Super Sunday: Chelsea One Win Away From the Premier League Title

What a win! The biggest hurdle of our title run-in has been overcome with ease.

I don’t want to think that Liverpool didn’t give their best, because they did. They did their best but even their best was not good enough to stop a confident and determined Chelsea from beating them at Anfield.

There is an air of suspicion around Gerrard’s back pass. If you know Gerrard’s track record of making such suicidal back passes, you wouldn’t doubt him. That was just a blunder, but give some credit for Drogba for anticipating that and pouncing on it like he’s never scored a goal in a decade. And then there was this sweet move that ended with a Frank Lampard customary ‘being at the right place at the right time’ finish.

I know a lot of Chelsea fans and supporters celebrated like we have won the league already. I don’t for a moment think that the title race is over. Particularly in this season, I’m going to wait until the final whistle at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. It is plain naivety to think we have won the league by beating Liverpool at Anfield.

Wigan are no pushovers and for the record, they have never been an easy opponent for us. The reason why we celebrated so much after the Anfield win is that it was supposed to be our Waterloo. Fergie and Manchester United were absolutely banking on this match: Liverpool were wounded animals and we were playing at their home, and we completed the double over Liverpool after doing this to United and Arsenal. Good enough reasons to celebrate like mad men, if you ask me.

Irrespective of what happens next Sunday, Ancelotti deserves loads of praise and appreciation. He’s done a fantastic job over the last couple of months in ensuring that our season does not fall apart despite the intermittent upsets. He’s gone through the intervention of African Nations Cup and he’s done that without any additional investment in players. Respect to Carlo.

Having said that, this is a title that we should have won in the month of April. For what should have been an easy ride to the title, we have truly made heavy weather of it because of our inconsistency. It is for this reason, Carlo must win the title. That’s his redemption.

This is a season where United have lost Ronaldo and Tevez, Liverpool are in complete shambles, Arsenal are as clueless as ever, and Chelsea was full of experience and stability. Given these circumstances, we should have wrapped up the title long ago. Irrespective of what happens next week, I want Carlo Ancelotti to continue as the manager of Chelsea, and continue his good work with the Blues.

For all my venom towards Steve Bruce, Sunderland tried their best against United last week, but just didn’t have the players to make a difference. And now, we have Dave Whelan, owner of Wigan Athletic and one of the million ‘friends’ of Sir Alex, who has said that Chelsea will not stroll past Wigan. That’s good for football. We all want teams to play in such a way that their fans can be proud of. Make no mistake—Chelsea are on a rampage. We have a team that’s high on confidence and morale. We are playing in front of our home fans. Our players and manager are incredibly title-hungry. That’s the only thing on our mind.

The interesting thing is, the press would have two sets of articles ready.

If Chelsea Wins

The article is hailing Carlo’s debut season in English Premier League, explaining how Chelsea’s experience have guided them to the title, the effect of Drogba the hitman, the evergreen Frank Lampard, and how Chelsea have exorcised the ghost of Jose Mourinho. It documents how Ronaldo and Tevez were not replaced at Manchester United and why Berbatov was the biggest flop of the season. It questions whether Sir Alex should retire, and who would take up his role next.

If the Unthinkable Happens

The article asks where Carlo made a mistake and questions how he mistook the English league for Italian league. It asks how old Chelsea players are and whether their age took its toll it has taken on their title charge. How crucial was Drogba’s injury? Should Lampard deserve a world cup starting place? It focuses on why Chelsea have not won major honours since Jose Mourinho left, why Sir Alex is vindicated in selling Ronaldo and Tevez, and how Nani and Valencia have come a long way in filling the gap. It explains why Wayne Rooney should win the Ballon ‘d Or, and the ageless of wonder of the irreplaceable Sir Ale.

Whether you would see the first or second article depends on what happens this Sunday. What I would like the press to remember is that both Chelsea and United have done admirably well and both are fantastic teams deserving to win the title. I think Chelsea does have an edge over United in terms of who between these two deserves to be champions. Sadly, history doesn’t remember losers because the media is the one that creates history and tells us what to read and watch. They don’t have time for losers, unless they see some entertainment in adding insult to injury.

I fully believe that Chelsea will win the title this Sunday at Stamford Bridge. Sorry if I’m arrogant, I think we will win by a 2-0 or 3-0 margin. The one thing I pray for is that this should not be a close affair. It’s not good for our health. Let’s go and wrap it up by the hour. The moment has arrived. Chelsea for the Premier League title!

P.S: I’m on twitter – http://www.twitter.com/bluechampion — I’m still a novice but you’ll see me using that more often going forward. Catch me up on twitter for my short quick views on all things football and Chelsea. Cheers!