London Exchange

The weekend’s London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham finished 1-1 and, on paper at least, a share of the spoils. The less obvious but more interesting aspect of the game has to do with Harry Redknapp. During the course of the match, with Tottenham leading one-nil, he did something that would have likely been unthinkable to many in the management community, as well as any Spurs fan two years ago: he substituted striker for striker.

In taking off Defoe at the 60^th minute for none other than Peter Crouch, it was seemingly surprising change. One up on Chelsea, a half-hour to play, and you’re making the statement “yeah we’ve got one more in us.” Redknapp went one further, replacing Pavlyuchenko (who scored the Spurs goal) with Robbie Keane. Now, I know what you’re saying Geoff, “What’s the big deal with that? He would have played me if I was there too!” The fact is, a lot of people would have been expecting a more defensive player, say another central midfielder for instance. That Tottenham under Redknapp have the confidence to legitimately have a go at Chelsea speaks volumes for the attitude of the club.

Long gone are the days where Chelsea are seen as unbeatable, even if they were only a couple of months ago. But give welcome to the renaissance of Spurs, who have the talent, drive and self-belief to not only sustain ambitions for another top four finish and Champions League football, but seem to be pining for the Premier League title. Given the nature of the Prem, as well as the form of Spurs, I wouldn’t hold it against them.  

Back to Chelsea, and their slump in form. It’s not necessarily a matter of Chelsea failing to produce; although the penalty miss by Drogba in stoppage time gives cause to question that. More to the point, other clubs – domestic and European – have learned to play against Chelsea. This tends to happen quite often in football, unless of course you’re in a league with an abundance of disparity in quality like Scotland; even Spain is guilty for that matter.

Chelsea has struggled for two reasons: other clubs adapting to Chelsea’s style of play, and their own slump in morale. The first point is fairly straight-forward, as Chelsea have been a club with a target on their back ever since they’ve won the league and been legitimate title contenders. What we saw in the first few games of the season – in the way of a rampant and free-scoring Blues – has not been the norm of late. They’re conceding goals, and more often than not failing to produce with the same proficiency in front of goal shown earlier this campaign. This is because opponents, desperate to salvage points in a competitive table, have played with more discipline in terms of defensive organization and have shown good awareness against Chelsea’s multiple threats on the pitch.

But the other reason, the drop in morale amongst the players, is real cause for concern at Stamford Bridge. My thoughts lead me towards a gradual sense of discontent amongst the players with the organization and structure of the club, as well as personnel decisions. Jose Mourinho, by far the most popular manager Chelsea has seen in decades, won them the title and then was seen as a thorn in the side by the boardroom. They have since gone through several managers, which does have an impact on the psyche of players. That’s why stability, the likes of which Manchester United and Arsenal have found under their gaffers, is the envy of the league. And with the sacking of incredibly popular Assistant Manager Ray Wilkins, Chelsea’s players seem to have lost a bit of wind, becoming disillusioned and lacking the necessary steel and self-belief. Say what you like about Chelsea though – I myself H-A-T-E Chelsea – but they will recover from this. Whether they do so in time to maintain pace with the top of the table remains to be seen.

In other football news, Team Scotland played a tidy bit of football and maintained their form as league leaders. Guin netted a treble, while Davis, making his season debut out of goal, managed to look every bit as lethal as Crouch with free headers but couldn’t beat the keeper. All in all it was classy form from club, with Dunn and Buchanan chipping in with some tidy passing, clever runs and cheeky back-heels.

Oh, and Man United beat Arsenal 1-0, with Ji-Sung Park proving again that he is a big-game player, while Rooney failed to capitalize on a spot kick. Top of the table, as per the norm of their championship calibre it’s right around Christmas too...so Merry Christmas to me.