Why Chelsea FC Are So Far Ahead Of The Other Premier league Giants
By Lou Flavius
Chelsea Running Away With The Title? – Flickr Creative Commons
The Premier League‘s biggest teams have gone into meltdown — except for Chelsea FC of course. The Blues are currently leading the pack, having snagged 29 points from a possible 33. Had it not been for Frank Lampard’s untimely equalizer at the Etihad, and the referee’s incompetence at Old Trafford, their record would be unblemished.
Any team would accept 29 points from 11 games before a ball was kicked this season, but Jose Mourinho’s men have worked hard to get to such heights. They haven’t made many mistakes, and they are strong in every area. The solid performances of Nemanja Matic combined with the brilliance of Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Oscar, finished off by the prolific Diego Costa has seen the Blues score 28 goals so far this season.
Chelsea looks to be running away with the title, and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has already conceded that Chelsea could have it won by early next year — with 100 points.
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Chelsea sit only four points above second-placed Southampton. While the Saints have been on an amazing run under Ronald Koeman, most of us expect them to drop out of the top four by the end of December. They shouldn’t be taken lightly though, as they could remain in the title hunt till the end.
Southampton will have a whole lot to do before they could be considered a giant in the Premier League. Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have already done enough to prove that they are — so let’s forget about the Saints for a little bit.
The Blues are eight points clear of Man City, 12 clear of Arsenal, 13 clear of Man United and 15 clear of Liverpool.
Those gaps would have certainly been understandable if they presented themselves towards the end of the season; but with only 11 games played, what could have gone wrong? Are the bigger teams getting too complacent? Are the smaller teams getting better? Lets take a closer look.
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Rush The Kop
Manchester City won the title last season, but only just. Liverpool basically gave it away, while Chelsea could not get over the final hurdles due to their lack of a “killer instinct.”
This season, City hasn’t looked like the same team, and Manuel Pelligrini’s tactical inflexibility is really hurting their chances. Yaya Toure — one of the main contributors last season — doesn’t look the same player. The midfield is obviously lacking solidity, Fernandinho hasn’t recovered from the thrashing he received from the Germans at the World cup, and Fernando hasn’t made much of a difference.
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Playing for 90
The defense is a bit leaky as well, but this team should simply be outscoring opponents. New defender Eliaquim Mangala has only played one good game (vs Chelsea) so far, and Gael Clichy does not show up every game.
Apart from the sporadic brilliance of now-injured David Silva, Sergio Aguero’s individual play is the only thing keeping City afloat. The striker already has 12 goals to his name, City will need him healthy for the rest of the season, they’re as good as done otherwise.
Manchester United has struggled since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson. Louis Van Gaal — the club’s third manager since the Scot’s departure — has led the Red Devils to their worst ever start to a Premier League Campaign. Since taking up the reigns, the Dutchman has seen the club part with £131.6 million pounds, spent on transfer fees and wage increases.
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Red Devil Armada
He has admitted that he is “feeling very lousy” due to his horrendous initiation, and he has now asked for three years to turn things around. Whether the club and its supporters will be able to wait patiently for such a long period remains to be seen.
Van Gaal has not found a way to make it work, having already experimented with three formations, and several different players in different positions. New signing Angel Di Maria has shown plenty of brilliance, but his consistency leaves a lot to be desired. Radamel Falcao has yet to show anything near the standard he set for himself at his previous clubs.
Arsenal’s struggle does not come as much of a surprise, but I still expected better from them as Wenger has uncharacteristically splashed the cash on Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.
Ozil is now out injured, which may be a good thing; the German is quite uninspiring, contributing a huge zero of anything per game. Sanchez on the other hand, has been absolutely brilliant; like Aguero, he has put his team on his back and kept them in a decent position.
The loss of French defender Laurent Koscielny has hurt the Gunners, their defending is quite shaky. New-boy Calum Chambers put lots of quality on display, but in his last outing against Swansea, he was made to look a fool by Jefferson Montero who was unstoppable out on the left wing.
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Pain in the Arsenal
Arsenal’s main problem — in my view — is their style of play, they are always in search of the perfect goal. I have nothing against beautiful football, but it’s getting less successful every year. Just look at Spain’s World Cup performance — or Barcelona’s fall from glory.
There is nothing wrong with the passing game, but I believe that balance is key. Knowing when to knock the ball around, and when to play direct, is what wins football games.
The Blues have the perfect blend of players, and just the right balance. Hazard, Fabregas and Oscar can pass as well as any number 10 in the game, but they can also get physical. Costa can be used as a battering ram, but his movement is out of this world, as he can find spaces in the defense and play off the shoulder of the last man.
Arsene Wenger needs to wake up, his tactics are anachronistic, he needs to repay the undeserved patience which he has received from the club and fans alike.
Liverpool’s woes didn’t surprise me one bit, they were in uncharted territory last season and that was because of one man — Luis Suarez. Daniel Sturridge is right up there with the best strikers in the world, but Liverpool would have been nowhere without Suarez.
The defending was very poor, but it was masked by the amount of goals they scored. Now that the goals have dried up, their true colors are beginning to show. Liverpool may be England’s most decorated club, but the fact that they have never won a title in the Premier League era just proves that they are a bunch of has-beens. In my opinion, they are right where they should be on the table.
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The league’s biggest teams have been in self-destruct mode so far, but their poor form is also down to the valiant performances from the smaller fish in the pond. Swansea, West Ham and Newcastle are punching above their height, while the Saints continue to march.
The quality has definitely improved all around; Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson has exhibited immense quality, while West Ham’s new signings Enner Valencia and Diafra Sahko have made a real difference.
Southampton provided the biggest surprise though, after losing manager Mauricio Pottechino, Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers, Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert, the club now sits in second place, four points away from Chelsea, having only conceded five goals.
They haven’t faced a big challenge, as they are yet to play any of the league’s top (not in terms of the table) teams. If they can take a few points of those teams, they may just find themselves playing Champions League Football next season.
This may turn out to be one of the most boring seasons in recent times; Chelsea are so far ahead of the legitimate contenders. If they could get past the turn of the year with those same gaps (or bigger), the title will surely be theirs.