<div id="attachment_16388" style="width: 385px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/jtmesh1.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16388" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-16388" src="/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/jtmesh1.jpg" alt="" width="375" height="500"></figure></div></a>Can Terry rediscover his form in time to rescue Chelsea?</div>
For the entirety of the season, Chelsea have seemed poised to put insurmountable distance between&nbsp; themselves and the nearest opposition.&nbsp; Yet this moment never arrived.&nbsp; Draws and losses, often at those crucial games, have seen them lose ground in the Premier League, till now the gap between first place glory and second ignominy is one point.
The question is, can Chelsea fulfill its promise of this season and reclaim the domestic throne, or will they once again see the trophy lifted elsewhere?
In this article, I’ll discuss the reasons that they’ll lose; in another, I’ll discuss why they’ll win.

1.&nbsp; Defensive Injuries
Ashley Cole had been the world’s superlative left back until a recent injury.&nbsp; An excellent defender and a constant option going into attack, Cole’s injury sees Chelsea lose a unique weapon.&nbsp; His pace allows him both to neutralize opposition counter attacks and beat their defenders at the other end of the pitch.
In fact, Chelsea did have a more than adequate (and for £18 million, he should be) replacement in Yuri Zhirkov.&nbsp; He too, is sidelined with injury, though not for as long as Cole.&nbsp; Florent Malouda, an attacking winger, is now the starting left back.&nbsp; Remarkably, he seemed totally capable against both Inter and Manchester City.
Even if he works in the makeshift back four, Malouda’s repositioning robs Chelsea of an attacking threat that, for parts of the season, had gelled very well with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.&nbsp; None of his attacking replacements — Daniel Sturridge, Salomon Kalou, Joe Cole — have been able to reproduce the same cohesive, potent football that made Chelsea favorites among many spectators for much of the season.
Petr Cech’s injury is another large blow.&nbsp; As witnesses to Chelsea’s recent home loss to Man City can attest, Hilario is not the same as the Czech in goal.&nbsp; He’s not even the same as former backup Carlo Cudicini.&nbsp; The first two goals he allowed against the Citizens were questionable, and many will be wondering how many points will be dropped if he continues to concede softly in Cech’s absence.
Even when players do return from injury, there’s no guarantee they’ll find their form immediately.&nbsp; In fact, quite the opposite should be expected, although a match unfit Cole/Zhirkov and Cech are surely better for Chelsea than an out of position Malouda and Hilario.
2.&nbsp; Fixture List and Form
Put simply, Chelsea have hard games with which they must finish out the season.&nbsp; Though they have the quality to collect maximum points in March, a visit from Aston Villa could prove to be challenging, and after that, it gets only worse.&nbsp; The Blues must play away to Man United, Tottenham, and Liverpool in the final month and a half of the season.
Manchester United also have challenging fixtures during the final stretch, but at least they have the luxury of facing Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham at Old Trafford.&nbsp; They do have a tricky away match to their rivals Man City, but other than that, the challenging away fixtures have been navigated.
Arsenal have by far the easiest finale to the season.&nbsp; They have two legitimately difficult matches in a home Man City game and visit to White Hart Lane.&nbsp; Just three points off Chelsea, Gunners fans surely fancy hounding their rivals all the way to the end, especially with their respective fixtures in mind.
In any case, the fixture list favors Chelsea’s on form competitors.
Obviously, Chelsea’s form is also worrying, and not only in their dropped points.&nbsp; The amount of goals they’ve let in over the past handful of games suggests a former strength turned weakness.&nbsp; Admittedly, conceding 4 against Man City while fielding a wildly attacking force and playing two men down isn’t a fair estimation of Chelsea’s defense, but one must admit&nbsp; the overall slackness in defending (now down to third in goals conceded, behind Villa and United) is not a good sign.
3. John Terry
Finally, the collapse of John Terry must be mentioned.&nbsp; His form has been more than just suspect of late.&nbsp; He allowed himself to be absolutely hosed down by Milito for the opening goal in the UCL Inter game, and put in another decidedly mediocre performance at the Bridge against City.&nbsp; Normally poor form merits benching, but as the captain and emblem of Chelsea, no one is willing to do this.&nbsp; Everyone throws their faith behind him and hopes his form improves.&nbsp; Meanwhile, on the pitch, it depreciates.&nbsp; This does not bode well for Chelsea, especially as the team relies on Terry for more than just defensive heroics.
Is all lost for Chelsea?&nbsp; Obviously not.&nbsp; It’s a top club with enough class to win the league and then some.&nbsp; Coming soon, I’ll show how the Blues might do just that.

Reasons Why Chelsea Won&#039;t Win the League

Reasons Why Chelsea Won&#039;t Win the League - World Soccer Talk

Reasons Why Chelsea Won't Win the League

<div id="attachment_711" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-711" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-711" src="/files/2010/01/fa-cup-300x300.jpg" alt="3rd round action for Championship clubs" width="300" height="300"></figure></div>3rd round action for Championship clubs</div>
I remember sitting this year in anticipation of the 3rd round draw as per usual after watching Kettering battle to a draw against Leeds United I had a feeling that this could be a draw to remember. My mate who supports Brighton had seen his team qualify to the third round as a league 1/2 team for the first time in his life (Brighton were in the Championship for two seasons so qualified automatically) and he was as excited as I’ve ever seen him been. Another mate, an Aston Villa supporter, was preying to the Gods that the Villans wouldn’t defy chance and draw Man Utd yet again. And me personally as a Toon supporter – there’s a team that wears red and white who were my preferred opponents.
Yet a lot of times these draws can end up as an anti-climax, particularly the 3rd round draw this year. It’s just such a great concept and in any football fans head who doesn’t follow the top four he would love it if Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all got away draws against a bunch of brick layers and plasterers. Because that is what this is all about and what I personally love to see – the underdog getting a chance. Last year a local side near where I am from, Blyth Spartans got a 3rd round draw against Blackburn Rovers and even though they lost, it’s one of those unique type of matches in football. I’m not saying its a terrible draw, I just love to see a lot of interesting ties.
My Seagull friend was immediately brought down to earth as Brighton got an away tie against Torquay, Villa got a tricky fixture against Blackburn and the Geordie faithful will be forced to make the longest trip in English league football twice this season now as Plymouth were drawn as their opponents. Not inspiring for any of us (particularly now Plymouth have got a new manager and are hitting a bit of form and the Toon are dropping!). A lot of the Championship teams have difficult draws and there are 7 all Championship ties.
On a positive note that means at least 7 Championship teams will be in the 4th round. And Cardiff and Millwall in this past decade have proved that a great cup run can be a memorable thing, which can ultimately end up with a big day out at the end. When 2nd of January comes I know I will be excited about the cup once again because after all – this is what most English fans dream of seeing their club win. And more importantly we have a few interesting ties involving Championship sides (all times are GMT):
Nottingham Forest V Birmingham City – 2nd Jan 3pm:
When the draw was made it may of seemed like a slightly interesting tie, but both teams are in amazing form and both are putting their current unbeaten record on the line. Forest have made the City Ground a fortress this season and will be keen to test Paul Hart’s England credentials after recent cries were made to make the City stopper England’s World Cup choice. The FA cup was the one trophy that famously eluded legendary manager Brian Clough in his successful spell at the club and the last time the club lifted the title will be 51 years ago by the time the final comes around. Forest have won their last four at home so be aware Brummies!
Middlesbrough V Manchester City – 2nd Jan 3pm:
Middlesbrough have had a few troubles this season. Largely tipped by many to be the team most likely to be promoted back to the Premiership at the first time of asking, they decided to change things around and bring Gordon Strachan in. One win in their last five home games doesn’t make great reading coming into this one, especially as Roberto Mancini has come in and lifted Spirits at the sky blue outfit. You would forgive a Middlesbrough fan if a good cup run was the last thing on their mind but I’m sure Strachan will be aware that a victory against the ‘richest team in the world’ will lift the spirits of even the tea lady at the Riverside. It depends what Boro turns up on the day as they can go from the brilliance of dominated QPR 5-1 to disappointment of crumbling 3-0 to Blackpool. I’m sure any neutral would love to see a Boro victory in this match.
Portsmouth V Coventry City – Jan 2nd 3pm:
Coventry, until they lost 2-0 to the in form Forest, were starting to gather a bit of form and confidence and there is no better time to play Portsmouth in an FA cup-tie. Pompey are likely to be missing a number of their African internationals for this game and their team will most likely be pieced together from what is left of their squad. <a href="http://epltalk.com/breaking-news-portsmouth-face-winding-up-order/14299">Current financial issues</a> loom large over the 2008 winners and Coventry will no doubt fancy their chances in this match. This is a huge opportunity to pile more misery on the south coast team and take home a Premiership scalp and Chris Coleman will be letting his players know about the low morale of the Pompey players.
Reading V Liverpool – Jan 2nd 5.15pm:
If Reading manage to pull off a win in this game then the all too often used term ‘magic of the FA cup’ would never be more necessary to coin. Although Reading managed to end their horrible home run in November against Blackpool, it still only totalled three home wins in all of 2009. There has been no win in their last five games and caretaker Brian McDermott is currently managing the club. Although Liverpool have had their own troubles this season, they recently snatched a late winner at Villa Park in their most recent fixture – the sort of goal that could kick start any season. It’s mission impossible for Reading really and it will be interesting to see what team Rafa Benitez decides to field considering their options of silverware have dwindled down recently. A brave man would bet on Reading but stranger things have happened and neutrals will no doubt be cheering on the Royals come Saturday.
Chelsea V Watford – Jan 3rd 3pm:
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/dec/30/chelsea-roman-abramovich-debt-scolari">Debt free</a> Chelsea welcome cash strapped Watford this weekend; two very contrasting situations for two London clubs. Malky Mackay has done everything he can this season and you wouldn’t argue if he told you that the club has other priorities rather than&nbsp;a good cup run. Chelsea may have lost a number of key players to the African Cup of nations, but this game will give a chance to some of the younger players attempting to break through such as Daniel Sturridge; something that won’t help the Hornet’s cause. There’s bound to be a large following from the Watford fans and hopefully this can inspire the players to raise their game, despite the probable uncertainty over a lot of players futures.
So we are all geared up for an exciting weekend of knock out football and although the Premiership teams have the odds to win this thing, you can never count out anyone in the FA cup. Lower league sides in the past have often shown up the big boys time and time again and hopefully we’ll be in for a weekend of drama and great football. Happy New Year from Championship Talk and all the best to you and your team for 2010!

FA 3rd Round Cup Preview: Championship Chances

FA 3rd Round Cup Preview: Championship Chances - World Soccer Talk

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For me, there is only one English goalkeeper that can be England’s number one for South Africa next summer and that man is Paul Robinson. After being so badly treated at Tottenham under Juande Ramos and unfairly blamed for giving away a soft goal for England against Croatia, Robinson has finally got back to his best. He was hung out to dry by Steve Mclaren after Gary Neville’s wayward back pass bobbled over his foot.
Everyone conveniently forgot the string of saves Robinson had made to keep England in a game they were a poor second best in that night. Right now, he is playing better than any of his counterparts, with probably the exception of Steve Harper at Newcastle United and Joe Hart at Birmingham City. Forget the Robert Green argument, he’s nowhere near good enough.

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Of the goalkeepers available to Capello, Robinson is head and shoulders above all others and has been for the best part of a year. David James is injured and playing for a team in free-fall, both on and off the pitch. Robert Green is bang out of form and consistently makes mistake after mistake. He also has a tendency to try and deliberately foul players whenever possible.For all his bravado and wearing “England’s number 6” on his gloves, he’s not good enough. He’s always been poor coming off his line and his aerial ability is not the best.
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Poor old Ben Foster has suffered from some rather unnecessary criticism but still can’t shift the dreadful Thomas Kuszczak from between the sticks at Old Trafford.There is no doubt that the lad can go a long way in the game, but he’s suffering from a crisis in confidence at the moment, but he’s still a better goalkeeper than Kuszczak.
Scott Carson still suffers from a lack of concentration at West Bromwich Albion and still seems to bear the scars from the defeat to Croatia in November 2007 at Wembley. For all his shot stopping ability, Carson can still make some all mighty howlers from out of nowhere and seems to have fallen away from anywhere near the England team.
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Poor old Chris Kirkland simply can’t keep fit, whenever he gets on a great run of form, his long standing back injury seems to flare up and take out of the side. Despite the 9 goal mauling Wigan Athletic suffered at White Hart Lane, it’s no exaggeration to say it could have been twenty if it wasn’t for Kirkland. He showed such promise at Coventry but injuries blighted his time at Anfield and he’s never been able to shake the tag of being injury prone.
Other than Robinson and Hart, the other stand out candidate for the three places in South Africa for me is Steve Harper at Newcastle. He’s now getting the opportunity to show just how good a goalkeeper he actually is week in week out after Shay Given left last January for Manchester City. Whilst most people would have been itching for a move, Harper has shown incredible loyalty to Newcastle over the years.
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After 16 years service, with 12 of those as Given’s back up, he’s incredibly only played 151 games for Newcastle, with 86 of those appearances coming in the last four seasons. He has constantly served the club with pride and is now in the form of his life. Whilst others may have viewed Given’s depature as a real blow, having a player of the ability of Harper would certainly soften the blow.
Whilst some people seem to point out that you need a great goalkeeper to win the World Cup, with the exception of Buffon in 2006, you have to go all the way back to 1982 to find a team with a world class goalkeeper that won the World Cup. Every other winner since then has had good, and in some cases distinctly average custodians between the sticks. Paul Robinson is far better than average and Capello would do well to welcome him back into the fold.&nbsp; With Harper and Hart, that would be a dependable and quality set of goalkeepers to choose from.

Time For Capello To Restore Paul Robinson As Englands No.1

Time For Capello To Restore Paul Robinson As Englands No.1 - World Soccer Talk

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Time For Capello To Restore Paul Robinson As Englands No.1