Friendlies, Matches, Pre-season - Written by BlueChampion on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 22:41 | 2,446 Views | 62 Comments | Add Comment
Feyenoord 1 - 1 Chelsea : That’s A Friendly Draw!
There are ways of describing this result - from the optimistic ‘we continue our unbeaten streak’ to ‘we were held to a draw’ to ‘once again we couldn’t score more than a goal’. Anyway, we got a good friendly match, we had a very good opposition, who did not surrender and allow us to walk through them. They truly fought against Chelsea. Feyenoord too, wanted to win this match and that was clear.
Chelsea played 4-3-3 with Cech (Cudicini 45), Ferreira (Sinclair 78), Carvalho, Ben-Haim, Johnson (Diarra 65), Sidwell (Pizarro 65), Mikel (Hutchinson 67), Lampard (c), Wright-Phillips, Shevchenko (Drogba 45), J Cole (Malouda 45).
We created many chances in the first half, most of them falling to Shevchenko. Once again, I should say Sheva disappointed me. I cannot ignore the fact that he has improved over the last season on his ball retention and dribbles, but his hallmark, as we know, is his silky finish, which is not quite there at the moment. That one-on-one should have been buried, a little chip or something should have sealed it. May be Sheva is not too confident of himself, that instead of chipping he went for the corner of the post and saw his shot saved.
No John Terry and a poorly defended set piece. Do you see any coincidence? That’s where his leadership comes into play. He would have at least given the instructions and ensured that nobody stay so badly unmarked in a set piece situation. That was a free-header. Ben Haim at centre back . . hmm . . I didn’t see any real value addition this match, it just felt like Essien being there.
Glen Johnson at left back and guess where the goal was conceded. I could see that Jose trying to create a back up for left back from within the squad, using these friendlies. That’s excatly how we should be using these friendlies, for new ideas and experimentations. Ferreira worked hard in containing Drenthe and to some extent he did succeed. Drenthe was menace all along. This guys has got future and I hope the future’s blue. Ferreira, just like SWP, knows that he has multiple competition for his place and he is not the first choice. Personally, I like Ferreira. He is a nice guy with loads of commitment and a strong mentality. There is a nice little conest between him and Johnson, in which I believe Paulo has the edge.
Our equaliser was contributed by a cool finish by super Frank and truckloads of luck. Of all the people, the Feyenoord defender passed it on to Lampard, may be with an intention to back-pass it to the keeper. Guess what stand-in captain Lampard did: just smash with no second thought about what to do. Essien did not feature in this match which allowed SWP to play all 90 minutes. SWP had a good match. He ran, dribbles, swerved and swung, created chances, hit the target himself, he made a very useful contribution. May be this is what a run of 90 minutes can do to him or he has started feeling the pressure with Malouda coming in and Joe Cole available. Malouda continues to impress with his power and muscle which allows and creates time for him to keep the ball and deliver it.
Drogba, goal or no goal, still amazes me with the way he has improved. The ball seems to stick to his foot and man, he refuses to go down. When he has the ball, you always believe that something’s gonna happen. With an equally skilled player for him to play along, he is very dangerous proposition this season. I’d love to see him alongside Robben and Malouda with Joe Cole in the midfield. With his kind of skills, I don’t think it’s out-of-the-box to consider him on the wings. Don’t be surprised if this happens.
The wait is over. We’ve now seen Pizarro in Chelsea blue and he could have even scored in his debut, if he’d got his volley on target. With what I was able to see, he is certainly a different kind of striker, who might be offside all the time, with a nose for the goal and smells it before anyone else does.
And finally, Cudicini deserves some words of appreciation for judging which side to go for the Roy Makaay penalty and also the subsequent save. The penalty was a result of a poor poor tackle by Hutchinson. I’m not sure if an established defender would have gone for that option, with the striker left with only a acute angle which is already covered by Cudicini. Anyway, Carlo literally saved the day for us. That doesn’t mean I dont expect us to equalise sometime between the 86th minute and the end of the match. We’ve done that consistently over the last season so not wise to discount that possibility.
Jose Mourinho said:
It was a good work out for us, a difficult game. I think you could see both teams in the middle of a hard pre-season, and it took a little time to get started.
Assistant Manager Steve Clarke, in his interview explains On Pizarro’s debut and Robben’s absence:
It’s good for him [Pizarro] to come in, he’s only trained with us one training session, so it’s good for him to get a feel for the group, the players, the team, the way we play. It was nice to have him on the pitch.
I think we have a good mix of strikers, they’ve all got to try hard to get their place in the time. The manager’s indicated this season that he’s prepared more often to play with two strikers and two wingers, so that’s good for them. They know they’ll have a chance if they impress the manager, if they can show a good combination together. It’s good for them and good for the team.
He [Robben] didn’t come tonight, he’s got a small problem with his knee. He stayed behind for treatment. It’s not major, we’ve decided to rest him for a week to ten days and he’ll be fine after that. He’s still a Chelsea player.
Look at that last sentence. Anything and anyone on Robben ends with ‘he’s still a Chelsea player’. I appreciate that as long as it stays that way!
Before we wind up, let’s touch up on the lighter side of this tough world of football. Arsenal lost their friendly yesterday to an Austrian team, you know who was the captain? You’re goddamn right - William Galloss! Just when Arsenal fans are waiting to see him go, he has been presented with the honour of losing his first match as captain. It’s a new low for Arses, undoubtedly!
Chelsea played to win the match too and there was enough commitment from the players for this cause. Also, it was kind of clear that no one wanted to hurt themselves too much. They all know that if they’re going to be out for a longish period, then it can be really difficult to make a come back in a team of this strength. Take Paulo for instance. If he goes for 50-50 tackle and injures himself for a month, that’s a long enough time for Glen Johnson to establish himself in the squad as a first choice player. So, I thought players were a little apprehensive of this fact and it does mean they would think so in a Premiership match, it’s just that they think a friendly is not really a place to get yourself stretchered off.
A draw is certainly disappointing but if you can see the big picture, we rested Essien, Terry and Robben. Like Jose said, it was a good workout for the boys. I have a feeling that Jose has not yet made up his mind on what formation to use for the first Premiership match. As long as we ditch the 4-4-2 diamond I’m fine. I’d say 4-4-2 against stronger teams and 4-3-3 against the rest. Next up, Glasgow Rangers on Saturday - back in UK, familiar weather, closer to home, shorter flight. How many goals do you expect us to score against Rangers?
[tags]Chelsea, Feyenoord, Rotterdam, De Kuip, Lampard, Robben, Shevchenko, Drogba, Rangers, Arsenal, Gallas, Terry, Johnson, Pizarro, goals, video, highlights[/tags]
62 Comments
1. sooraj
2. stx
gr8, thx for the update 
3. ruudings
Lampard Lampard yeeeeah 
4. Adonis
I couldn’t see the game, but it’s a disappointing result from what I’ve read. Was JT’s absence a problem for the conceded goal??
5. abdullah
1-1? well i cant really say much cuz i didnt watch the game, but i cant wait till august 5 to see chelsea’s performance at their best. Blue4lyfe
6. Maysam
that seems to be a good friendly game. that’s what I was talking about.
I am very happy that Carlo showed himself, I like him very much and I believe his quality.
7. Danski Blue
thort id jump in b4 Joe Blue starts his “sack jose and every1 who played” routine.
good game fun to watch, not a great result but surely jose can see where he went wrong, possibly could have done with terry but it was good to see the defence as it was.
Hoping that we can sit down and go over what went wrong and come out fighting in next game!
Call it a learning curve! and there was more than 1 or 2 positives out of the game!!!
8. TBag
Good to see Cudicini went well (saved a penalty from Makaay). I pray Cech can play the whole season, but if worst happens again nice to know we have another world class keeper to step in. Good to see Lamps scoring again too
9. Mourofsame
Now watching the replay.will post my comments when i finish watching. But even though, results give nice feeling, these matches are really not about results tho.
10. Mourofsame
Just finished a good part of the match-replay on Chelsea. My first comment is this: Why do all opposing teams play above themselves even when playing a warm up game against us? remember how Bluewings played like their very lives depended on the results when they met us and then crashed to Tigres 3-0 the following match. reminds me how M’Borough played like they were possessed when they beat us 2-1 last season and then suffered a humiliating 5-1 trouncing against a lowly side the very following match.
I think our boys were kind of surprised that both the fans and the players of Feyennord were playing as if their very lives depended on it.
That said, I think it was another very good exercise for a team needing to reach readiness by Aug 5th when we play Manure. The commentators agreed that SWP was our best player.
On the whole, the draw seemed a fair result. Sidwell did not impress. Maybe its still early days.
11. Mourofsame
I am still of the view that we should go with the 4-4-2 with wingers rather the 4-3-3.
Other scores-
Red Bull Salzburg 1-0 Arsenal
Hibernian 3-0 Bolton
Brentford 1-6 Reading
Blackpool 1-2 Wigan
MK Dons 3-2 West Ham
12. Mourofsame
And lest I forget, Joeblue and Manish should have heard the following result too by now-
Port Vale 3 Man U 2
13. sooraj
i dont watch the game……..tough i suppose we played far below our capacity…
14. sooraj
well……..
cudicini was very impressive ………..also was sinclair…
his introduction paved the way for the equaliser……….
and ben haim i tot was really good too…..except on a couple of occasions….mikel was below par….so was sidwell and lamps was kinda o.kei but came up with the goods …….good equaliser…..
though sinclair did all the work….swp was really good…….
the best player………….at the moment….pizzaro was struggling to find his feet….and blasted one above the goal….
drogba and malouda looked dangerous……but overall we had the jetlag has a bigger than expected effect on our performance…..but still it was a tough match and good for our
season ahead……..and any way its a learning process
15. sooraj
hey…..
did we play feyernood or what?????
the skysports website claims that we played psv yesterday????
what the heck is with these guys…….
16. AgentBlue
AgentBlue:
July 25th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Sheva,Joe and Malouda to score!!!!!!!!
Pizzaro to put in a good performance!!!
17. AgentBlue
I posted that in the previous post:-(
18. AgentBlue
Well not anything like that by the sounds of it………..
19. AgentBlue
I havent seen the match or any highlights but I’M STILL DISAPPOINTED AT THIS STAGE:-(
20. AgentBlue
When I get the reports I’ll be able to comment (I think)
Jus havent seen nothing of the match……….jus the freakin scoreline!!!!!!!
21. AgentBlue
Joeblue and Manish??????? Where u @? I aint seen no “I told you so Agent” as yet dudes(lol)
22. AgentBlue
Anyway I leave this one alone……..can’t comment on the game! Jus kno the scoreline,,,,,,,,,I’ll let ya’ll deal with Joeblue and manish all on ur own this time(lol) joking man:-)
23. AgentBlue
Im still dissapointed though……by the results! I was expecting 3 goals in this one…….It jus wasnt to be!
Com on Mates…….
Give us sum analysis on the match……….I wannna hear it…………..
Joeblue give it to me???? Manish???????? I figured u guys saw the match!!!!
Other mates let me us have sum proper analysis
24. AgentBlue
WHAT WENT WRONG????????
25. Manish
Hello fellow blues….couldn’t watch match here in India but read report on Chelsea official site in midnight…so posting now in morning…..going by match analysis on Chelsea site we were ‘crawling’ in first half as has been the norm since last season….we could have lost the match but for Cudicini….though I didn’t watch the match but I can easily imagine how we would had played….
drawing or loosing is not an issue but I can’t understand why we are a 1 goal team..we hardly score more than 1…my appeal to Roman is to give some respect to his time and money and get rid of this stupid arrogant moron named Jose Mouringo…I also appeal to UN,FIFA,European Union etc to launch a criminal case against Mourinho as he seems to be a part of extra-terrestrial conspiracy to undermine football,one of humankind’s most beautiful ctreation…..
26. Adonis
Manish, if you hate mourinho so much, stop supporting chelsea, because he’s here to stay and so far has done nothing not to deserve it.
27. Manish
Here u go Adonis…u mean I should support Mourinho to support Chelsea….what a distorted logic is this…I think its must be other way round….I support Chelsea and hence I may support Chelsea coach, but thats not mandatory…..ur logic shows that u support JM not Chelsea….personality worshipping is always a hinderance to growth.
28. AgentBlue
Well The ?????????? is back! I knew it was only a matter of time(hehehehehe)
Chelsea draw……..the even though stating he hasnt watched the match the %$#@!&*^ blames Mourinho!!!!!! Manish…….at the end of the day the players are the ones who are actually on the field bro! Give the coach a rest!
Dnt even come with this Mourinho entourage crap now!!!!!!!
Its useless……For once in your life
Let the players take responsibility for their actions!
Your really beginning to look like all you got is a personal vendetta against the man!
Since you hate him so much…..go fire him yourself!!!!!!
oh wait…..sorry……….U cant(lol)
Any @#@$%^&* with a brain like You I presume will recognize that your powerless in that regards so just live with it!
Here’s a suggestion….. let Tendulkar become Chelsea next coach(lol)
L8r Indian!!!!!!!
29. AgentBlue
Im dissapointed in the results; most of us are even though many of us never watched it!!!!
but ain;t know way in hell I can honestly say from where Im 2 that its Mourinho’s fault…..neither can U! U all the way in india!
U must be watching India getting their ass whipped by england in cricket……
Keep watching that dude!
Im just a bit pissed off ya’ll so pardon my manners!!!
30. AgentBlue
Im not defending Mourinho either…..im jus being honest and sane!!!!! not to mention objective
I do not have a personal vendetta against the man so my judgements are not clouded!!!!!!
U on the other hand???????????????????
31. Manish
Agentblue, dude read my post carefully…..I said I went through Chelsea official site report and anyone who had watched almost every one of Chelsea’s match last season can easily imagine how we must had performed last night….1-1 scoreline is itself enough to draw the picture clearly….JM is a disgrace to football.
32. Maysam
Mourofsame: I think 4-3-3 is very good for chelsea becasue it can be converted to 4-5-1 much easier than 4-2-2. and we have so many wingers in our team we can not waste them. I think 4-3-3 is good for counter attacks.
I wonder if you know that or not, all teams can not choose 4-3-3 becasue players have to run a lot , while 4-2-2 players don’t need to run as much as 4-3-3. to choose 4-3-3 your players have to be fir and ready. I think thanks to Mourinho , chelsea players are really ready and they are able to run 90 minutes. so why should we choose 4-2-2?
33. Maysam
I just watched the clip, it seems our players are not finisher.
34. Manish
Hahaha….players worth millions having same problem as those of second divison teams…bad finishers….
35. bingo
manish is laughing at his own team. BC, my doubts have been clarified. manish is certainy a manu/lpool/arse fan who is just posting comments here to flare things up. his recent comment #34 is typically an anti-chelsea comment. i seriously recommend you to ban him from here and yes joeblue too.
it’s all very negative about their language. they always crib, they dont seem to enjoy being a chelsea fan, i’m really annoyed to see their cynical comments and i’m sure many of us are too. you certainly have your freedom of speech and opinion but it’s so irritating to see your same old comments. now you’ll come back and abuse me and we’ve got used that too.
anyone who has a problem with the nature of such comments such as joeblue’s, please email BC. i’m emailing him personally now. this is a great fantastic blog and if there only one bad thing about this blog it is annoying comments from people like joeblue/manish. and dammit the season hasn’t even started. how am i going to stand these stupid comments like yours?
let me clarify . . none of us have any problem with an alternative point of view . . it matters how you say them. joeblue . . if i ever stop coming to this blog (the ultimate extreme possibility), that’d be only because these irritating comments which spoil the spirit, feel and hope that we all have, that i can’t stand and i’m sure i’m not alone.
36. Manish
Bingo, u accuse me of abuse….please point out a single word/sentence in all of my posts so far(I have been posting since first leg CL match against Barca last season ) which corraborates this accusation…a single one….if u could find, I will stop posting on this forum….regarding my last post(#34), I was making a comment on Maysam’s observation….I meant to say what are the inferences of Maysam’s observation….never in my life I can laugh on my team…..and btw who says a fan can’t laugh on his team.
37. Giridhar
Was it Sheva who was one on one with the keeper and did not score.. pizario hitting over the bar…. what kind of Strikers are these? I donot know what we would do if Dorgba is missing.
38. bingo
manish - i apologise to you. it was meant more for joeblue than for you.
39. Danski Blue
well some good points from game: 1) more than a few oppertunities 2) drenthe looks great and shud fit in brilliantly with his darting runs! 3) pizzaro got himself into some brilliant possitions and with a little more action he should be well on his way to side-lining SHEVA!!!!!!and as for Cudicini, WHAT A DOUBLE SAVE!!! Chech would be proud!!!
there were pleanty of bad points tho, i mean we had lots of chances but scored only 1, defence looked stretched at times without JT to tidy up after them and im not sure but lamps just doesnt look like the old lamps that was our rock….he is the only worry i have about our progression this season, if Jose is to persist in playing him he needs to find his foot in the team and start performing!
40. Danski Blue
oh and is anyone going to see the charity shield????
41. joeblue
firstly i can see why ppl hate me so much ,cuz i m right and they just cant stand it!!! i dont care abt wat u guys say , and never comment or worry like -’OH BEFORE DANSKI COMES I SHLD POST MY COMMENT PERHAPS THEN I WLD BE PROVED RIGHT’ or such shit!!!
Cuz i kno Danski is a load of garbage and is always wrong , why shld i worry abt damn losers????
Even this time once again he shows his class by cribbing abt me , whereas i havent ever mentioned him until he badmouths me like always!!! but then these ‘Jose let me lick ur boots’ gang memebers r all like this!!!
Then they wld cry out and rally like sissies ‘Joeblue badmouths everyone’ or ‘its not joeblue its joered’ , cuz thats the only crap they hav to say!!!! and nothing that is worth even replying to!!!
Sick of u damn losers , atleast put ur own rational comments instead of trying to make uproars abt banning other etc!!!!
I still feel u all r not worth my notice but i beseech u to leave me well alone as i hav nothing to do with u and hav never , ever tried to get into debates with such low down sissies!!!
42. joeblue
And i comletelly sympathise wid Chelsea , i kno how da players and true fans feel but lets see wat happens next , tomorrows another day!!!
And Manish take my advise and dont get involved wid these ppl in any debates , i dont want to speak ill of anyone without reason or provocation(cuz i m not part of let me lick ur boots Jose) just chill and relax dude dont give these ppl so much importance!!!
Good luck Chelsea!!!cheers mates!!!
43. Midfield_Decider
Hi everybody,
BC, this new design is not bad at all
I can see some hot debates here Hey guys (especially joeblue and Manish) don’t worry much about Jose and his boring style. He’ll be sacked at the end of the coming season.
One more thing, I give you 100% assurance that Chelsea is not going to win the Champions League this coming season. Moscow is too far for Jose!
Cheers
44. joeblue
Hey dude M_D long time no see!!!
why do u disappear all of a sudden???
Anyways i see and kno wat u mean but i keep my comments to myself unless i deem somebody intelectual and rational enough to get into a debate wid!!!
Cheers!!!!!!!
45. joeblue
by the way wats ur e-mail id dude???
luv to chat , if its ok wid u that is!!!
46. sooraj
hold it guys…………..
you keep on telling jose’s a disgrace to chelsea……
but i think it is you guys who are being a big disgrace to chelsea,
and we supporters as well……………………………………….
you are too small minded to be worthly called a True blue……
hail the spl one and the blues………………………………….
47. Anonymous
Maysam,
The 4-4-2 Mour intends to use this season is one that makes room for two wingers who in my opinion should be Malouda and robben criss crossing left and right.
I think both Joe Cole in particular should be encouraged to play more from the central midfield in competition with Lamps and Ballacks.
So that gives us two lead strikers with two swift wingers when we are attacking. I think the gaffer has already indicated that this will be his preferred position this year.
I agree though 4-3-3 can be used against weaker teams. I have loads of faith in Pizarro to deliver quick. I feel in January, he and Sheva will prove to a superb duo.
Mour is here to stay guys. He is a winner and Chelsea must first of all continue to be a winning team. The competions we are in are not exhibition matches. Entertainment must always be secondary to winning. Those who do not agree with that can just do the short trip from West London to North London to support the underachieving entertainers. Having said that, I believe lots of entertainment is coming along for this year as we demolish all and pick both EPL and Champions league. Ifeel it in the blood already.
Are Joeblue and Manish true blues? I believe they are. There is on passionate blue fan on the BBC 606 borad who goes by the name sifcom or something like that who is more anti Mour than the two. Jose will prove them wrong this year tho.
48. Mourofsame
Ooppss, That was me, sameofMourinho or Mourofsame
The 4-4-2 Mour intends to use this season is one that makes room for two wingers who in my opinion should be Malouda and robben criss crossing left and right.
I think both Joe Cole in particular should be encouraged to play more from the central midfield in competition with Lamps and Ballacks.
So that gives us two lead strikers with two swift wingers when we are attacking. I think the gaffer has already indicated that this will be his preferred position this year.
I agree though 4-3-3 can be used against weaker teams. I have loads of faith in Pizarro to deliver quick. I feel in January, he and Sheva will prove to a superb duo.
Mour is here to stay guys. He is a winner and Chelsea must first of all continue to be a winning team. The competions we are in are not exhibition matches. Entertainment must always be secondary to winning. Those who do not agree with that can just do the short trip from West London to North London to support the underachieving entertainers. Having said that, I believe lots of entertainment is coming along for this year as we demolish all and pick both EPL and Champions league. Ifeel it in the blood already.
Are Joeblue and Manish true blues? I believe they are. There is on passionate blue fan on the BBC 606 borad who goes by the name sifcom or something like that who is more anti Mour than the two. Jose will prove them wrong this year tho.
49. Adonis
Manish, all I’m saying is that he hasn’t been the major cause of our boring football. He’s the reason we were able to fight through the chaotic last season. His will to win is instilled in all our players. He’s the right man for the job. You don’t have to support him, but if you don’t you have no good reason other than you hate him personally. And if he keeps winning (which he most likely will) then he’s going to be here for a while. So save your anger and frustration and move on. Chelsea isn’t the only good team in the world, you know… And I’m not saying this in any hostile manner, so don’t start fighting me. All I’m saying is, Jose’s dealt with everything thrown at him well. He deserves his job, and our support.
50. Jetix
Look no offense but how come manu score so many goals . the teams in china must be tougher than those american teams. but all of THem were dismantled totally. Why is it not happening here ? we have played around 3 games and u cant say that players are still rusty. Personally i feel that its chelseas style of play that lets them down .its so predictable. they just send long balls .I think Jm is seriously going to have to consider finding a solution to this problem if they are goin to challenge for the prem . It may not be possible but they must do something!!!!!
51. Mourofsame
Manure were held 2-2 by some pretty ordinary team in the first match. Remember how in our first season under Mour we started with grinding results and then came alive when Robben and Duff combinations transformed us into a team that routinely scored three goals or more sometimes. Last season, we could not do that partly cos our wingers were injured and also cos Ballack and Sheva simply failed to reach the anticipated heights. This year however, Mour has wealth in depth in front, wings and especailly midfield. Once Mour has promised to discard the unwieldy Diamond for a more attacking 4-4-2 incorporating two wingers, expect things to be different on the attacking end.
meanwhile, those praising Manure today have so soon forgotten that this was the same team lots of pundits were almost giving up on when Jose took the EPL by storm and spanked them home and away culminating in their being third. Suddenly, just because crisis hit Chelsea lost out to them two matches or so to close the season, they are supposed to be some invincible. They are not. Ask any genuine Manure fan, and he will confess to you that even with all our woes last season, they knew that we were still the better team than them. And we proved it in the FA finals when they were despearate to beat us to prove that they merited to be called champions of England. No disrespect tho to them but we will put them back in their place this year. I watched us home and away against Barca last season and away against Valencia and we were nothing short of spectacular.
52. Maysam
Mourofsame: if we choose 4-4-2 , what are we gonna do with Mikel , Essien .
CM : Frank , Ballack , Essien , Mikel , Make , froget sidwell , he is not gonna play that much.
Wing : Cole, Robben, SWP , Malouda.
4-3-3
—————————–Cech|Cudicini————————–
Fereira|Glen—-Terry|Ben—-Carvaliho|Alex—-Ashly|Wayne
———————————Mikel|Essien———————–
—————–Frank|Sidwell———-Ballack|Essien|Mikel—
SWP|Cole——R
haf we struck back…….whoz leading the attack?
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