English League Cup semi-final, second leg/Chelsea v Wycombe:For so much of Sunday afternoon it felt as if the season had shrunk, putting Manchester United face to face with the title. Then, in the span of a few minutes against Arsenal, they were left wondering instead how far they still had to go and whether they had the resources to get there. The weekend ended with all four leading clubs in a reflective mood, and one in particular was given over to melancholia.
While other managers may be thinking about the transfer market, Jose Mourinho has all but concluded he is banned from it. Anyone suggesting relationships have been healed at Chelsea is flayed by the lash of the manager's candid tongue. Defeat at Anfield was not surprising and if the disagreements among the hierarchy remain unresolved there will be more possibility of losing the runners-up position than of overhauling United.
The current debacle was once inconceivable for supporters who pine for the recent days when Chelsea were hated for the pitiless capitalism that made them unassailable. It has been superseded by a fractiousness that would have been unimaginable until the past few weeks. Those who believe Roman Abramovich avoided Merseyside out of annoyance with Mourinho, rather than because of business commitments in Moscow, must come to terms with the concept of dissident owner.
How far could the trend go? Surreal visions swim to mind of the billionaire picketing Stamford Bridge with a "Mourinho Out" placard or calling for fans to abandon this despotic manager in favour of a new breakaway club of the common people, AFC Chelsea. The desire for success must lead to an accommodation robust enough to last until at least the summer. Grievances have to be resolved because Andriy Shevchenko cannot be left as the emotional punchbag on which Mourinho takes out any antagonism towards Abramovich.
The unique situation at the champions is a mighty consolation for the other teams. They at least have only orthodox issues before them as they limber up for the home stretch. United looked set to beat Arsenal and did not appear to have fundamental failings despite conceding two goals at the very end. It would have been better, however, not to retreat in such numbers they isolated their lone centre-forward, the veteran Henrik Larsson.
Alex Ferguson's craving to winkle Owen Hargreaves out of Bayern Munich seemed all the more logical then. Who better than the hyperactive midfielder to stop United from being pinned back so easily?
Arsenal did drum up plenty of gusto as the clock ran down, yet the many difficulties that preceded the recovery showed this to be a line-up still under development. There is not yet any counterpart to the slick partnerships the manager once had on the left, when Robert Pires would come into the middle while Thierry Henry slipped away to menace from that wing, aided sometimes by Ashley Cole's overlapping.
Wenger may envisage the right flank of the present line-up operating with some of that smoothness, but the project is at an early stage. While the manager has ruled out any acquisitions this month it becomes easier to understand his interest in Franck Ribery, the France right-winger who was close to leaving Marseille in the summer.
Despite having beaten Chelsea, Rafael Benitez would surely not distance himself from the January transfer market by choice, but major transactions look unlikely while two interested parties are pursuing a takeover of Liverpool. Eleven clean sheets in the last 12 Premiership games speak of the side's solidity in league football, but such was the collapse of Saturday's visitors it was hard to tell how incisive Benitez's attack really is. Worthwhile as Dirk Kuyt, Peter Crouch and Craig Bellamy can be, there is no one to compare with, say, Didier Drogba or Thierry Henry. Only an expensive individual, such as Valencia's David Villa, could fit the bill, but Benitez may have to use the remainder of January doing no more than rehearsing the plea for a major signing he will make to new proprietors this summer.
Mourinho, meanwhile, will hope to bolster his defence with the return of centre-half Ricardo Carvalho against Wycombe in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge tonight. Claude Makelele is back after suspension but Arjen Robben will miss out after suffering ankle ligament damage at Anfield. Also out are Joe Cole (foot), John Terry (back), Khalid Boulahrouz (knee) and Wayne Bridge (knee).
