Wednesday 10th November - Chelsea's last league win. Since then, they blue boys from West London have picked up one league point in their past three league games and won one of their last four in all competitions, a solitary 2-1 victory over Slovakian outfit MSK Zilina. Their recent 1-1 draw comes on the back of defeats by Sunderland at Stamford Bridge at Birmingham at St. Andrews, a loss which, granted, would have been prevented had Ben Foster not had a great game in-between the sticks. Yet, this form isn't the form of Champions and Ancelotti must do something sooner rather than later to correct this.
In a weekend where a Dimitar Berbatov led Manchester United leap-frogged Chelsea into 1st place whilst London and title rivals Arsenal picked up all three points in their 4-2 victory over Aston Villa to move level on points with the West London outfit, it appears the recent off-field happenings are taking their toll on the players. The sacking of club favourite Ray Wilkins prior to the 3-0 Sunderland loss clearly wasn't a favourable one whilst the news that Sporting Director Frank Arnesen will be leaving his post at the end of the season must not be favourable news for those associated with the club. Rumours this morning that Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola is being linked with the Chelsea job must not aid Ancelottis cause as he aims to correct Chelsea's on-field affairs.
The Blue's form on the pitch isn't aided by the cause of injuries to key players. With Captain John Terry and midfield duo Frank Lampard and Michael Essien out for the foreseeable future coupled with Striker Didier Drogbas recent diagnosing of Malaria all aren't going to aid in changing the current fortunes of the club. Yet, with the key men injured and Drogba suffering from Malaria, the quality is still available for Carlo Ancelotti. Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Branislav Ivanovic, John Obi Mikel, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka are just a few of the players that played a part in Sunday's 1-1 draw away at St. James' Park, a stadium Northern outfit Newcastle have made a difficult place to pick points this season.
Don't get me wrong, I believe Chelsea have the quality to pick themselves up and brush themselves down following the recent dip in form. Talk of replacing Ancelotti at the moment is pre-mature. Two points off top spot and topping their Champions’ League group is a position 99 out of 100 managers would happily find themselves in at the end of November. Ancelotti has rightfully laughed off talk of him being replaced at the Chelsea helm and will continue to do so because, believe me; the quality is there for the form to come back. Once Terry, Lampard, Essien and Drogba are all back to 100%, the Blues will showcase their ability that led them to the title glory last season. However, their home fixture against Everton on Saturday has turned into a must win game if they are to turn this dip around and keep hot on Manchester United's heels at the summit of the Premiership.
Right, I have to walk the dog, I will write another piece as soon as I can.
Laters,
Macca
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