It’s not very often BBC predicts a draw for Chelsea when they play a non-top four team. They’re predicting this to be a 1-1 draw. It will be devastating if it happens. I think we will win but winning at St.Andrews is no easy job. With Chelsea losing to Sunderland at the Bridge, all eyes are on Chelsea this weekend. We’re back in the tabloids for all wrong reasons. If not for the off-field issues, you’d see experts backing Chelsea to make a turn around.

More and more rumours around Ray’s dismissal are emerging. It’s not possible to write off all these as tabloid nonsense. One thing’s sure – there’s something really wrong with the whole episode. To sack Ray in the month of November, especially when Chelsea is still on top of the table, doesn’t sound right at all. I thought Carlo was consulted and it was with his consent that Ray was dismissed. This week it’s become quite clear that Carlo is very unhappy that Ray is gone. Reportedly, players are unhappy too.

For Ray’s relationship to have gone so bad with the club administration, something seriously wrong should have happened. I’m still not taking any sides here but as I said last week, the way we handle these episodes seems to be very unprofessional and insensitive. What I don’t understand is, when such big decisions are made such as the sackings of managers, appointments, signing of players, releasing of players etc why don’t the black suits come out and speak to the press. That’s an important part of their job, isn’t it? They can speak the official line with utmost diplomacy but at least they can speak to the press and clear the air.

Michael Emenalo is now the assistant first team coach. There is very little information about him in the internet ocean that you wonder if he is big enough for the assistant coach of one of the best clubs in the world. Ray going out is one thing but I do wonder why we can’t replace him with a more established assistant coach? Look at what Carlo says about Emenalo’s appointment. This is from the club website.

Nothing changes for me because Michael Emenalo started to work with me when I came here last year and he was involved and supported me for every game. He will not be involved in the training because I have Paul Clement and he will maintain the same position. Now Emenalo has a formal position of assistant first team coach but he was an assistant all last year so nothing changes. It was not my decision but he has been working with me for one and a half years and was a fantastic support last season as an opposition. He was involved in our meetings and he will do the same in the future. He will support the team by being close to me in the tactical situations.

What do you make of this? I find this a bit too statement-of-factey. Does this make you feel Carlo was consulted before the appointment or he is happy about this? Interestingly, in other news websites that carry this news, the part about the ‘fantastic support’ is missing! Also, in the news websites, you could see ‘the club made this decision after the decision on Ray’. This is missing in the club website version.

Check this piece from Telegraph:

Having found the perfect combination to run the club, Chelsea may now have created the perfect storm. They have the beautiful winning football demanded by Abramovich, the emergence of exciting young players, the revival of flagging careers and the synergy between a top-class manager, in Ancelotti, and technical director, Frank Arnesen.

After years of aggravation, politicking and crises, it appeared that Chelsea had found an unprecedented sense of calmness. They sit two points clear in the Premier League, have won all four Champions League matches, are scoring goals and have created the fabled identity craved by Abramovich who, last season, was given an unprecedented league and FA Cup double and more than 100 goals.

All that in Ancelotti’s first campaign and with a squad that, under his predecessor, Luiz Felipe Scolari, appeared to be too old, too jaded and ready to be broken up. It’s understood at that time, for example, that Didier Drogba was offered to Manchester City for £12 million. Chelsea are even verging on being popular. They are seeing the fruit of five years of work with the elevation of players from the club’s academy into the first-team squad, talents such as 17-year-old Josh McEachran, who genuinely excites Ancelotti, and Gaël Kakuta. Ancelotti has bought into the ethos of the club, the development of youth, the desire for attacking football, because it represents his own beliefs; beliefs which had, perhaps, become somewhat stifled at AC Milan. He has also, crucially, forged a close working bond with Arnesen, who recruited him.

Do you believe that the press have started to give credit to Chelsea at last?! And then this happens.

Okay, we’ve got some football to play on the pitch this weekend. Birmingham are not going to play for a draw. They’re going to come at us. They know we are a bit vulnerable now. They might even think that this is the right time to play Chelsea. From our side, losing 0-3 to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge is big enough motivation to beat Birmingham. Our centre back situation is still a worry. Talking about centre backs, read this piece in the Telegraph – a great interview by John Terry – such a fantastic captain! Good thing is Terry might return much earlier than what we feared. Alex is delaying his surgery so he could play this weekend. This also confirms to me that Terry would be back soon. Otherwise, why would we delay Alex’s surgery to play Birmingham?

I’m surprised that Carlo goose to the extent of delaying surgeries than giving a start to a young defender like van Aanholt or Jeffrey Bruma. When Jonny Evans debuted for Man Utd, he was 19 and he started on his debut against Roma in an away champions league match. The first start for Rafael da Silva was in the Manchester derby at the age of 18. Unfortunately, Carlo doesn’t give these kind of opportunities to young players which would mature them and increase the depth of our squad. If players like van Aanholt, Bruma, Josh, Kakuta etc don’t get opportunities during an injury crisis, I wonder when they would get their chances.

The midfield holds the key. With Zhirkov not being available, I’m curious to see which midfield combination would play today. As I mentioned in the last blog, we need to play a bit conservatively. We don’t need a 6-0 win. We only need a win. Let’s keep in mind that the results at the North London derby and at St.Andrews could determine who leads the table by this weekend. Let’s get a win, a grinding, boring, dour 1-0. I’m fine with any kind of win. I like these words from Carlo:

I don’t want my team to play fantastically tactically. I want my team to play with fighting spirit and differently from the last game.

See you there at BC Shout. Cheers!