Sorry guys! I couldn’t write the pre-match article. I’m not in town. I’m on a short tour with my family. I’m just typing this from my mobile.

This is a new challenge for Guus. He’s got a historic away win and an equally historic european win. Now, he faces his biggest challenge so far – a home league match :-)

2-0 me thinks. Now, you’ve got your space to rant!

Few weeks back, how many would have put their money on Chelsea beating Juventus? This is two great wins in two matches for Guus. I’m not trying to trumpet for Guus. I know he’d be gone in May but the facts and results are simple. In his first two matches, a win against Aston Villa at Villa Park and a win against Juventus, is a fantastic start. I have to give the credit to Guus because this Chelsea team, a few weeks back, did even look equipped to beat Stoke City at Stamford bridge. This team needed replays with Southend, conceded in every possible opportunity and most worryingly was turning into a mediocre bunch.

Guus has turned it around. He’s got Drogba playing. He’s made the team play with more purpose. That ‘game intelligence’ that was missing for months is slowly coming back. The players think like a team, there is some alignment in their thoughts. That alignment is there because of the clarity that they have got. Of course there were some tense moments in the match and if Juve had equalised we could not have complained. It was an evenly fought contest but it was clear that Chelsea wanted to score and then they wanted to win.

Guus’ interview after the match is very very impressive:

I am satisfied with the narrow result but I am not satisfied over the whole game. In the first part we started very well, defensively well-organised, good pressing and we opened our attacks through the wings. We were dangerous around the first 15 minutes but after the goal we dropped back too far and made some distances between our attack, defence and midfield. Juventus could then play in between and they are very intelligent to do so. They were a little bit anxious after the goal and if we had continued in the way we were playing in the first 20 minutes, we were on the edge of scoring another goal. In the second half we had some attacks but not more than that and Juventus dominated. Although they created danger, they did make a very open chance for the equaliser but nevertheless, we did not control well in the second half.

These are the words of a coach who wants more and demands more. I’m very happy that he is very honest in his assessment of the game.

It is a great win but is 1-0 good enough to take to Turin? If you look at how well Juve could play at Stamford Bridge, you can say that probably Juve will score at Turin. That means Chelsea absolutely needs to score at their backyard. I think we would just do that and progress. My confidence is back. That’s because I see the confidence of the players and the manager. Hoping for a 1-1 at Turin.

Look how things have changed! When the draw was announced that Chelsea would play Juventus, the Italian giants were looking like the real deal in Serie A. On the Chelsea side, Juventus was not the type of team we should have drawn given our form and confidence then. Today though, Ranieri has conceded the Serie A title to dear Jose while Guus Hiddink has given a new belief for the Chelsea team and fans. Morale is high on the Chelsea camp after the Aston Villa win. The win agains Villa was the most important win of this season. Nicolas Anelka, my favourite bunny, scored his most important Chelsea goal. That was a great finish, the goal that won the match, it was a key match and resulted in a win that could turn the season for us.

Chelsea are on a high. Juventus are on a slide. But this is the champions league. We have seen teams ending up more than 20 points below the league champions and still winning the champions league. That shows that the league form and the european form need not have an impact on each other. But we cannot ignore that fact that Chelsea, having beaten Aston Villa for the third place, has notched up a very very important win that could really turn it around for them. This is a confidence game. They had to beat Aston Villa, somehow. That’s what good managers do. They get the wins in important matches which keeps the morale and confidence high. If the morale and confidence are high, the quality of players would see them through in most of the matches.

Drogba played very well without scoring a goal. But his presence and his work rate and support for the team was fantastic. Looks like he’s finally interested to play for Chelsea after his short absence under Scolari. I was mightily pleased that Guus started with both Drogba and Anelka. These are two entirely different type of players who, if we use appropriately, can cause tremendous trouble to the opposition. I’ve talked enough about this. That’s exactly what Lampard feels too.

Nico’s finish was sublime. He’s a huge weapon, and we saw Didier looking like the player we know he can be. But, with Nico [Anelka] coming in off the left side and floating in, he was dangerous. He can pick the ball up and hurt people, so all of a sudden we’ve (got) options. Credit to Nico, he’s proven himself to be a world-class goalscorer – and he is certainly showing that this season. We’ve certainly needed far too many chances to score goals, and against Villa it was a little bit the same. But if you work hard, play with the commitment and spirit we did, then you make your own luck and things will come for us. Against Villa, we got the goal and held on but, at other times, with the pace and dangers we have in our team, we’ll score more goals.

The win over Villa has set us up for this game and given us the lift we need. With the way we played against Villa, it can only give us a boost, and for the fans. We need that against Juventus, especially in the home tie. It’s imperative we get the right result to take over there. So we need to start and play in the same vein as we did at Villa Park. We need to hold the ball, keep it off them and move it quickly because Italian teams can get men behind the ball and defensively they can be very frustrating. So if you take your time on the ball then we won’t be able to break them down but, if we move it quickly, then we can be a danger, as you saw against Villa.

Yes, ‘suddenly’ we’ve got options. My stance has always been that we have a good squad and it is upto the manager to make sure that he gets the best out of his players. I hope Guus can do that in the short period he is at the job. I have absolutely no clue or idea of which team to play and which formation to play. I think it would be a 4-3-3 and all the key first teamers in. That should pretty much resemble the starting eleven against Aston Villa. Most probably, he’s gonna start with both Drogba and Anelka. Guus said this after the Villa match:

If we have such powerful players I like to use them. They have to be aware in their quality they must do a little bit more. It’s also about a good fight and tactical defence in their position. When they are willing to do that there is no doubt in my mind they can play.

Very strong remark I must say. He says he does have a problem with playing them. It is up to them to give that little bit extra and be tactically aware and alert so that they bring in lot more value. Both Drogba and Anelka are guilty of this. Drogba I know used to be a skillful, clinical and powerful striker and when he doesn’t have the ball he used to be a relentless workhorse that tries to help the team in every possible way. Drogba has payed well in the last two matches and hope that he continues that way. Anelka, while he has proved here that he is a fantastic finisher, he does not seem to do anything more than those unbelievable finishes. He should work harder. When Anelka ends a match without a goal, it is almost like we played with 10 men. I know I’m being harsh I don’t know how else to put it. The only value that we get from Anelka is when he scores goals. It need not be that way.

Juve have an almost complete squad minus Zanetti. At the beginning of the Serie A season, I thought Juventus would be the favourites to win it. They have such a strong squad with enormous quality in every part of the pitch. They still have that formidable squad. Amauri and Trezeguet as strikers and Del piero in the hole, can give you nightmares. Set pieces are always a danger against the Italian teams. With Juventus that has some one like Del Piero, short free kicks are like penalties. Our new found defensive resolve will be put to test when we face Juventus tomorrow. In terms of the strength of the team that we have faced so far, I’d say that this would be the toughest opponent for us this season yet, even above Man Utd.

I saw that David Blaine has visited Stamford Bridge. I hope he’s left those magical boots for Drogba, Anelka and Lampard. 1-0 for Chelsea. I don’t know what good would that be but I think it’s a 1-0.

I end this with yet another inspirational, motivatonal speech from Super Frank Lampard:

The attitude we showed in this game [Aston Villa], we need to show game-in and game-out. So this is only a start. There’s no way we can get carried away and say ‘we’re back’. We can’t relax and the manager won’t let us anyway. We will need more of a killing instinct if we are to win the Champions League or catch United. We have had a bad time here over the years, since I have been at the club anyway, but there was a feeling we would get the result we got. There was a little bit of the old Chelsea out there, that spirit, and the way we played. We looked a bit more like ourselves. You could see the commitment in the lads, that never say die attitude when Villa were throwing balls into the box. We also scored early and closed out the game, something we used to do regularly and it used to get on people’s nerves because we could get those 1-0 wins away from home. That’s something we’ve lost touch a little with this season. We’ve drawn too many games in a frustrating manner. We know we’ve not been performing to a standard we should have been of late and it’s up to us to put it right. We have to take the responsibility as players to improve and the change in manager has given everyone a boost.

He must come. He must see. He must conquer. That’s what is expected of Guus Hiddink, for that matter, of all Chelsea managers. Guus simply does not have time. His first few matches would be very crucial in each of competitions. The one this weekend against Aston Villa being the most important of all. Chelsea losing to Juventus over two legs or getting eliminated from the cup competitions is not as bad as losing to Aston Villa at Villa park.

Like we always say, for any premier league match, this is a must-win. To be very clear, this is the most must of all must-wins. If we could be third, just one point ahead of Villa. If we don’t win, we run the risk of Arsenal getting closer threatening our champions league spot. Arsenal would be playing Sunderland at the Emigrants. Beyond these numbers, something has changed at Chelsea. The underperforming manager has been sacked. There is some widespread feeling that Chelsea’s top priority is the champions league spot. The renowned magician Guus Hiddink who’s known to be tough guy, has been brought on. So there is hope. Some serious hope. If we get another shotless, heart-thumping draw followed by a ‘this is football’ interview by Guus, many of us would completely lose any faith or hope. That’s why this is the most must of all must-wins.

Couple of weeks back, I was not looking forward to this match. This match had a Chelsea defeat written all over it. Struggling Chelsea would play with no confidence or desire whatsoever. Aston Villa would play with determination knowing that a win here would increase their champions league chances vastly. We might lose lose 2-0 or 2-1. That’s why I was not looking forward to this match. But now, with Hiddink’s appointment, the Chelsea’s approach against Watford, I’m quite confident that we can beat Villa. As I said earlier, Hiddink can just list down Scolari’s blunders and ensure that he does not commit any of them as much as possible. That would be a big step forward.

Guus should do away with the 4-3-3 which is nothing but a 4-5-1 in disguise. The 4-5-1 is what congests our midfield, slows down our attack and make us utterly predictable. If Guus wants to play 4-3-3 then that should be a genuine orthodox 4-3-3 with real wingers. He can play Quaresma and Kalou on either sides or Quaresma and Anelka with Drogba as the striker. I was very impressed with Drogba’s work in the last match. He’s slowly getting back to his form is what I feel. He was injured, then he came back, played well, played like shite, got dropped, got out of touch, lacked match practice, played again, played okay so and so forth. His performance in the last match showed that he can still be the match-winner as we know him.

Anelka is crying out loud that his partnership with Didier might have saved Scolari his job. Anelka has been very vocal about this. Even Didier too. I’ve seen striker pairs not getting along with each other, having cold wars, playing selfish and stuff like that. Here is a pair who want to be paired, who want play together on the pitch and also claim that they can be very successful. That’s half the job done. They’re are confident and self-motivated. They have the required skill, talent and fitness to perform the roles. What are we waiting for? I hope Guus takes notice of this situation.

Also I feel Guus will have to shake up the team a bit. I won’t mind if Mancienne starts ahead of Bosingwa. Mancienne, for a youngster making his debut, played rather well. His debut is over. His nerves must have settled down. He must be ready. What does Bosingwa offer that Mancienne does not? Bosingwa, in attack, has long been castrated. He is no longer an attacking threat for the opponents. He’s one of the best-read right wing backs now. Defensively, of late, he looks like a disaster waiting to happen. Why not Mancienne then? Fergie plays Craig Evans even against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and we can’t play a well-deserved Mancienne against Villa?

Didier Drogba has said this (from The Sun):

We all have to get that amazing feeling of invincibility back again. It’s something that summed up Chelsea. We would be in the dressing room and we knew before a game that we would win. Whatever happened, we just knew that. Call it pride or spirit. We felt well prepared and from that we were confident.

Waiting to see those days back!

Aston Villa are on an unbeaten run of 13 matches. The result of this match is difficult to call, for the neutrals. BBC calls it a 1-1. For me, it’s easy. It could be, would be 2-1 for us. Hiddink’s first official match in charge has gotta be something special. Players must play with some improved determination and hard work.Some of the players have said that it is unfortunate that Scolari was sacked and the players must have played better to keep him in job. If they had really meant it, now is the time to prove. So, 2-1 it is.

Great win after a long long time. Great win because of many reasons. (a) we created so many chances (b) we made some crucial changes to the usual line-up (c) Drogba and Anelka played together and so very well (d) Mancienne played all 90 minutes and played superbly (e) Stoch played for more than 3 mins (f) we reacted to a goal conceded (g) we changed our tactics and it worked (h) Drogba’s work rate was much much better.

Good start after Scolari’s removal.