They must be jumping up and down for joy in the Chelsea boardroom right now as they find their side in second place in the Premier League. Ignore all the talk coming out of the club about them not seeing themselves as potential champions. Privately they will think: 'If Liverpool make a mistake, we have a great chance'. It would be wrong for them to think otherwise.
I have been critical of Chelsea for their rampant approach to recruitment and the fact that some of the players they have bought will not be good enough in the long term to challenge for the two major trophies that really matter: the Premier League and Champions League. .
It was a brave and perhaps reckless approach – especially when you consider the £1.2 billion they spent and the length of the contracts they handed out.
Also keep in mind that the players who are not good enough for them will prove to be very expensive if they want to pay to leave.
However, I have to say that Enzo Maresca has done a fantastic job of keeping this young squad up to speed. Doubters, including myself, thought this season would be one of figuring out what he has and what he doesn't have and then trimming the roster accordingly. But I'm really impressed with them.
The signs were there against Liverpool in October. They went to Anfield and played without fear. They were brutal.
Anfield appears to be the most difficult place this season, but that did not bother them. They played bravely and had no inferiority complex for such a young team against a very good Liverpool side, in an always hostile environment. And despite all the excellent young players Chelsea have, the standout, Cole Palmer, is developing into perhaps the most valuable player in the Premier League.
The irony should not be lost on Manchester City because although they have gone backwards, Palmer, a player they sold for £40m, looks like Kevin De Bruyne's heir apparent as the Premier League's troublemaker. -chef and creator.
It must be all the more painful to watch City as he continues to score and create goal after goal, week after week.
In turn, Maresca says all the right things in downplaying Chelsea's chances, but deep down he knows this is a real opportunity for them.
There is no doubt that Chelsea are an improving team and are on track. But to win a Premier League title you have to endure nine long, tough months of being talented, happy and mentally strong – and none of these players have been through that journey, not yet. That's the obvious handicap for Maresca.
The Italian has stuck to his convictions. He has walked into a football club that seemed to have no clear strategy or winning formula – he was the fourth manager among owners since 2022 – and forged a competitive team from disarray.
Much was made of Chelsea's positive outcome last season under Mauricio Pochettino, but you can't read too much from the results in the last six or seven games of a season, while some teams may already have one eye on the beach.
Maresca has made a difference. He takes the pressure off his young team and that is the right decision. The challenge for the future is to remain consistent and hope that Liverpool falters.
They face their bitter rival Tottenham confidently on Sunday. Given the inconsistent form of Ange Postecoglou's team, the match on paper is a very winnable one for Chelsea, but as always in this League you have to prepare to play the best version of who you are playing against.
You would expect 'Jekyll and Hyde' Spurs to be smart after their defeat to Bournemouth on Thursday and they will know they have to be a different version of themselves to stand a chance against high-flying Chelsea.
'EL SACKICO' LABEL IS A SHAME
There is a lot about the modern structure of a football club that I don't like. On Monday we have a match between West Ham and Wolves, unpalatably labeled 'El Sackico' as both managers' jobs are at stake.
West Ham appointed Julen Lopetegui in the summer and Wolves handed Gary O'Neil a new contract in August, but here we are talking about looming redundancies in early December.
It has gotten to the point where the most important appointment a manager can make is a good lawyer. He is the man who must ensure that terminating your contract is financially beneficial, because you can almost guarantee that it will happen.
Managing in the Premier League has never been harder. The balance has never been so unfair. How much control did these managers have over hiring? How much of a say did O'Neil have when Wolves did not replace their captain, Max Kilman, and best player, Pedro Neto, this summer?
We have club football directors, heads of performance, all at the front of the queue, ready to take the credit if a signing works out, but what about if it doesn't? You know where the blame lies: it's the manager's fault.
We hear Lopetegui clashed with Jean-Clair Todibo at West Ham. Why wouldn't he? After all, aren't the players responsible for their performance?
Now it's all about the manager's tactics, who he selected, what formation he played in, what substitutions he made.
You hear that old chestnut, “Oh, he's lost the locker room,” of weak personalities, which always seem to have the upper hand in the modern locker room.
The blame should be on the players first, and then on the football directors.
It's so frustrating for managers in this modern structure. It has never been so far removed from my generation, when players bore the brunt of the criticism and stood up and were counted. I would say to these players: 'Look in the mirror first, boy'.
Now a player's asset value is everything. And now almost all managers have an ongoing contract. That's so it's easier to pay them for that extra year when they say goodbye. In reality, it's an easier option than getting rid of the players who would demand to have their full five years paid out.
GOODISON'S LAST DERBY BRINGS BACK MEMORIES
I enjoyed a very good lunch at Anfield on Friday with Forever Reds, the ex-Liverpool players' association, which raises money for charity.
It was great to meet old friends, especially Alan Hansen after his return to good health. It is perhaps fitting that we came together on the eve of what will be the last league derby at Goodison Park, a venue that holds such great memories for us all.
I will be sad to see Goodison go. It was the first English ground I visited as a youngster with Edinburgh Schoolboys and I always remember the majesty of those huge old stands.
It was royal at a time when Everton was nicknamed 'The Bank of England' and recognized as one of the top three clubs in the country.
Sadly there has been a slow decline over the last 30 years and it is important that the new owners get their recruitment right as this has not been the case for a long time.
I recently bumped into an Evertonian acquaintance of mine in his seventies who said to me, “I wish I had been born Red.” Such has been his life after a once proud club has had such a hard time.
The run-up to a derby was always very special. When you stopped to put gas in the car or went into the local store, you were reminded of what was about to happen. And when we got to match day, Bob Paisley or Joe Fagan would always be quick to point out – it didn't matter if we were doing well – 'There's always a danger you could get loose here today.'
The amazing sight was seeing large swathes of red amid the blue in the stands, where the same families with different loyalties used to mingle. It was the friendly derby then, at least until the ninety minutes started. Rest assured, it will be the same again on Saturday's kick-off.
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