The fan zone blog is an avenue for all readers to have their write ups about their clubs posted on the blog! If you want to participate, jus...
The fan zone blog is an avenue for all readers to have their write ups about their clubs posted on the blog! If you want to participate, just comment below or send a mail to Wolexis.blogspot@gmail.com
As Chelsea close in on what would be a 5th English top flight title and a first since 2010, Jose Mourinho’s side have come under some criticisms for the “Boring” football they have exhibited on their way to the title but is the BORING tag really fair?
In the 1-0 win over Man United, Chelsea were restricted to just 30% of possession of the ball as they sat deep and let Man United come at them while looking to hit them on the counter.
Criticism of their style though, came to the fore in the latter stages of their goalless draw at Arsenal with chants of “Boring! Boring! Chelsea!” - ringing around the terraces of the Emirates.
Fans of the Gunners and Neutrals alike took over social media venting their apparent frustration toward a perceived lack of attacking ambition on display from the so called best team in the country and their points are valid, well only if you’ve got a single minded naive view of football.
The best sides are often expected to outplay the opposition with ball possession and aesthetic attacking football explicitly required.
However, it would be rather credulous to think outplaying an opponent is the only quality that validates the excellence of a ‘Big team’. It is equally important to be able to outfight the opponent whenever required.
Up until mid-January, Chelsea played some of the most entertaining football in the country with the likes of Hazard, Fabregas, Oscar and Costa at the forefront of most of their good work, while Matic provided an admirable shield in front of the defence marshalled by an ageing but ever impressive John Terry.
But, as the season has worn on, they have resorted to a more result oriented approach in games and have tended to be more reactive. In fact, up till the 3-1 win at Leicester, Chelsea failed to win by more than 1 goal since hammering Swansea 5-0 in January.
In that time though, they have opened up a 13 point lead over defending champions Manchester City and Arsenal. This goes to show that it is perhaps more accurate to label them a multifunctional team with the ability to eke out a win no matter what’s thrown at them as evidenced in recent wins over Stoke, QPR and of course Man United.
While they haven’t exactly been at their best, they make sure they don’t fall behind in games, with Leicester the first to leave them trailing at any point in a game since the 5-3 loss to spurs on New Year’s Day.
Jose Mourinho has taken a vastly unbalanced team that had gone 3 years without a title and turned them into champions within 2 years.
He’s regarded as the master tactician because he’s great at adapting hi tactics to exploit the weaknesses of other teams. Some teams would benefit from a high tempo end to end game.
The Special One is excellent at “killing” these games and seizing any sort of momentum away from any team and that’s why his record against the current top 5 over the last 2 seasons reads a big “0” under the ‘L’ section.
Could it lead to some dour games? Yes. Could the football be better? Sure, but it would be absolutely ludicrous to taint their impending title win with the “Boring” tag. Chelsea are still a team undergoing a rebuilding process and thus should be lauded as the best team in the land, which they are, by some distance.....
As Chelsea close in on what would be a 5th English top flight title and a first since 2010, Jose Mourinho’s side have come under some criticisms for the “Boring” football they have exhibited on their way to the title but is the BORING tag really fair?
In the 1-0 win over Man United, Chelsea were restricted to just 30% of possession of the ball as they sat deep and let Man United come at them while looking to hit them on the counter.
Criticism of their style though, came to the fore in the latter stages of their goalless draw at Arsenal with chants of “Boring! Boring! Chelsea!” - ringing around the terraces of the Emirates.
Fans of the Gunners and Neutrals alike took over social media venting their apparent frustration toward a perceived lack of attacking ambition on display from the so called best team in the country and their points are valid, well only if you’ve got a single minded naive view of football.
The best sides are often expected to outplay the opposition with ball possession and aesthetic attacking football explicitly required.
However, it would be rather credulous to think outplaying an opponent is the only quality that validates the excellence of a ‘Big team’. It is equally important to be able to outfight the opponent whenever required.
Up until mid-January, Chelsea played some of the most entertaining football in the country with the likes of Hazard, Fabregas, Oscar and Costa at the forefront of most of their good work, while Matic provided an admirable shield in front of the defence marshalled by an ageing but ever impressive John Terry.
But, as the season has worn on, they have resorted to a more result oriented approach in games and have tended to be more reactive. In fact, up till the 3-1 win at Leicester, Chelsea failed to win by more than 1 goal since hammering Swansea 5-0 in January.
In that time though, they have opened up a 13 point lead over defending champions Manchester City and Arsenal. This goes to show that it is perhaps more accurate to label them a multifunctional team with the ability to eke out a win no matter what’s thrown at them as evidenced in recent wins over Stoke, QPR and of course Man United.
While they haven’t exactly been at their best, they make sure they don’t fall behind in games, with Leicester the first to leave them trailing at any point in a game since the 5-3 loss to spurs on New Year’s Day.
Jose Mourinho has taken a vastly unbalanced team that had gone 3 years without a title and turned them into champions within 2 years.
He’s regarded as the master tactician because he’s great at adapting hi tactics to exploit the weaknesses of other teams. Some teams would benefit from a high tempo end to end game.
The Special One is excellent at “killing” these games and seizing any sort of momentum away from any team and that’s why his record against the current top 5 over the last 2 seasons reads a big “0” under the ‘L’ section.
Could it lead to some dour games? Yes. Could the football be better? Sure, but it would be absolutely ludicrous to taint their impending title win with the “Boring” tag. Chelsea are still a team undergoing a rebuilding process and thus should be lauded as the best team in the land, which they are, by some distance.....
.jpg)
