which other players in our team excluding Cech, hazard and some of the defenders would make it into the starting eleven of Bayern, Madrid, Barca,Dortmund,PSG,Man city.

And other teams like Arsenal, Juventus, Liverpool et al have suprior midfield and forward than us collectively.

We need to lower our expectations and realise that our squad is a combination of highly mechanical,technically deficient players, young players who haven't yet reached their prime and players who are talked about only in terms of potential rather than ability etc.

And this is why I'm always baffled when majority see us as a major force domestically and in Europe based on our squad strength. The last time I looked at our squad and felt we deserved to be rated amongst the big boys and merited the expectation that often accompanies Europe's elite was the 2008/09 season. even the double winning squad was far from flawless.

All sides have weaknesses ,,, but you can only see ours .

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

Plenty of people including neutral fans and pundits overrate our squad massively. Make no mistake about it, the table does lie and our position in the league as been mostly down to a combination of factors i,e Jose influence, luck ( in huge quantities) and ofcourse the rock solid defence and structure leading to the best defensive record in the league , this is where jose's influence has been most evident.

Looking at it objectively however, most of our players including those in the starting eleven really aren't all that good and people's perception of players like Oscar, Luiz, Ramires,Lampard (current version ofcourse),Schurrle, William and co is a far cry from reality and there's no need to even acknowledge the striking situation as that will be pointing out the obvious.

If we do an unbiased analysis of our squad starting with the first eleven, in my opinion, the defence which is our main strenght aside, only hazard and perhaps Matic at a push would/could get into other "top 6 teams in Europe's starting eleven. which other players in our team excluding Cech, hazard and some of the defenders would make it into the starting eleven of Bayern, Madrid, Barca,Dortmund,PSG,Man city.

And other teams like Arsenal, Juventus, Liverpool et al have suprior midfield and forward than us collectively.

We need to lower our expectations and realise that our squad is a combination of highly mechanical,technically deficient players, young players who haven't yet reached their prime and players who are talked about only in terms of potential rather than ability etc.

And this is why I'm always baffled when majority see us as a major force domestically and in Europe based on our squad strength. The last time I looked at our squad and felt we deserved to be rated amongst the big boys and merited the expectation that often accompanies Europe's elite was the 2008/09 season. even the double winning squad was far from flawless.

Great points raised there, also have to say I blame the board for some of the squad deficiencies ie we go on and spend 50+ million on willian and schurrle when we are in need of a senior striker

[Yeboii 1,844]

I don't know where else to post this, but I see reports of Giroud's wife wanting to leave London in order to save their marriage. So Arsenal might lose their only striker next season. Maybe they won't be as much of a problem as they have been this season.

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

All sides have weaknesses ,,, but you can only see ours .

Ours have been there for a while to be honest, since Carlo was here we knew we needed a central midfielder but we have gone on to spent over 200 million without bringing one until Matic, also the striker dpt we all knew for the last 3 seasons Torres is not the answer and we need a new striker what do we do we go on and spend 50+ million on schurrle and Willian a position we were covered

[lionsden 4,689]

Great points raised there, also have to say I blame the board for some of the squad deficiencies ie we go on and spend 50+ million on willian and schurrle when we are in need of a senior striker

I absolutely agree with that and most of the blame lies at the feet of Emenalo& co. he squandered majority of our transfer funds on players who either weren't needed, weren't good enough or weren't ready (and may never be good enough either) to make any real impact and contributions to the first team.

misplaced priority and gross incompetence of identify the teams weakness and addressing it accordingly.

[didierforever 7,349]

Lol at all this over-reaction. One loss guys. Our first one in PL in about 12/13 games!!!! Disgraceful reactions and comments.

[The Skipper 20,609]

I absolutely agree with that and most of the blame lies at the feet of Emenalo& co. he squandered majority of our transfer funds on players who either weren't needed, weren't good enough or weren't ready (and may never be good enough either) to make any real impact and contributions to the first team.

misplaced priority and gross incompetence of identify the teams weakness and addressing it accordingly.

Disagree. Emelano is so easy to blame but many are forgetting that after the summer transfer window we were only a CDM and ST away from having the complete squad. We clearly had a budget for a striker (Rooney, the one that Mou wanted) but we didn't get him and Mou thought Eto'o's signing would paper over the cracks for this season, and it was also Mou's decision to loan out Lukaku.

Mou gave the heads up for the Schurrle signing (he said this himself IIRC) and the Willian signing was also under his approval. He then sold Mata and KDB (two very solid squad players at the very least) and brought in Salah, a typical Mourinho player.

Honestly we were fine but Mou wants to build the squad in his own style hence why we got rid of Mata and KDB. If we just brought in Matic in January we'd be 1/2 players away from a complete squad (ST, LB). You can't really blame Emelano for Mourinho trying to build the squad in his image.

It seriously annoys me when people want to blame Emelano for the squad make up when he's clearly working in tandem with Jose, trying to create the squad that Jose wants.

[lionsden 4,689]

Disagree. Emelano is so easy to blame but many are forgetting that after the summer transfer window we were only a CDM and ST away from having the complete squad. We clearly had a budget for a striker (Rooney, the one that Mou wanted) but we didn't get him and Mou thought Eto'o's signing would paper over the cracks for this season, and it was also Mou's decision to loan out Lukaku.

Mou gave the heads up for the Schurrle signing (he said this himself IIRC) and the Willian signing was also under his approval. He then sold Mata and KDB (two very solid squad players at the very least) and brought in Salah, a typical Mourinho player.

Honestly we were fine but Mou wants to build the squad in his own style hence why we got rid of Mata and KDB. If we just brought in Matic in January we'd be 1/2 players away from a complete squad (ST, LB). You can't really blame Emelano for Mourinho trying to build the squad in his image.

It seriously annoys me when people want to blame Emelano for the squad make up when he's clearly working in tandem with Jose, trying to create the squad that Jose wants.

Your argument about 2 players away from a complete squad butresses my point that most overrate our squad and players a great deal. Then again complete squad would be relative to the standard one wishes to set and judge a squad by.

If the aim and ultimate goal was to become/rejoin Europe's elite then we would have needed more than just 2 signings to complete the squad. for starters, Ashley cole is on the way out and Ivanovic's only real competition at right back is the current first choice LB.

Secondly we have no regista sans midfield controller. so with the signing of a defensive midfielder in Matic, we are still desperately lacking a top class midfielder who can orchestrate play from deep and be the link between defence and attack. our Xavi/Bastian/Gundogan/Pirlo if you will. Add to that Lampard,an AM forced to play in CM, is obviously on the wane and likely on the way out in the summer, Ramires clearly lacks the technical ability and intelligence required to play and flourish in CM at a club with big aspirations and Mikel isn't the most reliable midfielder around which imho leaves Matic has the only real midfielder worth his salt in the current squad.

Also despite all the attacking midfielders and wingers we purchased over the last 3 seasons, how many of them actually good enough and consistently produce the goods. Oscar must be the most uncreative no 10 (if you want to call him that) at any top European club statistically and visually and William, for all his technical ability consistently lacks the end product and schurrle isn't much better for all his intelligent attacking runs. And I'm not even sure others like Marin and Moses are even good enough as squad options which again leaves only Hazard as the genuine quality out of all the AM's and Wingers we have. A classic case of quantity over quality.

The same can also be applied to the striking position. Ba is clearly not good enough, Eto'o is past his prime and Torres is unreliable and has never been since his game has deteriorated to the point of no return which means that unless Jose rates and likes Lukaku and sees him in his future plans, we would require more than just one striker signing.

I'm not so sure it would only require 2 key signings, one of which we have already made in Matic, in order to complete the jigsaw.

You will have to forgive me for having high standard.

[Beepu 1,714]

We still have a chance to win it, but even if we don't it's still alright. Compared to last year, our position in the league has been a major improvement.

The premier league is really intense this season. Meanwhile in the bundesliga, Bayern is on 71 points while 2nd place Dortmund is on 48. They can easily concentrate their players and focus on the Champions League.

[teignman 441]

We essentially have no margin for error now. Not ideal, but not impossible either.

[Rhonin 14]

I like many fans find myself upset with the lost but as said we have been doing so well till this lost so im sure we are going to be hungry and ready for the next game i have faith we will still get the title this year and as someone mentioned even if the worst case comes true that for whatever reason we dont get the title atleast we have done better then last year and look on the bright side we will be spending in the summer for sure getting a striker while also fixing up any weaknesses i trust the club will put in some awesome performances for the rest of the season and i trust the board will fix our weaknesses we have i close with

HAVE FAITH GUYS ^.^

[bushman 2,043]

So much was said, analyzed about Cjelsea´s chances to win it all in recent weeks.

The bottom line, still remains the same. Chelsea needs to win against Arsenal, Liverpool & all remaining games.

Then hoping for Citeh to drop points along the way. Pretty difficult task, but not something that is impossible.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I absolutely agree with that and most of the blame lies at the feet of Emenalo& co. he squandered majority of our transfer funds on players who either weren't needed, weren't good enough or weren't ready (and may never be good enough either) to make any real impact and contributions to the first team.

misplaced priority and gross incompetence of identify the teams weakness and addressing it accordingly.

Emenalo seems to attract stick when things go wrong, but never gets credit when things go right. Maybe he's just got the right type of face for some to lay the blame at his feet.

Anyway, before Emenalo came in our transfer policy was a mess. The highlight will be Torres for £50 million, a transfer that has been a financial burden ever since in terms of both wages and amortised transfer fees. But we were a mess in transfer dealings for years before that, leading to an ageing squad and underinvestment in the future.

Now we've actually got a much better transfer record. We've an abundance of young talent (two players who could quite conceivably be amongst the best in the world in Hazard and Courtois, and possibly even Oscar if he can regain his form) as well as a much more focused development system. What we've lacked is stability at the top in terms of coaching but that is something we're striving for.

It's not perfect by any means but I'm always happy to discuss the merits of our Technical Director....unfortunately it seems the only time people want to bring his name up is when they're looking for a scapegoat (or should that be a black sheep?).

[bushman 2,043]

To me, Emenalo has done a tremendous job over the years. Just look at Chelsea´s young players, it is all there.

He should be commended for a job well done.

However, we are dealing here with Chelsea´s chances to win the PL title. I believe, nothing is lost yet.

All other teams are not winning their remaining games, I am almost certain of it. Therefore, only time will tell. I keep my hopes up.

[Special Juan 28,141]

I'm more relieved that we face Arsenal next weekend than if we were facing a lesser team.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I'm more relieved that we face Arsenal next weekend than if we were facing a lesser team.

I feel the same. Spurs actually had a lot of good possession yesterday but simply lacked that cutting edge, combined with Arsenal actually having a decent defence. Would love Luiz back in midfield for this one but it comes down to the same thing - Hazard needs to turn it on.

[Special Juan 28,141]

I feel the same. Spurs actually had a lot of good possession yesterday but simply lacked that cutting edge, combined with Arsenal actually having a decent defence. Would love Luiz back in midfield for this one but it comes down to the same thing - Hazard needs to turn it on.

The Villa game was a freak game, complete and utter freak fest. Up to the point of the controversy we had that game in the bag IMO and then Foy gate struck again and all fucking hell broke loose. Jose will have the lads up for this, and Galatasaray....The Villa game will be put to rest with both these games.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

The Villa game was a freak game, complete and utter freak fest. Up to the point of the controversy we had that game in the bag IMO and then Foy gate struck again and all fucking hell broke loose. Jose will have the lads up for this, and Galatasaray....The Villa game will be put to rest with both these games.

Exactly. Beat Galatasaray and the confidence will come flooding back. Bear Arsenal (to effectively end their title challenge once and for all) and we'll be fucking buzzing, almost as if Villa didn't happen.

I thought all along we could afford to lose one of our last nine games. Go unbeaten for the last 8 and we will win the title, winning at least six of them, and we will win the title. I can't see any team matching that turnover.