I have been asked numerous times this week whether I think Chelsea will drop points at home to Wigan at the weekend and the answer has to be…no. The 2-0 win at Liverpool effectively means that Carlo Ancelotti’s team won the title last weekend as I cannot see Roberto Martinez’ team stopping the Blues at Stamford Bridge.
People argue that amazing things happen all the time in football and while that’s true, 99% of the time it doesn’t. I have no doubts that Chelsea will beat Wigan relatively comfortably and I would be more than happy to take bets from whoever thinks otherwise. The tough game in this run-in should have been at Anfield but to be honest, Rafa Benitez’ team were pretty pathetic on the day and not what you would expect from what is a great club. Ok, they put up a fight for 20 or so minutes but football is played over 90 minutes and the Reds in this time were distinctly second best. After all, Chelsea didn’t even play particularly well themselves but still won at a canter as Liverpool didn’t manage a shot on target for god knows how long.
Liverpool were there for the taking which is a sad indictment of how far they’ve fallen this season. Fair enough, they lost a draining Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid on Thursday night and were without their best striker but a club of their standard should be able to bounce back. The Reds team had the look of a side that would be glad to see the back of what has been a simply terrible season. Even at the end of the match the fans left in droves as a half empty Anfield clapped off their team after a 2009/10 campaign to forget.
Chelsea will win the title but even they haven’t played as well as they can through much of the campaign. They were simply awful at Tottenham when they were really given the run around which you just wouldn’t expect from this Chelsea team but they remain top and will lift the title with the double looking a certainty.
The big four clubs have all been weaker than they have been in recent seasons but out of all of them, Chelsea were weakened the least. Manchester United lost two top quality players in Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo while Liverpool have never recovered from the sale of Xabi Alonso while Arsenal have flattered to deceive but ultimately not rectified the obvious frailties in their squad. Chelsea kept their squad together and although they barely strengthened it, that has been enough.
Next season will be even more interesting with the likes of Tottenham, Manchester City and Everton likely to be up there. All of those teams will strengthen with City definitely looking to bring in more talent which makes them a real threat to the usual status quo. Liverpool are the main team out of the big four that needs to strengthen the most which was backed up by comments from Rafa Benitez that he needed five or six new players in the summer. Now if you have been manager of a club for as long as the Spaniard that is a big statement as he has had enough time to build a capable squad, it’s not as if he has just joined a club that needs an overhaul, this is the team he has built. Those comments are a sad indictment of his own work and surely doesn’t reflect well on his own purchases.
Chelsea may secure the title this weekend but for me, the win at Anfield was the result that means the Blues are on course for a historic domestic double. Manchester United fans will be praying but there won’t be any shocks at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
People argue that amazing things happen all the time in football and while that’s true, 99% of the time it doesn’t. I have no doubts that Chelsea will beat Wigan relatively comfortably and I would be more than happy to take bets from whoever thinks otherwise. The tough game in this run-in should have been at Anfield but to be honest, Rafa Benitez’ team were pretty pathetic on the day and not what you would expect from what is a great club. Ok, they put up a fight for 20 or so minutes but football is played over 90 minutes and the Reds in this time were distinctly second best. After all, Chelsea didn’t even play particularly well themselves but still won at a canter as Liverpool didn’t manage a shot on target for god knows how long.
Liverpool were there for the taking which is a sad indictment of how far they’ve fallen this season. Fair enough, they lost a draining Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid on Thursday night and were without their best striker but a club of their standard should be able to bounce back. The Reds team had the look of a side that would be glad to see the back of what has been a simply terrible season. Even at the end of the match the fans left in droves as a half empty Anfield clapped off their team after a 2009/10 campaign to forget.
Chelsea will win the title but even they haven’t played as well as they can through much of the campaign. They were simply awful at Tottenham when they were really given the run around which you just wouldn’t expect from this Chelsea team but they remain top and will lift the title with the double looking a certainty.
The big four clubs have all been weaker than they have been in recent seasons but out of all of them, Chelsea were weakened the least. Manchester United lost two top quality players in Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo while Liverpool have never recovered from the sale of Xabi Alonso while Arsenal have flattered to deceive but ultimately not rectified the obvious frailties in their squad. Chelsea kept their squad together and although they barely strengthened it, that has been enough.
Next season will be even more interesting with the likes of Tottenham, Manchester City and Everton likely to be up there. All of those teams will strengthen with City definitely looking to bring in more talent which makes them a real threat to the usual status quo. Liverpool are the main team out of the big four that needs to strengthen the most which was backed up by comments from Rafa Benitez that he needed five or six new players in the summer. Now if you have been manager of a club for as long as the Spaniard that is a big statement as he has had enough time to build a capable squad, it’s not as if he has just joined a club that needs an overhaul, this is the team he has built. Those comments are a sad indictment of his own work and surely doesn’t reflect well on his own purchases.
Chelsea may secure the title this weekend but for me, the win at Anfield was the result that means the Blues are on course for a historic domestic double. Manchester United fans will be praying but there won’t be any shocks at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
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