Whether they are ‘in it’ or ‘out of it’ depends on whether you are a dim-witted touchline reporter angling for a line. This has been the Premier League season which nobody wants to command and as long as the frontrunners continue to allow the rest to catch, anything can happen.
Manchester United have done their bit to prolong Chelsea’s title challenge. Defeat to Liverpool - their third in five league matches - has left the Blues with the potential to close the gap on the leaders to just six points if they capitalise on their games in hand.
If they capitalise on their games in hand. Jekyll and Hyde have been virtual ever presents for the Londoners this term with their most recent victories coming after the trio of tragedies against Liverpool, Fulham and Everton. It is also worth remembering that supposedly corner-turning results against Bolton and Sunderland were then suffixed with draws and defeats.
But not since the Red Devils sped past Chelsea during their tormented winter months has the carrot dangled so close to the champions. Points tallies provide a tangible pressure but
more so the psychological worries that come from the realisation of ultimate defeat. Sir Alex Ferguson does not want Chelsea looming over their shoulders.
All season United have gathered a host of results their performances scarcely deserved and Chelsea must optimistically view the league leaders current run in the same light as their own fall from grace. Although Ferguson would not allow his side to plummet the same depths of desperation, they now appear more susceptible than ever to dropped points and opened doors.
After successive impressive-in-parts wins over FC Copenhagen and United, Chelsea visit Blackpool tonight with the Seasiders providing opportune opponents for Carlo Ancelotti’s men to add to their momentum and United’s unease. Ian Holloway’s side have shipped in 22 goals in their last eight games picking up just four points in the process and now find themselves well mired in the mess at the bottom.
Like his team, Fernando Torres should also relish a game against the league’s most porous backline. The £50m Spaniard has been making small strides of improvement in his four games since breaking the British transfer record but has yet to find the net. Torres was on target for former club Liverpool when they visited Bloomfield Road in January and Manager Carlo Ancelotti has backed his number nine by declaring he was ‘born to score.’
‘Born to score’ is not a quote immediately attributable to Salomon Kalou, but a goal on the Fylde coast from the man from the Ivory Coast would take him into double figures for the fourth season in a row, but even that may not be enough to keep him at Stamford Bridge past the end of this season.
The Former Feyenoord forward has expressed his dissatisfaction with life on the Chelsea bench after being usurped by Torres of late and with his contract up in the summer of 2012, the 25-year-old may be one part of the expected exodus from SW6 this summer.
Kalou said, "It's been difficult watching from the sidelines these past few weeks. If an opportunity doesn't come, that's when you sit down at the end of the season and think about it.”
There will be plenty for the club to think about come the end of the season yet another win will leave those above them with more to think about during it.
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