Tag Archive for 'epl'

Chelsea : There’s Only One Drog At The Bridge

Published on May 20, 2012 in Sports. 0 Comments
Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba

There’s only one Drog at the Bridge, the whole of England actually. No other team has a striker so reliant that you can just will him to score and he will. And you don’t have to go through all the foreplay of passing the ball around in the midfield. Everything works for him – loft it to him directly from the goal kick, cross the ball for him, play a cutting pass through the defenders – he’s always there to collect the ball. His strength and precision makes him a defender’s nightmare. The man is Didier Drogba!

He’s been the man of big moments for Chelsea these last couple of months. He’s started every decisive match. He’s always been there for Chelsea – playing the hit man looking for goals or being the actor to break the oppositions flow and get a much deserved rest for his teammates. And he’s scored in both the finals this year.

And this is exactly why I feel a tinge of guilt about being so happy on signing Torres. I was one of the joyful people who thought we had replaced Drogba. I had even wanted Drogba out last summer so that Torres can finally take the center stage. But it is at times like these that prove we had the best striker of the English Premier League all the time. Torres’ goals and pretty play at Liverpool count for nothing against what the legendary Drogba has done at Chelsea. I am not maligning Torres – I love him and know he’ll come good for us, it’s just that I feel guilty of thinking he was eons ahead of Drogba. Well, one thing is for sure – no one can replace Drogba from the legends of Chelsea. You just cannot find another man in his mold with the same passion and dedication for the club.

With Drogba’s contract over, the million dollar question is – Will Drogba sign a new contract at Chelsea? Will Drogba leave? Should Drogba leave? Should Drogba be given the 2 year contract he so desires?

Alas all good things must come to an end. As Harvey Dent said

You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

Drogba has conquered all at Stamford Bridge – the premier league titles, the Carling cup, the FA cup and now the Champions League. He has nothing to prove to anyone anymore. He’ll forever be loved by all the Chelsea fans and respected by the neutrals. And he literally won the Champions League for Chelsea. But his league form had been terrible. He’s gotten older and has slowed down. He cannot help us in the league anymore. He’s become a man for the big occasions now. He gets all charged up and energized for one game. You cannot expect him to play this way a whole year. And I do not think being a bit-part bench player would be acceptable for him. He is a legend, he deserves respect. And this is why I feel this is the right time to call it quits on his Chelsea adventure. He can walk out with his head held high on his own terms.

I realize that letting Drogba leave could backfire disastrously. Andrea Pirlo is the best example – left by Milan he won the scudetto for Juventus. But I think that letting go of Drogba now would be the best thing to do. Roman wants a change in style of play to one that does not suit Drogba. It’s better for him to leave now as the European Champion than endear a possibly frustrating campaign trying to adapt to a completely new system.

The Chelsea management have got some pretty tough decisions to make this summer. It makes me anxious. I want the suspense of summer to be over. I want to know how this story ends and I want to dream of the beginning of a new season at the Bridge. If only I could close my eyes and drift off into a month long hibernation.

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EPL: Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur – March 2012

Published on March 24, 2012 in Sports. 0 Comments

No one needs to be reminded about how massive a game this is for both the clubs. A month ago Spurs were flying high in their third place, comfortably ahead of Arsenal. But all that England manager talk seems to have gotten to them and now they are fourth with just 5 more better than Chelsea. If Chelsea were to win today this fight for the final Champions League birth will go right to the end!

Last weeks defeat at the hands of Manchester City coupled with Spurs somehow drawing their match leaves Chelsea with a must-win scenario. 5 points towards the end of the season is too much to make up and a win is absolutely must if we want to qualify for the Champions League. The FA Cup and the Champions League games coming up don’t make life any easier as Di Matteo must take care of player energy levels and rotate the squad. Arsenal and Tottenham do not have this problem – and I don’t envy them for this luxury.

I will be watching the game nervously, hoping for a Chelsea victory. Let’s pile more pressure on Spurs. We know they can crack under pressure and yield us that qualifying spot.

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EPL: Manchester City vs Chelsea – March 2012

Published on March 19, 2012 in Sports. 0 Comments

We have yet another blockbuster coming our way. We travel to the Etihad stadium to face the wounded Manchester City who we defeated 2-1 at home earlier in December. Remember that game when the high flying blue side of Manchester visited a frail Chelsea? That was a sweet victory. We were the first team in this season to defeat Manchester City! Now it’s time to inflict their first home defeat in the premier league. Are we ready? Hell yea – more than we have ever been this whole season.

We have strung together a streak of 4 wins scoring 12 and allowing only 3 in the process. Torres is finding his feet once again and the Old Guard are back to their dominating best. Manchester City on the other hand have just crashed out of the European competition – that’s twice in two months actually – and were also defeated by Swansea City. They are also under tremendous pressure with Manchester United having taken a 4 point lead yesterday. After having spent so much in the summer – a British record – a trophy-less season will be a disaster for Mancini.

Quick Fact: Last time a club smashed the British summer spending record they went on to win the Premier League two consecutive seasons. That was Chelsea of course.

The biggest headache for RDM will be his team selection. Chelsea has mostly played in the 4-3-3 formation. But with Torres and Drogba both showing good form there is a possibility to pair them up at the front. RDM has tried that in the Napoli game towards the end and one wouldn’t call that a disaster.  Also Mata has been playing centrally just behind the strikers the last two games. Has RDM been preparing his team for the coming fixture? Below is the team I would like to see walk out on Wednesday.

football formations

C’mon. Admit it. Every Chelsea fan wants to see the pairing of Drogba and Torres flourish. Add the cunning Mata behind them and you’ve got yourself an entertainment. The only problem with having Mata in the center is that when Chelsea attack through the flanks he becomes useless. Ivanovich has been something like a revelation. The way he’s attacking the right flank and sending across those crosses is amazing. We do need the hard working Ramires in the team. His energy keeps our otherwise static midfield on their toes. Lampard over Meirless is a no brainer. And the tidy Essien should sit in front of the defense. When Essien’s in the mood, and given the Bison that he is nicknamed, he keeps the ball well and helps breakdown opposition attacks.

For me Mata behind the strikers is the key. But he’ll have to deal with the physical presence of Yaya Toure. I’m hoping for another great game of football and keeping my fingers crossed for a Chelsea victory.

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EPL: West Brom vs Chelsea – Feb 2012 – Reaction

Published on March 3, 2012 in Sports. 0 Comments

It has become so an agonizing experience watching Chelsea play of late. They have to labour to find a goal even against the relegation troubled teams. And it has become even more tougher for them to keep a clean sheet. Cech dives and throws his body around everywhere and yet he can only do so much.

Another loss. Once again I refuse to lay the blame on the manager. A manager can only come up with tactics, it’s up to the players to improvise on it. There’s not one player, except perhaps Cech, who played for the team today. Let’s look at our team for the match.

Drogba hardly did anything on the ground. But that has been true of all our strikers. If one were to analyse why our strikers have become so useless then the answer is easy to see – below par midfield performance. More on them later. What about Sturridge. The guy speaks and speaks off the pitch. He wants the central striker role and yet he fluffs the simplest of chances. Ignore his selfishness, even when presented the ball with only the keeper to beat Sturridge fails. And he is the second highest scorer for Chelsea this season – speaks about the difficulties they’ve had in the final third. Mata tried and tried but always pulled wide. I do not remember him having any shot on goal.

In the midfield we had the legendary Lampard and the Bison Essien. What did Lampard state in the midweek? “I am fine being on the bench but if I am on the bench I would like to see Chelsea win. Otherwise I question the decision of putting me on the bench”. I like the player and his atitude, but he’s no longer the same Super Frank. Chelsea midfield was easily run over by West Brom. Essien had little effect on the game. Chelsea lost the battle there. Whenever they got the ball they tried to play long balls because when they tried the midfield route their midfielders were easily robbed off the ball. So Chelsea ended up playing in their defensive third for majority of the 90 minutes. Ramires, like Walcott, knows only one thing – to run and run and run. COming back from an injury he was cautious and did not do his job.

Your defense can only hold together for so long. Battered throughout the game from West Brom was something the back four must not have expected. Ashley Cole was awful. He only made one intervention in the whole game – only one! Rest of the time he was just running around without any clue as to what was happening. Ivanovich was dependable but Luiz and Cahill as usual lived on the edge. Cech was amazing today. He was the only reason why Chelsea could have deserved a clean sheet today.

Bottom line, the players have lost the will to play for Chelsea. Whatever politics is happening in the dressing room is tearing this team apart. AVB is only a victim in this situation. At one point of time this just had to happen. We’ve persisted with old under-performing players for a long time now. Remember how Scholari was ousted because he tried to change the system at the club? It’s the same again. The only difference is that Roman has supported AVB till now. But one would indeed be a fool to take it for granted that he’ll stay at Chelsea after such woeful performances by the team.

So this is where I think the Chelsea management should come out and speak about support to AVB in public. I understand that Champions League qualification is doubtful this year, but we had to go through this pain when getting rid of half our squad. Roman has been at fault from the beginning. His tactics have caused managers to be short sighted. Better players should have been eased into Chelsea long ago. Instead we just relied on the bigger egos to keep a sinking ship afloat. A public backing should go a long way to help AVB regain the authority he deserves in the team.

I absolutely support AVB. He should be given the chance to stay on after the summer. He should be given the license to trim the squad as he sees fit – even if it means getting rid of Drogba and Lampard. SAF let Ronaldo go in his prime. He removed Beckham from the squad even when he had more than just a couple of years in him. This is the kind of authority and backing that AVB deserves.

I really hope Roman doesn’t do his usual short-sighted mistake again. He needs to put his money on AVB and support the manager through and through. A person doesn’t win four trophies going the whole season unbeaten without any technical brain. The man needs to be backed. It’s the egos in the dressing room who need to be fired.

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EPL: Chelsea vs Manchester United – Feb 2012 – Reaction

Published on February 6, 2012 in Sports. 0 Comments

I am utterly devastated. Being 3-0 up in 50 minutes one is expected to win. Chelsea’s incapability to hold on to a 3 goal lead has been the story of their campaign so far. This is 2 crucial points lost for us. Now even the 3rd position seems unachievable. Maybe we should try and fight for that last Champions League position.

Positives from the match, if any? Well, playing a game without John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Ramires (who has become very important to Chelsea this year) one would not have expected Chelsea to even manage a draw. Man Utd were boosted by the return of Rooney and Young. It was an uneven contest. Even before the start I was prepared for a defeat. It’s just that when you go 3 up you expect to win – always.

For all the Man Utd fans singing and dancing out there, let me ask you one question. I have already mentioned that ours was a depleted team. Are you really happy that you managed to get a point from a depleted side? Doesn’t seem like the objectives a Champion team would have. Also you might want to check the recent statistics. 4 of the last 5 goals that ManU have scored were penalties! What can anyone do if the association of referees want Man Utd to win – hook or by crook. With a little level headedness and humility go watch the second penalty decision. You’ll be ashamed to celebrate such goals.

In all fairness, I do not think we played well today, but we did deserve 3 points. The inconsistencies has already cost us a shot at the title, I’m afraid it might cost us Champions League as well. Draws are not good enough for us, we need to start winning again.

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EPL: Wigan Athletic vs Chelsea – Dec 2011 – Post Match

Published on December 18, 2011 in Sports. 0 Comments
Villas Boas

Villas Boas

My reaction after the substitutions – WTF is going on in AVB’s mind?

Bringing on Kalou in place of Romeu made technical sense. A 0-0 scoreline against a weaker opponent suggests the introduction of a more attacking player. The choice of player in this case wasn’t something that pleased me though. Whenever I see Kalou, I am reminded of the handball and subsequent penalty given by him to Valencia in the dying moments. This guy doesn’t inspire confidence.

AVB’s next move is more baffling. He brings on Mikel for Mata! Dude. Just 1 up against a team fighting the relegation threat, one must always be on the offensive. Sacrificing your most creative piece for a player who doesn’t deserve a place in any of the top teams makes no sense at all. With this move, Chelsea went into a 4-2-1-3 formation. The only motive at this point was to desperately hang to the lead. And that’s something you do against a better opponent and not Wigan!

The third substitution was absolutely scandalous. Pray tell us the name of the Oracle that told you removing your goal scorer for a lame runner will benefit your side. At this point Wigan were already pouring forward trying to get the equalizer. AVB’s move – let me pick up someone randomly from the field and the bench and swap them. Gosh! That’s terrible.

All this while when Chelsea were in trouble I have defended AVB. But today I am forced to ask what his plans actually were? What was he really expecting his substitutes to accomplish? How can he publicly state that he’ll help Torres find his best form and never give him a chance to play?

I think AVB has totally lost his plot. The pressure’s gotten to him. He has finally bowed down and abolished his attacking principles. The complete 90 minutes Chelsea were playing a purposeless game. There was no real passion or determination to win the game. They just sat back to defend and hoped they get a goal as a gift. It was a drab, dull and boring match. A waste of 90 minutes. Nightmarish. This was just as terrible as the 5-3 drubbing by Arsenal. They could have just bent over and saved themselves the humiliation of almost getting beat by an 18th placed team.

I don’t know what else to say. There was not a single minute in the game when Chelsea looked confident or a title challenger. Easily one of the worst games of the season so far.

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EPL: Chelsea vs Manchester City – Dec 2011 – Post Match

Published on December 15, 2011 in Sports. 0 Comments
Chelsea vs Manchester City

Lampard converts a penalty to hand Manchester City their first loss of the season

Did you just see how Lampard celebrated his penalty conversion? Did you notice his passion for the club? Well one thing is certain, he won’t be leaving the club any time soon. And if any manager dares to put him on the transfer list he’ll receive a lot of stick for such an action.

But the writing on the wall is a sure sign that we are moving away from the era dominated by Terry, Cech, Lampard and Drogba. In the past it was mostly Lampard who would take the free kicks. 99% of the penalties were also taken by him. But that role has now passed on to Mata as AVB explained after the match. Slowly but surely a new team is being built with Malouda and Anelka already relegated to the bench in favour of Sturridge and Mata. Also Mikel finds no place for himself as the more technical and quick Romeu has proven to be more than adept at that position. And with Drogba leaving for the African Cup of Nations in January, who knows how much good will it do to Torres and Sturridge. Perhaps when Drogba returns we’ll already have 3 top central strikers – Lukaku being the third.

The game began just as I had expected. Chelsea started with the same attacking philosophy and the high defensive line and were immediately penalized by a marvelous Aguero setting up Balotelli’s goal. Another 10 minutes of misery and our defenders decided to abolish the high line and defend deeper. The impact was immediate. Manchester City were no longer able to find space to trouble Cech and our quick midfield counter attacked whenever given the chance. And then with a moment of Sturridge’s brilliance Meirless found the net to equalize.

Second half started on a better note for Chelsea. Now that we were defending deeper, the confidence cascaded across the team and we got forward a lot more. Clichy’s wretched night saw him earn a second yellow. In all fairness he was no match for Sturridge on that day. With Manchester City down to 10 men, their game plan was to defend and hold out for a draw. This spurred us on. And once again Sturridge was the man of the moment. His shot was blocked by Lescott’s hand and a penalty awarded to Chelsea. Lampard converted the penalty with ease. From that moment on, there was no looking back. A deserved victory saw us cut down the difference to the top of the table to 7 points now. With any luck, if Manchester City were to lose to Arsenal and Chelsea win against Spurs, we will have a great shot at the title.

Romeu seems to have made the DM position his own. He is so calm at the ball, it’s as if he has a while minute to decide whom to pass the ball. That was something missing with Mikel. Ramires and his bursts of energy has seen Chelsea attack a lot more through the right wing this year. Earlier it was the combination of Cole and Malouda on the left that did the trick for Chelsea.

But once again we had to rely completely on Drogba for the central position. This is something that continues to worry me. Lampard is already being phased out and we need to do the same with Drogba. Torres needs to play more. We need to have faith in him for the long term.

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EPL: Chelsea vs Manchester City – Dec 2011

Published on December 12, 2011 in Sports. 0 Comments
Chelsea vs Manchester City

Chelsea vs Manchester City

It’s the big one today. We face the table toppers at our home. It’s the clash of a fearsome attack against a shaky defense. And I’m afraid. Already AVB has declared that if we lose this game our title race is all but over. A win is vital today and nothing else will do.

Manchester City has set the premier league alight with an amazing display of attack. Having scored 48 goals in the first 14 matches they’ll beat Premier League’s record of highest number of goals – 103 by Chelsea in 2009 – 2010 season – by a big margin. It’s their latest acquisition – Sergio Aguero – who has been the most devastating. He is a potent goal scoring machine. And what makes it worse is that Chelsea had kept tabs on this guy and he could have been in our team had things turned out differently (we put our faith in Torres).

Not to forget David Silva. The guy picked up from where he left the previous season. He’s arguably among the best midfielders in the league, if not the best. He is their main architect.

I’m afraid that these two could rip apart the Chelsea defense just the way they did it with Manchester United, more so if AVB decides to revert back to the high defensive line that our back four are so uncomfortable with. That brings us to the main question – what is going to be AVB’s strategy today? Will he defend deep like he did against Valencia in a do-or-die game? Seems likely because he cannot risk losing this game and slipping 13 points off the top. In fact, he might just play the same team that defeated Valencia by counter attacking which means that Torres will spend another game watching from the bench. Mancini would suspect the same. So will AVB surprise everyone by doing just the opposite and play like Chelsea played against Manchester United – remember had our strikers been more accurate we could have won that day.

For this game I do not want to voice my opinion. I just want us to win this one – hook or by crook. We cannot afford any more losses. And AVB needs a few victories for all the unpleasant rumors to die down. Only by winning a few matches can he gain the confidence of fans and experiment.

I’ll be watching the game with my fingers crossed.

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EPL: Chelsea vs Liverpool – Nov 2011 – Post Match

Published on November 23, 2011 in Sports. 0 Comments

I do not want the jump the bandwagon and ask for AVBs head. People need to realize that he’s perhaps the best thing that has happened to Chelsea for a long time now. He is working hard to transform once static team to a dynamic one. It’s the players who are failing him. The players should pull up their socks and start performing the way he wants them to.

The game was played in 2 phases – the first and the second halves. Weighed down by all the criticisms, the Chelsea team that came out in the first half played a very boring and defensive game. It was so against the way AVB desired us to play. Our defenders were passing the ball among themselves and Mikel to Cech. Why the heck does Mikel play is a totally another subject. We were slow and without any purpose. Liverpool on the other hand were bight and eager. The team selection told the way we would play – battering ram Drogba would try and muscle his way to the goal, supported by the slow Malouda. Mikel sat deep. Ramires and Mata had almost nothing to do in this game play.

Then with the second half things changed. Mikel was taken off for Sturridge. And we went for that aggressive play. Mata became the creator. I feel Drogba should have made way for Torres. Torres links up better with Mata and Sturridge. Torres being quick is more suited to the fast game play. Once again we were pressing higher up the pitch and actually trying to create chances. Having leveled with the Sturridge strike and then missed a golden opportunity – which was actually amazing keeping by Reina – it was a bit unfortunate to end the game without any points.

I wish that our team continues to play the way they did in the second half. Chelsea does not deserve to win the premier league title any more. We’ve already lost to Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. With that in mind, we should continue on the attacking philosophy of AVB and just try to become a better team. There’s still the Champions League to fight for, and we can fight for it in style.

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EPL: Chelsea vs Liverpool – Nov 2011

Published on November 19, 2011 in Sports. 0 Comments

It’s weekend! It’s the EPL weekend! It’s the Chelsea vs Liverpool weekend!

This is a changed Chelsea from the time we lost 0-1 to Liverpool in Feb – which was Torres’s first match. Now Torres is rediscovering some of his form, we have Meireles, Mata and Sturridge. Also Ramires run and run and runs and runs and runs and, oh well, runs. The big danger though would be Suarez. That guy is on fire – scoring 4 goals in Uruguays friendly game. He poses serious threat to our leaking backline.

I do not expect Chelsea to keep a clean sheet in this one. But I’m confident we’ll win the game. I would love Torres and Sturridge to get on the score sheet. Torres owes us fans at least this much for supporting him all through and through.

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