Chelsea review

Chelsea review

  As the season draws to a close, the majority of Chelsea fans believed a trophy would be on the cards come May, with The Special One back at the helm. It was not to be a fairy tale ending in his first season back. Knocked out in the penultimate hurdle of the Champions League (semi-final) to Atletico Madrid, ran the Premier League to the wire with a some very questionable results and suffered terrible defeats to Man City in the FA Cup and Sunderland in Capital One Cup.

On a more positive note, Chelsea named their player of the year earlier this week and the candidates are:
- Eden Hazard
- John Terry
- Gary Cahill
- Cesar Azpilicueta

   With every match considered, I would personally like to mention Willian as a contender, who began the season a little rusty but with every match, began to cement his place in the Chelsea starting eleven. His engine is second to none and his passing is also very precise. His amazing off-the-ball work is what has prompted Jose Mourinho to start Willian in most games this season. He is a battery-power bunny. A solid debut season for the Brazilian. An improvement would be for him to work on his dead ball situations. Time and time again, they would be poor deliveries from a corner or a free-kick.
 Another player to consider is Nemanja Matic. Granted, he only arrived back in Jan 2014 for £21 million from Benfica, his contribution has helped a lot in the Premier League and it was evident at times that his powerful, defensive work rate with some key assists and dribbles were missed in the Champions League this campaign. Reminding me of the Road Runner (the cartoon) for some strange reason, his tireless work ethic and steel is exactly what Chelsea needed to solidify the defensive position.
   Having mentioned this, I would pick a top three with ultimately Gary Cahill as the winner, Cesar Azpilicueta in second and Willian in third place.
  Improvements must be made for next season if we are to WIN the Premier League and WIN the Champions League having been eliminated from both at the last hurdle. Firstly, I think John Terry, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard should all be given new one-year deals but it doesn't look likely. If they are to be rejected of new deals, I wish them all the best in the latter stages of their careers and hopefully, they'll come back one day.
    A striker is crucial. Romelu Lukaku coming back is very handy and will indeed mean we have a physical target who is hungry for goals however, Chelsea need one or perhaps two more deadly strikers. Diego Costa or at least someone of his calibre is a must and an impact striker in the shape of Javier Hernandez, would benefit the forward line immensely. I think with Ramires going missing in a lot of games this season, someone in the form of Ivan Rakitic wouldn't be a miss to compete for a starting spot next to Nemanja Matic. A left back would be ideal with the thoughts that Ashley Cole has played his last game, Ryan Bertrand out of favour and Cesar Azpilicueta naturally, a right back. Luke Shaw? Alberto Moreno? Felipe Luis? Your guess is as good as mine on this one however, I'd ideally like Luke Shaw who is the youngest, has experience in the Premier League and is also English. Thibaut Courtois and Kurt Zouma should also return to the Chelsea squad.
   Bearing this in mind, the World Cup is next so all these transfers could be scuppered with injuries, sky-high prices and other external factors.
   A solid season for the Blues of London but we need to improve next season if we are to end the season with trophies in the cabinet!

On a small side note:
My friends and I predicted who would win the Champions League in August. Without any hesitation, I immediately said Chelsea, two of my friends had said Bayern Munich which nobody disagreed with and a third friend had said Napoli as an outside bet to win the Champions League. Eliminated in the last sixteen of the Europa League to FC Porto having come third in their Champions League group.

Make or break

Make or break

   Our game against Aston Villa was heart breaking. I think on the whole, a draw was deserved. It was a huge blow and it didn't help that the referee got a fair few decisions wrong.
 
   Having watched the game live on the television and then again on Match Of The Day (football highlights show) I am adamant that Nemanja Matic's goal was wrongly disallowed. There are a few rumours why it was disallowed - for handball or he was offside, neither seem to be the case. It simply wasn't to be.

   The second incident (there are a lot of these in this game) came shortly after. Joe Bennett slides through Ramires as the Chelsea midfielder charges at the goal - for me it was a straight red card. He gets a lot of Ramires, if he doesn't do this, Ramires does have a goal scoring opportunity, I can't see why it wasn't a red card.

   The third controversial decision is Willian's 2nd yellow. Having watched this over and over again, Willian's arm is on Fabian Delph and the Villa man goes down. I don't think he was right to go down, it's not enough for him to fall over, let alone get a 2nd yellow for Willian. Softest yellow card I have seen given to a Chelsea player recently.

  A fourth strange decision soon followed. Ivanovic fouled leading up to what I will describe as an outstanding piece of imagination by Fabian Delph. Why didn't the ref stop the game and dish his yellow to Mr Delph?

   Then a lot of astonishing decisions soon resulted one after the other, in a short space of time. Ramires red card was right - I have to agree, this is an awful challenge and unfortunately, Ramires had to go and will miss a crucial game against Arsenal next Saturday at Stamford Bridge. Shortly after, Mourinho, his backroom staff, Lambert and his backroom staff as well as Gabriel Agbonlahor charge onto the pitch. Jose Mourinho politely (from what I've seen) asks to speak to the ref for 5 seconds. The result is a sending off into the stands. Why? Why only Jose Mourinho? Why not Mr Lambert too? Jose Mourinho also witnessed Gabriel Agbonlahor's arm on Ramires' neck. Where is his red card?

   I wasn't impressed by Mr Foy's management of the game. I also believe football should allow a manager to have one decision which he can challenge in each half and three experts, perhaps two referees and a former player, all have to agree in order for this decision to be overturned.

   After what is likely to be an emotional return in midweek for former Chelsea legend, Didier Drogba, I'm going to look ahead to our London derby with hopefully a Champions League quarter final secured this season. Having narrowly beaten Spurs, Arsenal (Chelsea's next Premier League opponents) now trail The Blues by four points and also have a game in hand. I imagine if Chelsea win against Arsenal, it will derail Arsenal's title credentials for at least a season.

The starting eleven I would choose would be;

Petr Cech - consistent performer, Chelsea's number 1 in recent years and possibly the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.

Branislav Ivanovic - always gives his all for Chelsea, on the whole, shows consistency in performance and a solid right back.

John Terry - captain, leader, legend.

Gary Cahill - has been a defensive rock under Jose Mourinho and his partnership with England counterpart, John Terry, hasn't gone unnoticed.

Cesar Azpilicueta  - an amazing season this right back, converted left back is having! Defends and attacks and hopefully, for many more years.

David Luiz (if recovers from injury) - although a liability in defence as he is the last man back, I think he functions effectively in midfield, especially if he has someone like Nemanja Matic alongside him. 

Nemanja Matic - an exceptional purchase in January and extremely pleased to have him back.

Andre Schurrle - very unpredictable. Evidently, can handle the Premier League as shown by his hat trick against Fulham yet lacks a lot of consistency.

Oscar Emboaboa - having gone off the mark recently, he is still an extremely valuable asset in the team.

Eden Hazard - should be given young Player of the Year award. His performances have been unstoppable at times.

Samuel Eto'o - although an ''old granddad'' Samuel Eto'o is showing he still knows where the back of the net is and will be crucial, if Chelsea are to beat Arsenal.

Subs: Schwarzer, Kalas, Mikel, Lampard, Salah, Ba, Torres.

Venue: Chelsea FC v Arsenal FC
           Saturday 22nd March 2014
           12:45pm KO

Attack v defence

Attack v defence

   Manchester City v Chelsea
   Monday 3rd February 2014
   Etihad Stadium
    

   This game is absolutely huge. The team with the best attack scoring 68 Premier League goals against the team with the best defence only conceding 20 Premier League goals. As many of us think, Mourinho will deploy defensive tactics to get a draw, I however see it a little differently. I think City's weakest link is at central defence. Kompany is a world class player but he has no partner on par. I think Mourinho will concentrate on this and I think he will play a defensive tactic at the start but when it gets to the 60th minute, he will send on Salah, who contains a world of pace to threaten to City and perhaps nick a goal, which could give us a vital 3 points to stay within touching distance from top spot.

   Man City have lost Aguero due to injury and he absolutely vital to their team. Dzeko is a fantastic player but he is not Aguero, who adds to City's pace up front. Most people don't have enough positive comments to describe Yaya Toure but what is his primary job as a central defensive midfielder? To defend, cut out attacks, destroy the opponents danger. I don't think he does that well. He is lost up field a lot of times and albeit, he is world class moving forward, like a train steaming to the station, he is not a CDM. His defensive qualities falter and if Manuel Pellegrini plays Fernandinho next to him, Jose Mourinho will know to exploit that area. Fernandinho is almost a carbon copy of Yaya Toure. Attacks very well and his defending is a little better but not credit worthy of being called a CDM. I can however, see why City play both of them in those positions. Where else would they play?

   Furthermore, I believe Manuel Pellegrini will have one eye on the Barcelona game around the corner, which could benefit Chelsea. I also believe that it is unlikely Manchester City will be as ruthless at home as they have been on many occasions this season as Chelsea have a mastermind tactician at the helm - the self proclaimed 'special one' who focuses his teams upon defending well, not pushing the full backs on and making sure his team hold its shape and contain strong organisation.

  I predict this to be Chelsea's line up vs Manchester City;
  4-2-3-1
                   Cech
Ivanovic Cahill Terry Azpilicueta
           Ramires Matic
Hazard      Oscar      Willian
                 Eto'o

Subs: Schwarzer, Cole, Luiz, Mikel, Lampard, Salah, Ba.

   Schurrle to miss out in my opinion as he doesn't contain enough pace to threaten City on the counter attack. On the contrary, he could be on the subs bench and Lampard will miss out but I don't think that looks likely, as Lampard has enough defensive qualities to come on and replace Matic or Ramires and enough attacking traits to come on and pinch a goal. Salah will almost definitely come on to make his debut. Mikel and/or Lampard could also come on.


Whatever happens, this will certainly be an interesting and intense football game for any football spectator.    

Adios Juan Mata

Adios Juan Mata

    

   He came, he saw, he conquered, he left. On the 24th January 2014, Jose Mourinho confirmed that 2 time Chelsea player of the year Juan Mata, will have a medical on the same day. Mr Mourinho had this to say ''the offer we've received we feel is the right offer for the quality of player.'' Jose also stated that Juan Mata was unhappy and that he did ask him if he wanted to go to which Mata replied ''I want to go.'' 

  It is a great shame we are losing such a fantastic player in Juan Mata to a great rival in Manchester United but sometimes, money speaks volumes. Selling a player who was on the bench the majority of the season for £37-£40 million is a sum too handsome to turn down. In theory, Chelsea are making a healthy profit of about £14-£17 million. As every Chelsea fan will understand, it is hard to lose such a fantastic player but Juan Manuel Mata Garcia made up his mind and wants to trade London for Manchester. He was unhappy towards the end.
 
   ''He was fantastic for Chelsea and Chelsea were fantastic for him.''

 The fact that we are selling United, one of our big rivals, a match winner who undoubtedly, has immense qualities, is horrifying. What makes this worse is that there is no Rooney coming the other way as of yet. United were reluctant to sell us Rooney yet we jump at the fact if there's a lot of cash involved, Mata is theirs.
   Juan Mata is not bigger than the club. If he doesn't want to knuckle down and earn his place, leave and we'll be better without you. 

 One potential player coming in is Mohamed Salah. The fee has been agreed with Basel for £11 million but still need to agree personal terms and needs to have a medical before he's officially a Chelsea player.  So that's two in and two out, with Kevin De Bryune already left club for Wolfsburg in Germany and Nemanja Matic brought in from Benfica. I have a feeling Essien will depart soon and perhaps one or two will come in. Rumous have it, we've been linked with these players recently;
Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad) 

Hulk (Zenit Saint Petersburg)
 Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
 Luke Shaw (Southampton) 

 Julian Draxler (Schalke)
 Isco (Real Madrid)
 Kurt Zouma (ST Etienne)
 Ross Barkley (Everton)

Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid) 

Back at the Bridge?

Back at the Bridge?

   Recent sources have been confirmed and a new arrival is imminent at SW6. The man in question 6ft 4 Serbian central defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic. Those of you who have read my previous blogs understand what a crucial position I believe this is. Finally a midfield enforcer who can score goals as well as break up play. If truth be told, Daniele De Rossi was my first choice but having understood, he is out of the equation, I'm more than content with the 'lanky' Nemanja Matic. 

   Interesting fact is that Matic was previously a Chelsea player however, the men in charge of the football club didn't rate him as highly as one or two of us did from the crowd and he was sent packing with £22 million in a deal which saw David Luiz (a fans favorite) head to the Bridge.

   The reported fee is £20 million which seems to be reasonable, as Benfica have crashed out of the Champions League. I believe this will be an amazing signing, just in time for Manchester United and looking further ahead, the game at the Etihad, against Manchester City. Even the most optimistic of Chelsea fans, would be very pleased with a draw and a win is a huge bonus. City have been simply unstoppable at home and Nemanja Matic, along with the rest of his new Chelsea team mates (hopefully) can stop them!
   Reports have it to believe Matic will sign as early as tomorrow (Tuesday 14th January 2014) which can ease the pressure (not that we have had any) on Frank Lampard returning.
Time to stop the red of Manchester at the Bridge and then to look ahead to the 3rd February, on our breath-taking fixture with Manchester City!
   On a slightly different note, one player who looks set to leave is Kevin De Bruyne. Having found opportunities hard to come by at the Bridge after signing from Genk in 2012, he was immediately shipped back to his former club for a 6 month loan deal and then spent the whole season at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga last term. Having signed for £6.7 million, approximately 2 years ago, he is leaving for Wolfsburg for around the figure of £18-£20 million. Good deal.

Fact file:
Name: Nemanja Matić
Age: 25

Place of birth: Yugoslavia 

Height: 1.94 m ( 6ft 4¹⁄₂ in )

 Here is a goal by Nemanja Matic which was nominated for the FIFA Puskas award in 2013:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWpwImjHMTE

6 pointer?

6 pointer?

   Arsenal FC versus Chelsea FC
   Venue: Emirates Stadium
   Date: 23rd December 2013
   Kick off: 8pm UK time
   

   Personally, I really do not believe that this game is 'do or die' in other words, I don't believe everything lies on this game. Of course, without a doubt, I would love to beat our North London rivals having already beaten them 2-0 in the Capital One Cup in their own back yard. The goals came from Cesar Azpilicueta, his first for Chelsea, after a mistake from Carl Jenkinson, which 'Dave' pounced upon and the second, a perfect execution from an immense talent in the form of Juan Mata, who swerved the ball from approximately, 20-25 yards, into the back of the net.

The first eleven: 

Presuming, we're playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, this is what I believe the first eleven should be.

    I'm really not a big fan of Jose Mourinho playing Cesar Azpilicueta in the left back position because our left flank is dominated with right footed players, who want to cut inside rather than run to the bar line and produce a cross. In many cases this season, we try to walk the ball into the back of the net which frustrates me a great amount. Only in recent games, have I seen players such as Willian, Hazard, Lampard and Ramires taking shots from distance on a regular basis.  However, Jose Mourinho has already stated that Cesar Azpilicueta will return to left back to face Arsenal with Branislav Ivanovic slotting in at right back. Ashley Cole recently attended Arsenal's Christmas party which seems very odd. This could possibly be another factor to why Azpilicueta slots in at left back. This leaves, an interesting problem at centre back; a choice between John Terry (stand out performer of the season so far) Gary Cahill or David Luiz. I am huge fan of David Luiz but even I have no answers to what he does sometimes. His mistake against Cardiff was horrendous yet his vision, passing, movements and free kick taking is of a great standard. Gary Cahill forms a neat partnership with John Terry and I think those two should start over David Luiz as I'm afraid he may make a mistake which could be crucial in the game.

   Ramires and Lampard although I would have Mikel in contention with Lampard just so we have a natural defensive minded player to cut the threat from Arsenal's creative unit even though, I'm not a big fan of Mikel as he tends to only pass backwards or sideways.

  Hazard will start on the left flank in front of Cesar Azpilicueta. No questions asked. In the 'no 10' role, I think, Juan Mata should begin the game. I do like watching Oscar a lot and he is a very talented individual but Juan Mata loves to play against Arsenal and  I think he may score again if he starts. The right hand side is an interesting case. I despised Andre Schurrle in the first 5-10 matches, in which I saw him play in a Blue shirt but he really has come of age and I enjoy seeing him play. I believe, he should start the game. Willian, who is also a summer recruit, has also found his feet at Chelsea and has been putting in very strong displays in order to gain a place in the starting eleven. His defensive display and his attacking work rate is as good as each other. Willian should come in the second half to cause problems and deal with dangers at the back with his lighting pace.

Torres? Ba? Eto'o? Honestly, I have no idea. I'd pick out of a hat if needs must. All three are on the same level and I'm afraid, that level, is below Chelsea standards. Possibly, Ba may edge it due to his physical approach and that he stays on the opposition's centre back rather than try to get the ball from the centre circle or drift out wide.

To summarise;

                   Cech
Ivanovic Cahill Terry Azpilicueta
         Ramires Lamaprd
Schurrle        Mata      Hazard
                     Ba
    

Subs:
Schwarzer
Luiz
Mikel
Oscar
Schurrle
Eto'o
Torres


Note: I'm not one to question the man in charge as he sees the players everyday whereas I analyse on the big screen for 90 minutes or so.

Prediction: I do believe we will win the game 2-1, goals from Mata and Hazard. 

Not good enough

Not good enough

Full time score: Basel 1 Chelsea 0

Frustrating times for Chelsea fans. Jose underestimates teams. It could not be simpler. Chelsea beat West Ham with a decisive score of 3-0. No disrespect to West Ham but playing with a false nine striker in the shape of Kevin Nolan will not get you a lot of places. Big Sam Allardichi is confused. Unfortunately, Mr Mourinho is not pulling the strings at Chelsea. Lampard is 35. He simply cannot play every game. Mikel in my opinion is a 6ft 2 robot. Can only pass sideways and backwards. Willian needs to find his feet. Rotation is key to a Champions League competing side. There needs to be a balance with the rotation system.

I'm furious with Mr Mourinho that his standing ego is rotting one of the best players in the world. Juan Mata. Spanish magician. He is a match winner. Has won Chelsea player of the year twice in a row, without a doubt world class, what else do I need to say? Why is he not starting? Is Oscar the problem? Here is a solution. Oscar is for the future, Juan Mata is for NOW. I'm a fan of Oscar and he will develop to be a superstar but Juan Mata's time is to shine now. He near to the finished article. The equivalent of Juan Mata sitting on the bench is the equivalent of Mesut Ozil sitting on the bench for Arsenal. To bring on Kevin De Bryune when Chelsea NEED a goal to qualify for top spot is rubbing salt in the wounds. Juan Mata must start.

I also believe that Chelsea need TWO recruits in January. A WORLD CLASS striker, anyone who can find the net week in, week out.Chelsea also need a strong, combative CDM who will sit in front of the back four and protect them as well as being able to drive the team with a range of passing a possibly popping up with a goal or two here and there.

Strikers:                                             CDM:

Radamel Falcao                                   Daniele De Rossi
Robert Lewandowski                           Nemanja Matic
Javier Hernandez                                 Paul Pogba
Luis Suarez                                         Blaise Matuidi
Jackson Martinez                                Xabi Alonso
Diego Costa