The West London derby-What's left to rant about?

An impressive showing by Chelsea left them with only a point and an empty dream as the West London Derby yielded a dissapointing 0-0 result.

Jonathan Brady/EPA

                                                          

In a game where former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was in attendance, the Blues seemed like they could have used his guidance.  To say Chelsea were great today would be ridiculous. To say they would have won a Champions League game against a big club today would be laughable. But the fact of the matter is Chelsea dominated a game where only one clean touch in the six yard box (or clean touch whatsoever by Torres) could have been the difference. Fulham played well defensively, closing in nearly every time a blue shirt had the ball. But in ninety minutes of play, I am sick of having to make excuses for my lads' inability to score with the weapons available on the squad.

So instead of focusing on all the negatives that come from dropping more potential points, I say let's look at the bright side. Petr Czech continued to prove his dominance among international keepers, looking sharp in the few yet crucial chances that Fulham brought his way, including a stopped penalty in stoppage time preserving any justice left in this world. Frank Lampard and John Terry seemed to be back to their classic ways, orchestrating several neat passing sequences. Yet, the man that really brought the most joy if it was to be had this evening, was the Brazilian, David Luiz. He found his way onto nearly every corner of the pitch, always stepping into his defensive role whenever the rare occasion presented itself tonight. Above all he has confidence, something that could be very useful in the near future for Chelsea.

But the truth is, 75 million pounds has not brought forth a title contender and only three games after the transfer window, the title race has already been declared off for Chelsea by most media pundits. At this time last year, Chelsea were in first place at 58 points, one ahead of Manchester United. Now, they have 45, are in fifth place, and looking flat in more ways than one.

But let's just remember that the season is far from over. Football critics essentially declared the title official for the west London side two months into the season. Chelsea then began sliding as Man U slowly climbed. Who's to say, with three months of football left, the same can't be true? The one thing that stands in the way of this is the fact that Chelsea find themselves a team disconnected. After just beginning to find their groove, the Blues made a huge change to their attacking gameplan with the acquisition of Torres. Common wisdom would say that nothing bad could come from such a move and in the long-term this may be true. But for now, Chelsea are left as a bunch of individuals much like Man City last season. Will it take them an entire season to get back on track? Or will it be sooner? The first of March when Manchester United knock on the doors of Stamford Bridge would be a perfect time to start...

-twil