Another Season, Another Chelsea Failure, Another European Heartbreak

Another heartbreaking European night!

First thing is first. Congratulations Inter Milan and Jose Mourinho. Congratulations to the Inter fans who came and sung their hearts out. Congratulations to Wesley Sneijder on his man of the match performance.

I can't say I have too many complaints. Chelsea knew what Sneijder brings to this Inter side and we still didn't deal with him.

When you come up against a quality European team coached by a manager like Mourinho you need some creative quality and pace, both of which we badly lacked. You also need some luck which I don't think we got over the two legs especially in respect of penalties.

Having said that, at this level you can't just rely on penalties being given regardless of whether they are justified or not. We were faced with a superior version of ourselves.

We have gone out in past seasons to extraordinary bad luck, bad refereeing decisions—the lot. But never before have I seen us so comprehensively beaten. Many will contrast the performances of Ancelotti and Mourinho—indeed, some already have but it is a barren argument. Had the coaches been reversed tonight I think that the result would still have been the same. Having said that, seeing Anchelotti muted on the touch line while Mounrinho was screaming instructions and frantically urging his team on said a lot about the two managers.

I consider myself to be a reasonable fan and this allows me to accept defeats as and when they happen. However, I have one stipulation to that statement and that is that I expect the team to give it their all. If Chelsea go out and try their best for the whole 90 minutes and with the attitude of trying to win the game then that is acceptable to me, even if they fall short and get beaten—ala Barcelona 2009. I can accept their endeavour and live with the defeat even if there are mitigating circumstances.

Last night Chelsea went out with a whimper. You can put it down to the Jose factor, his tactical mastermind, or just the plain old bad day at the office but the fact is, the Chelsea players were sent home with their tails between their legs without even trying.

In the past this team has been considered, hands down, favorites to win this competition and have occasionally come close to being good enough but, now, the passage of time and the failure over two years to inject fresh talent has caught up with us. The mere fact that some of us (and Mourinho himself) still regard this as "Mourinho's team", two and a half years after he left, tells its own story.

A few things have become clear to me after last night:

• Drogba is top class but he can't do it all on his own. Against top teams he needs more help and service.
• Ancelotti has to find a role for Nicolas Anelka that suits him, as playing wide does not and he does not contribute to the team apart from slowing the game down.
• Florent Malouda clearly has the ability but this needs to be harnessed consistently.
• Joe Cole is completely out of sorts (he had no impact on the game at all) and his situation needs to be resolved.
• Chelsea lack a creative spark.

It might seem like I'm jumping the gun a bit, but it's time for some of these over-paid stars to be hit with a reality check. Chelsea have had more or less the same squad for the past six seasons and time after time, these players fail to deliver in Europe when it really matters. This was the case even when Mourinho was sitting in our dug-out.

Our midfield, which has always been our strongest point, is now our weakest point. Of course, had Michael Essien and Deco played instead of Mikel John Obi and Michael Ballack, it might have been a different outcome but the fact remains, they were out-run, out-fought, and out-thought.

At the end of the day, another season has come and gone with yet another heartbreaking failure. Only this time, I have absolutely no complaints. As Mourinho eloquently put it, Inter were better at every aspect of the game and thoroughly deserved to go through.

The phrase "same sh*t different day" springs to mind...