http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=D&xml=/sport/2004/
12/31/sfnche31.xml
Chelsea in driving seat but face a bumpy ride
By John Ley (Filed: 31/12/2004)
The last time Chelsea won the league title, Bill Haley and his Comets were
rocking around the clock, a pint of beer cost one shilling and three pence
(6p) and the world lost Albert Einstein. Now, under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea
enter 2005 as favourites for the club's first championship for 50 years.
Mourinho is a student of statistics, but even the confident, intelligent
Portuguese will struggle to determine whether there are any signs, at
the end of the year, that Chelsea can finally win a competition they
have chased for half a century.
Several factors suggest that Mourinho should be cautious; only in four of
the previous 12 Premiership campaigns has the team who finished the year
top gone on to win the title.
Chelsea are five points clear of current champions Arsenal and nine ahead
of Manchester United and Everton, with 18 games – and 54 points –
to play for.
Two years ago Arsenal led Chelsea and United by five points. By May 2003,
United had turned that five-point deficit into a five-point lead to claim
the title. On that occasion, United finished the season with 14 wins and
three draws – 45 points from a possible 51 – for an improbable success.
If Chelsea are to be caught, with three teams in a realistic position to
challenge, then a similar run will be required.
Traditionally, United are a stronger side in the second half of the season,
and if they were to win each of their remaining 18 games, which includes a
visit by Chelsea in April, they could take their ninth Premiership title.
However, Chelsea know they will never have a better chance to end their
wilderness years and allow Mourinho to build a Stamford Bridge empire.
He will point to a defence that has conceded just eight goals and a team
who have lost only one game. He will also remind any doubters that he has
players available in every position to compete at the highest level, a
factor that Arsenal cannot boast.
The title could well be determined in April; in successive Premiership
games, Chelsea face United at Old Trafford and then, in the space of
five days, entertain Arsenal.
United have dropped only four points from a possible 24 and, if Ruud van
Nistelrooy and Louis Saha can return in the new year, they could be best
placed to challenge Chelsea.
As for Everton, they may stand a good chance of qualifying for the
Champions League, but surely they cannot steal the title? Perhaps not, but
older Evertonians will remind their rivals at Chelsea that, since that 1955
success, Everton have won the title four times.
Chelsea
Opposition Verdict Pts
Jan-01 Liverpool A Draw 50
Jan-04 Middlesbrough H Win 53
Jan-15 Tottenham A Win 56
Jan-22 Portsmouth H Win 59
Feb-02 Blackburn A Win 62
Feb-06 Man City H Win 65
Feb-12 Everton A Draw 66
Feb-26 WBA H Win 69
Mar-05 Norwich A Win 72
Mar-19 Crystal Palace H Win 75
Apr-02 Southampton A Win 78
Apr-09 Birmingham H Win 81
Apr-16 Man Utd A Lose 81
Apr-20 Arsenal H Win 84
Apr-23 Fulham H Win 87
Apr-30 Bolton A Win 90
May-07 Charlton H Draw 91
May-14 Newcastle A Win 94
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一度以為這賽季只剩18場....有這麼好嗎!
還有 UEFA. CC. FA Cup................(跌足)
4月..嗯....CAREFREE XD
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※ 編輯: jftsai 來自: 61.218.33.2 (12/31 13:01)