The Last Sprint

And so we come to the final lap of the Barclay's Premier League, edition 2012/2013.

What started as a hopeful season of rebuilding (new young flair players like Hazard, Oscar, Marin and young, progressive manager in RDM) briefly turned into an over-performing promise of glory when we got off to an explosive start and played with the sort of swagger that oozed class. Heck, at one point near the beginning, even Torres was getting in amongst the goals and proving his perennial "class-is-permanent-he-just-needs-a-bit-more-time" fans (like yours truly) right.

But when the wheels come off, they do so spectacularly. A couple of bad results is all it took for the Chelsea bandwagon to fall off. Before you could finish saying Roman Abramovich, newly crowned Champions League winning manager and fan's favourite RDM was unceremoniously booted. We then sunk to lower depths with the appointment of "interim manager" Rafa "Fat Spanish Waiter" Benitez ("FSW"), whom the fans never really took to (no doubt for his links, affiliations and comments made about Chelsea as Liverpool manager). 

Ever since FSW took ever, the club has been in a limbo. Capable of putting together momentary moments of brilliance (the 8-0 humbling of Aston Villa and flashes of heroics in the Cup competitions), the team was also prone to erratic and unexplainable bad patches that was horrendous and shocking. 

And so, with 4 games left, we find ourselves neck-deep in a tussle with Arsenal and Spurs for the last 2 slots left for Champions League qualification (with United having wrapped up top spot and City most likely secured with 2nd place). From a fixture point of view, both the Gunners and Spurs look to have an easier run-in to the close of the season. This is compounded further by us still being in the running for the Europa League (after having secured a 2-1 win against Basel on Thursday) which inevitably stretches the endurance and stamina of the players further.

There's no rest for us now, and FSW has the monumental task of keeping our fight for top 4 alive whilst refreshing the squad just enough to mount a realistic attempt to snag the Europa League. 

If we manage to pull it off (top 4 and Europa League), it would at least represent a consolation of sorts for an otherwise under-performing and erratic season. If we don't achieve either objective, or worse, neither of them, then one would suspect many heads would roll.

Which leaves the fans with quite the conundrum. On one hand, a massive summer clear-out and starting afresh would be good. We wipe the slate clean and rebuild for next season (and the next and the next). On the other hand, there are many gems in the current mixed bag that may become collateral damage should we end up with nothing this season. The likes of Hazard, Mata, Luiz may be tempted to seek greener pastures if there is no Champions League football next season. And that is why it would also be good if we could snag top 4 and win the Europa League as well. 

Whichever the way the wind blows, one thing's for certain is that winds of change would be blowing in strongly come next season. But that's still more than a month away. For now, every game is a Cup final as we cheer on the boys in Blue to muster that last ounce of strength or 2nd wind for the final lap of the season.

Stay glued to your seats then.  

Prodigal Son

"But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found."

— Luke 15:32

And so we wait with bated breath for his return, his homecoming and his reclamation of a throne that has been vacant ever since he abdicated it on 20th September 2007.

Jose Mourinho may have left Chelsea for the greener pastures of Inter and Real for almost 6 years already, but his presence has never really left Stamford Bridge. The imprints he left in the hearts of Chelsea fans can still be felt and his shadow still looms upon the dressing room of the club.

Never has one man defined an era at Chelsea more than The Special One and it is certainly no surprise that his recent flutter of eyelashes in the direction of Roman Abramovich has gotten all Chelsea fans giddy with anticipation. This, of course, is compounded by the fact that the fat Spanish waiter has yet to endear himself to club supporters and results on the pitch have been patchy at best.

From beginning this season with such swashbuckling displays, Chelsea has shown erratic form and look like a team lost in transition with moments of brilliance that come ever so infrequently. From European Champions, FA Cup holders and front-runners for the title, we have now settled into only fighting for the 2nd tier Europa League, still in with a fight to defend the FA Cup and being caught up in a 3-horse race with Arsenal and Spurs for 3rd place. 

To call a spade a spade, this has been an underwhelming season filled with underachievement. If we were rebuilding the team, concentrating on long-term development and trimming the fat of star players, then such achievements may have been understandable. However, summer acquisitions from last year suggested the owner had no intentions of pulling the handbrakes on wanting instant success. 

Since then results have not gone our way, players have failed to deceive and the managerial turnstile was once again spinning as club legend Roberto Di Matteo was shown the door as early as November last year. Cue to our yearly managerial upheaval as Rafa Benitez was appointed as temp manager. 

And thus we find ourselves  where we are today: a disjointed, under-performing team with an interim manager who is not about to win any popularity contest. 

Jose Mourinho's return, if it happens, would be the best thing to befall the club in recent times. Not only is the current squad's DNA still one which he forged from his previous spell there, but now more than ever, the club needs a strong figure of authority whom the players can rally behind and give their all for. Mourinho's man-management skills need no further elaboration. 

Putting HR-qualities aside, Mourinho is an astute tactician as well. A Machiavellian who prioritizes results over style, he is perhaps the right man for the current job who can alchemize the talents of Hazard, Mata and Oscar together with the raw steel and industry that can be offered by the likes Ramires, Ivanovic, Azipili, Mikel and Cahill and complemented by the directness and force of the likes of Lamps, Ba and Victor Moses.

Further, if the club is serious in being front-runners for the title, Mourinho certainly has enough pedigree and pizzaz to take on the likes of Fergie and Mancini. 

Add that to the fact that Stamford Bridge was once his kingdom, he knows the history, the people and the culture of the club inside out, he doesn't need time for the fans to take to him (something he would need at a brand new club) and he has (several) properties in London, there is no better place for him than to come back home.

In a nutshell, Chelsea could do no better than to get back at all cost the man they once called the Special One. Forget all the other big names in football. All Roman needs to do is keep his ego in check, take out the chequebook and give the fans this big name signing they have been waiting for since 2007.