Chelsea FC : The Bitter Truth

Take a long hard look at this team. Examine each player closely. Examine the formation. Take in everything you see in this picture. Now take a look at this picture :

Now look me in the eye and tell me that Chelsea can win the Premier League.

It's amazing. It's simply amazing. It's amazing how Chelsea suddenly think they are this global superpower because they fluked the Champions League. The addition of Eden Hazard and Oscar can now suddenly propel the Blues to the Premier League title. Well, let's not get carried away.

Eden Hazard is a very good player, no question. But one very good player isn't the difference between 6th and 1st. One overpriced and overrated midfielder is not going to bring the Premier League to West London. Just look at Manchester City. They needed Samir Nasri, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli to lift the league title. And they only edged it on goal difference to an ever outstanding Manchester United. Now look at Chelsea. Eden Hazard and Oscar. Don't make me laugh.

So who is this Oscar kid anyway? Well, in his last full season for Internacional, he hit 10 goals and 8 assists in 31 appearances. And Chelsea decided that the kid was good enough to splash out £25 million on. I repeat, £25 million. That's right, more than Nasri, Silva, Tevez and Toure when they were brought to the green side of Manchester. Sorry, the blue side of Manchester.

Watching him against Team GB in the warm up game for the Olympics, I couldn't see what made him so highly rated. So I decided to watch him against Egypt in an attempt to muster any kind of consolation praise for the young Brazilian, and once again I wasn't impressed. He did grab 2 assists to his name so i'll commend him for that, but.....

0 : 05 - His touches are very slow and he needlessly gives away possession

0 : 15 - Very poor final ball and relieves pressure on the Egyptian defence

0 : 17 - Poor touch as the ball moves away from him

0 : 55 - Bad decision and gives away possession, again

0 : 58 - Defensive contribution good as he supports team mate, Rafael

1 : 04 - But again dallies on the ball and gives away possession

2 : 35 - Good ball to release Marcelo

2 : 41 - Terrible cross to end the attacking move and allow the Egyptian defence to reorganise themselves

So, dispossessed 3 times, turns over possession 2 times, and this was, apparently, his best performance in a Brazil shirt.

So he hit 10 goals and 8 assists domestically. The Brazilian league isn't renown for it's water tight Alcatraz defences. Had he repeated his feats in Serie A, then I would applaud him. To be really worth something in Brazil, you have to destroy the league. Neymar, in 186 appearances, has scored 110 goals and has provided 37 assists. Neymar is worth the hype. Now take a look at Oscar and repent your sin of overrating him.

To win silverware, you need goals. So, where are these goals going to come from exactly? Fernando Torres? Seriously? Torres had Xavi, Iniesta and David Silva supplying him, and all he could muster was 3 goals. What good would having Mata, Hazard and Oscar do for him? He hit 8 goals in 37 appearances for Chelsea in the Premier League and FA Cup, so he's hardly showing any signs of improving. Darren Bent missed half the season through injury and still scored 9 goals for a lacklustre Aston Villa side. If I was Roberto Di Matteo, I would cut my losses and sell him for anything between £5 and £10 million.

So, what will Chelsea achieve this season? I predict the usual FA Cup win, a competition that has been a formality for the Blues since 2007, as they've won it 4 times since. A 4th place finish seems to be on the cards, with Arsenal stealing 3rd place ahead of them. But this could change. Andre Villas-Boas' Tottenham could spring a surprise and finish ahead of the Blues. Should Tottenham trust the Portuguese and allow him to make changes around the club, then Tottenham will be a force to reckoned with next season.