Can Chelsea go unbeaten this season?

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Can Chelsea go unbeaten this season?

I’m a self-confessed critic of Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho but none of my criticism has ever been about his ability on the pitch but about his needless and often avoidable off-the-pitch shenanigans. By error of omission or commission, Mourinho has succeeded in cutting a bad boy image for himself and, like I said on this page last week, he usually gets blamed even for infractions for which he should be guiltless.

However, like all geniuses, Mourinho has made himself un-ignorable. Like him or hate him, you cannot discountenance the Portuguese. And, judging by what he has won in his managerial career, you cannot say he’s just lucky. Plucky, yes but lucky, hell no! Mou has earned his spurs and I doff my cap to him. His results speak eloquently for him.

While I refused to agree with his ‘little horses’ analogy of his Chelsea team, even engaging in a fierce open debate on Facebook with a friend of mine to debunk that fallacy, I’ve been very pleased with the way he has set out his team for the current season and the fact that they sit top of the log with their best ever start to the EPL season is no coincidence.

Mou understood WHY his team came short last season and it was NOT because they were in transition as he claimed. It was simply because his team lacked balance. Even though he had one of the world’s best defenders in BrasilavIvanovic, Gary Cahill and, to an extent John Terry, and quality personnel in the middle, there was always a disconnect between them and the guys up front. Little wonder Chelsea failed to translate their midfield superiority into goals despite the array of stars in the middle. Last season, they had the best defensive record, conceding just 27 goals in 38 games, 10 fewer than the second best team. At the other end, they scored just 71 goals all season, a whopping 32 less than title winners Man City.

This season, Mourinho learnt his lessons well, at least on the evidence of what we have seen so far. He brought in CescFabregas, an accomplished player with tons of Premier League experience who can be described as the final jigsaw in the Chelsea puzzle. He makes the game look so easy and pleasing to the eye, creating the outlet for the forwards to score. It has also helped that he signed Diego Costa but, for me, Mourinho’s masterstroke is in the back-ups that he signed: Loic Remy and returnee Didier Drogba. For those who questioned the sale of RomeluLukaku and the return of Drogba, last Saturday’s victory at Crystal Palace is a testament to the fact that Mourinho is getting his decisions

The lines are falling in pleasant places for Chelsea. There are still 30 games to go between now and May with lots of twists and turns but the Blues have their noses in front and don’t look like they’re going to relinquish that position soon.

Chelsea have the strongest side, so far, and I expect them to translate this early dominance into a trophy or two at the end of the season. However, Martin Keown, former Arsenal defender and a member of the Invincibles team that went 49 matches unbeaten, is convinced this Chelsea team are capable of not only winning the league, he’s ready to wager that the Blues can go the season unbeaten and even break Arsenal’s record.

You can read his well-written opinion here. I don’t know if Chelsea will go through the season unbeaten. I don’t know whether they can break Arsenal’s 49-game record. But I know Keown is entitled to his opinion. Read what he has to say and decide if you agree or disagree with him.

And, just before you say Keown was under the influence of a strong drink before making this statement, just remember that nobody thought Arsenal could also do it when they did. The Gunners took the season one game at a time, had near-death experiences and narrow escapes but still managed to get to the Promised Land. Whatever you think, let me have your feedback here.
Chelsea are driven, tenacious and hungry and can be the new Invincibles – Martin Keown

Could we be seeing the first signs of a team who can go unbeaten all season? Chelsea look impressive and have it in them to go the distance without defeat — they can become the new Invincibles.

Jose Mourinho’s team have already come out unscathed from arguably their toughest game of the season — the trip to Manchester City.
Mourinho spent most of last season telling us his Chelsea team were not good enough. A lot of people, including me, thought it was just mind games but he was right and quickly identified the players he needed in the summer.
Financial Fair Play rules made him a better wheeler-dealer too: he balanced the books well by selling David Luiz and Romelu Lukaku for big money and bringing in Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis.
Mourinho has consistently made quick, ruthless decisions since his return to Stamford Bridge, selling Juan Mata, allowing Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole to leave, dropping Petr Cech and moving on Lukaku and Luiz.
He was right to do all of those — you haven’t noticed that Cole, Lampard and Cech, who made 1,469 appearances between them, aren’t playing as their replacements are arguably better

The only downside for Chelsea has been Lampard’s performances for City. I can see the reasons for letting him go, but scoring an equaliser against his old club? Not even Jose could have written that script.

But where was Lampard going to play? Mourinho already has Fabregas, NemanjaMatic, John Mikel Obi, Andre Schurrle, Mohamed Salah, Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard as midfield options.
Chelsea’s midfield is key to their form and their ability to keep the unbeaten run going. Oscar, Willian and Hazard are like terriers closing down the opposition and then you have Matic, the nightwatchman, sitting behind them alongside Fabregas, who at times has played deeper.
It means the defence are rarely spoken about, even if they will want to concede fewer goals and the team seem driven, with key men switched on by individual targets — just the other day Hazard was talking about matching Lampard’sgoalscoring feats.

Mourinho also trusts John Terry to get his body ready for each game, unlike Rafa Benitez who decided he couldn’t play three games a week.

With Costa up front, Chelsea now have the goal machine they lacked last season. Even if he picks up more twinges, Loic Remy is capable of filling in. Didier Drogba could be useful, too — if he stops waving at the crowd and shows some hunger.
As captain, Terry will be proud of staying unbeaten and he and the manager will make sure the team don’t fall from the set standard. They will demand everyone digs in that little bit extra to protect the record.

I was part of the original Invincibles when Arsenal went unbeaten in 2003-04 and everyone in the squad was made to feel a part of the success. You have a responsibility to maintain those incredible standards and do not want to be the player who comes in, makes the mistake and ends the run.

While you are unbeaten, you are glowing as a group — life cannot be better. You can go home and watch Match of the Day without seeing an awful mistake that cost you a result. You do feel unbeatable.
We didn’t talk about it until the title was won but then we became determined to do something no other Arsenal team had done: we’d won Doubles, titles and cups but this was different.

Now Chelsea can match that.

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