Amidst the gloom, ten positives from Chelsea's Champions League Inter defeat

Since 9.40pm on Tuesday, everything written about Chelsea almost without exception has been doom and gloom. And it’s hardly surprising – after Chelsea were so comprehensively outplayed by Inter I agreed yesterday that all the evidence was pointing to the squad being in terminal decline.

So I thought I’d give us all a break and think about things a little differently (just for five minutes). What positives can Chelsea – the club and the fans – take from the defeat, if any? Put your mind to it, there are more than you think…

I’ll get back to the real business of picking apart the ramifications of the defeat later but, for now, here are the ten positives I can see. What do you think?

1) Jose is one of a kind
Chelsea and Ancelotti were outwitted on Tuesday night by one of the very best managers in the game. As they chase the Premier League and FA Cup, Chelsea should rest easier knowing that they won’t come up against such an astutely prepared team again this season.

2) Florent Malouda, Malouda, Malouda
I wrote an extended post on Malouda's excellent form earlier in the week and his performance against Inter showed he’s still got a lot to contribute. There is a real argument that, as the only player getting to defences in wide positions, he is on the current form the most influential player in the team. If only he had been better supported on Tuesday night, or had been instructed to stay wide by his manager…

3) The end of fixture congestion
It is easy to say that exiting the Champions League will mean Chelsea can devote their full attention to winning the title. Too easy, in fact – I worried earlier this week that an exit might see things fall apart between now and May. But the real benefit is the immediate easing of potential fixture congestion. Last week I looked at Chelsea’s dire (really dire) record during the busy periods of the season so far – going out to Inter means there will not be another similarly packed period before the end of the season. So important if the squad is ageing…

4) A wake-up call for Gourlay, Buck and Arnesen
Regardless of the level of investment that will follow (or needs to follow) in the summer, the Inter game has surely shattered the myth that this Chelsea team can stay competitive forever. Despite the best age-defying intentions of Chelsea’s new version of the MilanLab, hopefully this defeat will spur the management into formulating and executing some kind of plan to revitalise the squad and, crucially, starting to pay more attention to the long term.

5) We didn’t have the Bison, anyway
We lost, no complaints. But I said at the beginning of the season that injuries would determine Chelsea’s success, and who can say if Chelsea had been able to start with Essien rather than Ballack, that Tuesday’s result might not have been different. Essien has energy, dynamism and drive – all the things Chelsea were missing against Inter. He’ll be back to support the push for a trophy before the end of the season.

6) Actually, there are some complaints
It’s standard Chelsea fare these days to blame the ref: let’s stick with it. He was shocking.

7) Drogba learned a lesson
Yes, he got sent off again. But it wasn’t a ‘stamp’ (as the papers appear to enjoy reporting it), and he didn’t deserve a straight red. He was given little support from his team-mates throughout the 90 on Tuesday, and less from his manager, who allowed Inter’s defence to focus their sole attentions on stopping the Ivorian by failing to exploit wide areas. Nevertheless, and despite being persistently got at by Lucio, Drogba stuck with it to the end. And when he was sent off? No swearing. No berating the referee. He ran straight off. After the warranted flack he took for his behaviour after last season’s misdemeanours, his correct behaviour deserves at least a shred of recognition.

8) Goalkeeper crisis? What crisis?
For all the worry, Chelsea’s 25 year-old third keeper did good. He didn’t have much to do, but what he did, he did well. He certainly saved further Chelsea blushes with a fine save in the closing minutes too. It’s not the Chelsea way to give younger players a chance, but I vote for Turnbull to replace Hilario as our second keeper.

9) The calmest head on the pitch
Whilst Lampard and Ballack floundered, Mikel stuck to his usual game. Some people dislike him, but he’s improving and is finding some consistency. I’ve written recently how, as a young player, it’s crucial that Mikel be given time at Chelsea not only for the good of the team now, but also to set a good precedent for the future. In an evening of few acceptable performances, I felt vindicated after the Nigerian did alright on Tuesday. And I enjoyed his sliding tackle in the last minute, too…

10) Being the underdog is the new persecution complex
Jose made the persecution complex work so well for Chelsea whilst he was at the club – perhaps now being the underdog can work for Ancelotti’s men in the same way. Chelsea have been written off in most quarters – can the players use this to their advantage, and will rivals’ attentions be diverted elsewhere?

Does it pay to think positive - what do you think about this attempt to look on the bright side? Post a comment!

Comments

[chelsfan]

i won't lie, i'm not feeling psoitve at all about chelsea at the moment - think we're heading one way atm. have to say though its nice to read something trying to be more optimistic - there's pretty much just gloom and doom everywhere from chels fans

[Legs]

re: 4 and 5

We were missing 4 very important players... Cech, A Cole, Boswingwa and Essien.

Regardless of how surprising Ivan has been at RB, I think that Bosingwa on the top of his game is much more effective.

Three of those players are 27 (Ashley Cole is 29) so the age of the squad doesn't bother me that much. If Kakuta, Stoch and Sturridge can step up I think we're still in good shape

[syd master]

jose are far a better manager than carlo.......no doubt about it...

[Alexander Lake]

Nice article, i don't think Carlo has the same impact on the players as Jose would have had and that showed throughout Inter's performance. One thing this article does highlight is our need to give younger players a true run as they are all at an age where they can start to shine based on their form which will increase competition and performance by others who seem to start regardless of form.

[Michael Hepp]

I am glad to see some positivity as well. I think Jose made a brilliant move trading Eto for Ibrahimovic. I think they are much better suited to win the CL with that move. Inter is a good team and we shouldn't hold our head too low especially with the injuries at the back. The only true concerning point for me is only scoring the one goal. We were not likely to beat Inter 1-0. We have to score more to beat them and we simply did not do that.

I think that we are still the best team on the field in the PL and I am hopeful that shows in table.

[Legs]

"The only true concerning point for me is only scoring the one goal. We were not likely to beat Inter 1-0"

True... but home and away we were denied two of the most blatant penalties you will ever see.