Devil's Advocate:
We were playing a team with one of the worst away records in the league (only Villa's and Sunderland's is worse), who were missing their best striker and their two reserve strikers, who were missing one of their key creative midfielders, and who had to come from behind to draw their last game, at home to Watford. A team whose form and results have been even worse than ours this season.
While we did create a few good chances, so did Chelsea, and they could've easily had 2 or 3 goals themselves. But by the second half, we looked slow and ponderous again, and like we weren't going to craft any clear cut chances. And lo and behold, we didn't.
If we'd genuinely played them off the park, we would've won comfortably. But that's not how it transpired. We just about had the better of a contest that was there for the taking.
Now, if this had been a one off result and performance in amidst a run of good ones, perhaps criticism would be harsh. You could take it on the chin as just being 'one of those things'. But it wasn't a one off, and the context matters.
Once again we failed to score, and once again we failed to win, at home, against a side who started the day 16th in the league for a reason.
I am by no means a knee jerk, impatiaent 'Sack Fergie, sell Giggs!' type, and try not to ever bad mouth our players or manager. But come on.
It's been painfully dull for a long time, and now we can't even out to good results as a mitigation.
Something. Is. Wrong.
I don't even think our bitter rivals could have predicted such amateur management at all levels. 