At the moment, I still can't allow myself the luxury of contemplating where we might finish in the League, come the end of the season, because at the back of my mind I've still got the feeling that it's early days.
However, we've now played 17 games and after another two fixtures, we'll be exactly half-way through the season, so it's definitely not "early days".
Already, Arsenal and Liverpool are dropping behind and Newcastle, who just a few weeks ago were in a promising third place, are now a full seventeen points behind us. Even with their game in hand, 'Arry's boys are flattering to deceive and, I feel, will implode sooner than later, which leaves only Chelsea to possibly try and fight it out with The Scum and ourselves at the top.
Just how much of a threat are Chelsea ?? Are they a fading force, or will AVB/Abramovitch disregard all FFP considerations and break the bank to buy five or six new players (at over the odds prices) in the January window ??
Furthermore, Michael Essien can't be too long before he makes a come-back. He's an immense player that I think Chelsea have really missed in their midfield but, having been out for so long, how rusty will he be and how quickly will he be able to re-discover his form ?? Moreover, if Chelsea buy a load of new replacements, how quickly will they start to 'gel' and how competent is AVB perceived at building and binding together a new team in short order ??
So many imponderable questions but, on that basis, are Chelsea really out of it or could they still be a threat to us winning the League ?? .....or are they now just a (temporarily ??) spent force with a former reputation that still lingers (bearing in mind that, in recent weeks they've "done a job" on both Spurs and ourselves) ??