Points lost at home, again. Least points scored in an unbeaten home league run – that would be a record in itself right? In 05-06, we had so many draws at home which finally cost us the title. We didn’t have our keepers and centre backs and all that boardroom drama then.
This season we’re flying high but winning at home is no longer a habit. Now we couldn’t score against Newcastle at home? Don’t get me wrong. We are on top of the table. Table-wise, we are better than every other team in England. We’re also tied on points with Liverpool while we should be leading them by 5 or 6 points. As I’ve always said in recent times, our attack is our achilles heel.
The attack consisting Malouda, Kalou and Anelka is not good enough. That’s simple and straight. In fact, these three players are made to look bad by each other. For instance, if Kalou were to play in the company of a couple quality forwards, he would do better. I guess that holds good for the Anelka and Malouda as well. A chain as strong as the weakest link. One bad centre back or a bad goalkeeper is what you need to undo all the great efforts at the front. Similarly, one bad apple upfront is going to reflect on the others too. In our case, we have three. It’s fair to say that we have the poorest of attacks of the top four. if our trio better than Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov – No. Are they better than Kuyt, Torres and Keane – No. Are they better than van Persie, Adebayor and Nasri – No. Still we have a huge goal difference in the league. Reason – our excellent midfield, which is the best of the top four.
I’ve been thinking all along that Drogba’s return could solve all the problems. He seems to take too much time to back to form before he gets injured again. I’m not fully convinced that he wants to be part of Chelsea FC. We know he has always been ‘misquoted’ about his relationship with Chelsea FC but his performances have always been very committed to the team’s cause. We saw only a little of Drogba last season but he was on fire that he changed matches on his own. Even when he returns from his suspension, there’s no guarantee that he would turn things around. I doubt if we would play to Drogba’s strengths. When Sheva played for us, there was a common belief that we did not play to his strengths and that’s why he never blossomed in England. Well, there were many reasons why didn’t blossom in England. I think Sheva was at the end of many of our attacks early on. When you miss attack after attack, you’d no longer be the favourite for your colleagues to play the ball to. I think that’s what happened to him.
When Drogba is back, if we don’t play to his strengths, we are not getting the best from him. Ask the opponents what they most fear about Drogba. It’s his aerial ability, physicality, strength and that powerful shot. He is not someone who will, as if through telepathy, realise and move quickly to receive a chip above the backline to slot it home. He is not Inzaghi. The way we use Anelka and the way we use Drogba should be entirely different. The kind of football that we have played thus far has probably helped Anelka but when Drogba arrives, we need to tweak the plan a bit. That also means a new dimension in our attack and more headaches for the opposition. If we play it right, our attacks will become more unpredictable and difficult to handle. Drogba’s return should relieve either Malouda or Kalou. I don’t think it should be Anelka because he must do better in Drogba’s presence.
To have Anelka as the lone striker is a complete failure. Our midfield has been papering the cracks for quite some time when our midfield has an off-day, our attack becomes invisible. when you have a great midfield, it creates chance after chance of which the attack can finish one, two or three and we win the match. When the midfield is having a bad day, we don’t have an attack that makes the best out of the few chances by converting these into goals. Nor do we have talismanic forwards who would win the match by themselves. That’s the reason why Anelka’s best days this season have been Lampard’s best days too. Forwards thrive on good midfielders but once in a while the forwards should also be capable of producing some magic from nowhere.
Anelka as a second striker or support striker would do him and Chelsea a lot of good. I hate to see him in the halfway line when Ballack, Lampard, Deco, Joe Cole are all in front of him closer to the final third. That’s really insane because of many reasons – we have no dearth in midfield talents, he is no better than those midfielders in midfield and we don’t have a striker up close if a chance is created. With Drogba on the pitch, Anelka can continue with his free role (as much as I despise it) while Drogba is ‘the’ striker in the box. If we are to play Anelka and Drogba upfront, it must ‘relieve’ one or both of Malouda and Kalou, if we were to have Joe Cole available. All the while, Scolari has been playing his 4-1-4-1 with good effect. With Drogba, I assume he would play 4-1-3-2 retaining Mikel in his place.
With January approaching, the inevitable question is if we need to boost our team further? I’d say yes. Especially if someone like a Podolski or a Schweinsteiger becomes available, there is no need for a second thought. I’d love to see Obafemi Martins too. I realise that there is not too much money to be spent in January. We need to be selling some players if we need to buy someone. Or there is also a rumour that we have 10m pounds plus the player sales for any new purchases. Paulo Ferreira must be sold. He is a good player but we don’t get anything out of him and I don’t see him in the scheme of things. Not sure if Scolari would do away with his fellow countryman before anyone else. If we are getting Podolski or Tiger, we should not think twice about selling Malouda too. On Kalou, my verdict is not out yet.
I like Kalou. He is a good player who has been played out of position more often than not. In terms of his playing minutes versus the relative contribution, he has been decent. It’s very easy to lose patience on someone like Kalou. He is young but he is not a Messi or Bojan. Not all the big name players were very good players when they were 20. What was Drogba when he was 20? There is certainly value in Kalou. I don’t think we’ll regret keeping him. But if Scolari thinks otherwise he should let him go because he can get another player in his place while Kalou can grow somewhere else. When Adebayor was dilly-dallying with Arsenal LC in the summer, Wenger had enquired Scolari about Kalou. I’m sure none of the big clubs would be after his signature because he has not set anything on fire yet. Wenger does have an eye for potential. Last thing you want to see is someone you release as useless becoming a star with your rival.
With whatever I’ve seen of Franco di Santo, I’m very impressed. He plays and moves well. He is not overawed by the occasion or the stars that surround him on the pitch. He shows a lot of promise. I hope he gets some serious time on the pitch. Otherwise, it makes sense to send him on loan to another premier league club, possibly. We should retain and play Franco di Santo as much as possible. So my verdict with respect to our forwards is buy, sell and hold. Buy Poldi/Tiger in January, sell Paulo/Malouda and hold Kalou. As always, feel free to slag my opinions. Before I sign off, I believe that the Telegraph report on Drogba meeting the Inter reps is all bull. If there’s any truth in that, we certainly need to buy a striker. I can’t imagine Malouda, Kalou and Anelka carrying us all through in the premier league and champions league.
As the title says, I’m not comfortable with the Chelsea front three. Actually, there is one more thing I’m not comfortable with. It is Scolari’s inability to influence the happenings on the pitch in difficult situations. But, that one’s for another day!
49 Responses - Add your comment!
I’d love to see Poldi/Tiger in chelsea , is Paulo still wear a chelsea shirt ?! shame on us
Ahhh one draw and were back to Anelka-baiting again…and Malouda was one of our best players against Newcastle (he also has the highest assist total in the PL). Kalou on the other hand is absolute rubbish, cant dribble, has no pace and no footballing brain. He also cant finish if his life depended on it. He wont be getting any better as he is 23 years old now. That story about Wenger is one of the oldest tricks in the book, enquire about an opponents rubbish player and make him think he has potential, dont be fooled, Kalou wont get anywhere near the Arsenal frontline when they have the likes of Walcott, Van Persie , Adebayor and Vela (who is the definition of young talent and potential, as much as i hate to admit it).
And what on earth is the obsession of everyone here with Schweinsteiger and Podolski? They had a couple of good games in the Euros and suddenly they should be our number 1 targets? Podolski is rubbish and more incosistent than Kalou, he doesnt even make the starting eleven of Bayern, what makes you think hel get anywhere near the Chelsea starting 11? As for Schweinsteiger, he offers nothing which Malouda doesnt give us. He doesnt have the dribbling or pace of Robben, so why bring another Malouda into the club? He wont be cheap AND he will take another year like Ballack to adjust to the PL. And at 24 years of age its not like hes going to improve.
Anyways to all the Anelka haters, start growing up and getting behind your team. Drogba has reported meeting with Internazionale reps in London. He is one disrespectfull punk that Drogba, for all his talent, when it comes to proffessionalism and attitude he cant even measure up to Anelka’s feet. Truth with Drogba is, he never wanted to come to us and it was clear the only thing keeping him here was JM. I say let him go and join his “friend” in Inter. Enough is enough
I have to say I’m sceptical, BC. Malouda has the joint top number of assists in the Premier League at the moment with 6, along with Adebayor and is our only truly left-footed winger. I find it highly unlikely that we will sign anyone of Podolski’s quality in the transfer window.
As I said in a comment elsewhere, Anelka’s flaw is not that he can’t play as a lone front man, but his style of play is not one that can break the deadlock in a game. He is better waiting on the edge of the defence once we are in the lead and our opponents are forced to chase the game in order to score the second or third, hence our general reliance on the midfield to break the deadlock.
Of any of our front three at the moment, I am most disappointed with Kalou. Despite what most people think of him, he did very well on the left wing last season. However, he doesn’t seem as effective on the right, and, as you say, a fit Joe Cole is undoubtedly ahead of him in the starting 11. He is definitely worth keeping, but he doesn’t deserve a place in the first team yet.
Our main problem at the moment is not the players we have, but the ones we have missing, particularly Drogba who is necessary for us to have any sort of plan B. If he were not suspended, I am convinced we would have won on Saturday, and he will be a serious miss against Arsenal which is an absolute must-win game. I will go so far as to say that if we don’t win this Saturday, we won’t be winning the title this year. We have had a difficult start with our home games so far, I think, mostly playing teams who have been in Europe in the past few seasons. That will improve over the next few months as players return to fitness and ‘easier’ teams visit the Bridge, but two points against the Big Four at home is not title-winning material at all, and I never expect a victory at places like Old Trafford or Anfield. Arsenal are the weak link at the moment and we have to take advantage of their current frailty.
If we are still chasing the win after sixty or seventy minutes this weekend, Scolari has to be prepared to take someone off and put Kalou, Joe Cole or even Ballack up front. (Hey, that isn’t a bad idea!)
Arsenal are never likely to sit back and defend but the first goal is still absolutely crucial. The sooner we can get it, the more easily Anelka will be able to play his usual game.
BC, great article bro.
Chris, it is too early to say Chelsea won’t win the league if we lose against Arsenal which I think won’t happen. Arsenal is capable of winning any game on their day. But I think they have to be too special to defeat Chelsea at the Bridge even if they’re on their day.
Scolari is saying that we can’t have plan B unless he has all the players available. I just think he would try to change things around a bit when Drogba returns. So then if his plan works out, like BC said, Chelsea would be too difficult to predict or beat for the chasing teams in PL. What if not, then we could say the title is moving away from us.
For tomorrow’s game Carvalho, Deco, Essien and Belletti are out.
Alex travelled with the team but still a doubt. Drogba is available. It is interesting who Scolari starts with when Drogba and Anelka are both available. Scolari does not seem to change his 4-3-3 formation. So, he might rest Anelka for the Arsenal game and play Drogba from the beginning.
It might be the 11. Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, A.Cole, Mikel, Ballack, Lampard, Malouda, Drogba and Joe Cole. I can see Scolari playing Kalou for Malouda and benching Drogba with Anelka starting.
After some of the up and down performances with Malouda, I don’t know if I agree with him being sold at all. If you have a look at his recent performances, concerning lets say the last 5 games, he has been relatively consistent, dare I say even above average. He provides a certain strength and pace that we need, so if push comes to shove he will be one of those we rotate, but to sell I think would be overly dramatic unless a geat offer comes in or a far more adequate replacement is guaranteed to us (such as Podolski/Robinho?/Douglas Acosta).
As far as Paulo is concerned… we should have gotten rid of him two years ago! As for Kalou, I believe he is far more inconsistent in front of net than all the attacking players we have at our disposal. But with that said, I like him very much, I like his energy and I like his willingness to fight for a starting position. Having him is not a bad option as well, but when he is bad is is absolutely Kalou-less in games!
And Anelka… why all the fuss when he scored 7 goals in the last 5 games? We were all praising his name and the minute we draw a team like Newcastle, we have these talks of him being rubbish! What is this nonsense? Give the man a fighting chance and a season to judge him by and you will see that potential and talent-wise, Anelka may be a Top 2 striker in the EPL and on his best day one of the very best forwards in the world. The man is in a good grain of form and may not have scored against Newcastle, but provided some quality runs and service for the rest of the team! Like I said before, how can any team really score when their opponent isn’t willing to play football? Newcastle had 2 shots and 0 on target! So if that doesn’t tell you what type of game they were playing then nothing will. And this type of problem befalls all top teams if one hasn’t noticed, for the first time in the EPL, the BIG FOUR were all held scoreless and if anyone watched the Arsenal game, Villa packed the box and used Gabby’s incredible pace to thwart them! It is one thing to play the game and be catious, but its another to play for a tie and not come to play any type of football because as I know the game, it isn’t kick and run which is what Newcastle tried to do.
But besides all of the mumble, to be honest, there is no real reason to panic! For the love of Chelsea we haven’t even played any of the truly weak teams which we are more than guaranteed as are next home games for the league go as so… (Arsenal, West Ham, West Brom., Stoke, MBrough, Hull, Wigan, etc) In addition to these games at home we have a Liverpool and United visit sprinkled in there which we must at least tie to have hopeful contention based on the standings at the time. Now the games I have listed (our home games) I see us taking no less than 19/21 available points! That is realistic is it not? Use your reason people and see that after these games are through you will all probably be singing praise for our boys.
Like I said, there is no need to panic because we have experience and quality on our side. And with a little bit of luck and a string of results we will be well on our way. Be optimistic for our boys will you! Enough of this pessimism about what we will be accomplishing this season.
It’s a shame that there are no stats for the amount of chances that Malouda has wasted in relation to the amount of goals he has scored. Its a shame there are no stats to show how many crosses Malouda has wasted when in good positions – he may have high stats for assists but I bet they are more for away stats than home stats.
Kalou well he just hasn’t cut it this season so far
As for Anelka – no one can knock him at the moment that is a simple fact. He isn’t an out and out centre-forward never has been, never will be. He loves to run onto the ball, he loves to drop back and collect the ball – providing the crosses into the area are spot on or there or thereabouts Anelka will be there and no doubt picking the ball out of the net after he has scored.
When things on the pitch go wrong – Chelsea haven’t got a Plan B, especially at home. Three draws and a defeat in seven home League games, oh and plus Burnley too! But lets be honest, we havent had a plan B for at least the last 2 1/2 years – injuries and suspensions haven’t helped, but we have had opportunities to sign new players and in just over 4 weeks time we have the opportunity to sign again.
Will we or won’t we – only time will tell
At least Drogba is available to play against Bordeaux and Stoch has travelled too!
Plan B or the lack of it: http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s379/st136518.htm
For bookcengham and Vinton above:
I admit I may have been a little rash in saying that we won’t win the title this year if we don’t beat Arsenal, seeing as it’s only November, but that said, whoever wins the mini-league among the Big Four often goes on to lift the title, not always but most of the time. If we don’t get three points on Sunday, we would have to make up for all of those away which might have been possible when United and Liverpool were weak in our title seasons but certainly not now.
As I mentioned in my earlier comment, Vinton, all of the easier home games are certainly to come, and so this indifferent home form at the moment is likely to take a turn for the better. Similarly, our away form is obviously going to dip come the New Year when we have to start visiting teams like United and Liverpool. Over the course of the season, I believe our performances will even out, and it is much better for us to be inconsistent now than come the more important second half of the season. I wouldn’t say I am being pessimistic at all, more cautiously optimistic after the heartache of the past two years.
I’m glad you agree with meabout Malouda, Anelka and Kalou! It’s unfortunate for Paulo that Bosingwa, Ivanovic and most likely Belletti are ahead of him in the right back position. He has always been a likable player and consistent defensively, but never exceptional in any respect. He made a quiet but notable contribution to our two title victories and for that he has been worth every penny of the £13million he cost in the summer of 2004 (I’ll always remember his free kick in the 2005 Carling Cup final that ‘Steeeevvieeee Gerraaarrrrrrd’ headed into his own net!) but he has been on the periphery for the past two years, and I don’t see him getting much play time this year other than in the early stages of the FA Cup (assuming we don’t get knocked out of that as well!). It’s unlikely that he’ll leave in the summer, considering that he signed a new five year contract only about eight months ago. He may be a useful back up to have, but now we need to start letting younger players like Mancienne and Ivanovic through. If he does go, like all players leaving the club (bar Gallas!) I will wish him well in the future. A few million for him wouldn’t be a bad deal.
imaine our teqam at the end of january
——————-Cech——————
–Bosingwa–Terry–Carvalho–A.Cole—
——————Mikel——————
———Lampard——Ballack———-
–Deco————————-Tiger—–
—————Podolski——————
Oh, and some other things:
We have to beat Bordeaux tomorrow! Coming second in the group and immediately facing a team like Juventus, Barcelona or Jose’s Inter in the next round is a slightly worrying prospect. I’m personally hoping we beat Inter in the final! That said, this year doesn’t look like it will be as easy as last year at all – even if we do finish top of the group and things stay as they are, we’ll still have to play the likes of Porto, Sporting Lisbon, Lyon, Villarreal or Real Madrid! Only Anorthosis Famagusta or Panathinaikos look like the only ‘straightforward’ tie, and after being beaten by Barnsley and Burnley this year we can’t take them for granted either!
Some team news by the way: Ashley Cole might not be playing tomorrow as his brother was involved in a car accident on Saturday evening. Let’s hope he’s back to face Arsenal on Sunday!
Tomorrow’s team should be quite straightforward:
Cech/Bosingwa, Ivanovic (I hope he starts over Alex), Terry, Ash (Bridge if he’s not there)/Mikel/Joey, Ballack, Lamps, Malouda/Drogba.
The bench should be something like Cudicini, Alex (Ivanovic), Ferreira, Stoch, Kalou and Anelka with Sinclair or Hutchinson finishing it off if Ash doesn’t start and Bridge has to play. We’re extremely low on numbers at the moment, so starting with a 442 is even more unlikely than usual!
One more thought re: January, and then I’ll leave you all alone for a while:
Schweinsteiger is out of the question – nobody sells anyone decent in January other than teams that have to like Bolton. Podolski is a little more likely, but we have four strikers (don’t forget Kalou) as it is, and you must be out of your minds if you’d start him up front alone over Drogba or Anelka! What I think we need is a reliable winger, especially on the right to rival Joe… Can Essien be reborn there, do you think?
It’s such a shame we missed out on Robinho. If we had him, our squad would be truly complete, as he can play on either wing or as a support striker. That said, so can Joey Cole…
Quoting Since66
Very well said !! .. In the game against Hull, he missed three chances before knocking one in .. He has missed umpteen chances for the 6 assists and 3 or so goals he scored.
As in case of Anelka, he will never break teams which come to defend, which is going to be the pattern. Every team wants to take a point from the away game.. Anelka is only usefull after chelsea has scored one goal and other teams open up.. Anelka has never scored the first goal or match winning goal yet for chelsea.
Many are saying that LFS should give a playing time to youngsters. But as long as the players are fit I can’t see youngsters getting awful lot of chances to experience a game. LFS always seems to play who he thinks his best 11 at the moment regardless of opponents which means the likes of Stoch,Sincliar and Mancienne have to wait for another years or LFS could loan them out. Letting youngsters in the game after 60 or 70 minutes and tell them make a difference is a big, big ask. Having said that, I don’t mean LFS should not play our undiscovered talents. He should/must, especially when we are leading 2-0, 3-0, 4-0 with 10-20 minutes to go.
@ 12 Today , even if you lead 3-0 at half time, we don’t bring youngsters , give them some valuable match time, so that if there is a need, they are atleast ready.What is the point in bringing them after 80 minutes.
Scott Sinclair is very similar to Theo Walcott, but since he is at chelsea, he will have to wait a long time before he gets an england cap..
4-1-3-2 is the formation that LFS had done quite successful job with Portugal. Kalou could partner Drogba up front. Malouda and Ballack will be subs for Deco and Joe. I want to see how it will work. If it works out our way Chelsea would be unbeatable. 2 class strikers up there, bombing full-backs, in the middle we might miss Ballack’s physical presence and ball-winning ability. If not, I assume 4-3-3 is the one.
—————Cech—————-
-Bosingwa-Carvalho-Terry-A.Cole-
————–Mikel—————-
–Deco——Lampard—–Joe Cole-
———Drogba–Anelka———-
13 cfc, you got my point wrong. I am just saying that LFS should should give youngsters a playing time even there is 10 minutes to go. At the moment, he does not seem to give them that time. If we are leading 3-0 at the half time then he brings youngsters in the beginning of second half I will be absolutely delighted. The problem is he is not someone who does that.
@15 – agree with you , that LFS doesn’t do that and that is because I feel he is still in the country coaching mentality..
@ Chris
Haha that pessimistic comment wasn’t dictated towards you in specific my man, it was just meant as a general comment for some of these so called “fans” that are already clalling a lose against Arsenal. It’s beyond me when people make such far gone conclusions.
But other than that I respect your opinion totally. as long as its constructive, no one can really knock it unless they see a better outlet.
for one thing when scolari played with portugal he had to rely on his wingers and AM’s to do the attack since portoguese forwards are shit.
In all fairness chelsea rarely plays to anelkas strengths, anelka does best with another forward helping him because then he can exploit space that is provided, but against 2 defenders it becomes extremely difficult for him. Malouda everytime i have seen him does pull of decent stuff and the only problem is his finishing but the problem is malouda never really had finishing, he works best when he can cross the ball into the middle and get tall strong players to do the finishing, at the moment we have no tall strong players attacking the box like that cause drogba and ballack arent playing.
If we are going to play with 2 strikers i think the best option is to play a lopsided 433 with anelka playing much closer to the centre then j.cole. J.cole would cut in a crap load and be a second striker more then a winger as well but he would have to track back more. the reason is becaue a.cole is a superior defender to bosingwa so we can allow anelka that level of freedom. The midfield of deco/lampard/mikel could be kept but its also possible to put malouda into anelkas place and throw in ballack for deco to provide a very strong aerial threat.
i love stieger get him im sure he wud be much better than malouda who has just a few sparks in him and thts abt it………………………if possible get hold of ivan rakitick…………………….love the croatian surely will be a big hit!!
cheers
luv chelsea come what may
Buy Podolski or Schweinsteiger both of them has excellent pace and dribbling ability….i think Schweinsteiger is very tough to get because real madrid,ac milan & juventes are all chasing him but we can get podolski who scored 30 goals in 50 games for germany and he can play has left winger also…
hello all
just a reminder………DECO is suspended from the match againt Bordeux…………..
Buy Vagner Love or Adriano
Quoting chelseachelsea
there is no anelka-baiting here as i see. don’t be so blind to realities. he is poor when it comes creating chances on his own. he is certainly not the striker i’d base my attack around. he can always be only a second best in top teams. podolski has scored 31 goals in 60 internationals for germany. he is a quality player. the reason he does play for bayern is that toni and klose are better than podolski and podolski is not in the good books of the coach. shweinsteiger has one thing that malouda does not have. he has the determination which sets him apart from the rest including malouda. juve are pestering bayern for schweinsteiger. you say at 24 years, one is not going to improve??? i have no words to respond to this one!!!
23. Vermeulen
correctly said brother
Malouda is not that bad.
He is playing well ,but his finishing should be improved.
We are the most injury hit squad in Europe with 26.
Second is madrid with 20
dont blame LFS .he is doing very good this injury hit squad.
Even jose cant do better.
–
Sent on a phone using T9space.com
Rumours
adriano 4 drogba
(wont be a bad idea .an animal for young another)
ashley -manc 20MP
Terry -manc 60 MP
POLDI-CHE
–
Sent on a phone using T9space.com
well god article BC, but i wld say that its not LFS’s fault they cant play well, he did not buy any of them and i am pretty sure if he was given that money 15 mn for Malouda, around 10 mn or whatever it was for Kalou he wld have got players much much better than them both, so with the team that really is not his he is doing very well, now what ppl might say is look at great Jose he did it, but the fact remains that there was not too much of a difference btw the Ranieri team and the Mourinho team, neither their philosophies(cmon Ranieri is Italian), so a Brazilian is a world of a diffe5rence, look at Lampard, some skills and moves we never knew existed, so we are gonna see some more players showing their true potential, let Luiz mould his own team then only we can judge!!
@ to those who have a problem with me, are u such voyeurs that u have to read comments of a person you dont even like, the ppl who hate me or whatever, if there is an argument/debate and u think u are smart enough to counter then do so, if not refrain from reading my coments, atleast dont post i-will-tell-mamma stuff like u did, i never forced anyone to read my comments, dont like them pass over them, simple, this is a blog not a class textbook…
http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s379/st136518.htm
Quoting joeblue
LFS did not buy them but he was okay to have them in their team. He did not want them to be sold. If you credit Lampard’s form to LFS, you should also hold LFS responsible for the non-performers. By the way, Lampard has been playing like this for about 4-5 seasons. Those skills and moves always existed. He was always a great player with fantastic skills and I don’t think LFS played any part in his form this season. If at all anything did, it was his new contract.
@ BC damn good article man!!!! damn good!!
you touched on everything point I have been pondering…… Im for Steiger to replace Malouda(even though i like him) !!! sell Paulo.
I heard we are thinking about going for Ricardo Oliveira!! a Brazilian with great technique an he would be at a good price.(he would complement Anelka very well. ) or just give us and added dimension
we should start playing 4-1-3-2 and if it does not work then change to plan B 4-3-3 bringing on J. cole(remember TSO used him in that way… because of his inconsistent form), stoch, sinlcair (see i have a plan for the youngsters).
Oliveira scored 21 goals in total, of which 18 were in the Liga. This season, he`s scored 7 goals in 8 appearances. Oliveira has also been in and out of the Brazilian national team since 2004, during which time he has made 11 appearances, scoring 3 goals.
Ricardo Oliveira is a good striker, and we can assume that Scolari knows him well.
should we go back in for Robhino?? he would have completed our team …. also kept J.cole/malouda out as well!!
should we go back in for Robhino?? he would have completed our team …. also kept J.cole/malouda out as well!!
Steiger can be a solution I think
@vermeulen
dont be so childish to imagine that i said LFS taught him those skills, and that too just cuz he is a brazilian, those skills existed but Lamps never got the license or opportunity to use them under previous coaches now he is allowed to express himself, earlier Lamps used to play to plan, with his head not this heart and that is the diference we can see now, dont counter just cuz u want to on the next comment, atleast read it with a little rationality rather than spite…
@ BC if we are to continue to play 4-3-3 we MUST get WORLD CLASS wingers!! if not we must revert to 4-1-3-2 or 4-4-2 diamond and rely on the strength of our world class midfield
Hey Denver, Is Ricardo Oliveira a good striker? I doubt. If I remember correctly he used to play in AC Milan a few seasons back. He was crap and then returned to La Liga. I don’t think we need someone like him in our attacking department right now.
@ joeblue – how can you ever call someone else childish. i’ve been reading your posts for sometime. i can say there’s no one more childish than you in this blog. were you the one who called lampard a cement sack or something? it was you right?
your sudden love for lampard shows how much you’ve been following football and chelsea. lampard has always been playing like this. he has not changed at all but for the normal improvement that happens to players with experience. he is very good form now but he always been expressing himself, has always displayed his skills.
Quoting Crawford
LOL!!!
@vermulean
for one i have never used the word ‘cement sacks’, it seems u are just a petty soul trying to get attention here, secondly i have no love for any player only for the club itself, my beloved Chelsea, whoever performs is great, who dosent is subject to criticism, the players are drawing immense salaries, and we the fans have full right to criticize them when they dont perform as we love them when they do…but whats with u?? have u a life to speak of?? quoting me again and again, following my debates, trying to get into an argument with me without any point, and instead of putting your counter comment the best u cld do was the silly comments above, shame, my friend pls go get a life and start talking football if thats the reason u are here for in the first place…
joeblue – i’m not saying no one’s subject to criticism. stop asking me about my life. it must certainly a million times better than yours. first of all, you don’t do any debates. you don’t reason. you have no logic. all that you have is just hatred for players, managers, fellow-chelsea fans and everyone. and of course you have loads and loads of arrogance. i won’t get into an argument with you on football because we all know how much football you know. what i hate is the way you pretend as if you know a lot about football and go ridiculing people who don’t agree with you.
you hated lampard, you abused him, called him ‘cement sack’, you slagged mikel like anything (now that he’s playing great, you’re silent about him) you made recial abuses against our black players, and now you talk as if you’re a big fan. you please get a life mate.
35. bookcengham .. well Madrid is after him so he must be of some quality for Madrid to considering Ricardo Oliveira as a replacement for Ruud Van…..Im just saying… technically he is good and reads the game well, as long as he receives support from the midfield he will score!
check this link – Chelsea says 40m euros + Adriano = Drogba. I might just take this offer if Inter is ok with this but I think we are being very unreasonable.
how do u know ur life is better than mine?? lol, dont worry abt me dude i have one hell of a life!!
anyways what is the silly obsession with me?? i have said leave it and even now all you can talk abt is me, u say i have no arguments, i abuse ppl, in short u hate me, so why read my comments, if ur life is so good u will have something better to do than just comment non-stop on a guy you hate, dont you??
simply put i dont care a whit what u say, but hate and obsession are certainly not good things, when i have and argument with anybody we make up later, since u have all of my case history u wld know how joseholiday and i became really good friends, after a tremendous debate, the same goes with Mourofessien, ask BC how many times we have been in a slanging match, but we all forget abt, a blog is a show of ur emotions on the moment and u spill it out, later like mature ppl u forget abt it, i dont keep having a go at ppl for arguments made weeks back, hell this obsession is what makes u a kid, just relax, there is no fun in fighting, especially with a person u dont rate at all, lol, so just cool it and lay off, i dont keep grudges agnst anybody, i never have, it seems u have one agnst me, well all i wld say is instead of spite use the one called avoid, there is no sense or fun in raking up dead bodies!!
Carefree True Blue……
Quoting Vermeulen
Anelka IS better as a second striker, but you should also not be so blind to realities, Anelka has been playing well for us, one game he didnt score in which our other players missed complete sitters (Lampard included) and suddenly hes sh*te?? Your saying that Toni and Klose are better than Podolski, those two dont even compare to Anelka. So how the hell can Podolski help us out if hes not even as good as Toni or Klose? Every now and then he has some good games for Germany and suddenly hes the answer to our problems. pff
And as for “TIGER” (LOL) as you lot refer to him here, what makes you think Malouda isnt determined? The malouda i see this season is fired up and passionate, fighting for the ball, assisting, and always trying to get stuck in. TIGER (LOL) is oh so so average.
Simple fact of the matter is you youtube fans need to think clearly before you start having wet dreams about all these players. Podolski and TIGER (LOL) look good on youtube and german internationals and all, but will never be Chelsea standard.
joeblue you got me wrong kid. the only bad thing is how you belittle other people. as grown up individuals we should not how to disagree. the moment someone does not believe as we do, what we see is ‘what do you know about football’, ‘you have a pea sized brain’, ‘if you have an ounce of intelligence’ kind of responses. these are not intellectual debates. these seem to be debates where one wants to prove to other how much they know and how much they know more than the other. that’s that.
Toni/Klose are better than Anelka. Period.
Did I say Anelka is shite? Show me where. If you can’t, stay away.
Youtube fans? What are you? Television fans because you’ve never seen a match at stamford bridge? you’ve never stepped on the chelsea region? you know you uttered nonsense there. Don’t talk as if you go around scouting all over Europe and Latin America to know where is talent. Your source is just websites, newpapers, magazines, television and youtube. That’s it. You and I are in the same boat. Clear?
Podolski can help because I believe he will be better than Malouda any day. Yes, that’s my belief. When you buy a player, despite all his records, all that you can have is belief and hope that he would do well.
@45. Vermeulen … well said man!!
Here in the U.S I have pretty limited chance to see live game on TV. Since I don’t have extended cable I’ve always got to see football on my laptop and search for a live streaming. Only ESPN broadcasts Champions League but they always show Manchester United or Liverpool. I don’t know what made them change their policy but they are covering Bordeaux vs Chelsea game today. Cool!
Okay, Scolari’s preparation for this match is overshadowed by the Drogba’s meeting with Inter’s representatives.
Adriano plus 40 million for Drogba? I don’t think Drogba is worth more than 10 million at his age. Adriano is a fine striker and PL could well suit his game.
Here we go. This is starting 11.
Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, A.Cole, Mikel, Ballack, Lampard, Joe Cole, Malouda and Anelka.
Interesting. Scolari benched Drogba. He might think Drogba is not ready for this game.
Drogba = 20m pounds max
Adriano = 8m pounds (comes with too many off the field issues)