10 BIG things that we have learned about Chelsea this season

Raced out of the traps - Chelsea carried their excellent goalscoring form from the end of last season right into the beginning of this season and the signs were starting to look ominous for their title challengers. They won their opening 5 league games, scoring a staggering 21 goals in the process and conceding just once – all the signs were pointing towards a successful defence of their title after the side managed to overcome a decidedly lacklustre pre-season and Charity Shield defeat to rivals Man Utd with aplomb.

The Slump - It is extremely rare that a title is decided as early on as November. They say the crucial festive period makes and break sides challenging for top honours, with the close succession of games often cited as a reason for underperformance, however, the wheels began to come off a lot earlier in the campaign for Ancelotti’s Chelsea than even the biggest cynic could have envisaged. The warning signs began to flash when Chelsea were inexplicably torn apart by an in-form Sunderland 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. By now, the club had already lost twice to Man City and Liverpool and there were signs that rather than merely a blip, that this Chelsea side were beginning to crack. Their next 5 games rendered just 3 points after defeats to Birmingham and Arsenal and draws against Spurs, Newcastle and Everton ensured that the club was well and truly undergoing a crisis of confidence. In the same pivotal 6 game period Man Utd picked up 13 points. The damage had been done and for all intents and purposes, the lead became irreversible.

Patchy big game record - Last season Chelsea prided themselves on a superb record against the big sides and those closest around them; they achieved a double over Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal and beat Spurs once and rather less favourably picked up just one point from four fixtures against Everton and Man City. That left them with a record of 22 points from 12 crucial fixtures, a fantastic record it has to be said. This term however, from the same set of fixtures the club picked up just 14 points. They were beaten twice by Liverpool, they picked up just one point from perennial bogey team Everton and were beaten once apiece by Man Utd, Man City and Arsenal. That’s 8 points less than last season and with the club losing the title to Man Utd this campaign by 9 points, their record against the other big boys proved the difference.

Big Players fail to step up - To compare once more again to last season’s title triumph, of course after a season such as Chelsea’s this year, they are not going to fare too favourably. As a collective they failed to live up to the high expectations they set themselves last year, but individually too they fell way short of what‘s required. Frank Lampard was at times superhuman last season, but injuries took their toll in him this season and for the first time in his career he struggled for form and endured his worst season in a Chelsea shirt to date. Michael Essien too looked a shadow of the midfield destroyer of yesteryear after returning from injury. Didier Drogba’s form was also patchy after being laid low mid-season by a bout of malaria. Whereas last term the side were fortunate to stay relatively injury free, this term they were ravaged by injuries at times and rather understandably given the circumstances, many star names failed to perform. Whereas last season and this season, Chelsea and Man Utd’s success was built upon each respective club’s strength in depth and use of rotating their squads, Chelsea’s lack of back-up options were cruelly exposed at several junctures in the season. Speaking of which.

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