Back in December, I wrote an article that provoked some fury among Arsenal fans. Arsenal were leading the table by five points and playing well, yet I predicted that Manchester United would win the league.
Well, April is almost upon us now and what do we have, Man UTD are leading the table by five points and playing well. Nobody seems to be able to stop Christiano Ronaldo from scoring, which means Chelsea and Arsenal are now praying for miracles to save their seasons.
Now, I didn't want to make that prediction because I want my team to win the league, but at the end of the day, Chelsea are just not good enough.
I think although Avram Grant has made some very dumb decisions, he has not gotten enough credit for the way he has hauled Chelsea back into the fight to be in second place with a team that belongs to Jose Mourinho. The truth is though, that it will be too little, too late.
Take the last week for example. I was at White Hart Lane for the draw against Spurs and I was almost in tears at the end of the game. If I was a neutral fan, I would have said that this was the best game in the Premier League all season bar none as most of the games involving the "Big Four" have been snorefests. The fact fact is that I'm not a neutral and Chelsea had a chance to maintain the gap to Man UTD and blew it.
This was their best performance offensively under Avram Grant so far, but defensively it was our worst. Too many goals conceded from set pieces.
Now people will say, "you beat Arsenal." And I will say, "yes, we did." The fact is though, we are still five points behind with only seven games remaining. We need to beat Man UTD at Stamford Bridge and hope they lose another game elsewhere. If anyone can see where there are going to lose elsewhere, then please let me know.
Arsenal are now on their worst run under Arsene Wenger. The strength in depth comments that I made back in December are now coming home to roost. They have relied too much on getting Robin Van Persie back from injury instead of buying a top striker to put in the rotation. Emmanuel Adebayor is now struggling but has to play because there is nobody else.
Now Eduardo has been injured as we all know, with that horrific tackle and Robin Van Persie is taking time to get back to form after injury. When Kolo Toure was at the African Cup of Nations, they were relying on Phillip Senderos where he has shown that he is not a Premier League defender.
They should have more top quality players to provide some genuine competition for places. It's no wonder that Arsenal have not won anything so far in the last three years. Wenger needs to spend and stop being so tight.
The fact is that Arsenal are a young team that have found the going tough when the tough should get going and are now paying the price for having a thin, youthful squad with no experience to fight for the league. I'm sure their time will come; but not this year.
As for Liverpool, I think it's better left at that.
The title is Man UTD's to lose. They don't have to beat Chelsea or Arsenal to win the league, unless God answers my prayers for a miracle...
Until then, mine's a Guinness please!
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3 months ago
Well Man Utd will have to beat Arsenal because I don't see a win coming at Chelsea judjing on their current form.
As for Arsenal, their time is coming.
3 months ago
Thats true. Although I think Arsenal's time will come, it won't be this season. The "Kids" who played against Chelsea last season in the Carling Cup final were I think good enough to beat Chelsea, but thier lack of experience allowed Chelsea to wear them down and in the same way, I'm not sure they can overcome Man UTD at Old Trafford. If they can, then we are in for one hell of an end to the season.
3 months ago
haha u peope are jokers u said the title is "man utd's to lose" but i think the title is man utd's to win.just watch till e end of e season n u tell me after.
3 months ago
I disagree with your comment on Senderos. If anything, he's proven more consistent than Toure. The pairing of Toure and Galas won't work, not against beasts like Drogba. Senderos would of been a better foil to Drogba, and I expect see more of Philippe in central defense in upcoming matches.
The match on the 13th is going to be huge. Playing Liverpool thrice before that game could be either good or bad for Arsenal. Roma will be seeking to exact revenge on ManU before then as well. Coming out both of their respective pre-meet fixtures will say a lot about the clash of the Premiership season.
3 months ago
If you'd read the whole article, baker, you'd discover that "It's your title to lose" implies that United will take the Premiership.
3 months ago
Well, I must say that you are the most resonable Chelsea fan I've seen in a long time..... your comments make a lot of sense, I think United might drop points at Boro and Arsenal, however I dont think Chelsea will win all of their remaining games.
I agree that it is United's title to lose, and I pray that that does not happen.
And thank you for referrinf to our team as Man UTD and not ManU, i really appreciate it.
Both United and other fans should imbibe this respect..
3 months ago
The comment above was for Shaka
3 months ago
Man Utd also have to play BOGEY team West Ham...
Though at that point, we should have secured a draw at Stamford Bridge (I'm not going to be blinded my by man utd sunglasses and say we will definetly win) and that will suffice!
Arsenal are going to be playing for pride against us, especially after their non-performance at Old T for FA Cup...
They played for pride last season against Chelsea and got a draw (though I think they deserved better being more attacking) and might do something this season against Man U...
They bounce back on big games, like they proved this season making history at San Siro against AC.
I think Roma might actually pull something out the bag for Champs League, we only just about beat them in the group stages end of last year (this season) and obviously 7-1 was just OUR day, much like 4-0 against Arsenal.
Yep, agreed, the premiership is ours to lose...I'm hoping we gain it though!
I'll say this...Whoever wins the premiership, definetly deserves it.
It'll be harsh on Arsenal if they come 3rd, after being first for so long....but agreed they need to learn from MUFC that experience with youyth is a winning combination. And with youngsters its always a risk of lack of experience.
Consistency is the key...and Arsenal arent so great at winning when they not playing well...whereas we have the edge as we werent playing well beginning of season and still won 1-0s.
And also beat Chelsea 2-0! :op home advantage also...(same with Arsenal fixture approaching)
though I'm not sure thats a valid excuse considering we lost to Man City at home, on a day we really should have done Busby babes proud.
Its so interesting but tense!!!
Liverpool and Arsenal champions league should be interesting also!
3 months ago
Btw Hi, Im a Newbie :o)
Randomly came across this forum and found myself itching to add my cent to the mix...!
3 months ago
Btw Hi, Im a Newbie :o)
Randomly came across this forum and found myself itching to add my cent to the mix...!
3 months ago
Btw Hi, Im a Newbie :o)
Randomly came across this forum and found myself itching to add my cent to the mix...!
3 months ago
Damn, the posts have no delete comment button...can you tell I'm a Newbie by the repeated comment?!
3 months ago
Lol, anyway i am a arsenal fan! And i still think we will win the premiership, because we are a patient team plus, i cant see chelski win the renaining games, neither can man UTD so i PRAY for our team to win this year, for we are the only team that can say that we deserve it because of our play and our time at the top.
o_0
from 3 months ago
The team who deserves the EPL title will be the team who wins. No one else....
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