Chelsea: Where did it all go wrong?

Chelsea: Where did it all go wrong?

I'm an avid Chelsea fan and I'll make no bones about it, we've had a poor season so far.

Despite releasing quite a few players, new additions such as Oscar and Hazard are players that were supposed to refresh the squad in the bid for the title this season.

Alas, some things weren't meant to be. Roberto Di Matteo was relieved of duty, and Rafa Benitez took the helm.

With Spurs' win yesterday taking them up to third (despite a lean looking Joe Cole's efforts) Chelsea are entering a crucial stage of the season. The fact that the former Chelsea manager is above us can't have escaped the attention of many.

It's easy to simply blame the manager, but does Rafa deserve the derision he's facing from many quarters? In my opinion, he's made some poor tactical choices at key times and we don't seem to have a plan B.

For such a technically gifted side, we couldn't keep the ball against City and their constant pressure gave them a deserved win at the end. Rafa made his changes too late in the game, we were already dead and buried.

I don't think Rafa is a bad manager, but at the moment the boot just doesn't seem to fit. It's worse than Hodgson at Liverpool, Rafa's bad blood with the fans from years past coupled with the way he flirted with the job while RDM was still manager (saying he could get Torres firing again.. Well that ship sailed a long time ago) is a bitter pill for the average Chelsea supporter to swallow.

Being the first Champions League holders to be knocked out of the completion in the group stages is a record that nobody wanted. Just like Man City, we couldn't get the results we wanted and were left embarrassed on the world stage. 

Getting knocked out of the Champions League as well as losing the Club World Cup final were massive warning signs for the squad, manager and owner that things need to change. Despite the owner and managers preference for Torres, Demba Ba has to start playing.

I think Ba a hat-full of goals with the creative midfield Chelsea possess.  Oscar needs more game time and as he acclimatises to the Premier League I think he'll be a real star in the making.

As for our current 'stars', we got rid of Sturridge who has his best years ahead of him, to make way for Torres who hasn't shown us a great performance in a long time, if ever. I understand the pressure Rafa must have to play Torres, but Drogba started last year's Champions League final for a reason and Ba is our top scorer this season (including his goals for Newcastle).

There are massive question marks surrounding everything at the club; Lampard and Terry's contracts, who will be manager next season, if we will even qualify for next years' champions league and how long we can continue playing Torres to name a few of many problems that are manifesting themselves on the pitch, bringing us further into crisis.

 I touched upon our lack of a plan B earlier. I've seen too many long balls punted up towards Torres in the dying moments of games we've desperately needed to win. It's not even Torres' fault, most of the time he doesn't have anyone around him to knock it to anyway.

Most of the time he just falls over.

Many people would say the owner is to blame with the way managers and playing staff are being regularly dispensed. I suppose the argument would be that without Abramovich, Chelsea wouldn't have been contesting for the title earlier in the season whatsoever.

The lack of stability must play a part though. With Mourinho Chelsea had a siege mentality. It was us against United, UEFA and Barcelona and in the end, the World. Now we have infighting, no leadership, poor performances and no end in sight.

The season isn't over, and Chelsea has the chance to set another record. If we win the Europa league, Chelsea will be the first English club to have won every European cup, joining Ajax, Bayern Munich and Juventus in this prestigious club. 

We can't accept the possibility of losing our Champions League qualification spot. Look at Liverpool and where they are a mere eight years after winning the competition. We don't deserve to be in the top four on merit alone, but we still have our destiny in our hands with eleven games left to go.

Hopefully the season will be salvageable and we won't give AVB the last laugh in May. To be fair though, who could really blame him? 

Well that's it for now, if you have any opinions please let me know below.