Carvalho: Nation wants United to win
Premiership
RICARDO CARVALHO last night summed up the growing paranoia in the
Chelsea dressing room as he claimed: "The whole country wants
Manchester United to win the title."
Portuguese defender Carvalho has been one of the few dependables in
Jose Mourinho's squad as the moody Blues have struggled. Those
defensive chickens came home to roost with the 2-2 draw against
Reading that saw Mourinho's men slip four points off United's
Premiership pace and, while Carvalho insisted Chelsea are still the
best side in the country, he suggested that the nation is rooting
for Sir Alex Ferguson's men.
Carvalho said: "I think that Chelsea have the best team in England.
"Manchester United are consistent, they've secured good results,
but we have the best squad in England.
"We've already played against Arsenal, Manchester United and
Liverpool. There were phases in the game when we were not so
strong, but generally we showed that we're the best.
"But I think there are similarities between the way people look at
Chelsea and what we had to fight against when I was with Jose at
Porto. Chelsea don't have the fan base of Manchester United, for
example. Chelsea were champions twice in a row and all of England
wants a champion other than Chelsea. The strong club, in terms of
fan base, is Manchester United."
Mourinho's managerial style is coming under scrutiny as the Blues
face a genuine challenge to their dominance for the first time in
two years. Strike ace Didier Drogba admitted the pressure was
getting to the team as he said: "Of course dropping points the way
we did against Reading is a concern for us.
"Normally when you are trying to chase a team which is leading the
championship and then drop points it is a strange feeling - and it
is for us because we are not used to it."
