In August of 2013 new Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was in a cautious mood. "This is not a team to win tomorrow," said Mourinho. "We are a team of kids, this is a team where the best years are to come." A year later and those years have started. Last season, of course, Chelsea got much closer than Mourinho ever imagined. "We were not feeling like a title contender but in fact we finished very close, so we did well," admitted the boss on Friday. Four points. That was all that separated Chelsea from title winners Manchester City, a side that scored 31 more goals than the Blues. In the end that was the difference. Mourinho had started the season thinking inexperience would be the reason for their failure, but by February he knew it was a lack of goals. During a sponsorship launch with watch manufacturers Hublot, Mourinho, privately, said to senior representatives of the Swiss company: "I have a team but no striker. It is not possible for us to win the Premier League." In the 38 Premier League games last season, Fernando Torres started 17, Samuel Etoo started 16 and Demba Ba five. How Chelsea managed to get so close with three ineffective strikers spoke to the strengths of the squad and, of course, the manager himself. Etoo ended the campaign with nine goals, Ba five and the abysmal Torres with five, despite playing 1592 Premier League minutes. Mourinho had grand plans when he retook the job of how to reinvigorate the Spaniard, saying: "Fernando is not a player with balls into his feet. Fernando is a man of depth, of movement who likes to get to the back of defenders. If we can give him what he needs, I think he will get success again." Nearly six hundred minutes later the jury was in. Chelseas style wasnt at their best when trying to work to the needs of Torres, they needed a forward with balls into his feet and he proved to be equally ineffective for Mourinho than he had been under other managers since moving to Stamford Bridge. 2011/12 Torres under Andre Villas Boas and Roberto Di Matteo – Six Premier League goals in 1907 minutes – an average of one goal every 317 minutes. 2012/13 Torres under Di Matteo and Rafa Benitez – Eight Premier League goals in 2573 Premier League minutes – an average of one goal every 321 minutes. 2013/14 under Mourinho – Five Premier League goals in 1592 minutes – an average of one goal every 318 minutes. The statistics are remarkable but for the manager the biggest one that needed to change was minutes played. Throughout last season it was evidently clear that many of the Chelsea players, inside the three behind the striker, regularly showed a lack of trust in Torres as an outlet. The consequence of this was teams defended deeper and the pressure fell on the likes of Oscar and Eden Hazard to unlock the opposition. Chelsea led the league averaging 18.2 shots per game but the teams above them scored 30 or more goals as Mourinhos side scored just one goal or less in 15 of the 38 matches. The Special One has been full of praise of the Chelsea board after targeting key areas to bring more power and strength through the middle for this season, particularly up front with the addition of Diego Costa. Didier Drogbas arrival, brought on as a sub on Monday, pushes Torres further down the pecking order. "This season we have bought some key players and we believe we are in another dimension," said the 51-year-old in Fridays press conference ahead of Mondays clash with Burnley. Sean Dyches Premier League new boys may well prove to be the weakest of all the teams in the division this season, having come up through the Championship with very little funds behind them, so we should be cautious about drawing conclusions about this new Chelsea side based on their first opponents of the new campaign. However, it was clear that Cesc Fabregas brings something Chelsea so desperately needs from central midfield and his pass for Andre Schurrles goal will be one of the finest you will see this season. It capped off a brilliant, 22 pass move that changed the momentum of the game. The former Arsenal man will grab the headlines for a sensational performance but the showing from Diego Costa was just as important. It was a contest that was over by half-time. Burnley led for just two hundred seconds before the Spaniard smashed home an equalizer on the left foot. The highlight packs will show a simple finish but the buildup showed what Costa can bring. 55 seconds before his left foot leveled the scores, Fabregas played a wonderful diagonal ball for the forward to run on to. He sprinted, held the ball up well and waited for others to come into attack. Burnley couldnt get the ball back and 17 passes later he had scored by sitting deeper, off the defenders, and anticipating a clearance or rebound. Costas movement is excellent and much different to Torres. He doesnt spend a lot of time running on the shoulder of a defender, instead he wants to drop deeper and link up with others, which is exactly what the fluid, interchanging, intelligent Chelsea attack demands. He is a striker who is very confident in every move he makes. He sprints with purpose and never was this more evident than in the 30th minute. Costa sat deep between central defenders as the ball was played to left back Ben Mee but the moment the Burnley man received the ball, he anticipated he would be uncomfortable with a press from Hazard. He began sprinting towards the Burnley goal as if a Chelsea player had the ball and as soon as Mee did what he expected, he intercepted the ball and was clear away on a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He was then brought down in the box but referee Michael Oliver wrongly decided to book him for simulation. Costas intelligence had not been rewarded this time but it was just a teaser to what is to come over the next 10 months of Premier League football. Its only week one but already Mourinhos men are top scorers. Costa scored but he brought much more than that, receiving more than 50 passes and linking up marvelously with Oscar, Hazard and Schurrle. Overall it was performance from a centre-forward that Chelsea have been lacking for far too long. (fourfourtwo.com - click for larger image) It is little wonder Mourinho is no longer cautious about Chelseas title aspirations this season. Rudy Gay Jersey . The NFL announced Friday that the Texans sixth-year veteran offensive lineman will replace Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters in the Jan. Joffrey Lauvergne Jersey . "It feels good, Ive never had one before, not even in College," Hagelin said after the Rangers outgunned the Jets 4-2, behind some solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist following a pretty wide open first period. http://www.shopspursauthentic.com/Cheap-...s-Jersey/.Corey Brewer had 19 points eight rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time since Ricky Rubio went out with an injured ankle on Nov. Manu Ginobili Jersey .com) - DAngelo Harrison posted 21 points to guide No. Dejounte Murray Jersey . Ben Street scored twice for the Heat (17-5-1), who won their fourth game in a row and 13th in their last 14 outings. Brett Bulmer scored the lone goal for the Wild (6-11-0), who dropped their sixth straight contest.Things started off quite well for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but their January slide has pushed them out of playoff position. So whats exactly wrong with the Blue and White these days? The team opened 2014 on a high, defeating the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout in front of more than 105,000 fans at Michigan Stadium for the NHLs Winter Classic. Since the outdoor win, the Leafs have dropped three straight games and have been outscored 18-5 in those contests. On top of that, the club has just five regulation/overtime victories over their last 31 games and a 4-13 record in the 17 games that ended in regulation. By comparison, the Leafs had 13 regulation/overtime wins in their final 31 games under Ron Wilson. Going into Friday nights game against Washington, theyve gone 2-7-4 in their last 13 road games, are 4-for-43 on the power play and their last road regulation win was Oct. 30 in Calgary. Is it the coaching? Many fans have called for the firing of head coach Randy Carlyle. In his lone full season with the Leafs, he led the team to their first playoff appearance since 2004. But is it possible that his good will with the players has taken a turn south? Many observers have blamed Carlyle for the Leafs defensive system, which has allowed a league-high 36.4 shots on goal per game and league-worst minus-9.2 shot differential. Others argue that the shot totals have been high all year and are nothing new for the Leafs. Their goaltending struggles, however, certainly are. Is the problem in goal? The Leafs relied on the strong play of James Reimer and more specifically Jonathan Bernier to get wins this season, but both have struggled of late. Bernier played 29 gaames with the Leafs this season before getting pulled for the first time on Saturday in a 7-1 loss against the New York Rangers.dddddddddddd He allowed five goals on 32 shots in just under two periods of play. And Bernier struggled again the next time out against the New York Islanders, allowing four goals on 24 shots, three of them that Carlyle said Bernier wanted back. The Leafs lost again, 5-3. The team turned back to Reimer on Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, but he allowed six goals on 36 shots and the team lost its third straight game, 6-1. As TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger noted on TSN Radio 1050 on Friday morning, the Leafs, "played 60 minutes like they were killing a 5-on-3." At the same time, Torontos offence hasnt been anywhere near good enough to make up for the defensive shortfall. The Leafs top two scorers, Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk, have just one point between them over the last three games. The losing skid could be attributed to many things, but is it as simple as a Winter Classic hangover? The Leafs played most of December under the watchful eyes of television cameras documenting their lives, on and off the ice, for HBOs 24/7 Winter Classic series. When they won the game and shook their opponents hands at centre ice, the camera crews packed up and life was supposed to return to normal. But since then victories have been hard to come by. And now the Leafs find themselves on the outside looking in for a playoff spot with just under half the season remaining and Olympic break four weeks away. The time has come to ask, whats wrong with the Toronto Maple Leafs? As always, its Your! Call. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China China NFL Gear Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Stitched NFL Jerseys ' ' '