4 reasons why Chelsea CAN win the league.

After winning the Champions League for the first time last season, Roberto Di Matteo's men will be looking to develop and build upon their triumph in Munich by adding the Premier Legaue title this season. I write this now as Chelsea are drawing 1-1 away at Arsenal after 43 minutes.

1. Plently of creativity: The summer signings of Eden Hazard and Oscar have most definitely added a lot more balance and fluidity to Chelsea's attacking midfield options. Along with Juan Mata, they have many options if an injury occurs, and each option is as good as the next. Each player in this position has similar characteristics to those at Barcelona. Small, quick and nimble. For me, the stand out player has to be Hazard, and if Chelsea were to keep him fit throughout the season he can create many assists and contribute with at least 15 goals to help mount a challenge.

2. Torres?: After last seasons disaster, Fernando Torres is showing signs that he is coming back to his best. He was second to Didier Drogba, but after his move to China, Torres is now spearheading Chelsea's attack. I write this after Torres has scored a very smart and technical goal against Arsenal, which can only be promising for Chelsea fans. The only problem is that if Torres does get injured, the only back up is Daniel Sturridge, who hasn't been anywhere near as good as he was at the start of last season. Keep him fit and he will score.

3. The skipper's focused: Under AVB Chelsea's defence was very leaky indeed, but Di Matteo seems to have sorted that out and Terry's decision to retire from International football is a massive boost. Despite it being a big loss for England, losing one of their most influential and controversial leaders, Chelsea will be relishing having their captain fully fit after every international break. This seems even more important as David Luis' defending still seems very shaky and Gary Cahill hasn't seen too much first team football so far this season.

4. Manchester mayhem: The final reason why Chelsea can win the league is because defending champions Manchester City, and strong contenders Manchester United are both leaking goals. Vidic has been ruled out for 3 months, and with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling still out, there are definite gaps in their back four. Man City have also been shaky, breaking up the Lescott Kompany partnership a few times this season has been a bad decision, and Alexander Kolarov's defending is very questionable.


Dan

Handshakes. Yes Or No?

QPR met Chelsea this weekend for the first time since John Terry was cleared of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand in the fixture last season. Due to this being a high profile incident, with a lot of emphisis being put on respect within the game over the past couple of years, there has been some debate whether the pre match handshake should be scrapped or not. John Terry, who isn't a new comer to being snubbed, after Wayne Bridge refused to shake his hand after he had an affair with his ex girlfriend, was refused once again, a long with team mate Ashley Cole. In my opinion, Anton Ferdinand's actions were completely necessary. I believe that if you don't respect a player, then you shouldn't have to shake his hand at the start of a game. This would get rid of any 'false respect' being shown at the start of a game, which could lead to certian players taking their anger out on others. The pre match handshake should be omitted, leaving players just to shake hands with their counter parts at the end of the game, either congratulating them or consoling them on the game and their performance.

Keep Quiet & Pass The Ball

England started their World Cup qualification campaign with a bang in Moldova. The favourite's for the group, questionably position 3rd in FIFA's recent international rankings, were far to strong for a mediocre Moldova team. With a goal from Defoe, two from Frank Lampard, and Baines and Milner both getting on the England scoresheet for the first time (Baines can be thankful for the deflection), it would seem like the perfect start to the campaign. But this is why we tend to fail in the later stages of tournaments, because we get to hyped up by battering the lower teams and struggle when faced with a bit of gyle and drive from stronger opponents. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had a very impressive first half, and so did Tom Cleverly who many believe will play an almost Cesc Fabregas like role in the heart of England's midfied for years to come. But putting 5 past a very poor team, who actually haven't scored a single goal this calender year, is nothing to rave about. The first test in England's group will come on Tuesday night when Ukraine travel to Wembley to set up a rematch of the group game at the European Championships. In Moldova, England showed positive signs, by keeping the ball far better and closing down quickly once they had lost it. But against Ukraine this approach will be tougher, so the team will have to prove they can play, in what i believe, is the only possible to succeed in the International game. To keep the ball with confidence. With midfielders such as Gerrard, Lampard, Carrick and Cleverly at Hodgson's disposal, this approach doesn't seem at all that difficult. But his job from now untill 2014 will be to mold his team into a passing team, rather than a 'route one' 'long ball' team. Sadly, this may mean that Andy Carroll doesn't get much of a look in, as he has already been asked to leave Liverpool because he 'doesn't fit the system'. But with the young talents of Welbeck and Cleverly, along with Wayne Rooney, these three players at least can develop an undertsanding at club level that will only be benefical to the national team. 3-0 to England on Tuesday. Lets hope the post match Moldova hype hasn't caused me to believe this.




Dan