This past year has been one of the most incredible years in the history of football, with Leicester City’s miraculous run to the top of the Premier League and Portugal upsetting France in the Euros particular highlights.
2016 has also seen transfer fees only previously imagined in video games, Paul Pogba and Gonzalo Higuain immediately come to mind. But 2016 has also seen sensationalism take hold in mainstream football journalism. And no other club provides a better case study than Chelsea FC.
After the torrid experience 12 months ago, waking up each day to read the vast array of plaudits bestowed upon Antonio Conte and his squad has been a breath of fresh air.
But it seems that many well-respected writers have lost their perspective on the matter. While Chelsea are certainly playing breathtaking football at the moment, proclaiming the Premier League race won is foolhardy.
Less than three months ago the talk was not about the impregnable back of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, and Gary Cahill, but whether or not Conte was going to be out of a job after back-to-back humbling defeats.
This marvellous run of 11 games has demonstrated how quickly fortunes can turn in the Premier League with Chelsea making up 15 points on Manchester City and Manchester United in that time period.
I would love for Chelsea to sail to the title, but this is a team that has 37% of their Premier League goals from a player with a history of hamstring and discipline problems.
All it takes is a couple of key injuries, bad calls from the officials, or a simple loss of form to drag Chelsea back to the pack. And history has shown that it can happen in the Premier league.
It has only been five years since City made up eight points over the final six games of the season to catch Manchester United. So while I am fully confident that Chelsea are the top side in the Premier League and will lift the trophy once again in May, it is far too early to conclude that the race is done.
But the title race isn’t the only area in which perspective regarding Chelsea has disappeared this week. With the title race already wrapped up in their minds, journalists have turned to declaring Diego Costa the greatest striker to ever call Stamford Bridge home.
Costa has been incredible this year with his goals blasting Chelsea to the top of the table, his form has even surpassed that of his debut campaign.
But in his two and half years at Chelsea, Costa has guided Chelsea to two trophies, one Premier League title and a League Cup. To proclaim Costa better than Didier Drogba after winning two trophies is premature.
Once again we’re victims of the moment and seem to have forgotten just how dominant Drogba was during his first tenure at the Bridge. He helped guide Chelsea to 12 titles in total, scoring nine goals in cup finals, including the unforgettable header in Munich.
If Costa signs the new contract being reported and maintains his current standard over its length, he may one day rival Drogba’s status. But to say so at this stage, it simply another case of sensationalism taking over.
