Newcastle aren’t world beaters, but can Chelsea match their energy?
Tottenham left a door open for Chelsea on Easter Monday – and the Blues failed to stride through it.
But was it a bad performance that meant they couldn’t see off Fulham to capitalise on Spurs’ defeat to Norwich, or simply the mark of a tired team?
Since Roberto Di Matteo took over from Andre Villas-Boas at the beginning of March, Chelsea have had two games a week – and if we reach the FA Cup final that run will continue until the end of the season.
To put that into context, if we were to reach the finals of both the Champions League and FA Cup, Chelsea would play twice as many games as Newcastle between now and the end of the season.
So maybe it’s no surprise that with Tottenham faltering, comparatively rested Newcastle suddenly look the form team; the side most likely to capitalise.
The draw with Fulham was the fourth game in a row that Chelsea have led, only to let in a late equaliser.
It’s to their credit that in the previous three – against Aston Villa, Benfica and Wigan – they managed to recover and win. To have to do it for a fourth time in 10 days was a challenge too far.
Truth be told, none of those four performances have been brilliant.
And with the next four games being an FA Cup semi-final against Spurs, a vital league game at Arsenal and the two legs of a Champions League semi against Barcelona, there can be no doubt an improvement is needed. But is the energy there to provide it?
Two weeks ago, dropping two points at home to Spurs, I thought our chance of finishing in the top four had gone.
But Tottenham’s loss of form and failure to take more than a single point from Easter games against Sunderland and Norwich has provided a new chance.
Newcastle may be the team in form but they are not world beaters, so you have to wonder if they can maintain that until the end of the season.
If they can’t – and Chelsea can beat them on 2 May – then maybe the race for fourth is not over after all.
But a lot depends on the energy levels of players who will have played five more games by then – compared with Newcastle’s two.
James Clarke is the author of Moody Blues: Following the second-best team in Europe
10/04/2012 @ 1:51 pm
I’m not belittling Newcastle’s achievements (they’ve had a fantastic season and are playing really well) I just wonder whether they are good enough to win 10 league games in a row. Maybe they are? We’ll find out.
And I’m not saying Newcastle’s advantage is unfair – where do I say that? Chelsea’s fixture congestion is just one of those things, not unfair, but it could help Newcastle.
And I may have said Newcastle aren’t world beaters – but I didn’t say Chelsea were. We are in the last four of the Champions League however but I doubt we’ll win it. And Newcastle could finish above us, and they’ll deserve it if they do because it will probably mean they’ve carried on their great form until the end of the season.
10/04/2012 @ 12:04 pm
Rubbish excuses from Chelsea, Newcastle are hardly “rested” they have an injury list as long as your arm but despite that they have defied all the pundits this season who tipped them for the drop. Instead of belittling Newcastle’s achievements this season the author would do well to reflect on how much money Chelsea have thrown away and how many managers they have cycled through without giving any of them (since Mourinho) a decent chance. That’s the real reason Chelsea are faltering in front of the finish line. With the hundreds of millions Chelsea have spent their squad should have the depth to deal with the demands of three honours at once. I mean the sheer hypocrisy of a fan of a billionaire-backed team trying to make out that Newcastle have an unfair advantage!
10/04/2012 @ 10:33 am
Newcastle not world beaters? Let’s face it Chelsea are far from world beaters this season, and when is the last time a Chelsea player scored a goal of the (world) quality of Hatem Ben Arfa’s yesterday?