Where did it go wrong for Chelsea?

Chelsea can only win the league if Liverpool and Manchester City lose both of their last two games and the Blues win their final game - not going to happen, and it caps a miserable few weeks for Jose Mourinho's men.

But who is to blame? It's hard to look past Mourinho - especially as his mind games (which used to rile everyone) have turned on him and seem to be in his head now.

Jose doesn't seem to know his best team, what tactics to play or how to manage his young stars. Mourinho never used to turn on his own players - and his players always backed him to the hilt. But Eden Hazard speaking out on Chelsea's negative tactics would never have happened in Mourinho's first spell at Chelsea, or his time at Inter Milan.

He's always been good at getting everyone on board, and he usually does it by picking on one of his team's stars or someone who thought they were immune from criticism, as he did with Juan Mata this year.

Chelsea will no doubt strengthen over the summer, and this will be the real test of the Special One (a term I am loathed to use). They need two strikers - Torres, Eto'o and Ba will have to go. Maybe not all of them, but at least 2. If it's Romelu Lukaku, Diego Costa, Edinson Cavani or Didier Drogba (he will be back at Stamford Bridge) who comes in, they need to know exactly where they stand. There can't be a sham like this season. It's hard to watch Fernando Torres so low on confidence - he's a shell of the player he was. And for once, Mourinho hasn't backed his own players.

They also need to strengthen in midfield. Lampard isn't the same player and Nemanja Matic has to become the focal point of the team. Sure, sell David Luiz and get someone more disciplined in, but then Oscar, Hazard, Schurrle and Willian need to produce more. Ramires is a box-to-box guy, but there's not a great deal of quality there. Also, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Petr Cech have to accept smaller, or non-existent, roles too. They are past their best. There, I said it. Jose needs to build again, although those three will be very hard to replace.

For once, I think Mourinho's team lacked identity this season, and reverted to negative tactics to grind out results. It's not that different from what Rafa Benitez was doing - and Jose won't want to carry on like that.

It's almost like Jose didn't want to win anything this year, read into that what you will.

 

Is it ok for Higuain to cry?

Arsenal may have lost 2-0 to Napoli last night, but they still qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League - where they will have a tough task due to finishing second in the Group (but that's another topic).

But while Arsenal were celebrating, Gonzalo Higuain was having a little cry about the 'injustice' of his team being eliminated from the competition despite winning 4 of their 6 games. It's hard not to have sympathy for the striker, but should he be crying about not reaching the last 16 of a tournament?

Maybe he was dreaming of a game against his old club Real Madrid, maybe he lost some money after betting on himself to get the first goal, or maybe he was just upset not to qualify. But crying because your team went out seems a little too much. Of course he can be upset, show some emotion and be in touch with his feelings, but it's not like they were seconds away from winning it all.

I'm being too harsh, I know. But would he cry if Rafa Benitez subbed him against Inter this weekend? Does Rafa cry everytime one of his old players scores against him or calls him the fat Spanish waiter?

People should be able to express emotions in sport, but crying over not qualifying from a Group in which one of the teams had Nicholas Bentdner in it isn't going to get you far. You should be embarrassed, not upset.

Now go and win the Europa League, get another trophy for Rafa, and then cry about it.

Lots of reasons to love the Europa League

There are 3 qualifying rounds (starting in early July), a playoff round, 12 groups of 4, a knockout stage involving 32 teams all head of a final in May - which this year takes place at Juventus' stadium.

Welcome to UEFA's Europa League.

It seems like a lot of games, but having replaced the UEFA Cup and the Cup Winners Cup, you'd have to expect that there would be an avenue for every country in Europe to be able to field a side in European club competition.

And nobody expects the teams from Andorra or San Marino to make the group stages, let alone the knockout stages. But they are entitled to get their chance.

Having played with pros who represented Wales playing for Total Network Solutions (now TNS or The New Saints), they have told me of how great the experience was, how it was their only chance to really play in big stadiums against really good, even great, players.

And it's not just great for the players, the clubs and fans get to see sides they would otherwise never face - a trip to Croatia, a Thursday night in Bilbao or a long weekend in Latvia, all sound great. I'm not saying Manchester United fans get bored of playing Barcelona or Bayern Munich, but the Champions League has become a little repetitive. And the way they're going, United may even jump at the chance of the Europa League next year!

People say Jermain Defoe loves the competition. But let's be harsh/critical/honest here - it's one of the only chances he gets to play a whole game. There are the FA Cup games, League Cup and a few substitute appearances, but not too much more these days. The Europa League gives bigger teams the chance to try out their youngsters, rehab players from injuries and get people back into form.

It's not a reserves league though. The competition is strong, with Porto, Atletico Madrid (twice) and Chelsea winning the tournament - I'm sure players like Falcao and Fernando Torres appreciate it and display the medals - and you know Rafa Benitez does.

It doesn't get the respects it deserves, and maybe the Thursday night takes its toll on teams for the following weekend, but it's interesting, compelling and exciting European football.

If only I could find somewhere to watch it!

Arsenal v Napoli is the pick - roll that music

Rafa against Arsene should test two great managers, with a win for either taking them pretty close to qualifying for the knock out stages. Two wins from two for either would mean 6 points, and a great chance of getting the 9 or 10 you need to progress.

I'm sure some of you stopped reading when I said Rafa was a great manager. But it's true. Look at the stats. He wins. Yes, he's gone to some clubs where it was already set up for him to win, but Rafa has won trophies across Europe and deserves respect. He's a bit of a prat, but he's a good manager, you can't argue with that.

Arsenal v Napoli should be a fun tie. I don't think either are great defensively, but both have attacking players that could grace any pitch.

Milan v Ajax should be another good tie, but Milan should prove too strong. Ajax unfortunately seem to get purged too often, and although they replenish the talent, they can't quite keep up.

Celtic v Barcelona is big for Celtic. There is noise being made that they have a chance with Messi out, but let's be honest; Xavi, Fabregas, Neymar, Iniesta etc. can handle whatever Celtic have. The crowd and atmosphere will help, but Samaras and Commons are good for a one-off, nothing more.

Porto against Atletico, Dortmund/Marseille and Steaua v Chelsea too - can't wait.

Roll the music, it's Champions League week. Enjoy.

Manchester derby, Rome derby and PSG V Monaco - a great weekend ahead

I wasn't sure I'd ever type this again, but Liverpool can extend their lead at the top of the table when they play Southampton at home on Saturday. And they still have Luis Suarez to come back. I think Liverpool will contend this year (maybe not for the title, but for the top 4). I'm predicting lots of home wins in the Premier League this weekend, and  yes, that does include City winning the Manchester derby on Sunday.

Yaya Toure is in beast mode at the moment, with Sergio Aguero starting to find some form. United weren't that convincing in Europe in midweek despite their 4-2 win. Rio Ferdinand is off the pace a little, Fellaini is still finding his feet (they could be lost in that afro) and, although I think they'll score, they just don't look solid at the back.

Every week is a big week, but you feel West Brom and Sunderland both need to win to get their season's started. It's still September, but this already feels like a 6-pointer. Palace also need a win - a game against Swansea isn't an easy one, but after a away trip in the Europa League, now may be as good time as any for the Eagles.

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More than a couple of huge games in France and Italy this weekend. PSG v Monaco on Sunday night at the Parc de Princes is huge. Cavani, Ibra and Falcao all on show. Probably the best 3 forwards in the world once you take Ronaldo and Messi out of the equation. This already seems like a title game, and Zlatan tends to step up when he's needed. A relatively slow and incident-free start to the season for the big man isn't really his style. He'll either notch or get sent off. Take your pick.

Then there's the Rome derby (with Totti just signing a new deal, he's bound to score) and Milan v Napoli. Rafa Benitez has had a perfect start to his career in Naples, but Balotelli & Co will be a real test, although Hamsik and Higuain are going to score a lot of goals this year. 

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Nothing too interesting in La Liga this weekend, although I'm sure Messi will get 4 if Cristiano gets another hat-trick. It's just the way they compete. Shalke 04 v Bayern is the big one in the Bundesliga. I have a feeling Pep may drop some points there. Not sure why, just have that Friday feeling. And don't forget Ajax v PSV too - the DVR is getting punished this weekend!

Is the season already over? Perspective people.

Arsenal and Spurs are first and second, Barcelona, Athleico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli still have 100% winning starts to the season. I'm sure fans of those teams want the season to end now (maybe not Spurs fans finishing behind Arsenal), but let's have some perspective.

Just because Real Madrid spent a billion euros (or whatever it was) on Gareth Bale, then failed to win the next game, doesn't mean they are suddenly awful. Even though Newcastle won and Man City didn't, it doesn't mean the Geordies are now title contenders. West Ham haven't scored for 3 games, yet it doesn't mean they never will again - not sure on that point actually, it could be Christmas before Kevin Nolan decides he needs some goal bonus money to buy an extra turkey or two.

Although we are about a tenth of the way through the season already, let's get some perspective. Teams are still forming, players are getting used to each other and managers are trying to find the right system. It doesn't mean a manager won't get sacked before the end of September - that's just football.

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Neymar grabbed another assist for Barcelona as they made it 14 goals in 4 games. Critiano Ronaldo signed a new contract as he didn't think 50 million euros a year was enough to pay for his spray tans and hair cream. Rafa Benitez is killing it in Italy - there is a real chance we'll never have to watch him play chess on a BBC Football interview again. The Derby d'Italia finished 1-1, with Inter looking a much better team than they did last year. Dortmund won 6-2 with Lewandowski looking back to his best - Pep is going to have a tough time at Bayern Munich. It's not that his team aren't one of the best in Europe, it's just impossible to really improve on what they did last season.

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Oh, and Falcao scored again as Monaco remain top of Ligue Un.

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In other news, Kaka is already injured....bet he wishes he had a pal like Dani Alves, who apparently offered Eric Abidal part of his liver to aid his recovery....Mario Gomez is out injured again, those 2 yard tap-ins are going to miss him. 

Juventus are favorites, but Napoli are in with a shout

I wasn’t surprised when Rafa Benitez took the Napoli job – he loves taking over teams that are already very good.

Napoli finished second in Serie A to Juventus last season, their best finish since they won the Scudetto in 1989-90. Edinson Cavani was the league’s top scorer with 29, although he was sold to Paris St. Germain for big bucks. They have already used the money to Gonzalo Higuain, and Pepe Reina on loan. They join Raul Albiol and Jose Callejon from Real Madrid, and Dries Mertens from PSV.

Probably not since Maradona and Careca, or maybe Zola and Ciro Ferrara have Napoli been so good. Bankruptcy in 2004, and subsequent relegation to Serie C1 meant S.S.C. Napoli were in real threat of folding, but film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis seems to have put them back on the path to success.

Then there's AC Milan who have Mario Balotelli - an no-one knows how that's going to go. Inter still have Walter Samuel - and we all know how that's going to go.

But Juventus are still winning the league – adding Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente makes them by far the stand out team (which they were already). Andrea Pirlo is still mustard, and just can't see anyone even really competing with I Bianconeri.

Don't worry Rafa, Serie A doesn't start for another week

The Premier League and La Liga start this weekend, but Rafa Benitez has at least one more week before he sees these signs!