Donal Benson
Pensioner
IN the last six seasons, only two teams have won the Premier League, and Chelsea and Manchester United have won three each. The gap at the top tells a tale when you have Arsenal finishing 11 points behind Chelsea. Although Jose Mourinho won two in a row, I feel that this year is the best yet.
We lost the least number of games. We scored 103 goals, the most ever in the Premier League. We only lost one game at home. Didier Drogba won the Golden Boot with 29 league goals (35 in all games), and he still has the cup final to come. Frank Lampard has scored 20 goals or more in the last five seasons from midfield. We also had Anelka and Malouda in double figures.
The main reason that we are champions is that we beat Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool both home and away. We also scored seven goals against Sunderland, Aston Villa and Stoke. We then finished in style with eight against Wigan. We played half the season without Michael Essien, who in my opinion is the best holding midfield player in the Premier League. Just like Manchester United, who pressed us all the way, we lost some silly games, but this is what makes the Premier League so popular.
We had our problems both on and off the field during the season, but our togetherness and mental strength helped to stabilise the ship under the astute management of Carlo Ancelotti. He came to the club on a hiding to nothing and has proved how good he is. If he leads us to victory in the cup final, he will have achieved what no other Chelsea manager has ever done – won the double. In case anyone has forgotten, we also won the Charity Shield; not bad for his first season in charge. As we are accused of spending the most money, it is only fair to point out that we are not in the top four spenders in the last four years.
The elevation of Spurs into the top four is probably one of the success stories of the season. This is due in no small way to Harry Rednapp, who lifted this club from the bottom of the league to the Champions League in just two seasons. The moneybags of Manchester City will have to spend again, and even this might not bring success. It takes more than money to earn success.
The demise of Liverpool is astonishing, and is sad in so many ways. The problem seems to be with the owners, who are not prepared to invest any more money. The question now is will Rafa go – and if he does, what manager will have the courage to put his head on the block? Manchester United are in some turmoil off the pitch too, and the green and yellow scarves are becoming more noticeable.
It’s nice to see that Leeds United are on the way back and I hope they go the whole way to the Premier League where they truly belong.
With the season almost over, we will have to look forward to the World Cup during the summer. I don’t think England will win it and I see it as being between Brazil, Germany and Spain. Argentina who, with Messi and Tevez on board, cannot be overlooked either. The new season will be back before we know it and the fun will start again. I said all season that we would win and that it would be tight, so I will finish with what I wanted to say all season. Well done Chelsea – we are the champions.
