Sturrdge celebrates vs Apswich Town 2011

We’re almost halfway through the January transfer window and no action yet by Chelsea.

Given their urgent needs, this is a bit surprising. But you could go mad guessing who they’ll eventually buy. Too many names to remember are being flung out there by the media.

A lot of the club’s hesitation seems to involve money. Thanks to Fair Play, Chelsea would rather not buy anyone, frankly. And if they do, they seem to have a 17-20 million pound cap on it. So we probably won’t see David Luiz in a blue jersey.

Rather than invite insanity by guessing which player is inside that unopened present sitting under Chelsea’s post-Christmas tree, let’s look at the other burning question of the day.

Will 7-goals-in-one-week Daniel Sturridge get a start this Saturday against Blackburn Rovers? And if he does, who sits to make way for him?

First, let’s set the table for this game. It’s home to Blackburn Rovers. Chelsea delivered a workmanlike 2-1 win at Ewood Park at the end of October. It was more or less their last happy Premier League memory for two months. Right after that, the bottom fell out of their season.

Samba

Rovers are a mid-table club with four losses in their last six away matches. They’re a club in turmoil since Venky’s fired Sam Allardyce, with notable players like Christopher Samba wanting out. Their results have been a bit of a roller-coaster under new manager Steve Kean. Rovers scored three to beat West Brom away, while conceding three in an away loss to Sunderland. They beat Liverpool at Ewood, but these days, who doesn’t?

So it’s hard to tell which Blackburn will show up at Stamford Bridge.

We do know that a good result is vital to Chelsea. It’s not just that the club are in fifth, outside the Champions League money. Spurs are playing Manchester United at White Hart Lane on Sunday. Since both clubs are ahead of Chelsea, whatever happens will be good news.

Providing Chelsea win, of course.

Which brings us back to our dilemma up front. Sturridge is hot, albeit against lesser opponents as has been his wont in a Chelsea shirt.

Still, don’t seven goals in two matches make him worth a look, even in a desperately important Premier League match?

The obvious man to keep on the bench is *gasp* last year’s Golden Boot, Didier Drogba.

Two reasons. One, Drogba has been off form ever since his bout of malaria. It’s not his fault. But it’s painfully obvious that his touch, his pace, his strength and his endurance aren’t what they used to be.

Two, Sturridge and Anelka seemed to combine really well against Ipswich Town. Again, it was Ipswich, a struggling, manager-less NPower Championship team. But Anelka looked more aggressive and he and Sturridge seemed to play well off of each other’s pace.

So from a football point of view, playing Sturridge seems like a good idea.

But.

Drogba finger

Drogba will be furious. He hated sitting the first half against Spurs and came on in the second half like a man possessed. All strikers are prima donnas and Drogba will be sure to pout.

Also, Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t seem to be in a rush to play the lad. Here’s what he said after Sturridge nabbed two in the Cup tie.

“In the future, he’ll have opportunities. We have a lot of games in this period coming up. I think he has to fight with the other strikers, but everyone has to fight. There are a lot of players in competition up front.”

Sounds to me like Ancelotti will rely on his old warhorse Drogba despite Sturridge’s current form and confidence and Drogba’s lack of the same. I guess that’s not a surprise. Most managers in most sports feel more comfortable with the players who’ve performed well for them over time. Most of them are reluctant to play relatively unproven youngsters. After all, it’s their job that’s on the line.

I know some of you would also like to see McEachran and perhaps van Aanholt play as well. But that seems even less likely to happen than Sturridge starting.

So let’s close this out with a small poll. Who would you rather see up top?

(If you’re having trouble voting, go to the home page and vote from the story there. It’s a technical issue that BlueChampion is working on.)

Who would you select vs Blackburn Rovers?

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