Chelsea’s season was redeemed by the fact that there was no player whose absence or loss of form really hindered their progress.
Unlike Man Utd or Arsenal. One would have thought Michael Essien’s absence was to be felt deeply. Nix. Ashley Cole. Nix. Jose Bosingwa. Nix. Ricardo Carvalho. Nix. John Terry’s loss of form. Nix. Joe Cole’s loss of form. Nix.
They found players to step up. Florent Malouda was magnificent. Ditto Salomon Kalou. Frank Lampard caught fire. Didier Drogba was Didier Drogba. I look at his first half sulk and say, my how unseemly. Many feel the same way when denied our morning coffee. He wanted to do what he does best, score goals. It’s chemical. It’s oxygen. It’s genes. It’s who he is. It wins titles. I can’t tell you how much I would love to have him at Arsenal.
One can’t make that leap to Arsenal or Man Utd. Without Van Persie, and more specifically Van Persie and Fabregas, Arsenal were never going to challenge for the title. We just did not have the players to step up. Even Man Utd, with Wayne Rooney’s bravura, coming into his own finally. Would Cristiano Ronaldo have made the difference? In the light of Dimitar Berbatov’s underwhelming performance for a second season maybe it would have.
Meanwhile, take a look at the obligatory Chelsea video clip against a hapless Wigan. If I were to look for a positive, Victor Moses should already be a transfer target.