SHE'S BACK!!!! (Plus a little chat about Chelsea)

YES I AM!!

After a quick summer hiatus ebonylovessports is back just in time for the return of the Barclays Premier League (thank The Lord)!!! 

Coincidently, it also marks my 1 year anniversary (exactly one year to the day) of starting this blog - man how time flies!!

But anyway, back to the Premier League :D

This past weekend all the teams played their second round of matches of the new season, and boy were there some results!

Let's talk about Man City and Chelsea shall we?

Mourinho gestures in anger to his medical staff

Ordinarily we're used to such a heavyweight match like this being played much later on in the season, so to witness this spectacle only 2 weeks into the new campaign was a treat. With Chelsea, the defending champions, and Man City, the title challengers AND the former champions (dethroned by Chelsea last season), this promised to be a brilliant match where two formidable opponents had the opportunity to draw first blood and send out a message to their title rivals for the rest of the season. As such, I and surely many others were expecting a very tight match, full of tactical genius and probably very little goals. 

So you can imagine my utter shock when the full-time whistle blew on a resounding 3-nil win to Manchester City at the Etihad. Aguero's goal in the first half, followed by 2 second-half goals by Kompany and Fernandinho sealed what was ultimately a very comfortable win for the title challengers, with the manner of the defeat epitomising what has been a very dysfunctional and tumultuous opening couple of weeks for Chelsea. 

1. Bad Doctors

First there was the issue with their two first team doctors. After their opening 2-2 draw with Swansea, the Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho accused his doctors of being "impulsive and naive". This was in response to Dr Eva Carneiro and head physiotherapist Jon Fearn's decision to enter the pitch in the third minute of stoppage time to treat Eden Hazard for an injury. With goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois already off the pitch after a red card earlier on in the match, Chelsea temporarily went down to nine men as a result of Hazard's treatment. Though the referee clearly summoned the medical staff in order to see to Hazard, Mourinho was clearly infuriated by the decision, and accused his medical staff of not understanding the game. "I was sure Eden (Hazard) didn't have a serious problem" he said. "My medical department left me with eight fit outfield players in a counterattack after a set piece and we were worried we didn't have enough players left".

Spectacularly, Dr Carneiro, one of the most high profile woman in the sport having joined Chelsea in 2009 as the first woman to hold such a role in Premier League football, has subsequently been demoted from her position as the on-field doctor on match days for the foreseeable future. Though she will remain as the first-team doctor and will continue working with the squad, her responsibilities will reportedly be scaled back. 

Mourinho has come under very heavy criticism for his decision. Peter Brukner, a leading sports physician and the former head of sports medicine and sports science for Liverpool, said he believed Mourinho owed his medical staff an apology, calling his behaviour towards the doctor "appalling". 

2. Terry benched

Then there was the half-time substitution of Chelsea's captain, John Terry. Terry has been a formidable force in the Chelsea back line since Mourinho's first reign as the manager back in 2004. Since then, Terry had played every minute of every game under Mourinho, amounting to 177 games in total. 

John Terry benched at half-time during Chelsea's 3-0 defeat to Man City

To substitute such a key individual when Chelsea were already 1-nil down at the break raised many eyebrows at the time, and the decision was all the more scrutinised after the 3-goal thrashing. Despite Mourinho's insistence that the decision to replace Terry for Kurt Zouma was solely tactical, others, including Graeme Souness, believe the bold move was designed to send out a signal to the owner Roman Abramovich to buy more defensive players before the Transfer Window closes. "I think it's the manager trying to make a statement to the owner in as much that he needs more players", said Souness. "The manager, if the stories are correct, would like more players. I think he was emphasising that point today to the owner by the actions of taking Terry off and introducing Juan Cuadrado later" 

Terry now 34, can no longer expect to feature in every game considering the increasing speed the Premier League continues to be played at with every passing season. "I have to decide Zouma for John because he is the fastest we have", Mourinho admitted. "The point was not to take Terry off but put Zouma on. I want my fastest player on the pitch not on the bench because I know they are going to play counter attack".

Whether the decision was a purely tactical one or a cry for help for defensive reinforcements, there is no doubt that Chelsea's season has gotten off to an extremely jittery start. And with the current off-the-field controversies still surrounding the team doctor's future and any potential transfer moves, Chelsea's campaign to defend the title they won so victoriously last season seems to be under threat already, so early on in the season. 

Now as an Arsenal fan, their faltering form makes me very very happy hehe :D 

But seriously, for Chelsea's sake, they need to find a way to put their problems aside and get back to winning ways, and fast!