Jose Mourinho showing strain in Chelseas pursuit of the title Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been throwing his toys out of the pram, and weve been guilty of looking at these discarded objects rather than the 51-year-old man sitting in a device for transporting young children. Were giving him exactly what he wants. The transparency of Mourinhos diversionary tactics wore thin a long while ago, and yet if someone of clout talks about something long enough and uses incendiary words like campaign to describe his sides apparent injustice then, well, the back pages will curtsy before duly supplying the megaphone. Such a deflection device is one former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson used adeptly following a disappointing result. Instead of dissecting the specifics of exactly what went wrong, tongues would wag over whichever talking point the Scot had opted to vent about, alleviating the pressure from his players. That is not to say his -- or Mourinhos team after their 5-3 walloping at Tottenham -- didnt get a rocket in the changing room, but it does mean the scorn is of the measured variety; that the manager has managed the situation to the desired degree. Is there a campaign against Jose Mourinhos Chelsea? YES NO Ultimately, Chelsea can take comfort in remaining top of the Premier League table for the start of 2015, albeit by virtue of their alphabetic superiority over Manchester City. Mourinho has City to thank for his teams position, after Manuel Pellegrinis side dropped the ball by relinquishing a two-goal lead at home to Burnley, a team they were expected to assert their billionaire authority on, as the match ended 2-2. The eight-point advantage Chelsea had over the chasers that has been whittled to zero could have been worse had the champions not displayed negligence. (By the by, if -- and its an almighty if -- the scenario was to be the same after 38 games in May, whereby Chelsea and Citys records matched, then wed have a playoff on our hands at a neutral ground to decide the title. Just close your eyes and imagine, with so much at stake, Mourinhos mind and mouth in overdrive in the lead up to that. Itd be glorious). Jose Mourinhos Chelsea were humiliated in their 5-3 defeat at Tottenham. The Blues go into their home match with managerless Newcastle having not won in two top-flight matches, which is tantamount to crisis, unless of course you sober the hyperbole with the fact the draw was against a very decent Southampton and the defeat against a much-improving Tottenham. Mourinho needs his players to shrug off the five conceded at Spurs and return to their normally solid selves while remembering that midfielder Nemanja Matic is not invincible (despite the odd claim otherwise) and therefore needs those playing behind him to not be so downright sloppy. The Magpies, of course, inflicted upon the Blues their first league defeat of the season and have made a habit of giving their better opponents a tough time in recent years, famously winning 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in 2012. Papiss Cisse, who will be absent this time around due to his African Nations Cup commitments with Senegal, scored both goals -- and the second was gravity-defying. Alas, in Saturdays meeting Newcastle, they will also be without boss Alan Pardew, whose departure to Crystal Palace might well have been met by a strange Toon faithful body movement of one hand in the air like they just dont care and the other scratching the head at the fact that he ultimately left of his own accord. Under pressure: Roberto Martinez Its taken four defeats in a row, but Everton boss Roberto Martinez is finally being questioned by a wider audience. That is not to say that he deserves to have his position in charge of the club considered in jeopardy. However, subjectivity has already reigned over some of his counterparts for similarly poor form -- see Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, for example. So, the Spaniard should also have to front the accusations, such are the leech-like demands for instant gratification in the unsettling times of football 2015. Roberto Martinez is looking to avoid a fifth straight Premier League loss when his side host Manchester City. Martinez, having set the bar to the height of fifth place last season, has insisted there is no need to panic. This could be interpreted as a message to the Everton powers-that-be to resist getting too sweaty a brow at being four points above the relegation zone after 20 matches of the season played. Injuries have taken their toll, sure, but they fail to fully excuse such vulnerability in defence (33 league goals conceded) which was a persistent quirk of Martinezs former Wigan side. With his current Everton team not as slick going forward, their mistakes at the back are being extensively punished. The Everton manager has, however, given himself something of a mini-reprieve after a late, late equaliser in the FA Cup third round against West Ham spared him and his players a fifth loss on the spin -- the Toffees boss said an exit would have been a horrendous setback. The respite was achieved by Romelu Lukakus goal, a player signed for 28 million pounds in the summer. And therein lies another of the sticks with which to poke Martinez. Such significant investment has not been a regular occurrence at Goodison Park and therefore when it comes progression is expected, not regression. Next up? Oh, its only City, meaning its the most in-form club against the least. Finding form: Tottenham Tottenham have been doing marvellously, and four wins from five have put them back in contention for Champions League qualification. They trail fourth-placed Southampton, Mauricio Pochettinos former side, by just two points. There is a feeling that now is the time for Spurs to seize the moment. Pochettinos methods appear to have been absorbed by the players and Harry Kane in particular. Such an emphatic victory over Chelsea should provide a significant surge of belief to a squad that has seemingly been lacking in that department. Harry Kane has seven Premier League goals to his name this season. But this is nothing -- in the end its only three points, was Pochettinos incredibly level-headed reaction to the win over Chelsea, when he would have been forgiven for ripping off his shirt before performing a lap of the White Hart Lane pitch while high-fiving the crowd. There has been a blemish, though, as their 1-1 FA Cup third-round draw at Burnley means another match added to what is already a congested schedule, when you take into account their Europa League engagements thus far and the ones to come. We have a lot of games ahead, said the manager, ahead of their trip to Pardews Crystal Palace. Statistically speaking (via @PCarrESPN) -- On Sunday, Manchester United welcome Southampton to Old Trafford, where the Saints are winless in 19 straight league games (16 losses) since 1988. After losing 5-3 to Leicester City on Sept. 21, United have conceded more than one goal only once in 15 games, allowing exactly one goal 10 times. -- With three goals in his last four games, John Terry now has 37 Premier League goals, one away from David Unsworths record for a defender. However, Unsworth scored 19 of his goals via the penalty spot, and Terry has never converted a penalty in Premier League play. -- Harry Kane has scored five goals in his last five Premier League matches, and he leads Tottenham with 17 goals in all competitions this season, eight more than any other Spurs player. Hes scored a Premier League goal every 149 minutes, the best rate ever by a Tottenham player with at five Premier League goals, just ahead of second-best Jurgen Klinsmann (169 minutes per goal). -- Everton are currently 13th in the table, a season after finishing fifth. With 29 goals from 20 games, the Toffees offense is only slightly behind last seasons mark of 32 goals at this point. But the defence has slipped significantly, allowing 33 goals thus far, second-most in the league and only six shy of the number conceded all of last season. -- Aston Villa sit 12th in the table but have a goal difference of minus-11, fifth worst in the league. In the Premier League era, only two teams have scored fewer goals through 20 games than Villas 11. Manchester City had 10 in 1995-96, and Derby County had 10 in 2007-08. Both were relegated that season. Marko Arnautovic has added craft to a Stoke side boasting a varied playing style. Any other business: Stoke It feels as if Stoke City should be higher than 11th in the table, and thats probably down to some striking results against the big boys (winning at City, Tottenham and Everton and at home to Arsenal) leading to a misrepresentation of their campaigns consistency. Indeed, Mark Hughes side have so far managed back-to-back league wins only once this campaign. Those came over the festive period, though, meaning momentum is with them. In the likes of Bojan Krkic and Marko Arnautovic, Hughes has a hybrid of the Potters famed rough and ready approach, making them an unpredictable and emerging force. Bring on round two with Sundays opponents, Arsenal.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 10:11:22 +0000
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