Chelsea, Premier League Champions

[budfox]

Good to see a lot of people giving credit where it's due. Show the class of fan that we have.

No question they deserve the title and in a way I'm glad it's already done and dusted. My nerved couldn't take another last-day drama.

[Hutch's Shoulder]

Congratulations to everyone at Chelsea (except Jose). First time for five years that the title has been out of Manchester. It will be back next year, with blue ribbons.

[Blue Since 76]

Congratulations to everyone at Chelsea (except Jose). First time for five years that the title has been out of Manchester. It will be back next year, with blue ribbons.

Apart from those two years it was in Trafford you mean?

[Blue Since 76]

Congratulations to Chelsea. Over the course of a season, they've been the best side and deserve it.

However, I'm getting sick of pundits saying they deserve it for how brilliant they were in the first half. We had an identical record on New Year's Day, they've won it by being consistent since then and us being average.

[iwasthere2012]

Well done Chelsea. There's no doubt they deserved it this season.

We'll be back, but this is their year.

[sheblue]

Yes they were more consistent than us. They surely will strengthen further in the summer and to close the gap we must do likewise properly.

[Lev Bronstein]

Oh, and Jose, "The dogs may bark, but the caravan passes on" is from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1048 - 1131). Typical not to give credit where it's due.

[City64]

Deserved Champions and most consistent team ...........

Maureen is a complete fucking knob head !

[Duckman]

It was only fair to clinch the title with a dive.

[Im_Spartacus]

They have won the championship off the back of a great defence, which, importantly, the 4 first choice defenders have all played in at least 30 from the 35 games so far.

No fucking about, no switching for the sake of it. Our stability hasn't been helped by kompany's injuries, but only one of our defenders has managed more than 25 appearances in the league because as pointed out on another thread, we appear to rotate the defence for no reason at all

And that, in a nut shell is the root of our issue for me.

[Sister of fu]

They have won the championship off the back of a great defence, which, importantly, the 4 first choice defenders have all played in at least 30 from the 35 games so far.

No fucking about, no switching for the sake of it. Our stability hasn't been helped by kompany's injuries, but only one of our defenders has managed more than 25 appearances in the league because as pointed out on another thread, we appear to rotate the defence for no reason at all

And that, in a nut shell is the root of our issue for me.

It's worrying that fans know this but or management team don't. Back four can not be chopped and changed. End of story. If we are to challenge next season we need a settled back four.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

They have won the championship off the back of a great defence, which, importantly, the 4 first choice defenders have all played in at least 30 from the 35 games so far.

No fucking about, no switching for the sake of it. Our stability hasn't been helped by kompany's injuries, but only one of our defenders has managed more than 25 appearances in the league because as pointed out on another thread, we appear to rotate the defence for no reason at all

And that, in a nut shell is the root of our issue for me.

I don't have stats at hand so feel
Free to prove me wrong, but we haven't leaked tons of Goals. For me not replacing 23 goals and Injury and missed games/lack of form to 3 of our other 4 20+ scorers hurt our title challenge far more.

[Blue Since 76]

They have won the championship off the back of a great defence, which, importantly, the 4 first choice defenders have all played in at least 30 from the 35 games so far.

No fucking about, no switching for the sake of it. Our stability hasn't been helped by kompany's injuries, but only one of our defenders has managed more than 25 appearances in the league because as pointed out on another thread, we appear to rotate the defence for no reason at all

And that, in a nut shell is the root of our issue for me.

I don't have stats at hand so feel
Free to prove me wrong, but we haven't leaked tons of Goals. For me not replacing 23 goals and Injury and missed games/lack of form to 3 of our other 4 20+ scorers hurt our title challenge far more.

We've let in one goal less than last season so far, although our defence was a recognised weak spot last season. However, were 31 goals down. We can't expect to score like we did last season, but another 10 goals could have made a big difference.

I do think we need a settled back 4, but it's more important to have a settled spine - keeper, centre halves, central midfield, striker. You could get away with changing fullbacks if the centre halves next to them were fixed. We've messed about with everything so it's no surprise we look like a team who haven't met before at times

[Mikhail Chigorin]

Oh, and Jose, "The dogs may bark, but the caravan passes on" is from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1048 - 1131). Typical not to give credit where it's due.

Thanks Lev; nice information and thanks for posting it.

With regard to Mourinho's demeanour, this season he seems to have assumed a mournful, bored and philosophically world-weary style in his press conferences.

I don't know what being so outwardly miserable is supposed to achieve, but one thing he keeps repeating and which seems to irritate him, is that Chelsea (so far) have scored "one goal less than the leading scorers", as though by flagging this up, it somehow makes them out to be an attractive attacking proposition.

Apart from the fact that he can't mention us by name, he knows in the bottom of his heart that we've had a disappointing season and we haven't scored with the freedom and volume of previous seasons, especially the last one. It's as though he knows we'll rectify this 'failure' in the next campaign and that his Chelsea robots, by comparison, will then be correctly viewed as the boring and pedantic plodders they are.

It just seems he's trying to wring all the plaudits he can for this season's achievement, whilst he can and is able to do so, before we're back on song and his roof falls in next season.

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

Chelsea: a club owned by a gangster; a team managed by the most odious and poisonous man in football; a group of cheating, snidey, mardarsed players; a set of fascists for fans, a type of negative football that, if every other team played it, would mean cricket became the national sport. Still, rather this lot than Liverpool, Arsenal or the rags....

[Dameerto]

They have won the championship off the back of a great defence, which, importantly, the 4 first choice defenders have all played in at least 30 from the 35 games so far.

No fucking about, no switching for the sake of it. Our stability hasn't been helped by kompany's injuries, but only one of our defenders has managed more than 25 appearances in the league because as pointed out on another thread, we appear to rotate the defence for no reason at all

And that, in a nut shell is the root of our issue for me.

I don't have stats at hand so feel
Free to prove me wrong, but we haven't leaked tons of Goals. For me not replacing 23 goals and Injury and missed games/lack of form to 3 of our other 4 20+ scorers hurt our title challenge far more.

We've let in one goal less than last season so far, although our defence was a recognised weak spot last season. However, were 31 goals down. We can't expect to score like we did last season, but another 10 goals could have made a big difference.

I do think we need a settled back 4, but it's more important to have a settled spine - keeper, centre halves, central midfield, striker. You could get away with changing fullbacks if the centre halves next to them were fixed. We've messed about with everything so it's no surprise we look like a team who haven't met before at times

It's not just the defence it's the style of football that Pellegrini plays which exposes the defence - he is (very slowly) showing signs of recognising this though - as witnessed at Spurs when he had three central defenders trying to protect a one goal lead and keep a clean sheet.
Having said all that, keeping a settled unit would help cut out a lot of the mistakes when they're under pressure.

[iwasthere2012]

They have won the championship off the back of a great defence, which, importantly, the 4 first choice defenders have all played in at least 30 from the 35 games so far.

No fucking about, no switching for the sake of it. Our stability hasn't been helped by kompany's injuries, but only one of our defenders has managed more than 25 appearances in the league because as pointed out on another thread, we appear to rotate the defence for no reason at all

And that, in a nut shell is the root of our issue for me.

I don't have stats at hand so feel
Free to prove me wrong, but we haven't leaked tons of Goals. For me not replacing 23 goals and Injury and missed games/lack of form to 3 of our other 4 20+ scorers hurt our title challenge far more.

We've let in one goal less than last season so far, although our defence was a recognised weak spot last season. However, were 31 goals down. We can't expect to score like we did last season, but another 10 goals could have made a big difference.

I do think we need a settled back 4, but it's more important to have a settled spine - keeper, centre halves, central midfield, striker. You could get away with changing fullbacks if the centre halves next to them were fixed. We've messed about with everything so it's no surprise we look like a team who haven't met before at times

I think both points are very true, about the defense and the attack. But for me, the reason has been that we have had a midfield that for most of the season has neither protected nor supported either.
Next season...a settled defense, a more dynamic midfield and we start scoring freely again. Can't wait.

[nottsblue]

Chelsea: a club owned by a gangster; a team managed by the most odious and poisonous man in football; a group of cheating, snidey, mardarsed players; a set of fascists for fans, a type of negative football that, if every other team played it, would mean cricket became the national sport. Still, rather this lot than Liverpool, Arsenal or the rags....

Bang on the money

[Dubaimancityfan]

Like ! ^^^^

[carl_feedthegoat]

I love arguing with a rent boy supporter , it always ends with me saying Jose hates you , he slags off your support all the time.

Big article about this in the daily fail today.

Hilarious.