Chelsea vs Norwich: 17-Feb-2007

Essien on the right (midfield, this time!)

Quite a lot are jealous about Chelsea’s luck with cup draws. We got Wycombe, Nott Forest and now Norwich at crucial stages of the cup. What people conveniently forget is that we got the toughest draw in the cup that matters the most – UEFA Champions League. Our group was supposed to be the ‘group of death’ and many expected and wanted Chelsea to die a slow death in that group. We played our best football of the year against Barca and topped the bloody group.

Norwich would be more competitive than Wycombe and Forest for sure. Also, our team now is stronger and meaner than the ones that played Wycombe and Forest. Norwich has had a busy period and they know that they have some tired bodies but playing Chelsea is something they would be waiting for. The last time we played them at the Bridge, we won 4-0 with goals from Duff, Lampard, Robben and Drogba. That Lampard goal was something any Chelsea fan would love to see over and over again.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk5zeV-5FA0[/video]

Only the Coles, Ballack and Robben are unavailable for this match which means Mikel has joined the team back but unsure if he would start or play. Lassana should play as the holding midfielder with Essien moving to the right (midfield, of course!). This could mean Geremi getting another opportunity at the right back with Bridge back on the left. We should play 4-4-2 with Sheva and Drog up front. As long as these two are available, I see Jose playing only 4-4-2.

Our Stamford Bridge pitch is still not ok but it may not impact our expectations from this match. I had a feeling that Ashley Cole’s injury should also be blamed on the uneven surface of the pitch that caused his left foot get stuck while he was in motion. Such a shame for a club like ours that the pitch is not yet upto the mark. Meanwhile, there seems to be dicussions about moving to a new stadium with high capacity. Anyway, it might take some time before this thing crystallises.

Other news has Frank’s agent stating the obvious, while trying his best to get Lampard as much as he can. I see Lampard not only as a great goal-scoring midfielder but also as a positive influence with leadership material. He belongs to the core team that brought us never-before success and he is a great proponent of the spirit of Chelsea along with Terry, Cech, Drogba and Makelele. For the near future of Chelsea team, it would be great if we retain players like Lampard, Terry, Cech and Drogba at any cost.

And Gus Hiddink, one of the 11 candidates Jose claimed to be in queue for his position, has clarified that he would stay as Russia coach until 2008. Though Jose’s future at the Bridge is no more the hot topic for the Press to report, this news makes the Jose affair duller for the Press to comment.

It is quite natural for the fans to expect us maul the smaller opponents with some margin. If you need to win by 5-0 or 6-0, invariably you have convert your set pieces. While you play teams with most men behind the ball, it is difficult to score too many from open play. Our strong point used to be our ability to score from set-pieces with a very high conversion ratio. Now, I feel that our corner-taking has not been great and as a result we are wasting too many and not quite a threat from corners. Sheva himself used to score from corners so regularly when he was in Milan. Against lower league opponents, if we score from our set pieces, we can win with a huge margin.

For today, I expect a 4-0.