Chelsea Blip-O-Meter Reading
CFC Match/Match Comparison 2010-11/2011-12: -4pts
71-4 = 67 points
Chelsea Blip-O-Meter reading: 10
Rather than take advantage of the reprieve offered by the Bolton result, the Blip-O-Meter bounced straight back into the Red Zone.
Its mechanism is designed to explode with the second 10 recorded in any given season.
Right on cue: Bang and Bye-bye André.
Not exactly a Shock!.
It was never going to be easy coming back to a place where you were the guy who handed out the DVDs and briefs on the opposition as The Boss.
Especially when you are no older than several of the most influential players.
Players who have become used to exercising their muscle in the shady arena of back-room club politics ever since the Grant Interregnum.
Player Power is a tough genie to squeeze back into its bottle. Since then only Hiddink managed to keep the cork in during his three month sojourn.
But Player Power was not the cause of Villas-Boas’ demise. His problem was that he vacillated between statements of bold revolution and actions of weak placation.
Most would have sacrificed a season to see McEachran, Hutchinson, Bertrand et al, get a decent run and lay some foundation for the club’s future.
In hindsight they could hardly have done any worse than the veterans who retained their places and would likely have retained that coveted fourth place, given Arsenal and Liverpool’s poor seasons.
But Villas-Boas managed to concurrently alienate the Old Guard while stymieing the Young Turks. Along the way he created plenty of enemies without making any friends.
All that nonsense about Anelka and Alex and their car parking spots did not help one little bit. Only a weak man would feel the need so desperately to stamp his authority – or at least be perceived as so doing.
And therein lay his failure.
Like the congregation of Laodicea in The Revelation to John on Patmos: He was neither hot nor cold and therefore vomited out of the mouth.
“Miserable”? Perhaps, for a while; but “pitiable and poor and blind and naked”? – No way.
Just a man with a rather bruised ego and a very full wallet.
He may learn from this. If he does he could become a good coach.
Despite all the vitriol directed at Lampard, the player that has appeared most uninterested has been Drogba.
“Going through the motions” would just about describe it, particularly since he scored his 150th. (He’s off on a free at the end of the season and believes that his CV is plenty good enough to secure him a fat contract somewhere like the US, Middle East, or China.)
Closely followed by Ashley Cole.
So now we move onto, what is it manager Number Plenty, since Abramović took over: Robbie di Matteo.
Well, he’s got to be in his forties, so that makes him a few years older than the veterans. And he’s never handed out the DVDs that I know of (although I assume he set out the cones at training).
He had a reasonably distinguished playing career and a, er, moderate managerial one.
70 points is the target. And I don’t think Abramović cares how they are obtained, Robbie.
Posted by Steve Symmons
| Match | Available | 11/12 | GF | GA | GD | 10/11 | GF | GA | GD | Par | PtsYTD | GFYTD | GAYTD | GDYTD |
| Stoke (a) | 2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | = | = | -1 | -1 | = |
| WBA (h) | 2-1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6-0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | = | = | -5 | = | -5 | |
| Norwich (Blackpool) (h) | 3-1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4-0 | 11 | 1 | 10 | = | = | -6 | +1 | -7 | |
| Sunderland (a) | 2-1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 4-2 | 15 | 3 | 12 | = | = | -8 | = | -8 | |
| Man Utd (a) | 3 | 1-3 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1-2 | 16 | 5 | 11 | = | = | -8 | +1 | -9 |
| Swansea (West Ham) (h) | 4-1 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 3-0 | 19 | 5 | 14 | = | = | -7 | +2 | -9 | |
| Bolton (a) | 5-1 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 4-0 | 23 | 5 | 18 | = | = | -6 | +3 | -9 | |
| Everton (h) | 2 | 3-1 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 1-1 | 24 | 6 | 18 | +2 | +2 | -4 | +3 | -7 |
| QPR (Birmingham) (a) | 3 | 0-1 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0-1 | 24 | 7 | 17 | = | +2 | -4 | +3 | -7 |
| Arsenal (h) | 3-5 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 2-0 | 26 | 7 | 19 | -3 | -1 | -3 | +8 | -11 | |
| Blackburn (a) | 1-0 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 2-1 | 28 | 8 | 20 | = | -1 | -4 | +7 | -11 | |
| Liverpool (h) | 3 | 1-2 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 0-1 | 28 | 9 | 19 | = | -1 | -3 | +8 | -11 |
| Wolves (h) | 3-0 | 28 | 17 | 11 | 2-0 | 30 | 9 | 21 | = | -1 | -2 | +8 | -10 | |
| Newcastle (a) | 2 | 3-0 | 31 | 17 | 14 | 1-1 | 31 | 10 | 21 | +2 | +1 | = | +7 | -7 |
| ManCity (h) | 2-1 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 2-0 | 33 | 10 | 23 | = | +1 | = | +8 | -8 | |
| Wigan (a) | 1-1 | 34 | 19 | 15 | 6-0 | 39 | 10 | 29 | -2 | -1 | -5 | +9 | -14 | |
| Tottenham (a) | 2 | 1-1 | 35 | 20 | 15 | 1-1 | 40 | 11 | 29 | = | -1 | -5 | +9 | -14 |
| Fulham (h) | 1-1 | 36 | 21 | 15 | 1-0 | 41 | 11 | 30 | -2 | -3 | -5 | +10 | -15 | |
| Aston Villa (h) # | 2 | 1-3 | 37 | 24 | 13 | 3-3 | 44 | 14 | 30 | -1 | -4 | -7 | +10 | -17 |
| Wolves (a) | 3 | 2-1 | 39 | 25 | 14 | 0-1 | 44 | 15 | 29 | +3 | -1 | -5 | +10 | -15 |
| Sunderland (h) | 3 | 1-0 | 40 | 25 | 15 | 0-3 | 44 | 18 | 26 | +3 | +2 | -4 | +7 | -11 |
| Norwich (Blackpool) (a) | 0-0 | 40 | 25 | 15 | 3-1 | 47 | 19 | 28 | -2 | = | -7 | +6 | -13 | |
| Swansea (West Ham) (a) | 1-1 | 41 | 26 | 15 | 3-1 | 50 | 20 | 30 | -2 | -2 | -9 | +6 | -15 | |
| Man Utd (h) | 3-3 | 44 | 29 | 15 | 2-1 | 52 | 21 | 31 | -2 | -4 | -8 | +8 | -16 | |
| Everton (a)# | 3 | 0-2 | 44 | 31 | 13 | 0-1 | 52 | 22 | 30 | = | -4 | -8 | +9 | -17 |
| Bolton (h) | 3-0 | 47 | 31 | 16 | 1-0 | 53 | 22 | 31 | = | -4 | -6 | +9 | -15 | |
| WBA (a) | 3 | 0-1 | 47 | 32 | 15 | 1-3 | 54 | 25 | 33 | = | -4 | -7 | +7 | -14 |
| Stoke (h) | 2-0 | 56 | 25 | 35 | ||||||||||
| ManCity (a) | 3 | 0-1 | 56 | 26 | 34 | |||||||||
| Tottenham (h) | 2-1 | 58 | 27 | 35 | ||||||||||
| Aston Villa (a) | 2 | 0-0 | 58 | 27 | 35 | |||||||||
| Wigan (h) | 1-0 | 59 | 27 | 36 | ||||||||||
| Fulham (a) | 2 | 0-0 | 59 | 27 | 36 | |||||||||
| Newcastle (h) | 2 | 2-2 | 61 | 29 | 36 | |||||||||
| Arsenal (a) | 3 | 1-3 | 62 | 32 | 34 | |||||||||
| QPR (Birmingham) (h) | 3-1 | 65 | 33 | 36 | ||||||||||
| Liverpool (a) | 3 | 0-2 | 65 | 35 | 34 | |||||||||
| Blackburn (h) | 2-0 | 67 | 35 | 36 | ||||||||||