Let The Silence Be Broken

By Osama Rahman

The silence needs to be broken. It is now time to finally celebrate without a care in the world. Reader discretion is henceforth not only advised but best believe it's prescribed. The Pensioners have triumphed showing the most perfect hand in the most glorious of fashions. It is now time, not to applaud but to bow before the newly crowned English Premier League Champions, Chelsea FC. Who else to get to wear the crowns but the greatest of them all? Let's observe a moment of tumultuous and rapturous uproar, to glorify further the Champions of all champions. Who would have envisioned such an emphatic triumph? A century of goals, left the record books in tatters, whilst Chelsea left former champions/has-beens with the bitterest taste in their mouths in no less than, count it, 6 occasions. If pipping them to the title by one point on the final day wasn't enough, they also buried United's 97-goals in a campaign record. If a golden boot for Rooney could salvage any pride, Drogba even took that away with a vengeance as the Red's hitman limped away, tail between legs. Even United's dream of four titles in a row to dethrone Liverpool from their record of most titles went up in smoke. And all that came with the knowledge that twice United had succumbed to the power that is known as Chelsea. The one-man team had finally paid a price for their over-dependence on one star or a moment of brilliance or the opponent's off-day. Chelsea had extracted revenge for Champion's League heartbreak as well as for two seasons back, when United triumphed on the last day at the JJB against the same opponents that Chelsea thrashed 8-0. When the quiet and reserved Carlo Ancelloti took over the reigns, he had an enormous task at hand. His mission was to uplift an aging and egoistic team of millionaires, one that can easily be considered as absolutely no ordinary feat. With an investment in the unassuming Zhirkov and free-transfers Ross Turnbull and Daniel Sturridge (who later cost in the region of 3 million), no one could consider the Pensioners serious title contenders. In fact, most eyes were focused on the happenings at Anfield, as last season's performance had many believing this was Liverpool's season. With Cristiano Ronaldo gone but not forgotten along with Tevez, United weren't the sure-fire favourites this time around as well. In fact even Arsenal were brushed aside to make way for Manchester City. However, all predictions became wrong, as this season became the most closely-contested, in recent memory. Even the points were hard to come by. Chelsea opened their campaign brilliantly under Ancelloti, with Drogba finding the net quickly and moving on. The Blues built an aura of invincibility, promising high scoring encounters. Even the big three were brushed aside, albeit with some dubious decisions as in the case against Manchester United, where it took an offside goal to score a 2-1 victory against an almost depleted Devil's side. During December however, Chelsea's weaknesses came to the fore, when Chelsea began to falter. Soon teams realised that Chelsea could be conquered and this led to a line of dismal performances, peaking with a draw at Blackburn followed by a draw at Inter Milan.

However, Abrahmovic's entrance at Cobham soon after, led to an inquisition, which in turn led to the end of the much-hyped diamond formation. It was back to the good old 4-3-3 and the results spoke for themselves. Lampard's returned freedom led to a 5-0 romp over Portsmouth, while Aston Villa were ripped apart in a 7-1 victory. United too fell 2-1 controversially and finally it was onwards to Anfield. What happened in Anfield is history. Steven Gerrard, the man capable of captaining England, sold out his own club, to perhaps invalidate any chance of United overtaking them in the record's book, by gifting the ball to Didier Drogba who went on his way to score.

On the final match day, when Anelka scored the opening goal five minutes into the first half which also saw the sending off of a Wigan player, everyone knew the title race was over. A Drogba hattrick only served to pour salt in open wounds. Not only had Chelsea romped to the title in glorious fashion, but they had destroyed teams in the process. At the top of the pedestal stood the Chelsea the Mighty. But was it an error-free campaign? Certainly not. A humbling by City and being ripped apart by Inter Milan cannot be the recipe for success. Plus, what if United had not lost Wayne Rooney? Contemplate a scenario where Xabi was never sold. These are certain things even Champions must consider. However, luck had gripped Stamford Bridge and Ancelloti came with a Midas touch and therefore all went well. Though this writer stayed silent for most of the little triumphs, the silence now needs to be broken. One can remain quiet only for so long. As the haters rejoiced at Chelsea's distraught, the Chosen Ones, the Elites i.e. The Blues knew that their day was coming. And it is here now, at this very time. Chelsea FC have had the most emphatic victory imaginable. Scandals, injuries and bust-ups aside, Chelsea have done it once again. Sure, the haters all have their arguments of 'only three titles' and 'too much money' all ready, but it does nothing to change the fact that we won and you just couldn't cut the mustard. Better luck next time, losers. Until then forever dream of a day when a team apart from Chelsea can score 103 goals in a season, destroy all top three team each time, home and away, have one of their own players win the Golden Boot whilst another of their players wins the Golden Glove. Such a day can only come in dreams for other teams. For the Elite batch of Chelsea Fans, it is time to look forward to another season, decide on newer players and finally leave a trail of blaze through all of Europe. Let the world shake with the chants of the winners' names, let them all shake as we take the field once more, let the town be painted blue and finally let all hell loose and let the silence be broken. N.B- All opinions are views of the writer's solely, even if its a bitter pill of truth to swallow.

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