Pundit Time | Predicting Chelsea's season

Here is a list of questions suggested by a fan post in WAGNS. I decided to log a formal reply and check how correct I am, come June 2014.

What will be Chelsea's final position in the BPL? (1- "6 or worse")
1st

What four teams will qualify for the UCL?
Chelsea, United, City, Arsenal

Will Arsenal win anything?
No

Will Chelsea beat Bayern in the SuperCup?
Yes

Memorable Moments as a Chelsea fan

It's been a long time since I started supporting Chelsea and an even longer time when I became a football fan (thanks to the Brazilian Ronaldo with the triangular patch of hair) and there have been times that have been etched into my memory. Here are a few of those.

Welcome home, Jose!

The special one is here. Enough said!

If I were the Chelsea Boss | The Summer Shopping Spree

If you are to believe outgoing manager Rafa Benitez, the new manager at Chelsea would have a budget of  £100 million to overhaul the current squad. How would I have spent it, if I had the chance? Here's my analysis.

Before jumping into the business of signing players, let's have a look at the current squad. The players with expiring contracts are marked in red. I would not renew any of their contracts.

Jose Mourinho and Chelsea- Best Moments

With Jose Mourinho making a Chelsea return perhaps the worst kept secret in Football, the next season is surely going to be the most exciting of recent times. Here's a look at Mourinho's actions in the past, which make him so popular among Chelsea supporters and yet, so hate-able among the rest! I start with his best (alleged) action.

The new Bison is here

On 13th May 2012, gameweek 38 of the Premier League last season, a certain forward started Chelsea's match against the now-relegated Blackburn Rovers. It was his first Premier League start in his one full season at the club after Chelsea paid a good £17 million for a promising teenager, most of which he spent playing for the reserves. He was the man of the match, providing an assist for the John Terry opener on the way. Six days later, Chelsea won the Champions League under dramatic conditions, but here's what he had to say.

Chelsea get a trophy, and some other things in Football

A disappointing season with a silver lining. I am not very proud of a Europa League, considering prior to this year, I have always wondered what this Thursday night competition was all about, but ending the season with at least one trophy is highly satisfying(considering websites like this exist). I am not a fan of Rafa Benitez, but I am happy that he guided the club to atleast one trophy (after losing the CWC, Premier League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup on the way).

Painting Old Trafford Blue- through the eyes of the goalscorer

Juan Mata is perhaps the true no 10 of Chelsea. He has had such an impact on the team since joining in 2011 that he is hardly seen off the pitch (even with the number of games Chelsea has played this season...) He still manages to keep a personal blog updated (Link to Mata's blog). This time, rather than writing something on my own, I thought I should just repost one of his blogs for an insight into his thoughts.

Finally, something to be happy about

The way the season has shaped out for Chelsea, there are just two competitions that they can win now out of the probable seven at the start of the season. With so much drama all season, this is one thing that really made me happy. Not just that it was sheer class from Demba Ba, which undermines a great cross from Juan Mata, but this moment of brilliance effectively knocked out the league leaders. The look on Fergie's face was worth the wait.

On the Chelsea Comeback

I have seen comebacks before. It's not always that your team is down against the best team in the world by two goals, and also down to ten men- striking back with two goals, not to mention the resilience to kick the team playing the wonderful football out of the most important competition in Europe. It is even rarer to go out, defend miserably, yet edge most of the match without conceding- until the 82nd minute, only to get the equalizer in the most dramatic fashion just two minutes from time, and eventually winning on penalties in arguably the most important match in the history of the club.

The Fernando Torres Anomaly

• Signed for £50 million on the dying minutes of the deadline day of the Winter transfer window two seasons ago, it was the highest ever fee paid by a British club.
• His first match for Chelsea was against former club Liverpool. In the opening minute, a back pass gone horribly wrong gave him a chance to score. Needless to say, he missed.

#RafaOut- FINALLY

The fans are not helping us. At the end of the season I will leave. They don't have to worry about me. -Benitez

Ain't that music to my ears? Since Roberto di Matteo was brutally sacked just over three months ago, the Chelsea faithful have been in a constant state of revolt. The reason was not just the sacking of club legend RdM, deep down we all had hatred for the appointed successor.

The FSW, the kick and the wuss

Chelsea went to Wales with the aim of overturning a two goal deficit, thanks to Branislav Ivanovic two weeks earlier. With immense pressure from the fans, and perhaps the owner as well, Rafa Benitez, the interim manager of Chelsea, fondly known as the Fat Spanish Waiter, decided to start new signing Demba Ba a start over the misfiring Torres. Having lost just three home matches in the season so far, it was a well known fact that winning by three goals away at Swansea, let alone winning, was going to difficult, if not impossible.

Come Back Home, o Special One!

Russian rule began at the Stamford Bridge a decade ago. Ranieri's time was up soon, and then came the One. The Special One. Coming in fresh after winning the Champions League with Porto, there was perhaps nothing else he could achieve with the club. He went on to arrogantly term himself a 'special one' in a press conference, and has lived up to the term, making his home ground a fortress.

On Roberto di Matteo

Credits: CTCS1905

An unfair loss against United. A draw at Swansea, which is a difficult away fixture. A last minute win against Shaktar. A draw against Liverpool. A loss against West Brom, and then against Juventus. 4 points adrift of the top spot in the Premier League, and qualification depending on the Shaktar-Juventus fixture in the Champions League. No matter what happened in the past, atleast, at this moment, there is very little a manager can do regarding the Champions League spot.

Roman Abramovich has done it again, sacking Roberto di Matteo, who won the maiden Champions League trophy for Chelsea just six months ago! I am not gonna say much- just that it was grossly unfair. I am sorry to say, as a Chelsea supporter, Abramovich, you have definitely let me down.

As for RdM, he will always be a legendary figure at the club, much like what King Kenny is for Liverpool or Guardiola for Barcelona.

Strikers in Russian Era and on Falcao's chances

2003, the Russian Rule began. The target was to conquer Europe. Generals have fallen: Ranieri, Mourinho, Grant, Scolari, Villas Boas. A new leader emerged. His gladiators did what David did to Goliath. And finally, victory was theirs.

The path to the holy grail was, however, not so easy and straightforward. Chelsea have had better teams, bigger chances- Liverpool semi final, Barcelona semi final, Moscow 2008! But against all the odds, 2012 was to be the year when Europe was painted blue. Here's a look at the strikers in this period.

Lessons from Chelsea's Capital One Cup win over Man Utd

After a disappointing match that most Chelsea fans, if not all, were left feeling cheated, a win over the same opponents at the same ground did bring a sense of satisfaction! Here are my conclusions from the game.

The Mazacar- and the match which turned from best to worst!

21st August 2011. Juan Manuel Mata Garcia was snapped up by Chelsea for £23.5 million. He was awarded the no 10 shirt from Yossi Benayoun. He made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut after coming on as a substitute. A bunch of great performances through out the season earned him the player of the season for Chelsea, who went on to win their maiden Champions League title.

Eden Hazard, on 29th May, after a long transfer saga, involving flirting with the top English clubs, tweeted-

I'm signing for the champion's league winner.

For £32 million, especially after a failed backheel against City in the Community Shield, people might have deemed him very overpriced, but he silenced doubters bagging the man of the match in each of his first four Premier League starts for Chelsea.

Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Junior signed for Chelsea on 16th July for an undisclosed fee of the region of £20-25 million. Missing the first few games for Chelsea, he stamped his authority against Juventus in a Champions League match, scoring a wonderful second goal, which even the opposition keeper Buffon ended up acknowledging!

Predicting Chelsea Player Ratings in FIFA 13

With FIFA 13 to be released worldwide a little less than 10 days from now, and Chelsea being the defending champions and the currently leading the league, I thought it is time to predict the player ratings EA might assign to the first team.

What went wrong in the Super Cup?

A 4-1 win for Athletico Madrid is something which probably no one would have predicted! After defeating Napoli, Barcelona and then Bayern Munich, Chelsea lifted the Champions League trophy against all odds in May... Surely, no one must have seen this coming! Here is what I think must have gone wrong.