Who are all these neutrals gripped by a two-horse title run-in between Tottenham and Chelsea?
All I’ve encountered are Blues fans with bitten fingernails, and Spurs supporters tasting blood – and seeking revenge for Chelsea ending last season’s challenge, obliterating the White Hart Lane youth team last month… and the little matter of bumping Tottenham out of the Champions League in 2012.
Anyone who says the Blues have an easier passage to glory needs their head examined.
Spurs have momentum, Chelsea are racked with doubts.
Outmanoeuvred by Jose Mourinho at the weekend, the distractions are mounting up. News that John Terry is leaving in a few weeks is hardly a shock, but it risks losing focus. Niggly injuries are skewing Tony Conte’s selection options, and – frankly – any game currently has the potential to be an upset, home or away.
Oddly, irrespective of the outcome of this weekend’s FA Cup semi against Spurs at Wembley, it’s a gear-change that suits the Blues just fine.
Any interruption to the seemingly unstoppable winning sequence of Tottenham is welcome, but a Spurs victory would give the north Londoners further self-belief.
Then it’s straight back into the Premier League maelstrom. Next Tuesday night’s clash with the Saints comes ahead of a tough trip to Everton, where David Luiz, his flyaway hair recently trimmed, will be pivotal to denying on-form Romelu Lukaku.
Intriguingly, we learnt this week that Luiz cuts his own hair. Clearly Chelsea aren’t paying him enough.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
