English Premier League: Woeful December cost us title, says Villas-Boas
Downcast Chelsea manager rues loss of ‘massive opportunities’ as Villa win 3-1.
LONDON:
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas admits his team’s poor form in December has cost them any chance of winning the Premier League title.
Villas-Boas’ side sank to a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa – their third home league defeat of the season – extending their recent run to four games without a win. The defeat meant they were unable to take advantage of Manchester United’s defeat to Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Swansea City, and allowed Arsenal to leapfrog them into fourth place.
Villas-Boas said it was frustrating that his side had not been able to pick up points in a month when other title contenders had been dropping them.
“It’s disappointing because in the last three fixtures, all the top teams have dropped points,” he said. “We spoke about how December could’ve been decisive in the running of the league.
“Arsenal made the most of a good December as did Liverpool to an extent. The rest of the teams have struggled. All of them dropped points, but we couldn’t make the most of it. It’s difficult for us to be in contention for the title this year.”
Villas-Boas said that there were no hard luck stories regarding his side. “There is no running away with excuses. What we regret more is that, from the last four games, we’ve lost massive opportunities to shorten the distance to the leaders. Now our realistic goal is a fourth-place finish, but that’s not good enough.”
‘Van Persie should continue to do well’
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed striker Robin van Persie to maintain his sparkling form in 2012. Van Persie was Arsenal’s hero yet again as he scored the winner in a 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers (QPR), meaning he fell just one goal short of Alan Shearer’s record of 36 goals in a calendar year. His remarkable goal-spree has been one of the few bright spots in a frustrating year for Arsenal and Wenger expects his captain to carry on scoring.
“If he can play the same amount of games, nothing is impossible,” he said. “I don’t know why his form should change at midnight at the end of the year.”
Van Persie, however, was accused by QPR manager Neil Warnock of using his arms in aerial challenges.
“What do you say about someone like van Persie,” said Warnock. “He gets away with murder. His arms are up when a long ball goes up, so it must be in the laws of the game.”
Meanwhile, Bolton drew 1-1 with Wolves, while Norwich also played out a 1-1 draw with Fulham. Stoke and Wigan drew their encounter 2-2.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2012.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas admits his team’s poor form in December has cost them any chance of winning the Premier League title.
Villas-Boas’ side sank to a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa – their third home league defeat of the season – extending their recent run to four games without a win. The defeat meant they were unable to take advantage of Manchester United’s defeat to Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Swansea City, and allowed Arsenal to leapfrog them into fourth place.
Villas-Boas said it was frustrating that his side had not been able to pick up points in a month when other title contenders had been dropping them.
“It’s disappointing because in the last three fixtures, all the top teams have dropped points,” he said. “We spoke about how December could’ve been decisive in the running of the league.
“Arsenal made the most of a good December as did Liverpool to an extent. The rest of the teams have struggled. All of them dropped points, but we couldn’t make the most of it. It’s difficult for us to be in contention for the title this year.”
Villas-Boas said that there were no hard luck stories regarding his side. “There is no running away with excuses. What we regret more is that, from the last four games, we’ve lost massive opportunities to shorten the distance to the leaders. Now our realistic goal is a fourth-place finish, but that’s not good enough.”
‘Van Persie should continue to do well’
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed striker Robin van Persie to maintain his sparkling form in 2012. Van Persie was Arsenal’s hero yet again as he scored the winner in a 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers (QPR), meaning he fell just one goal short of Alan Shearer’s record of 36 goals in a calendar year. His remarkable goal-spree has been one of the few bright spots in a frustrating year for Arsenal and Wenger expects his captain to carry on scoring.
“If he can play the same amount of games, nothing is impossible,” he said. “I don’t know why his form should change at midnight at the end of the year.”
Van Persie, however, was accused by QPR manager Neil Warnock of using his arms in aerial challenges.
“What do you say about someone like van Persie,” said Warnock. “He gets away with murder. His arms are up when a long ball goes up, so it must be in the laws of the game.”
Meanwhile, Bolton drew 1-1 with Wolves, while Norwich also played out a 1-1 draw with Fulham. Stoke and Wigan drew their encounter 2-2.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2012.