serious14
Well-Known Member
From football365.com
At least Luiz Felipe Scolari did not blame defeat squarely on Mike Riley's incompetence. Without Scolari's admission that his side were second-best even before Lampard's dismissal then Chelsea's day would have been entirely bereft of credit. If there was any justice meted out at Anfield then it was that Chelsea left with nothing.
Defeat surely ends their title ambitions but that should be the least of their worries. Coming so soon after a near-identical tame capitulation at Old Trafford, this was a non-performance that spoke of a longer, larger decline. In a single age, the Roman Empire is poised to rise and fall.
If it does crumble, it will do so because of a failure to build solid foundations before Roman Abramovich's chequebook closed. Chelsea are now crippled by their own short-termism, stuck with a side that is both too old and devoid of any sell-on value. Even recently, that short-termism has been allowed to persist with terrible consequences. As Scolari only signed a two-year contract in the summer, Chelsea are thus likely to have five different managers during a time when Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United will have just one. In turn, Scolari's decision to make a 31-year-old his principal purchase was an appalling misjudgment and not just because Deco has flopped.
John Terry has provided continuity but October marked the ten-year anniversary of his Chelsea debut and since then not a single player has emerged from their academy despite Frank Arnesen being lured from Tottenham, at a cost of 8m, to take charge of youth development.
If it is a big call to write their obituary as a force, it is a bigger one still to argue that they still possess the staying-power to remain at the summit of English and European football.
At least Luiz Felipe Scolari did not blame defeat squarely on Mike Riley's incompetence. Without Scolari's admission that his side were second-best even before Lampard's dismissal then Chelsea's day would have been entirely bereft of credit. If there was any justice meted out at Anfield then it was that Chelsea left with nothing.
Defeat surely ends their title ambitions but that should be the least of their worries. Coming so soon after a near-identical tame capitulation at Old Trafford, this was a non-performance that spoke of a longer, larger decline. In a single age, the Roman Empire is poised to rise and fall.
If it does crumble, it will do so because of a failure to build solid foundations before Roman Abramovich's chequebook closed. Chelsea are now crippled by their own short-termism, stuck with a side that is both too old and devoid of any sell-on value. Even recently, that short-termism has been allowed to persist with terrible consequences. As Scolari only signed a two-year contract in the summer, Chelsea are thus likely to have five different managers during a time when Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United will have just one. In turn, Scolari's decision to make a 31-year-old his principal purchase was an appalling misjudgment and not just because Deco has flopped.
John Terry has provided continuity but October marked the ten-year anniversary of his Chelsea debut and since then not a single player has emerged from their academy despite Frank Arnesen being lured from Tottenham, at a cost of 8m, to take charge of youth development.
If it is a big call to write their obituary as a force, it is a bigger one still to argue that they still possess the staying-power to remain at the summit of English and European football.
