We are now officially the chasers, and I like it!

[Phillip]

I must say that after our recent bad patch of games, with us now in 2nd place, I kind of like being the chaser as opposed to the one being chased. I feel less pressure than in previous seasons in which we were at the top of the table for most of the season, and it provides a different perspective on things.

Anyone else thinking this way?

[Chippy]

I'd prefer we were well out in front but that was never likely once a few injuries started to occur and to key players, at this stage as I've thought for a while I will be happy if we are one of the pack for a couple of months and hopefully get the boys all fit and kick on at the business end...I am not concerned if we go a few points behind as I think all the likely candidates are going to slip up a few times yet, the worst thing for me is that we might have to play Arsenal Spurs and UTD without our best players fully fit, if that gos bad then I might not be so confident.

[evissy]

I must say that after our recent bad patch of games, with us now in 2nd place, I kind of like being the chaser as opposed to the one being chased. I feel less pressure than in previous seasons in which we were at the top of the table for most of the season, and it provides a different perspective on things.

Anyone else thinking this way?

Losertalk tbh.

Wouldn't you much rather have the 9 points lead we could have with all our best players available and with some luck? There would be talk "can anyone stop Chelsea?". Now it is "Is Roman sacking Carlo?" "Why is Chelsea so bad?" No one is talking about how bad our injury crisis is or highlighting it anyway. If you only have defending players in the MF you can't score goal. Carlo's made a mistake by not changing the formation. Maybe it pays off when we get Lamps and co back but we could have salvaged some points with 4-2-2 or similar. Who knows.

But to highlight my opinion to your question: NO!

[ws6blue]

NO - prefer to be at the top, MANCU have the bottle to stay there if given a squint and have their strong run to come yet

next month will be key to where we finish as some tough games

[ThunderDan]

I'm really disappointed that we wont be going wire-to-wire at the top, but this rash of injuries is just too damaging to our lineups. Chasing is okay (better that 6th place), but only if we overtake!

[icecoolguy22]

I will like it a lot more when we start winning this weekend. I reckon this year 85 points will win the league since top 6-8 teams can get a result against each other on any given day, and lower team has a shout especially at home ground. I imagine when we play United, they aren't going to park the bus for 85 minutes if they get an early goal, which will allow us some space to play football. We need to start scoring and cut out those stupid goals, hopefully the Alex back pass is the last one this season.

[Jawan]

There is nothing bad in being a chaser....Even manu were chasing us this season with a plethora of draws...and now they are on top.

But the thing is now we need to keep pressure intact on them in each upcoming match , which will be a tough task with all injuries in squad and the tough fixtures ahead(bad time awaits in DEC).

So we need to make sure that we dont lose too many points in next 4-5 crucial fixtures...If we end this year as number 2 with just 3-4 points separating us from leaders of league(most probably which would be manu) , we would have done a decent job

Edited December 1, 2010 by Jawan

[mad_mac]

I don't mind being there or there abouts, but it's the way that we've fallen out of the top place that bothers me. If we'd closed the gap and were now in 2nd, I'd feel good about closing the gap. But having let it go, I'd rather that we were top!

Not a bad place, but not the best

[Cam]

How we've got to second is concering...the team just doesn't look that good.....and if we continue playing like we did in the past month, we won't get the lead back.

But we have so much improvement left in us and to still be that close to the top after the shocking run we've had indicates if the team pulls it all together we will have every chance.

[bluegraham]

sorry phillip thats rubbish talk,we always where on top for the past part of championship winning seasons and with the way the team is,nt able to find the net it only makes it harder to get back top spot. i do believe the goals will flow once lampard gets back,but to answer your question no i dont fell less pressure. we have to wait for other to sleep up i dont like that i prefer the other way around.

[sizzler85]

Losertalk tbh.

Wouldn't you much rather have the 9 points lead we could have with all our best players available and with some luck? There would be talk "can anyone stop Chelsea?". Now it is "Is Roman sacking Carlo?" "Why is Chelsea so bad?" No one is talking about how bad our injury crisis is or highlighting it anyway.

But to highlight my opinion to your question: NO!

Strongly agree .. The bad results have left the media digging into our arses for potential problems .. I don't like us chasing the Manures ... Can't watch their match every week "fervently" hoping they will drop points

[sdsdsdsd]

Our next month is really difficult, was hoping to carry a 10+ point gap over Manu before this month started. Don't think we will have less pressure or be targeted, we are still champions therefore it is up to us to retain, also each week we play with a huge target on our back.

[Hutch]

Given the choice, it's definitely better to have the points in the bag with other teams playing catchup.

I wrote not long ago that our best performances this season have been saved for the Champions League, and also that this competition is the club's major priority this season, from Abramovich on down. Now I'm not offering this as an excuse for recent League form but if this is the case, it could go some way to explaining a few things. JT, Lamps and Alex need treatment: get it done now in the hope they'll be fully fit well before the start of the knockout stages. This prioritisation would also have an influence on whether we strenghen the squad in January, meaning that results over the next few weeks will be less influential on transfer policy than the injury situation and the likely prognosis for the rest of the season.

The text of the article from Sky doesn't quite back up the headline, but still manages to give a strong hint of this prioritisation:

Drogba eyes CL glory

Stand-in skipper desperate to taste European glory

Stand-in Chelsea skipper Didier Drogba has put European glory top of his wish list this season. Having helped the Blues to three league titles, three FA Cups and two league cups since his switch from Marseille in 2004, he now wants to finally taste glory in the UEFA Champions League.

The closest the Ivorian has come to success in the competition was in 2008 when he was sent off in the final as Chelsea eventually went down to Manchester United on penalities.

But he knows Chelsea need to get back their host of injured stars - including England duo John Terry and Frank Lampard - to give it their best shot of making it to this year's final at Wembley.

He told the club's official magazine: "First of all, it is for everybody to be in good health because with health you can try to achieve everything you want."Then I want to see everybody at Chelsea celebrating the Champions League at Wembley."

The Ivory Coast international believes he is in the form of his career as he seeks to help the Blues achieve their aims.

He added: "I think I'm getting better with age.

"I started very late at the highest level, as I was 25 when I played one season for Marseille and then I came here.

"I feel I'm improving every season. Because I started late, I'm not tired or fed up with playing. I love what I'm doing."

The striker is also enjoying his stand-in skipper role given both Terry and Lampard are sidelined.

"I try to motivate and give the example on the pitch - you've got to make sure what you say in the dressing room, you apply it on the pitch," he said.

"But it's the same when I'm not captain. This armband doesn't change anything for me."

LINK

[andy]

Is it an Oxmoron (What ever that is ) maybe I have the wrong word :unsure: , but as a season ticket holder I prefer to be a chaser because it makes for a much better atmosphere at the games

[Phillip]

Thanks for everyone's comments, and I understand some people feeling that this is loser talk. However, it can be tough to be the front runner season in and season out, especially for the fans, so this hopefully short time as the chaser might invigorate us.

[PloKoon13]

I disagree, on the grounds that there was a certain ominous atmosphere around Chelsea for the chasers, simply on the grounds that we are Champions, and that we've been in top spot since day 1 of this season. We were on a long unbroken run of being top of the table, and it was demoralising for the other teams simply due to having been second best for so long. Plus, if we're top, then we are in a better position to win the league, simply due to having a points advantage over the other sides. If the chasers slip up, it's much worse than if the leaders slip up (especially if they still remain top).

Our bad run and injury crisis clearly had an effect on our team, confidence-wise, which has since then held back our performances. Slipping into second place is only going to exacerbate that low confidence.

[Ben]

I would much rather be battering teams and points ahead, like we were at the start of the season.

We have to hope Man U and Arsenal have a simular injury crisis through the season.

[Zola]

dont like being the chasers, we are up against it now..

[midlandblue]

it is what it is, not as happy as I could be, but not panicking either

there is a long way to go

[BlueNose]

although we have had alot of injuries and im all for using that as an excuse but ive noticed that through this baron patch not one player has looked like they give a toss...i would much rather be top and to be honest we should be,weve dropped stupid points again this season and with united looking undefeatable im worried that this season it may cost us...

[dkw]

although we have had alot of injuries and im all for using that as an excuse but ive noticed that through this baron patch not one player has looked like they give a toss...i would much rather be top and to be honest we should be,weve dropped stupid points again this season and with united looking undefeatable im worried that this season it may cost us...

What a complete and utter load of total bollocks.

[ColeMan]

What a complete and utter load of total bollocks.

stop sitting on the fence dkw

[54veteran]

What a complete and utter load of total bollocks.

He's right. If ManU are losing with ten minutes to go, you know you've got a fight on your hands. Not seeing any of that with our lot.

[dkw]

He's right. If ManU are losing with ten minutes to go, you know you've got a fight on your hands. Not seeing any of that with our lot.

Again, utter bollocks. So we didnt see that against Brum or Newcastle?

[Nibs]

although we have had alot of injuries and im all for using that as an excuse but ive noticed that through this baron patch not one player has looked like they give a toss...i would much rather be top and to be honest we should be,weve dropped stupid points again this season and with united looking undefeatable im worried that this season it may cost us...

I certainly wouldn't go as far as that but I would agree it never looks like the same level of commitment when the likes of JT & Lamps are missing.

At times we look a bit Arsenal like - too laid back. That's just down to how players conduct themselves on the pitch. They may very well be busting a gut - it just doesn't loook like they are. Players like Mikel, Kalou, Anelka, Bosingwa and Malouda.

I know players don't have to run about at 100MPH and fly into tackles - it's just what fans like to see when the team are losing.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Nibs