Without pain, is their pleasure? Without want, is there satiety?

Without the bitter taste of defeat, would victory taste as sweet?

Sports fans aren’t known for being philosophical. They’re known for booing losing teams and leaving grandstands empty.

But they’re not really angry. They’re protecting themselves against the pain of losing, even if it’s losing by association. The angriest, most disillusioned fan still keeps a wary eye on their team, daring to nurture the dream that something good might happen.

Liverpool won 11 First Division titles in 18 years in the 70′s and 80′s. A magnificent record. But if they win Premier League next year, which do you think will have given a fan the greatest pleasure: the 1989 title which ended their amazing run, or the 2011 title, their first in more than 20 years? I think we know the answer.

You can’t truly enjoy winning without first having experienced losing. That’s why Jose Mourinho is so exalted. He brought Chelsea their first league title in 50 — 50! — years. Since then, Blues fans have come to expect their team to win. But didn’t last season’s title taste sweeter than 2006′s? A four year wait will do that for you.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that sometimes we need to eat our veggies. The club is going to lose sometimes. It won’t taste good. But it’s necessary and inevitable. Manchester United seem like a fixture at the top of the table these days. Did you know they didn’t win a league title between 1966 and 1992? Not a one. 26 years without topping the First Division. Even had a visit to Division Two.

So Chelsea won’t win the Premiership this season. Right now not even a Champions League spot is assured. Consider it a healthy dose of broccoli. Eat it with a smile and a hopeful look to the future.

Whatever you do, don’t look to Saturday’s home game against Ipswich Town in the FA Cup as a barometer of the club’s performance. It’s true that the FA Cup is the only remaining domestic competition Chelsea could hope to win. So it’s suddenly more important than it used to be. Nevertheless, I can’t imagine we’ll see too many Chelsea regulars playing. These guys need rest after the intense holiday schedule.

And Ipswich just fired manager Roy Keane and are in a bit of disarray. So the struggling NPower Championship team is not a very good measuring stick.

Perhaps the most interesting story Sunday is whether Daniel Sturridge can take his 5-goal form from a midweek reserve game and translate it into another FA Cup goal, something that’s become his specialty. The other “kids” should get more playing time as well. I would imagine we’ll see Bruma and van Aanholt at the back, along with Kakuta and McEachran in the middle. The senior players will likely be on the bench ready for a rescue in case things get sideways.

Which they might, in this broccoli of a season.