Look, it’s no good pretending. It’s going to take more than a little slip-up against Manchester City to let the rest catch Chelsea this season.
But there is hope after that 0-0 draw, which was inspired by Manchester City’s bigger-than-he-looks David James. But it’s not an on-field, close-the-nine-point gap sort of hope. It’s called ”tapping up”.
The News of the World caught Chelsea officials having a cosy chat with Arsenal’s under-contract England fullback Ashley Cole last week. And they’re not letting it go.
They have sworn affidavits from taxi drivers, waiters and hotel managers saying the meeting took place between Peter Kenyon, Chelsea’s former Manchester United chief exec, Cole and his agent, the slippery Jonathan Barnet.
Thing is, if they really did have a meeting about trebling Cole’s ”meagre” £26 000-a-week salary (Arsenal, unlike Chelsea, have a wage structure that only Sol Campbell and Thierry Henry are allowed to break) then Chelsea could be in serious trouble.
Jose Mourinho has admitted he’d like another left-sided defender and he’s said Cole is the best about. Chelsea aren’t denying the not-so-clandestine meeting either.
Boston United, then a tiny non-League side, were deducted points for such ”tapping up” a couple of years ago. But when Aston Villa’s David O’Leary was found guilty of doing the same to Southampton’s James Beattie (unsuccessfully — he went to Everton) a few weeks ago, he was simply reprimanded.
Five years ago, when Liverpool were found guilty of approaching Middlesbrough’s Christian Ziege when he was still under contract, they were fined £20 000.
So. Fine, reprimand or points deduction for Chelsea? I say 10 points off, now, before it becomes a one-horse race. The game demands it, though Chelsea would probably still end up champions for the first time since 1955, ending the 10-year Arsenal/United duopoly.
But it won’t happen. Not as long as Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich remains at large with his oil-soaked roubles.
Mind you, Chelsea have to play Everton this week — they might even concede a goal after a record nine games of boring blankdom at the back.
Chelsea have also lost the excellent Arjen Robben — with two broken bones in his foot — until March. Robben’s injury appears to have caused all sorts of problems at Stamford Bridge.
When their highly regarded club doctor Neil Frazer told Mourinho his Dutch ace would miss the League Cup final against Liverpool on February 27, an argument broke out.
Mourinho, believing Robben would recover more rapidly after sustaining a double fracture of his left foot in a tackle from South African skipper Aaron ”The Axe” Mokoena in the rugged battle against Blackburn 10 days ago, was furious.
He told Frazer to ”get out” and left it to physio Mike Banks to release the official injury update. Banks insists the problem is not a metatarsal, the bone in the instep that has plagued big-name stars such as David Beckham since the introduction of lighter, less protective boots.
He said: ”One is a chip on the side of his foot, the other is a small break on the third metatarsal, but that’s not the traditional metatarsal injury, the fractures are tiny.”
But for Robben, a player-of-the-year contender, the messing about over his injury is nothing compared to the agony of missing so much of Chelsea’s greatest season yet.
As they head for a first championship since 1955 and are still in the running for the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League, Robben (21) said: ”I can say now that I’ll be playing in six weeks, but life is not that simple.
”I have not put a time on my rehabilitation and will have to see how it goes. It’s just a matter of how quickly the foot heals. There’s nothing I can say about how long it will take, but I hope to be walking again by the weekend.”
So the Robben-less weekend will look like this:
Brum vs Liverpool
Fernando Morientes is starting to impress at Anfield after all those weeks with just a cushion for comfort at Real Madrid. His two goals so far have both been uplifting. He’ll certainly frighten the jittery Brummie defence at St Andrews. Birmingham remain inconsistent while Liverpool look to have recovered from those awful defeats against Burnley and Southampton.
Verdict: Birmingham 1 Liverpool 3
Blackburn vs Norwich
Told you Mark Hughes was creating a team of ruffians. Chelsea found that out and didn’t they complain? Robbie Savage is just the cream on the cake as Hughes attempts to take us back to the no-prisoners days of the 1970s when pitches were muddy and shins were bloody. Norwich produced a rousing win over West Brom last week, but they won’t have the stomach for Ewood Park’s hard men.
Verdict: Blackburn 3 Norwich 0
Bolton vs Boro
Bolton are right back on track. No wins in November or December but everything’s been going for them since. Sam Allardyce admits he’s done nothing special to turn things around but here they are, favourites against Middlesbrough who just can’t seem to push on to really big things despite a series of astute signings by Steve McClaren.
Verdict: Bolton 1 Middlesbrough 0
Everton vs Chelsea
Game of the day, with Everton still holding on to their resilient tag despite the departure of Thomas Gravesen to Real Madrid and the fading of the championship challenge. Now it’s all about staying ahead of Mersey rivals Liverpool. Mateja Kezman is struggling to score goals and Didier Drogba is struggling with injury after a strong start. Could this be another goalless draw or might Everton’s nasty Scottish giant Duncan Ferguson come on and unsettle Petr Cech’s record-breaking rearguard?
Verdict: Everton 1 Chelsea 1
Pompey vs Aston Villa
Tough one to call, two sides who will be happy with mid-table mediocrity but would rather be pushing for Europe. Villa were pathetic last week against Arsenal, Portsmouth were awful against Spurs but are still difficult to beat at their crumbling Fratton Park. Only three points separate the two. Those will soon disappear.
Verdict: Portsmouth 1 Villa 0
Man City vs Man United
What a cracker. The derby comes at a perfect time, with United now the official challengers and City having giving their city rivals a slight ray of hope with that 0-0 draw against Chelsea. Roy Keane is playing better than he has for years, so is Ryan Giggs. But with James in goal and Shaun Wright-Phillips on fire, who knows?
Verdict: City 1 United 1
Arsenal vs Palace
The Gunners bounced back from the horrific home defeat at the hands of Manchester United with a useful 3-1 win against Aston Villa, which could have been 10-1. Palace remain under threat after their unlucky 1-0 defeat against Bolton, but they battle hard under Iain Dowie — and they’ve always got Andy Johnson.
Verdict: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
FA Cup replays
Fulham vs Derby
Derby are on a great run in the first division but Chris Coleman continues to work miracles with Fulham, despite the gradual ebbing of owner Mohamed al Fayed’s enthusiasm and cash. Be nice to see the Rams add another Premiership scalp, though.
Verdict: Fulham 1 Derby 2
Spurs vs West Brom
The Mido touch was evident last week. Two goals from the controversial 21-year-old Egyptian Beckham were enough to encourage comparisons with Martin bloody Chivers. Don’t think he’ll last quite that long having had seven clubs already in his short career. Spurs should be too good for West Brom, who remain much more worried about Premiership survival than FA Cup glory.
Verdict: Spurs 4 West Brom 1
Sheffield United vs Hammers
Another tough one to call. United under Neil Warnock love the hackneyed cut and thrust of knock-out competition. West Ham need a cup run to keep promotion-hungry fans happy if they blow a return to the top flight, which it looks like they will.
Verdict: United 2 West Ham 1