RELIVING THE 2012 MEMORIES; What a year this has been...Part 1

The year 2012 has been one filled with great emotions. A year when Chelsea has hit rock bottom, and at the same time ruled Europe and was one goal and a clean sheet away from ruling the World. Today, as I write this document I am basically reflecting on how the year has been for Chelsea fans.

Early 2012, Chelsea were out of form. We were losing to every team in the English premier league. Our cup run wasn't so good either, but we hang in there. Having witnessed a change of guard at the beginning of the season, some fans were still patient with the new manager then. Others called for his resignation, while others blamed the older players or dead wood. Goals weren't coming, Drogba had just recovered from Malaria, we had just escaped Champions League elimination the previous month courtesy of Drogba magic against Valencia and were now looking forward to meeting Napoli in the knockout.
The only shining light at the end of the tunnel were the fact that were able to capture Garry Cahil from Bolton, Sturridge was scoring goals and Didier Drogba was back.

Come February and our F.A cup run continues. We easily beat Leicester City, a match which Torres starred as he had a hand in the four out of five goals scored. It was a good game, although not convincing we still looked forward to the next game, against Birmingham. The Napoli match too was in the offing. With our style of play, our form then, well most fans weren't too optimistic. At this point, anything like a draw at Norwich or a draw at Swansea was considered "good enough" by our standards then.
The match against Napoli was one with a lot of expectations. The British media had already made things difficult by claiming Napoli had already scored one against Chelsea when they successfully signed Eduardo Vargas two months earlier, a player who Chelsea were reportedly also interested.

Come the match day and just like the British press had indicated, Napoli were victors. Everybody was was sure Chelsea were out already. We needed a miracle. Our manager was shown the door and his assistant took over on interim basis.

My friend Alfred Oduor Afc Cfc, however kept on insisting were still in it. His words were " Frank, we have Drogba and Juna Mata's priceless away goal in Naples. That will be the difference". And as it came to pass he was right. Chelsea were in the quarterfinals, against all odds.

The change of guard prompted a positive reaction from the players.Terry marshaled the defense, Lampard was again pivotal in the midfield while Drogba suddenly became "younger and stronger". Cech was unbeatable in goal while goal line clearances became Ashley Cole's new hobby. We were good again. Not better, but good enough to beat Birmingham away and good enough to knock Benfica out. But were we good enough to knock Barcelona out? That was the next question.

So the Catalans arrive at the Bridge and again Drogba is on the score sheet after an amazing pass from Lampard to Ramires who didnt disapoint with his run and the eventual cross to DD. One nil was good, but not good enough. We had to work alot harder at Camp Nou. But before then there was a small matter of Tottenham at Wembley. But would you worry if you had Mr. Wembley in your squad? I wouldnt. He delivered, and the result 5-1. The belief was there. I mean how many times had we seen a long ball from deep in midfield from Lampard to Drogba, and the finish. What a finish that was. And the Lampard free kick? Barcelona, we are coming for you. We would definitely go down with a fight.

We arrive in Camp Nou. Two things kept us going. We were in a domestic cup final unlike United and Man City who had been knocked out of Europe. And did I mention twice. Atleast we would have reached the semifinal unlike them. After all, we have had so many challenges. From Drogba's malaria to the change of guard and now, we have Barcelona. History however was on our side. The team that loses the first leg of a semi final has never gone ahead to overturn the result in the Champions League history. That and plus the fact that Chelsea had never lost to Barcelona when playing 11 against 11. So our first strategy was to avoid a dismissal. Well, even that didnt last as Terry was rightfully sent off. "Well, this how they always win against us " I said to myself. Soon, they were two goals up, one man up.

Something amazing happened. Ramires exchanges a pass with Lampard who spotted his run and the finish from "the blue Kenyan" was awesome. We will go down yes, but we will go down with a fight! We hang on and in the second half, defend with our lives! Then they get a penalty. Some of us saw that coming even before the match. They should have given that penalty to Iniesta or Xavi but not Messi. I think Petr Cech's mask scares the hell out of him. We were still in it. Cech didnt have to move. Then at the end, Ashley Cole clears the ball, which lands into Torres feet and he runs and evades Valdes and slots in past an empty net. It was 2-2 with zero minutes to play. How far is Munich from JKIA, coz Munich here we come!!!!!

Before Munich there was a small matter of Liverpool that we had to deal with, yet again. It was Wembley and again Mr Wembley was in the house. That was our first cup. First goal represented the future. Mata's through ball to Ramires and second goal represented our proud past, Lampard's through ball to Drogba. We already have a cup. It definitely hadnt taken us seven years. We now had to deal with Bayern at their back yard.

We arrive at Allianz Arena with our center backs fighting for fitness, our key players and captain suspended. What about Mr. Wembley? Well, he was there. But this wasnt Wembley.. Its an open game. We defended more. In the 83rd minute Muller scores and from the way he celebrates, its like they have won it. Torres comes in for Kalou and a few minutes later we have a corner. Now, who was likely to score? How damn were these Bayern players? I would have imagined they should have man marked Drogba and just left Mata alone. (Have you ever seen Mata head a ball?) They didnt and Mr. Wembley punished them.
Extra time and they earn a penalty. When interviewed Drogba later said " David Luiz told me to believe. Mata told me we still had time, even if they scored we would still score another goal". This is the belief I am talking about. Of course Cech saved the penalty. Now lets hang on and hang on we did. Penalties is the next thing. Now, it was up to the fate!! I used to call them the "gods of football"!

To be continued.......

We are walking alone, Thanks to Liverpool rejects!!

The pain of losing this match is still greater than the joy of having been right when I said Benitez is a snob. I said this even before he took charge of Chelsea's first training. I knew it. We have his past and quite frankly if this is the guy who is meant to "save" our season, then It doesn't get worse than this.

The Rotation Policy

This is exactly what made Inter get rid of this pot -bellied Spanish twat. We all witnessed. He went 17matches winning less streak. Well, 14more to go at Chelsea and we will match this record. Id rather "the king of guesswork"
If it is not broken, dont fix it. You dont change a winning team unless you have injuries and or suspensions. That's the unwritten rule of football. Start with your best trio score goals and then give others an opportunity. Mata Oscar and Hazard have had an amazing first ten matches and they were developing a system that most of us compared to Messi, iniesta and Xavi system. I have never seen any of these three miss Barca games unless when suspended or injured. Going by our trend, Mata having been benched the last match, Oscar benched today, its most likely Hazard will be benched the next game. The fluidity, the understanding that was developing between these three is being interfered with. This isnt saving us. Its actually burying us deeper!!!

Formation

What formation did Chelsea play in the first half and why did Chelsea stick to it even when Westham were coming at us in the second half? Why couldn't we change to 4-4-2 and have Moses and Torres partner together in attack after Westham equalized? Why was the intention of bringing Oscar for Hazard and Marin for Moses at different times during the match? Well, due to tactical errors we leaked in additional two goals and gave a way a match that we had a lot going for in our favor in the first half. Modern football is too technical. It requires sound judgement. A technically gifted coach would have understood that immediately Westham were coming at us, a change was needed. A tactical change. Not a mere change in personality! In football, you change personalities only when you are leading and the opponent is already out. You can then say, "alright, Hazard is tired, let me bring on Oscar to play the same role Hazard was playing". But if your opponent is coming at you, identify the problem, sort it tactically and then execute your winning strategy.

Our Strikers

I clearly now understand what Di Matteo was put through. We all know what Torres has become. He scored his first goal for Chelsea against Westham. Everyone thought he would score today. Its same old story. Di Matteo had to content with this atmosphere. I cant help but feel sorry for this guy. The policy at Chelsea is, stick with Torres, you wont win matches and probably you will be fired. Bench Torres and you will be fired. This is what my beloved Chelsea has become. Either way, when it comes to Torres you will be fired, unless you are only commenting about him.

Moving On

I obviously cant wait for the new manager. There are those who were happy Di Matteo was fired so that Pep would come in. Some call him the king of tiki-taka (I really dont know why, Barcelona still play tiki taka 6months after he left, and we all know he didnt invent it) The most important thing for now is that no high profile manager will work for a trigger happy boss like Abramovich, if not for the money? I bet Benitez is there for the same. "I have a contract, fire me and pay me"! This is
just sad.

Pep says he wishes to coach United. Not because of their stars, but their stability. The same stabilty he enjoyed at Barcelona, together with being given the free will to manage the club without outside interference like Abramovich does. Ferguson has the free powers to buy the players he wants, and play them whenever he feels its right. No chairman, club president or owner interference when it comes to managing top teams would lead to stability.

I bet this is what could scare Pep and any other manager away. He would be told to play a striker who has not scored in two months. Its just sad!

I will support him yes, not because I like him but. Its just that unfortunately he is the boss, but that wont stop me from counting the days left before we get rid of him. Deep down my heart, I wish that day was ......NOW!!!!!!!

Next match is Sunderland away, see you then!!

Chelsea Will Always be the Pride of London

Anyone suggesting that we shouldn't express our disappointment simply because the boss "saved" us is wrong and must answer these basic facts. Do you know Chelsea still had ambition even before Roman? I am for one, among the few people who will not keep quiet simply coz the boss has said, No way!!! Firing RDM is debatable,(some agree and some dont) but bringing Rafa to the Bridge is something else. I will support Chelsea and Rafa, but not because I agree with Roman. On this, I dont. I will support Rafa because I still love Chelsea and he is in charge and more importantly, other than express my dissatisfaction, there's pretty much nothing I can do.

Prior to 2003, Chelsea still had fans. We still had our ambitions. We still had our pride. There are those who still walked down the Fulham road every match day even when it was clear there wouldn't be any trophy at the end of the season. Those were the true fans and they are still there. No matter what, fans are stake holders. Some have season tickets, some buy the merchandise and some support the club in more than one way. Chelsea being the "pride of London" is not a phrase that came into existence after Roman, it was there even before he came calling. It was there even when Arsenal were literally ruling London. To us the fans, Chelsea will and has always been the "pride of London" and it didnt matter if we went 50years without Epl title. We were still the pride of London.

When fans turn against you, then it will matter less if you are the owner. It has happened before with Mike Ashley at Newcastle. Eventually, he had to listen to the fans since they too are stakeholders. And you know what, the result is Newcastle is now enjoying some stability, with a coach who has an eight year contract. They may not win any trophy, but in a way they will meet some of their season objectives.

You give an example of Portsmouth,I could give you Rangers, Leeds and most recently Real Oviedo in Spain, and many other Clubs who have faced the same fate. One thing is for sure, true fans have always remained with the Club, regardless of where the club is. And fact is, even mid table Clubs (Newcastle, Everton and Stoke) also have their ambitions, and more often they do meet their ambitions. You dont support a Club because it wins trophies (Arsenal are agree). Supporting a Club is an emotional feeling that trophies alone cant be the reason. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bolton and Blackburn though relegated at the end of last season still have fans to this day.

You make unpopular decisions, you probably will get away with the first one. Make a second and a third and you will be forced to sell the the club. To me, Abramovic's first unpopular decision was firing Mourihno, the second one is not firing RDM, but rather it is bringing Rafa, a man who is on the record to have insulted the same Chelsea fans he expects to win over their trust.

Ensure you read those banners on Sunday, then you will know, that Frank Oloo is not alone and obviously not ready to be told "he will never walk alone!" He knows that already!!!

Sincerely,

Frank Oloo

DI MATTEO SACKING!

I for one disagreed with Roberto Di Matteo on a number of occasions in his squad selection and his tactics. I have written before that for a manager to succeed you must get rid of the “Avb syndrome”.
For those who don’t know the Avb syndrome , it usually occurs when a manager sticks to a formation whether the team is losing, away from home, scoring and or even when you are playing with one man less. In my opinion, this was RDM’s main undoing.
Further, in some cases rather than change formation he opted to change personalities instead. So that Chelsea would play the same formation, but have different players. Those are the moments you would see Betrand and Ashley Cole in the same match and most recently, Ivanovic and Cesar.
Whereas the performance has not been the best in recent times, we need to look at the records since 2004 season. November and December have not always been our best times in a season. The facts are there and the records are there for all to see. I am obviously getting over his sacking, but we cannot ignore the facts. What if, just what if Sturridge had tucked those two golden opportunities at Westbrom? The score would have been 3-2. What if, Hazard and Mata had scored at Juventus in the first half? What if Cluttenburg hadn’t sent off Ivanovic and Torres while playing against United? What if Hazard had converted those glorious opportunities in Donesk? What if Torres was a better finisher or some would say, what if the team didn’t miss Terry’s leadership as a result of the ban?
Chelsea is owned by Roman Abramovic. He can always do what he pleases. Hire whoever he feels like and fire them at whenever time he feels. It has been observed that ruthless as he is, Chelsea has been the most successful club in England, having collected ten major trophies since Roman arrived. He means well for the club, that’s for sure. He has invested heavily in it and obviously, he expects results. However, as fans we are also stakeholders too. We may not contribute as much, but in as much as it’s our duty to support whoever Roman hires; it’s also our duty to show our disappointment at the way things are run.
Successful clubs usually have plans. Some would break it down to two years or five years. Napoli had a 10year plan through its owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis. And now,8 years on Napoli has risen to the fourth most supported team in Italy and almost guaranteed European Competition. Some may ask what Chelsea’s plan was after winning the Champions League. Barcelona has dominated European football, the result of a plan invented and implemented by Yohan Cruff in 1992. Twenty years later they have been reaping the rewards of that plan. I also need to state here categorically, that there was a time in the early 2000’s that Barcelona were being dominated by Real Madrid and Valencia. The president was patient enough. They stuck to the plan and it paid off.
Chelsea fans who have supported the team prior to Abramovic’s arrival will attest to one thing. The club was just another mid table team, qualifying for Europe was our greatest a achievement. We won a couple of FA cups. This club was still ambitious. We won together, we lost together. We achieved some of our targets then and also failed miserably at others. But even then, to us Chelsea was still the pride of London.

We are now just another Arsenal

I have wondered and so are many others. How come Arsenal has not won any trophy 8years in arrow? My feeling is, it has largely been due to the lack of stability. Arsenal has been doing the complete opposite of what we are witnessing at Chelsea. The stability of the team depends on players and management. Whereas we have been changing managers, Arsenal has been changing players. It takes time for these players to adjust and the moment they do, they become stars and thereafter sold to other clubs and the search for new players continues. When these new players come in, it obviously takes time for them to understand each other and as such, your team becomes less competitive.
At Chelsea, a manager comes in, learns the players, creates a system and wins a trophy or two and the moment he fails, the search for another manager continues.
I long to see the day a manager will be given his time to work out his plan, build his team and at the same time win trophies. This a tough job, that even Pep Guardiola will not find easy. If he is given the job, what will be the objective? Will it be to win trophies or build a team that would eventually win trophies? You can never build a team and win trophies at the same time! It’s our time our boss became a little patient, just like we were even when we were not winning trophies!
So, if it is Benitez or John Terry or Pep Guardiola, we need patience from the boss!

The Week's Bulls Eye

Man United loses the title to City in added time through Kun Aguero's goal against QPR in injury time and Ferguson says, matches should always end in normal time. This was in May. Fast forward to September 2012 and Tottenham beats United and Ferguson wants more minutes added, more than the four they already had. How ironical. #Memory loss

Rio Ferdinand, unable to live up to Gareth Bale's pace found and excuse which we are yet to hear. It will however go like this. " I had him covered. I was about to get to him and that's the moment I saw him mumble some words. I am sure he called me #blackshit#. That's when I let him score"

Wenger said Olivier Giroud should have done better than find the side-netting with a late chance. "I felt so, yes," he said. "I think he was in a good position to score. Why did he not score? It's very difficult to identify." But i think, its how he has been trained, he thinks as long as the ball touches the net, its a goal. I will have to explain to him tomorrow after the match, in french that side netting doesn't qualify as a goal.

Stats don't lie. O goals in the premiership, 0 assists and 98 missed open chances. And this is the same player who said he snubbed Chelsea for Arsenal#SMH..

And what does Wenger think of the match? "Well, we deserved atleast a draw. Were it not for Gervinho's wastefulness we would have won it. And the sad thing is that this comes after I publicly said this is the best Arsenal squad I have assembled in over 10years! To lose to Chelsea like this is really painful. My answer, shut up old man, no one asked you to play Gervinho for 90minutes!!!

And why did Koscenly miss the Mata free kick, or did he touch it. Well, lets all blame Mikel for shouting " Drogba ndio huyo"!!.just after Mata had taken the free kick... Did u expect Koscenly to concentrate thereafter? No way. " I thought, that for the first time we were going to face Chelsea without Drogba. I was shocked to learn that he was still there. For Chelsea's second goal everyone thinks I was alone, he (Drogba) actually pushed me. I think it was a foul, the referee saw it but didnt see Drogba so no way he was going to award it! Koscienly told reporters after the match.




And what of AVB's team beating United? "This is the first step of my mission. I am going to ensure Tottenham never beats Chelsea or finishing on top of Chelsea like they did last season. That's why before we at Tottenham have been drawing most of our matches. Phase two of my work involves beating any team that poses a threat to Chelsea's premiership title ambitions. This began on Saturday and shall continue at Man City. Am glad we took the three points, but I am also happy that my real team, Chelsea is on top of the league table. Plus, Abrahamovic wil never fire me. I can tell you fellas, working undercover is the best thing for a young coach like me. Every manager wants that' Avb said

And finally, Nani's call for penalty verses Tottenham. This is what Ferguson had to say. " From where I was sitting i didnt see it. Rooney's ass was blocking my view. I havent seen the replay but I know it was a clear penalty!!!!The Tottenham player should have been sent off straight away, but no... we never get decisions here at Old Trafford. The referees must be conspiring against us."

The Torres Situation at CFC

We all know Torres has not performed to our expectations as fans, to the club management's expectations and even to Roman Abrahamovic's expectations.
Some would question Roman Abrahamovic's intentions of bringing Torres to the bridge. They were all good. At the time, Torres was one of the deadliest strikers in the world. So, obviously, Abrahamovic had good intentions, he coughed 50million pounds, a record transfer fee that still stands to date.

Some people, including a few coaches have made it clear that Didier Drogba would me missed, not for his goals, not for how much he believed in Chelsea ( I wait to see the day Torres would pull "an Overbro" like Drogba did) not for his set pieces but mainly for the sole reason that in big matches, Drogba would always stand out. He was a big match sort of player, and when it comes to such...he always took the limelight.

When Torres was signed at CFC, I was for one very happy and looked forward to a deadly combination between him and DD with Anelka, Kalou and Malouda in support. Well, that never happened. I remember clearly his first match was against his old team Liverpool, we the fans thought he would score and so did Ancelloti but that never came to pass. We ended up losing that match courtesy of a Raul Meirelles strike. We then kept counting, we waited, we sang his name, we supported him and some like, David Luiz even prayed for him but still there was nothing.

Well, there are those who gave up. The coaches did. Drogba became the main man again and things started looking normal again. Big matches were played, big goals were scored and it wasnt Torres. It was Didier. He then gave us a reason why he thought he wasnt scoring. The midfield was too slow, he was quoted. A friend of mine joked, that according to Torres if wanted him to score, we had to replace those "donkeys" behind him. Others even said it was Drogba who kept "breaking the wind" every time Torres went near him, hence the two couldn't play together.

The first thing Chelsea did was to replace "the donkeys" behind Torres. We now had a more energetic Ramires, the hawk eyed tattoo lover called Raul Meirelles and a more skillful Mata behind. Still, the goals didn't come and as such, Drogba still remained our main man. The problem however wasn't Drogba. The problem was a young england player called Sturridge who was making all the headlines and scoring match after match. He was stealing the show. Someone had to stop him. He wasnt the heir to this throne. Now, it became clear, it wasnt the "donkeys" fault after all.

There were two more reasons. Perhaps it was Drogba. Not because of his alleged behavior of "breaking the wind' every time they were together in the field but due to the fact that he has always been the dominant force. Or so we believed. So, we decided to ship him to China, far far away. But that was not the whole plan, we also decided to bring in more fast and skillful players so we never hear of that "donkey phenomenon" ever again. We brought in Oscar, Hazard and Marko Marin. All these players had excellent assist records for their clubs. We were optimistic. Some saw 40 + goals, others saw golden boot awards and some said, only a long term injury would stop our Fernando.

The reality however was that still goals didn't come. There were no single shots from him, on target or anywhere in some matches. You cant score without attempting or so I hear. But its true. Personally I don't like hating on a player. This unsettles them and could make them even perform worse. So we kept on singing his name, praising him and still hoping. Then came the moment, the moment we substituted him and he went straight to the dressing room mumbling words. That was the moment. We were astonished. We wondered. Some of us loud enough to heard, some just wished it away while others kept singing, but not as loud as before. They were doing it, this time not for their Fernando, but for the love of the blue flag that is Chelsea.
The fact remained, we had replaced managers, we had replaced the donkeys behind, we have replaced those who used to break the wind. Maybe its time to replace him. But then again, maybe not. Just maybe!!!

QPR - Other than the result, there were positives

So, we drew at QPR a place where we lost last season. Its obviously an improvement if you ask me. We also whipped Newcastle, a good revenge for them walloping us with some "Juju" goals. We beat Wigan, comfortably, a place where we drew last season. I can only say, I still have a lot of faith in this squad. And we are doing good.

Whereas, i wasn't impressed by the recent performances of key players, notably Fernando Torres. He underperformed if you ask me, often losing possession at key moments during the game. in the first half, he drew a fantastic save from Julio Cesar when trying to score from an impossible angle. He was fantastic in the opening minutes, faded as the game went by and became useless later on.
Another positive to take from this, was the fact that Di Matteo noted Torres's performance and substituted him for Sturridge.

Well, we all dont like what followed. A player shouldnt walk straight to the dressing room when substituted, or atleast, those who have done that havent been successful in their careers, regardless of how talented they are. Such behavior is reserved for players like El Hadji Diouf, Mido and Adel Tarabt and Joey Barton!!

I still dont understand why Betrand started. Was it to offer support to Ashley Cole? During the Newcastle game, I understood why Betrand had to start. To take care of Newcastle's most dangerous player in the name of Ben Arfa. Against J.S Park, we didnt need Betrand. I am not saying he is a bad player, all am saying is if you have Oscar, Moses and Marko Marin against a relegation threatened team, no need to have a defensive approach. In as a much as you stand a big chance of winning a match when you dont concede, the attacking philosophy that we expect Di Matteo to employ from here on is, "lets just outscore them". The Brazil national team, the Spain national team, Barcelona will never approach a match with a defensive mind. They policy is, and that of any other attacking team is, if they score one, we will score two or three.
I therefore think Betrand shouldnt have started this match, and more so, in the name of assisting Ashley Cole who in my opinion has been the most consistent Chelsea defender year in year out. My point, come on....Ashley doesnt need support, he is the best left back in the world!!!!

I recall the double winning season, when Ashley Cole and Malouda developed a very serious threat on the left wing. Where will we get that kind of consistency if in every match, Ashley Cole has a different player a head of him? Today its Betrand, tomorrow Moses and the day after, someone else.....? Not good.

Finally, it occurs to me we cant have Lampard playing 90minutes. He too faded later. His timely runs in the box that have brought so many goals for Chelsea in the past are not existent anymore.
I would wish for Ramires to partner Mikel in midfield and have lampard come in late on. Theres always a time to let go. Against Atletico Madrid, our midfield was so ineffective that any time Atletico had the ball, they had plenty of time to decide exactly how and where to place their passes. Of course we all witnessed the outcome.
Lampard is a good player, he can pass, he can shoot, he can defend. He is a legend, but there is always a time when you have to let go. There always a time when you play the assist role and not the main star. The time for Lampard is now, otherwise he may jeopardise his legendary status. They say, if you do bad, people never forget!!


All in all, we are on top of the table. Unbeaten and with plenty of abundant talent rearing to go. We however need to be tactical. We need to change the "AVB Syndrome" where, we stick to a formation regardless of the outcome. Having versatile players means you can change formations however and whenever you feel the need to. Nowhere in the Chelsea constitution does it say, thou shall play 4-2-3-1 whether you are losing 4-0 against Atletico Madrid or whether you are struggling against QPR.

Until the Juventus game, ktbffh!!

QPR Preview;


All EPL teams have strengthened. This includes QPR who are much stronger than they were last season. They have brought in an experienced right back in the name of Bosingwa, hard working midfielders in the names of Ji Su Park and Esteban Granero and an upcoming left back on loan who isnt too bad. (Da Silva)

They have Bobby Zamora upfront and this is a guy who has been capped severally by England and has a powerful left foot , physical and can also run really fast. I watched QPR play against Manchester City and I have to tell you, they are no push overs and Zamora is a striker who must be watched.

Then there's Junior Hoilett, a player who scored some amazing goals for Blackburn last season. He has the pace, the dribbling ability and most definitely can create chances for his teammates.
Well, Holett will have his debut tomorrow and most likely will want to impress the Rangers' faithfuls.

On the bench they will have Djibril Cisse, an experienced widely travelled player whose power, speed and precision can cause havoc to any team.


I would therefore line up in the usual 4-2-1-3 formation while on attack and revert to 4-2-3-1 formation when we lose the ball. Alot of work will be on the two wide men, presumably Hazard and Mata who must come and assist the fullbacks. This is because QPR have speedy wingers in WrightPhillips and Hoillet and should they start together, then I fancy Betrand starting on the left side. The only problem with Betrand, in as much as he has impressed in the few games he cannot swap positions with Hazard, but is definitely good especially when building from the back.

I will therefore have Terry and Cahill partnershing each other in central defence. The reason I would drop Luiz to the bench is because this is a more physical QPR side and further, we have a tough mid week game against Juventus and we shall need one reliable centre back. I will have Ivanovic and Cole take the full back positions, again due to the physical nature of the game and the fact that Ivanovic is scoring goals. He has 2 in 3, not bad for a defender. (Anyone who watched his finish for Serbia on Wednesday night will agree with me that we have a good striker in this guy)

My midfield will have Mikel and Ramires. I would love to have Lampard start but I think for a 30+ year old, having played on Saturday, then on Wednesday night, I doubt if he has enough gas left in him for this match. Plus, frankly speaking, Ramires needs to come back to his preferred position.

I will have Mata at the centre, Hazard on the left and Moses on the right. The main man remains Fernando Torres upfront and I have my first eleven. Why Moses, one may ask and as much as I may want to give Cesar his debut as well, this is a London derby, one of the hostile atmosphere (The Terry- Ferdinand affair) may not bode well with a young inexperienced player. So when am to make a choice on who to give a debut, between a striker (Moses) and a defender (Cesar) I would give Moses simply coz, assuming they all make mistakes on their debut, it would be more costly for the team when a defender does it unlike when a striker does it.

The bench will have Cesar, Luiz, Lampard, Oscar, Sturridge and Betrand.

The people I may bring in are Oscar for Mata, Lampard for Ramires (in the last 10minutes) and Sturridge for Moses or Torres. Obviously, substitution should be made, taking into account the performance of individual players and the result.


Well, this is funny. Someone is reminding me I have forgotten to say who will be in goal. Well, Cech is fit and hence dont expect me to say Hillario.

See you guys at Loftus Road tomorrow. KTBFFH!

STRIKER POSITION AT CFC, MY OPINION

Does Chelsea have enough strikers to compete for top honors, yet again?

Last night I was going through the chelsea fc website and after I clicked on the first team tab and i wasnt impressed by what I saw. Yes, Chelsea has bought creative players, amazing talent, world class and very intelligent but we are still short in numbers in our strike force.
I then looked at Chelsea's current forward line, compared to Manchester’s city’s which has Dzeko, Aguero, Tevez, Ballotelli and Roc Santa Cruz and are still rumored to want Van Persie. I also looked at Man U’s forward line that is comprised of Rooney, Welbeck, Chicharito, Berbertov and may still sign Van Persie or Lewandowski. (I hope am allowed to call them Man U) At this point I realized we are still short in numbers, with only Torres as the only world class striker in our ranks.
Three scenarios are evident and in my opinion, either these actions would clearly redefine Chelsea’s season.


(a) Sticking with Torres as the main striker

When place 50million pounds on a striker, it means you have faith in him. It also means he would be the number one striker. I have written before, that Torres main undoing has been his price tag, which sadly over the past season has put too much pressure on him. He has not played too badly if you ask me, but strikers are judged by the goals they score. That’s the unfortunate truth.
When you take this price tag element, add it to the fact that Didier Drogba somehow, season in and season out is always the dominant force, the main man if you like then you will understand, that perhaps Chelsea management feel the same way a few analysts have said before, that Torres would always be in the shadow of Didier Drogba and would only come out when Chelsea releases Drogba.
Which brings into question, did Chelsea have to release Drogba? Is it true that he had asked for a two year contract? Did someone within the club hierarchy feel that another “domination” of Drogba over Torres would be disastrous? The current PSG coach Carlo Ancelloti had this to say “For Torres to get better, Chelsea needs to release Drogba. He is a dominant force. He always dominates. He dominated over Gudjohsen, Kezman, Shevshenko, Crespo and most recently Torres. He is like Pipo Inzhagi of Ac Milan, who dominated over many strikers during his time.”
Could it be that Drogba was released so that Torres could be the main man? If the answers to these questions is a yes, then sorry fellow blues there won’t be any strikers arriving..

(b) Success over personal Glory

Well, Abrahamovic has tasted European glory. During the early 2000s, Chelsea’s ambition was mainly to qualify for European competition. The next stage would be to win it and finally, to dominate it like the Real Madrid and Ac Milan of yester years. Now, would Abrahamovic sacrifice this for the sake of one Fernando Torres?
What about the English premier league? Is it still not important? Some people wonder, what if, just what if Chelsea hadn’t won the Champions League would they feel comfortable playing in the Europa League? What would have been the financial implications, the merchandise, the TV rights etc
Abrahamovic and the Chelsea board must be having answers to these questions. Yes, you may want to stick with Fernando, but what happens when he is injured or suspended. If Abrahamovic feels that we would rather focus on Chelsea’s success other than an individual’s, then I have no doubt he will bring in another striker and whether or not he dominates over Torres and becomes the main striker wouldn’t be an issue since at the end of the day there will be trophies to write home about.
If this is the case, then blue fans, expect a big name signing. It could be Falcao, Hulk, Neymar or Cavani!

(c) Change of formation

This is the most likely scenario. Modern teams are getting rid of the traditional number 9player. Barcelona have employed it successfully, Real Madrid, Spain national team and many others. The traditional number 9 has been replaced by a much faster paced attack minded midfielders in the caliber of Messi and Ronaldo.
Chelsea’s recent signings can attest to that, in which case the game is more dominated in the midfield, with midfielders like Marko Marin, Hazard, Oscar, Mata and Victor Moses calling the shots, scoring goals and dictating the play. We call this the tiki taka style. This type of play has two implications

(a) Because there are good midfielders, the main striker, in our case Torres could score as many as 50goals because of the many assists he gets from the established midfielders

Or

(b) The main striker, again in our case Torres may not be needed since the midfielders would be doing all the work, including scoring goals.
If this is the case, then blue fans should not expect any big name summer arrival but even Torres will have to prove his worth, score goals or he will be rendered useless by the more goal scoring midfielders. I get the feeling Abrahamovic is leaning towards this option.

Abrahamovic may want the last option. The British media may want the first option so they have something to write about every day. We the fans will definitely want the second option, its success which counts.
Until then, ladies and gentlemen…………please pass the salt, nyama imeiva!!!

Chelsea Vs Seattle: Lessons learnt

Chelsea Vs Seattle Sounders, lesson learnt:

1. Young talent

Chelsea has amazing young talent and the future looks bright. De Bryun, Marin and Hazard were excellent. Saville, Todd Kane, Lukaku, Hutchison, McEachran and Jamal are really talented and I have no doubt any of them can be given a run out in some the matches.

2. Hilario

Hilario will never improve. He cannot get better than where he already is. In the spirit of promoting young talents, and reducing the average age of our players, Hilario should be released. There is no single match Hilario has played without conceding. I can tell you for a fact that Jamal Blackman, could be better than Hilario and if not, atleast he has the potential to become better than how he is now. I cant say the same for Hillario.

3. Formation

It appears Di Matteo, just like I had predicted before will employ the the 4-2-3-1 formation. Having versatile players means the system could be changed, depending on the opponents, score and players at the manager's disposal. For instance, Marin, De Bryun and Hazard can switch and at some point, 4-2-2 formation with one of them behind the strikers.

4. The Ramires Factor

This was the most consistent player last season, both in the local league and the Champions League. Whereas the fans voted for Mata as their favorite, I thought Ramires was more consistent than the little Spaniard. In some Champions League matches, Mata was very ineffective unlike Ramires, who assisted or scored a goal in all the matches Chelsea played, starting with Genk, Valencia, Napoli, Benfica,Barca home and away.
If I were Di Matteo, the first name on my team sheet would be Ramires. One reason would be due to his work rate, his speed and his versatility. I am however afraid that he may not be as effective as he was last season, being that he is likely to play a much more withdrawn midfield role, being one of the holding midfield players.

5. Josh McEachran, Lucas Piazon and Gael Kakuta

Quite frankly, like most Chelsea fans, I was disappointed that i couldn't see Lucas Piazon playing. I had hoped he would be given an opportunity. I got a feeling this boy just needs half a chance and he will take it. ( Remember the Guinness advert)
McEachran was excellent. I am certain this will be a make or break season for him. I think whether he stays or goes out on loan will depend on whether the Oscar deal goes through, the future of Raul Meirelles and whether indeed Oriol Romeu will be going back to Barcelona.

Gael Kakuta is a failed project. He has not developed as we expected, taking into account the trouble Chelsea went through to get his signature.

6. Lukaku and De Bryun

De Bryun is my future Frank Lampard. This boy can shoot. I have watched the second half of the Seattle match and realised this guy has potential. More importantly though, something tells me he can only get better given the right enviroment. He could be better than Christian Ronaldo once he adjusts properly to the EPL. De Bryun missed a couple of chances himself late on. I think he was under pressure. I would have been under the same. If two out of the three debutant scored, you couldn't possibly blame De Bryn for trying....

Lukaku was impressive. What stood out for me were not the goals but his work rate. This "young big guy" ran and ran and ran and chased every ball that came his way. I think he is trying to prove a point. If you ask me, the point is directed to AVB, not Di Matteo, that he should have been given a little more chances than he got. We cant blame Di Matteo since he took over at a very crucial stage of our campaign and there was no room for experiment.

7. Conclusion

The overall work rate needs to improve. The defense needs to be tighter and the goal keeper position needs a serious back up. (I wanted Curtois to remain at the Bridge)
All in all, Chelsea fans yet again have a lot to look forward to this season. I can tell you, it will be a lot more fun this season. Beautiful soccer, played by little football geniuses, coached by a former blue boy and cheered on by you and me. Lets KTBFFH!!!

Negative Football? Normal People call it "tactics"!!

Chelsea has been accused of employing negative tactics and destroying the beauty of the game. Lets address this objectively in light of Chelsea’s performance this season. We shall focus more on the Champions League final. The year is 2005 and after failing to beat Chelsea on several occasions, Arsenal gaffer suggests to F.A and FIFA that teams should be given more points for the goals they score. His issue was, Chelsea "parked" the bus in front of the goal making it very difficult for the opponents to score. Then, I wasn’t writing blogs but I asked myself two questions. At what point does Chelsea "park the bus" and what happens if you successfully score against Chelsea, do they continue "parking the bus" or do they change their strategy? Well, it occurred to me that yes , Chelsea "parked the bus" (allow me to call it that way) only after taking a lead and were even more dangerous during such spells through their speedy wingers, Arjen Robben and Damien Duff who within a split of a second would turn things round through counter attack. I also realized that if the score was 0-0, Chelsea never played defensively.

Chelsea over the years has played 4-3-3 formation with one powerful striker. The 4-3-3 formation is dangerous on attack and automatically converts to 4-5-1 when chasing the ball. Ideally, teams who have adopted this system will have 9players behind the ball any time they lose possession. It is these nine players that will be referred to as the “bus”. I think Chelsea did not play negative football, but changed their system depending on circumstances, the opponent and the nature of the game. Let’s look at the Napoli match for instance. This is an Italian opposition were in top form. In the end, Chelsea scored 4 goals and only one goal scored by a striker. The other two and especially the last goal was scored by Chelsea’s center half who was in the opposition territory at the time. If that is parking the bus, then he must have parked it in the wrong territory.

Chelsea versus Barcelona game, venue, Camp Nou. You are playing against eleven men. You have lost all your center backs and you are away from home. What strategy would a team employ? Would you go on an out and out attack? You have to try defending your lead and hope to hit them on counter attack. I have watched Real Madrid play Barcelona and every time “Pepe” is sent off (well, it’s always him), Real Madrid adopts the same strategy. Its dangerous to attack Barcelona when you are playing eleven against eleven, its suicidal to do it when you are one man less. I have watched Arsenal play Barcelona at Camp Nou and for 90minutes, there was no single shot on target. The only shot that came from Arsenal lead to Van Persie being sent off, and it was because he shot after the whistle for an off side on him. This is enough prove, that even the self proclaimed attacking team cannot dare attack or play possession football at Camp Nou. You would eventually pay dearly.


Back to Wenger and his “points for goals” theory of 2005. At the end of that season, Chelsea’s goal difference was +57 while Arsenal’s goal difference was + 32, to which point I asked, which was the most attacking team between the two? From there on, over the past eight seasons Chelsea has only scored one goal less than the “attacking Arsenal”. The same team that parks the bus has the highest goals scored in the history of English premier league. And they are not “own goals”.


Soccer is about competition, competition is about gaining advantage and we gain advantage in order to beat our opponents. What gives you advantage over opponent A might be different from that of opponent B. In other words your advantage varies relative to the opposition and the weapons at your disposal. It is never possible for two teams playing each other to be both defensive. When one team is attacking, the other is defending and vice versa. It's when one team attacks that the other defends and this fills the fans with hope, expectation, anxiety and even fear depending on whether your team is the one attacking or playing defense. Our adrenalin is charged to boiling points either fearing the unexpected or hoping for the expected. Should both teams attack and defend interchangeably, the emotions of the fans change as well until the point where the game is over and one group is left disappointed, heartbroken, dejected and in pain while the opposite is the case with the winning group.


Chelsea, heading to the finals had beaten Valencia 3-0, put 4 past Napoli and 5 past Genk. Nobody in their right frame of mind, who saw those games, would say Chelsea parked the bus. They played a very fluent passing, attacking game and defended very well. That was the advantage they had over their opponents so they used it. However, against Barcelona, Chelsea knew what their strength was at that moment, realized what their weakness was and decided to play a style that will maximize their advantage against Barcelona. If being 75% defensive and only 25% attacking it what offers them that advantage, they did that very efficiently and progressed. They even scored two goals. Against Bayern they again assessed the scenario and saw they were playing the finals not on a neutral ground but on Bayern's turf, the Allianz Arena. Though both teams were missing key players, Chelsea was without their inspiration captain and missing Ramirez, the midfield workaholic. They wisely decided that the best approach was to defend with military discipline and play counter attack. Folks this is called "tactics". It is not called anti football. To call a "defend first" approach anti football will mean football is all about "attack first", which is wrong.


Let’s define tactic - any mode of procedure for gaining advantage or success. That's what it means. What Chelsea did was to use wisdom and tactics to gain success. A good team is one that knows their strength and weakness against a particular opposition and devices a particular mode of procedure for gaining advantage or success. Chelsea did that and won. Did you realize Bayern took out Muller and replaced him with Van Buyten after the goal? They also were going defensive but their tactics backfired. The good thing is that Chelsea doesn't always play like that but this match-up called for those tactics. They adopted, defended gallantly and utilized the chance that came their way. Their display was the result of sound tactical display and the symbolized efficiency at its highest level. To those of you who refuse to understand these simple applications of common sense, you can stop watching Chelsea's games, cry your eyes out and whine your voice dry; sore losers! I rest my case!

The Fall of Mancity and Di Matteo's Successful audition

Mancini's approach was negative. For a must win tie, a tie which anything less than a win would effectively ruin your title ambitions, his formation was questionable.

Having Pizarro, Barry and Milner in the same match and the absence of Silva meant the only player who could take the responsibility of a play maker was Nasri. The question that I would therefore ask is, could Nasri handle the hostile pressure at The Emirates? If not, then what are the alternatives?

The defense for instance, and especially without Silva it meant the game could be won from the flanks. Why then start the more defensive Zabaleta and leave the more pacy and attacking Micah Richards? Was Mancini playing for a draw or did he actually go to the Emirates to win? i really doubt it.

As the game progressed, other than foul his opponents, lose ball possession carelessly and throw arms in the air due to frustrations, Balloteli did match and everyone knew he would pick a second yellow card, save for Mancini. Instead of substituting him and bringing in Tevez, he subbed Aguero instead, only for Balloteli to pick his second booking as many had predicted. Where was Adam Johnson? Where was Dzeko?

Conclusion:

Mancity are too one dimensional without Silva. Too predictable and they are lucky to finishing above Chelsea. They should actually thank Avb for wrecking Chelsea's season coz otherwise they would be playing Europa next season! City have now only one win in five matches. Please give the title to United!

Di Matteo and Chelsea

I keep on wondering where Chelsea would be if Avb had not been sacked. At the rate of 1 loss and one draw in every three matches, mathematically Chelsea would be slightly above Everton, out of the Champions League and also out of the FA Cup. For a club with resources like Chelsea, that would be the worst performance in nearly 20years.

Di Matteo has been able to turn things around. This is being acknowledged by all players including those who stood by Avb like Ramires, who recently praised Di Matteo's approach. In my opinion, any successful managers will ride of two principles. That of being tactically sound and secondly, being able to motivate their players. Well, he may not be as tactical genius as Mourinho, Van Gaal or Klaus Topmoller but he sure knows how to motivate his players.

I think Di Matto deserves to be given a long term contract and "time". The same "time" that everyone wanted Avb to be given, with difference being, Di Matteo may not win a trophy, he may not even finish top four but atleast unlike Avb there is light at the end of the tunnel and one wonders, just what if, what if Di Matteo was the manager from the beginning. We can all agree, things would have been alot different for Chelsea and the entire EPL table as it stands at the moment.

And as one blogger rightly put it, Roberto Di Matteo has given Chelsea fans the chance to dream. They can dream on, perhaps one of the dreams may come true!!

BENFICA or Chelsea tumefika!

The last time Chelsea failed to score in a Champions League match was a 1-0 loss to Marseille in 2010, in the group stage. An away goal is crucial, especially in the knock out stages of the competition. Benfica are obviously good, but I personally rank them below Napoli and as such think we have a greater chance against them. And hence the Champions League, semi final.
Now anytime we have reached the semi final two things will happen... Either go to the final or be knocked out controversially. (Am not just saying this, it has happened twice. Luis Garcia half goal in 2005 and of course we all remember Ovebro, the Norwegian referee who proved not good enough to officiate Gor Vs Afc match)

One thing I like about two leg encounters, is the fact that you have a greater chance of reversing the score and more so, if the second encounter is in your own tuff.

Looking at Chelsea last Saturday, the performance was not the best and in fact, were it not for Cahill and Cech being on top of their game, we would have lost the match. And in the end, Totenham had 16 goal attempts while Chelsea only managed half as many. I therefore remembered 2005, when Liverpool won the Champions League. They actually were 5th during the season having lost the top four position to Everton. They however went ahead and won the competition and automatically qualified for the following year's Champions League.

We have been very awful in the league to say the least. Could this be the year that we finally lift the Champions League? And remember, at the time when Liverpool won the league, they were the underdogs, especially having knocked Chelsea out with the "famous goal that never was". Their performance in the league was equally poor and just like our performance in the recent months.

That, together with the fact that 5 out of 6 teams who have knocked out Chelsea out of the top European elite competition have gone a head to win it....I just dont see Benfica fitting into this class of teams. Yet again, the gods are on our side....just like they were a couple of weeks ago when Napoli came calling. In the end, it was decided for all to see that indeed a tot of Chelsea gin is way stronger than a tot of Napoleon. We have all the reasons to look forward to this match......It could just be what Chelsea players have to play for this season.

Its even sweeter that we are the only english team in the Champions League. Wait a second, we are the only english team in Europe!! Man U and Man City have already been knocked out, Twice!!! We, the blue fans have all the rights to be proud! Ktbffh!

CHELSEA VS NAPOLI: ITS PAYBACK TIME!!

I was very observant during the Chelsea Vs Stoke game and I must admit the line up was a little surprising to me. In the end, this was a good thing and it really worked in our favor. Now whether RDM came up with this line up for tactical reasons or had one eye on Wednesday’s crunch tie against Napoli is everyone’s guess. Lets talk about the line up for today’s match!
In defense, I would play Ivanovic at right back. This Serb is on form and his not so many runs forward are proving to be the turning point. He is areal threat during dead ball situations which unlike during the first leg Chelsea never took advantage of. Terry and Luiz to partner in central defense, while Cahill to start on the bench. Whereas both Cahill and Luiz are good, If am to go by the recent performances I would pick Luiz. His aerial ability is something I had underestimated but time and again he has proved me wrong. Any defender good enough to out jump Nicola Zigic of Birmingham is good enough to handle Cavani. Ashley Cole comes in at left back and in my opinion, not because he is on form but simply because this is a very competitive game, with high tension which Bertrand cannot handle at the moment. Cole ‘s experience comes in handy. Clearly this is not his first competitive, high tempo and tense match.
The physical threat and presence of Cavani is something Chelsea must counter by all means. In other words, if Chelsea allow Napoli to score, then it would be an uphill task, hence if I was RDM I would start with Essien in the holding midfield position. His physical presence, tenacity and speed would be vital in not only protecting the back four but also the focal point of Chelsea’s attack together with Ramires and Lampard. Lampard however should not be allowed to play 90 minutes. We have to face it, age is catching up with him hence depending on the score I would bring in Mikel to take the holding position and push Essien further forward in the 60+ minutes.
I will then have Mata in centrally, behind the front two of Kalou and Drogba. His creativity is class and in several matches he has played centrally, he tends to perform very well. I expect a goal from the little Spaniard or an assist or both.
On his day, Drogba can take on on any defenders and he knows our qualification to the quarter finals rely on his shoulders. I also expect the big Ivorian not to disappoint. Two goals in his last two matches for Chelsea should keep his spirits high. His ability to assist the defense during dead ball situations hasn’t been appreciated enough, but I cant tell you how many times Drogba’s ability to head corners away from the our danger area has saved Chelsea.
Bring on Sturridge in the second half to torment Napoli’s defense and probably kill the game off. Its been very long since we had a player like Robben, a player who could come in and change the whole complexion of a match. In my opinion, Sturridge fits this role at the moment.
Score the first goal and you will get a second. Score a third and you will get a fourth and Napoli are out. As you do these however, ensure you keep it tight at the back: Do not concede!
Finally, here is a thought: 5 teams who have knocked Chelsea out of the Europe’s elite competition have gone ahead to lift the trophy. Can Napoli knock out Chelsea and go all the way, I really doubt.
Ladies and gentlemen, the gods are on our side!!

Chelsea Vs Birmingham: Change of Formation, Attitude!

As we had for a crunch tie against Birmingham, I am hoping RDM will start with 4-4-2 formation. I would wish to have Essien and Romeu. (These two can actually play together same way Makelele and Essien Played together) I would push Essien a little further forward, and keep Romeu in the holding position. Since our central pairing of David Luiz and Cahill is yet to gel, its very important to have a holding midfielder in the caliber of Romeu, to protect the vulnerable back four.

Ramires is a player who until the last three matches has been a performer at Chelsea. We can make use of his pace, especially during counter attack. He is therefore an integral part of a Chelsea team, regardless of the formation. A complete box to box midfielder who only needs a little more improvement on his passing. In a compact sort of environment, its is such midfielders who make the difference in matches.

Chelsea have been so predictable in the predictable lately. Probably due to the fact that the only natural winger we have plays alot on the left side of the midfield. I would change this. I believe Juan Mata can play well either in the middle of behind a striker. If I want him behind a striker, then I will bring lampard in the middle, play 4-5-1,with my midfield comprising of Romeu, Essien, Rams, Lamps, Mata.

Fernando Torres is yet to rediscover his form, a year later. This is a serious tie and I wouldnt mind if he doesnt feature at all. I cant helping feeling sorry for the guy, but considering this is a match we must score, its only fair that he does not feature.
I would therefore keep Drogba upfront as my first choice and have Sturridge on the bench.

Depending on the score, I would bring him Sturridge in the second half, simply because as time goes by during a match, especially in the second half, he tends to fade off and in most cases he is unnoticed. Obviously, bringing Sturridge in the second half, with his pace should be a real nightmare to the opposition defense, just like during the Robben super sub days.

Sturridge could come in for one of the midfielders, preferably Lampard and force the formation to 4-4-2 with Drogba upfront.
There have been comments from several soccer pundits, who claim Drogba cannot play with Torres upfront, in 4-4-2 formation. I would like RDM to try Sturridge and Drogba upfront.

Of course at the back I would start Betrand in place of Cole at left back. Cole has been very awful lately. Cahill, David Luiz and Ivanovic. It is obviously a gamble, just like the appointment of RDM, but then again what Chelsea needs right now is a break from the recent past, onto something slightly different.
A change in formation could just be the something different!

Chelsea have conceded a few goals from corner kicks. The last two goals conceded were actually scored by the opposition left backs. I hope AVB didnt employ the zonal marking system. RDM should ensure theres proper marking during corners and deadball situations. Thats where we have been most vulnerable.

Either way, i expect a good match. Birmingham trying to punish Chelsea and Chelsea players trying to prove a point, that actually the recent dismal performance had been caused poor tactics.

A win and progression into the FA Cup quarters and we will be pointing fingers at the previous coach. A loss and we will point fingers at the players and a clear testimony that AVB may have left Chelsea, but the problems still exist!

Frank Oloo

OPEN LETTER TO ANDRE VILLAS BOAS

Dear Andre Villas Boas,

I hope this email finds you well. First, I take these opportunuty to wish our boys all the best in the match agaisnt Bolton that is coming in less than an hour from now. Dispite all the dissapointments, I must tell you we are still very optimistic and looking forward to this match with alot of expectations. To us, missing out on the Champions League spot is something we cant even imagine, and any efforts toward us achieving this objective is more than appreciated by us, the fans.

I want t bring to your attention my dissapointments in the manner in which you handled our Napoli match. I was earger and was hoping for a Valencia kind of approach, where Chelsea were generally superior to Valencia as we confirmed our qualification to the knock out stages.

We have had claims that Chelsea has "dead wood" who are not committed then why the hell on earth do you leave Romeu on the bench.(Did he feature at all) Is he dead wood too? According to you, you would rather play your good for nothing Meirelles, and leave Oriol Romeu on the bench, a player who has done his job superbly. A player who all fans think can develop and grow into a midfield maestro, fitting perfectly into the Makelele role, a player who a section of the fans think has the skills of Makelele and the body of Alex and is perfect for premiership. Why AVB, why?

AVB, you take us to Napoli, a team which plays 3-5-2. A team which relies on three deadly players. Hamsik, Lavezzi and Cavanni. I thought, as a one time opposition scout, we had our work cut out for us. As an opposition scout, i expected you to have issued instructions to our players, to focus on getting Napoli out of the game. With such an attacking talent Napoli had, why did you play without a holding midfielder? Why did you stick with the 4-3-3 formation even when we were outnumbered in midfield?

Am glad you finally heeded to our advise and played Mata centrally. But we all know Mata is more of an attacking threat and hence when he plays centrally especially in the 4-3-3 formation, you must have a strong holding midfielder. I believe you had those those options. Essien, Romeu and Mikel. So, why did you allow Napoli to control our midfield?

Your intention was to play Bosingwa left back. Perhaps because Ashley Cole had not fully recovered. On what basis was your judgement sir? And, having watched Betrand play against Birmingham and not having put a foot wrong in the entire match, wasnt it not enough to have him start the match in place of Bosingwa?

AVB,need i remind you that Walter Materazzi, the Napoli coach in the build up to tuesday’s match and having been banned from the touchline said his assistant was more of a technical genius. I agree. He won tactically. Look at Cavani for instance, he scored one and assisted the other two and from a deeper position. Cavani was playing more from a second striker position as opposed to center forward position, due to his pace and power. When a striker plays deep and bursts forward every moment is always a problem for the opposing defenders. Some will chose to follow him, others would ignore and leave him to the midfielders to track him down. Chelsea defenders chose to ignore and leave him to the midfielders (who weren’t there) and since 4-3-3 has only three in the middle, there was no one to track Cavani. And anytime the defenders would track Cavani, Lavezzi will automatically find himself in space and bam….!

If you didnt see that with the first goal, you should have seen with the second and perhaps would have avoided the third.

And would you sir care to explain to me what your game plan was? Was it to attack, defend or what exactly did you tell the boys to do? And if it didn't work, did you make any tactical substitutions or was yours the normal change of personality.

I am asking, i need answers. Thereafter, I will blame the old players.

Yours truly,

Frank Oloo
www.toksoccer.blogspot.com

Chelsea Vs Napoli Preview: If I were Andre Villas Boas:

Napoli play the 3-5-2 formation with Marek Hamsik behind Lavezzi and Cavani. To me, Marek Hamsik is the most dangerous player with six goals this season, seven assists and has had thirty four shots. He is the sort of player, who will give a killer pass or go for goal himself if given room.
If I was Andre Villas Boas, I would play 4-5-1 with Didier Drogba upfront, with two in midfield, two wide men and one midfielder behind a striker. The 4-5-1 formation was successfully employed by Arsene Wenger the last time he won a league tittle since it remains 4-5-1 while defending and automatically turns to 4-3-3 when you have the ball. And with Sturridge’s pace and Drogba’s ability to hold the ball on his day, within no time Napoli’s 3 man defense will find itself short in numbers.
Andre Villas Boas in my opinion has two options, to attack and come out with something or defend and hope for a draw then finish off the game at Stamford Bridge. However, given the current home form Chelsea would rather attack and make most of the opportunities they get than wait for the home game which could be uncertain.
One thing Chelsea must avoid is the high defensive line. This could prove costly. I watched the last match Napoli played over the weekend, away to Fiorentina and could help but realize that Lavezzi is a very fast forward who doesn’t track back even during corner kicks, waiting for counter attacks. Napoli’s third goal was a master class, traditional counter attacking football that Chelsea fans are popular with during the Duff-Robben era. Chelsea can therefore not afford to let David Luiz (who in my opinion is somehow re-discovering his form) stroll forward at will, the repercussions could be disastrous.
So who is the most dangerous player Chelsea should take note of, in my opinion Marek Hamsik. Again, I would borrow from Jose Mourinho’s style. While playing AC Milan while at Inter Milan, Ronaldinho was the best player then in the runner up to that match. There were some people suggesting to Mourinho to employ a man marking tactic, but all he did was to ensure the ball didn’t reach Ronaldinho. I can imagine the instructions were, “Don’t man mark him, but just ensure the ball doesn’t get to him” and it worked. Chelsea could do the same against Napoli, ensure the ball doesn’t reach Hamsik and if it does, don’t give him room to dictate play. I think in my opinion, this match like any other will be won in midfield.
The 4-3-3 formation, with one holding midfielder is risky. Man City played the same style against Napoli and they paid a heavy price, with one holding midfielder. Its also important to note that in some matches, Napoli have played Hamsik and Lavezzi behind Cavani and am sure should the initial formation fail to impress, they could revert to the later. (Where Lavezzi and Hamsik play behind Cavani)
Cech,= Ivanovic, Terry, Luiz, Cole. = Essien, Romeu.=Ramires, Sturridge= Mata Didier
Ramires and Essien’s ability to burst forward could be the key, especially when Chelsea has the ball. This will also give Chelsea advantage since there will be potential match winners in Frank Lampard and Kalou on the bench.
That would be my approach to this tricky away match, but then again am not the coach.

Andre Villas Boas on borrowed time and its entirely his fault!

Is there anything Andre Villas Boas has done to guarantee the fans that things might change? If it is players, why can’t he use the young guns who are dying to be involved? Sturridge is on form, saving Chelsea team every now and then, why can’t he be played as a Center forward? Why does Andre Villas Boas stick Mata to the left of the midfield even when it is evident he is a play maker? Is is rocket science to understand that formations change every now and then depending on the opposition, score and the players at hand.

I have supported Chelsea long enough to understand Chelsea’s abilities and ambitions and just like the Chelsea fans who walk down Fulham road every match day to sing for the "Pride Of London" we know what Chelsea team can do. It’s never been about the players. Nowhere in the world do we expect players to learn the coach, it’s the coach who ought to learn his players. If your system doesn’t fit a player, it can never be all the players and if it is, then as a coach you ought to come up with a system that suits your players. As a coach you make most of your player’s abilities. Here are examples, Kolo Toure was once a mid fielder at Arsenal, Didier Drogba was once a center back , Yaya Toure was a striker but their coaches realized they could make most of their abilities in different positions. Back at home, Osborne Monday is a midfielder, but he plays much better at right back in a 4-5-1 formation for Sofapaka. Thats the difference between a coach and a wanna be coach.

Chelsea has a young, able player in every position. Why cant they be relied upon if it is the so called Player power that is threatening its campaign?
We have been true Chelsea fans even before Abramovich arrived with his money bags. We had ambitions then, and we do now. Our expectations have obviously changed. So as a coach, you either meet our expectations or we shall continue singing Jose Mourinho's name every match day. And of course, in return we expect a bunch of excuses from Avb. We probably didnt win because Ramires runs too much or Drogba hasnt done his hair yet.....Nkt!
I recall when Mou was at Chelsea, Frank Lampard was runner up Fifa world player of the year behind Ronaldinho. Mourinho then said, that actually Lampard was the best player in the world. This is a player who can shoot, dribble, give along pass, give a short pass and very dangerous on dead ball situation. Of course the whole world knew Lampard was good, but definitely not better than Ronaldinho.
Exist Chelsea and he goes to Inter. During his CL winning season, Mourinho told the Italian press to forget about Christiano Ronaldo and Messi. That the best player in the world was Wesley Sneider. That the guy always gave him what he asked for, played with passion and followed instructions to the core. A season before CL winning season, he claimed Ibrahimovic was the best player he ever saw. Infact, at one time while Sweden were playing in a world cup match, Mourinho convinced Moratti to ensure Ibrahimovic was brought back to Milan via his own private jet. Mourinho said,

The same Mourinho, swapped Ibrahimovic with Etoo the following year and went on the press to say that was "best business he has ever done in football history and that only a stupid coach wouldn’t go for such a deal. Am sure at the moment, if you ask Mou who the best player is, he will definitely say Christiano Ronaldo, closely followed by Ozil and Benzema.

My point is, as a coach you have to make your players believe in themselves. Convince them they are the best, make them believe no other player is better than them. That is always the first rule in management, which sadly lacks at my beloved Chelsea. The buck, will ultimately stop somewhere. And in the words of one football pundit, Avb better make his move before Abrahamovic makes his.