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Most football teams are surrounded with varying degrees of hyperbole when things are going well or badly.
According to most of the British press, Liverpool presently are just about the greatest team ever produced by the Anfield club. Conversely, Arsenal are in absolute tatters and Arsene Wenger should be jettisoned. It’s probably best no one mentions Manchester United.
With poor results against Crystal Palace and Paris Saint-Germain, it’s now Chelsea’s turn.
Except, that is, if you look at what pre-season expectations were and where the club actually is. A title challenge was expected, they have duly mounted one and are still in the race.
No one expected Chelsea to win the Champions League and it looks unlikely they will. A 2-0 home win against PSG next week, however, would take them to yet another semi-final. Other than last year’s flop, Chelsea have been remarkably consistent in the Champions League.
Chelsea, to a large degree, have shot themselves in the foot in the past week with meek performances in both matches. Two own goals and a very weak third effort against PSG and it’s little surprise they have been on the receiving end twice in five days.
It was clear Chelsea had deficiencies at the start of the season. Their pursuit of Wayne Rooney proved in vain. The trio of a declined Fernando Torres, a substandard Demba Ba and an ageing Samuel Eto’o was always going to leave Chelsea lacking in that department.
Jose Mourinho signed Nemanda Matic to go a large way to solving the other issue of the deep-lying midfield players that Chelsea were lacking.
At times this season, Chelsea have looked like a ‘Mourinho team’, especially after Christmas and with the arrival of Matic. The team however, started the season very unbalanced and Mourinho does not have a magic wand – even if at times he appears to.
Chelsea may yet recover, knock-out PSG and win the league, but even if they don’t, assuming there isn’t an almighty collapse in the premiership, this should be seen as a bright season for Chelsea.
New strikers are of paramount necessity this summer and Mourinho will have to decide whether he trusts David Luiz to replace John Terry in the long-term – I suspect he does not.
The other issue that will require addressing is whether to persevere with Petr Cech or cash-in on him, bearing in mind he would still be a valuable commodity thinking about financial fair play. Chelsea have had Thibaut Courtois out on loan for several seasons to Atletico Madrid, with an extension to both his Chelsea contract and his Madrid loan now being mooted. Cech was at fault for two of the goals against PSG and while he has been a fine servant, it is worth a discussion at least.
Chelsea fans should not be to downcast right now and the press should find some context in the team’s development. Chelsea are far from underdogs in nearly any match-up these days, but they are still a team emerging from a period of transition.
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