5 Reasons Why Chelsea Have Been Terrible This Season!

The days of Blues domination are over. Chelsea, who claimed the throne of Premier League last season, are now trapped literally in relegation battle. The Blues have never been this wretched since decades. Even newly-promoted Bournemouth took the piss out of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last week. Football pundits around the world take their guesses at the cause of Chelsea's fiasco of a season. Some blame Mourinho's management, others moan the Belgian magician Eden Hazard, and there are some whispering that the Carneiro curse is behind it. Here we identify 5 key factors that led to the sudden slump of defending champions:

Transfer policy

The Stamford Bridge crew fared incredibly well in 2014 by landing Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, but their transactions in 2015 have been far less impressive. January arrival Juan Cuadrado turned out to be a total flop, while Chelsea failed to use their position of power as champions to plot key signings in the summer. Asmir Begovic was a decent substitute for Petr Cech, but Radamel Falcao was a ridiculous gamble and Spanish winger Pedro appears to be in no hurry to adjust to the Premier League.

Aging defenders

Captain John Terry is 35, Ivanović is 31 and Gary Cahill is just a week away from cutting his 30th birthday cake. It’s a real rowdy situation when three of your four men in defensive ranks are tricenarians. And let's face it: none of them is like a fine old wine. The Blues desperately crave young guns in the back to give them the solidity they have been lacking this season.

Lack of Leadership

John Terry still has the command at Stamford Bridge, but his grip has diminished. Many believe the cause is that Terry's supporting cast has fled: Blues lost Lampard couple of seasons ago, while Drogba and Cech bid their farewells earlier this season. What Chelsea lack is a genuine stallion who can inject real strength and steel on the pitch.

Third Season Syndrome

The third season syndrome is real. Mourinho is a fantastic short-term manager, but he's not a man of consistency. He has never stayed at a club for more than three full seasons. Be it Chelsea (first time around), Milan or Madrid, Mourinho's teams always fail to deliver in the third season. He assembles a top-notch squad in his first season, achieves his maxima second time around, but when the time comes for consistency, the Special one appears to lose his magic touch.

Poor individual performances

Mourinho is not the only one to be blamed for Chelsea's stuttering season. Just last year, his side was a cut above anyone else in the Premier League, playing with verve and zest on their way to clinching Premier League. And the Blues individually shined too. Fabregas provided real steel in the midfield and he ended up season with most assists in the league. Hazard was crowned PFA Player of the Year Award. Costa was racking up goals in almost every game, and defense was an impregnable fortress, thanks to the their formidable back four shielded by Matic. These players have failed to maintain the heights they achieved last season. And on rare days when they've come close to playing at their best, luck has not been on their side. 
 
Sent in by Hammad Zahid of Sporticos.com. Don't forget you can promote your own blog or website by submitting articles to the Football Blog Directory.  
 
This article was sent to us in December on the day that Jose Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea.

Football's Latest Bitch Fight

It's not exactly Keane verses Viera is it?

The current spat between John Terry and Robbie Savage is more like a playground fight than a heavyweight bout, but at least it has provided a few talking points and given us a laugh at Robbie Savage's expense.

The difficulty with this one for the neutral is knowing who to agree with, and who's side to be on. Unless you're a Chelsea fan then it's like being asked to decide if you prefer Jeremy Kyle or Katie Hopkins. Neither of them are the easiest to like.

Putting that aside though, the winner of this particular spat is almost certainly Robbie Savage. Not because he is right in what he says, but because it provides the publicity he seems to so desperately crave. Anyone who can counter critics with the line "I live in a million pound house, what's your house like?" is unlikely to be bothered that the publicity he receives is not positive.

So who was right?

It all started when Robbie Savage criticised John Terry's poor form this season - a point of view that many pundits and even Chelsea fans have also offered at various points. John terry didn't seem to appreciate criticisms from Savage though...

In turn Savage responded...

Now I enjoy a swipe at Robbie Savage as much as the next man - even if it comes from John Terry! However, when you look at the reasoning behind John Terry's comments, it suddenly starts to look very different.

Is JT really saying that the only opinions on football that matter are those that are held by people who have played at the highest level? I wonder what Jose Mourinho would think of that point of view - or for that matter Arsene Wenger, Roy Hodgson or Jurgen Klopp.

But looking beyond the managers and players who might now be entitled to a valid opinion, how many Chelsea fans who turn up for each home game and pay John Terry's wages have played at the highest level? How many England fans who travelled all around the world when he was playing for England are successful ex players? Is he saying that he doesn't care about their opinions either?

In reality, he probably didn't analyse his comments that deeply and just enjoyed the opportunity to put down Robbie Savage - who wouldn't? However, in terms of whether he was correct in saying that only professional players who played at the highest level are worth listening to then he has to be wrong. 

The thing about opinions is that we are all entitled to them. Opinions are never wrong. They may be misguided or ill-informed, but they are not wrong. Your opinion is correct if your opinion is what you think. Many football fans have spent years studying the game as they watch it week in week out. They are entitled to pass comment on what they see, including criticising the players they watch. heir opinion might not matter to John Terry - but it should.

So, thank you for giving us a laugh at Robbie Savage's expense John, but please don't ever think that those of us who have not played at the highest level have no right to criticise you.