Premier League Round 15: The good, the bad and the ugly

The Bad

Chelsea

Without going back through each edition of the good, the bad and the ugly, it is reasonable to assume that Chelsea, in some shape or form, have been on the bad or the ugly portions of the column quite often.

They have been terrible this season. There are only two saving graces to what has been a total dumpster fire for a team that had aspirations of repeating as Premier League champions. The first is that there is plenty of time left for them to claw their way back into the race for a Europa League place next season (I don’t see top four as a realistic option and neither does Jose Mourinho; honestly, I’m not sure top seven is an option anymore). The second thing is that they managed to qualify for the first knockout round of the Champions League and could get a favorable draw (as favorable as it gets for a team playing as poorly as they are).

With that being said, Chelsea are not playing well and should exercise caution in believing they should beat any of the teams which qualified as second place sides.

Anyways, the Blues lost at home to Bournemouth this past round of the Premier League season and hit a new low in doing so.

First things first, they were shutout by a side which has struggled mightily to keep teams from scoring multiple goals per game. This was Chelsea’s eighth loss of the season. They have now lost MORE than half their Premier League games.

Leicester City’s manager Claudio Ranieri and a few of their top players have repeatedly said that they are not focused on winning the Premier League right now. At the moment they simply want to reach the 40-point mark.

What is so important about 40 points?

Since the Premier League moved to a 38 match schedule in 1995-96 only three teams have been relegated with 40 or more points. The last time such an instance occurred? West Ham dropped down to the Championship with 42 points during the 2002-03 Premier League season.

Chelsea currently sit with 15 points from 15 matches. That pace produces 38 points if they keep it up. While I don’t think even 38 points will get a team relegated this season, it does put into perspective just how poor Chelsea’s form has been this season.

Bill Parcells, a legendary head coach in American football, once said “you are what your record says you are.” Chelsea’s record says they are relegation candidates. Losing at home to Bournemouth is a bad sign for the rest of the season. That, on paper, is an easy match. They blew it.

Arlo White said it was “party time at the Bridge” as Chelsea clinched the Premier League last season. It’s been anything but a party at the Bridge this season.

Next: The Ugly