WRITING this column on Monday is particularly difficult because whatever happened last night will have a huge impact on the rest of the season.
If we won, the Champions League will remain the priority, well for everyone except most of the fans anyway, and if we didn’t, I hope we are not left ruing the number of times we have let a clear lead slip.
If we have got through, it will be a minor miracle, with injuries to so many key players but principally Cech, Ashley Cole and Essien. And if we are out, then it’s probably the last hurrah for the team in its current shape.
We should have won the Champions League by now. Heaven knows we gave it a good go in the noughties having been thwarted by managerial insanity (Ranieri away against Monaco), a ghost goal at Anfield, the width of a post in Moscow and the world’s worst referee last season.
Longer-term, Chelsea supporters will see a parallel with the FA Cup. It took us 65 years to win it with a series of demoralising semi-final and final defeats in the 50s and 60s against unpopular opponents — Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham. Then it was finally bagged in 1970 in that great final against Leeds and in the past 15 years has become a regular occurrence. Chelsea may just have to win Europe’s top competition when we least expect it.
The closeness of this title race has given me a hyper-critical eye. I wince at every pass that goes astray, tut when a ball is intercepted, roll my eyes and sigh dramatically when a shot doesn’t hit its target. I will have an ulcer come May.
We could, and should, have put the title beyond anyone else’s reach weeks ago. Failure to do so has left me belligerent about the team, the manager, the tactics. The season as a whole.
I see that Wenger’s constant moaning is already borne fruit in allowing last man Campbell to stay on the pitch after conceding the penalty in the Hull game. So it should have been 10 v 10 (as Boateng was rightly shown red), but instead they remained at full strength to allow them to score a customary last-minute winning goal.
Every advantage at this stage will have an impact as Wenger well knows. I wonder if someone has told Ancelotti that there’s a reason we have what are called "mind games" in England.
Taking the league is down to more than having good players and good tactics. It’s about luck, it’s about injuries, it’s about handling the pressure, it’s about motivation, it’s about out-thinking your opposition and winning a margin against the officials. In his eight years at Milan, Ancelotti won just one title — with a team of superstars — which makes me wonder how good (or not) he is at the other stuff.
It’s the motivation issue that concerns me the most; too often this season we have seen weak first-half performances followed by indifferent showings after the interval.
Some players have to step up to the plate and compensate for other failings and two unlikely heroes are doing just that — Florent Malouda and Branislav Ivanovic.
Malouda impressed again against West Ham and is making telling contributions.
He now is often our only source of real pace, frequently delivering excellent balls from wide or finding himself in the mix when a dangerous shot is whipped in. He has proven he has an eye for goal and could be the catalyst to drag us over that finishing line. He has also, selflessly, played at left-back, in central midfield, in "the hole" as well as in his favoured left-wing berth.
Ivanovic has become a popular player among supporters for his endless running, hard tackling, attitude, throw-ins and the ease with which he adapts to any position. The two goals against Liverpool last season also endeared him to fans. With Ashley Cole out, it’s probably between him and Drogba for the club’s player of the year. The rest of the team could do worse than look at his attitude and adopt it until the end of the season.
Anyway, back to more mundane matters. Blackburn this weekend. It’s going to be ugly.
* Contact Trizia on Trizia_f@hotmail.com
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wednesday, March 17, 2010
