The Curse rears its head once more
Chelsea went top of the premier league table with a hard fought win over the seasons surprise package; Brentford. The only goal came from Englishman Chilwel in the first half when his thunderous left foot strike flew into the top back end of the net.
However, amidst the joy and excitement of overcoming such a stubborn opponent is also the worrying concerns over the lack of goals from returnee striker Romelu Lukaku, he has gone 6 games without finding the back of the net.
You can say it’s too early to raise the flag but if history is anything to go by, it seems the proverbial jersey number 9 curse is back to hunt the London team.
Other players who have worn the same jersey number struggled for goals and eventually left the club due to consistent bad performances. Even though Lukaku scored on his debut for Chelsea against Arsenal and followed that with goals in the second match, his tally has dried up since then in the league.
Torres came in from Liverpool for a record transfer and bowed to the curse, so did Shevshenko and a couple of others who dared to wear the number 9 jersey. No matter how good they were before coming, it just seemed to take-over the moment they signed.
Prolific scorer and club legend; Didier Drogba according to some school of thought succeeded because he wore the jersey 15 and not 9.
For now, the other players are getting the goals just like yesterday when a defender saved the day, but soon he (Lukaku) will not have any hiding place if the trend is not reversed.
He came on a hefty price tag, a club record fee and the onus is on him to deliver the goals on a consistent basis, he is not doing that at the moment. For his own sake, he better starts or it will confirm the fears from fans and football pundits alike; the club has a cursed jersey number 9.
If he believes in prayers, he better start praying for a change in fortunes and fast!