Chelsea went into the new year of 2010 at the top of the pile in the English Premier League. Since the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti, fans have been growing in anticipation of the club’s return to the forefront of English football. The reign of the new Italian manager begun well as Chelsea stormed to the top of the table. A mid season slump set in as some players experienced indifferent form. They somehow managed to see a 12 point lead at the top reduced to nothing as Arsenal and then Manchester United took turns to saddle the first position. That quickly changed after a few key fixtures for the two challengers which saw Chelsea sneak back ahead of them. While the margin of error remains small, there is now growing confidence that they can indeed overcome inconsistent form to lift the title for the first time since Jose Mourinho resigned from the club.
There are three main reasons why the club has an excellent chance of replacing Manchester United as the new champions. First of all, the new Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is a known winner. Having won the Italian Serie A title and Champions League trophy many times, Ancelotti was brought to the club with the task of turning Chelsea into European champions. Secondly, the front pairing of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka is shaping up to be one of the most feared strike partnerships in the world. Both players have scored double figures in goals already and look forward to finding the net more often. Finally, the recent scandal involving John Terry reported on many a Chelsea FC blog, might actually have the opposite effect on the field by uniting his teammates behind him. That would ensure a higher level of concentration while making their own path to claiming the league title.