Blues still shine despite title hat-trick defeat

All we wanted was a win, no mistakes from our players that might cost us the title, and the undying spirit of the team, to allow us to face Manchester United at home with hopes of winning a hat-trick of Premiership titles. But Monday night, 2 days before facing the Red Devils, our hopes crashed as we drew at the Emirates Stadium. The race for the title may have died, but our spirit, character and hope for next season live on.

I will be speaking for many other Blues fans when I congratulate Manchester United for winning the title for the 9th time under Sir Alex Ferguson. A tremendous feat indeed. It is just fair to say that. However, I believe I would also be speaking for them when I say that winning the title doesn't mean the team deserved it, because backing what Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said in a post-match interview, in the end, it doesn't matter whether they're deserving or not. What matters is they have the most points, and Manchester United do. As a Blues fan, criticisms rain down on us day and night, regardless of whether we triumph or fail so I might as well continue.

Manchester United both deserved and did not deserve to win the title. Admittedly, they consistently played attractive football all throughout this season. Plus, with very few to no (significant) injuries until recently, they definitely had the advantage. On the other hand, at the risk of being repetitive, we were plagued with star player injuries. From our talismanic captain and defender John Terry, to the quick-paced Arjen Robben, and star players Didier Drogba, our leading goalscorer, and Petr Cech, our world-class keeper, we were in such high risk of letting go of the title. And we did. We failed to capitalize on the failures of Manchester United, i.e., their meager losses and draws that while we continued the battle, we still ended Sunday night disappointed.

On the other hand, United are not deserving because they escaped defeat several times, through controversial penalties and dives (yes, that which we are always accused of performing). Moreover, while we may have feared ending as a one-man team with Drogba's goalscoring season, the Red Devils somehow did through the Portuguese midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo. Take him out of the squad and the result would have been devastating: the death of the midfield, less dives, and less penalties won by the reds, ergo, less points and no 9th Premiership title for them.

Had we won for the third time, we would've been criticized for buying our way through to our third title. We've all heard it before. Andriy Shevchenko was acquired from AC Milan for GBP30 million and Michael Ballack earns GBP130,000 a week, higher than stars Frank Lampard and John Terry. Oh, of course we also bought Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Essien for an average of GBP22 million each. We are such a bottomless pit of cash, spenders at our own whim, and hopefuls for another title. On the other hand, now that we lost, we become a laughing stock. "GBP500 million for a Carling Cup?" We are hated for having the money to buy the big players to try to win the titles for us. Yet we are also ridiculed for spending so much only to win one competition, which is not as sweet as the Champions League nor the Premiership. Many of us have accepted that yet we can only feel pity for people who fail to understand us. One, we paid that much not only to retain our crown this season but also for the future- for the long-term. So for people to laugh that Shevchenko and Ballack are 'flops' couldn't get any more ridiculous. It seems people easily forget that Drogba was once a dry goalscorer, too. At present, he's one of the finest. Plus, how could Sheva possibly be a flop when he's considered one of the finest in Europe? Time is all he needs. Keep that in mind and look back a year or two from now.

In addition, we may have spent that much on players but we hardly relied on them for the sweetest victories of the team that led us to one of the best seasons under Mourinho. In Monday's game against Arsenal, we may have missed Drogba but did we miss Shevchenko and Ballack as much as we missed Carvalho? Or John Terry when he was knocked out in the Carling Cup Final? Or Peter Cech and Carlo Cudicini after the horrible incident playing Reading? Or Joe Cole and Arjen Robben? NO. For people to even argue that we, therefore, wasted money by shelling out such huge sums, please read: Wait for the Future.

Okay, the issue still is the big spending. But remember when Manchester United spent GBP30 million on Wayne Rooney? And another one on Rio Ferdinand? Then they also signed Michael Carrick for GBP18 million. Are we hated just because we spent half a billion pounds?

In our defeat against Liverpool for the Champions League Final, we lost because of penalty kickout, not because we were trashed. We fought till the very end, just like we did against Arsenal on Monday night. In those 2 matches, we lost not because we played poorly but only because a mistake or two was committed and those were enough to cost us 2 titles in less than 2 weeks. Prior to that, we were hoping for a quadruple; now we're down to a double.

In Monday's game against the Gunners, we showed everything: what we do best and what we do worst. Nothing could've been worse than getting a player sent off for a reckless challenge, giving away a penalty. Khalid Boulahrouz made the worst mistake he could make. In the past games, it was the sloppy defending but there was always the second half for the thrill, catch ups, and the late goals. That night at the Emirates Stadium, we created thrill and caught up when Essien scored an equaliser giving us all hope that second halves are really our savior, that our hopes for the title are still alive. We waited for a late goal until the 94th minute, but none came. To be down by 1 man and 1 goal, while being under the pressure of a do-or-die situation plus with no signs of Carvalho, Sheva, Robben and Drogba to assist, is the toughest it could possibly get. We had to call in to the bench our young players Scott Sinclair and Ben Sahar, with the meager hope that they can help fill in the slot for our missing players, but it was to no avail. We retained our dignity of ending the game with a draw, but we didn't retain the title.

The season ended for us. Yet many of us would still say, we still reign and deserve the title. If only team and fighting spirit, and character count. Many might say this is not our season simply because we fail to win again. But looking beyond that, we could only be prouder of the boys' relentless fighting spirit that always kept the fans at the edge of their seats, giving them the victory they've always expected from them. Second-half wins and late goals will be remembered. They knew how to go against the odds and face their worst critics. They knew how to fight a battle that seems already lost. They knew how to be champions.

We might've lost the title but we didn't lose our faith. We might've let go of the chances for the quadruple but we didn't let go of our fighting spirit. We might've ended the season disappointed with just 1 possible title in our hands but we didn't end the season without looking forward to a better one when it starts in July.

People can continue criticizing us for overspending on players, laugh at us for not making it to either UCL Finals and winning it and the Premiership, mock us for our summer signings that lack the brilliance in form, hate us for having the funds, cheating, diving and even winning given our star-studded squad, but if there are things they can't do, it's that they can never criticize, laugh, mock, and hate us for fighting every single game with all our hearts and minds set to win and be champions again.

At the end of the day, when we fail to do so, we can only say holding our heads up high, even the best fall down sometimes...