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

Crucial win

Crucial win 

What an amazing performance to silence all the critiques and doubters Chelsea had. Chelsea won 3-0 away from home at FC Schalke 04 at the ground where Jose Mourinho first lifted the Champions League trophy with FC Porto.

Schalke passed the ball and it was met with an on rushing Chelsea player to defend it. Where was Julian Draxler? In Branislav Ivanovic's pocket. Azpilicueta did extremely well at LB. Jose Mourinho got the tactics absolutely spot on!

Next around the corner is Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. City have been very inconsistent, demolishing Manchester United 4-1 and the week after, losing to Aston Villa 3-2 without Benteke.  This is the game that lays the mark that Jose has arrived. We must win to keep on track. Cancel out Sergio 'Kun' Aguero and Yaya Toure and you've cancelled out the majority of the City team. Some rumours have it to believe that Ashley Cole is fit to face Man City and Vincent Kompany has been ruled out of the match. This will be a major boost to Chelsea. I hope Mourinho gets the tactics spot on again and increases our unbeaten run at home and this season.

Here is how I think Chelsea should line up against Manchester City:

                  Cech
Ivanovic Terry Cahill Cole
      Ramires Lampard
Schurrle Oscar Hazard
             Torres

I believe this is our strongest XI for this current season. We have options to rotate the current squad if needs must.

The game will kick off on Sunday 27th October at Stamford Bridge. 

Striker Conundrum

Striker Conundrum 

    I will attempt to find a striker who would finally, finally complete the final jigsaw to Chelsea's striking problems. Lukaku is on loan, so let him be for a season. Torres seems to be getting back to his best but whenever  anyone even remotely thinks of it, Fernando immediately stops performing. Eto'o is performing below par, having so much experience with  FC Barcelona and Inter Milan at the top level, he looks 17 not 32. Chelsea need a striker at the top, who stays in the middle, not a player who drifts on the wing and in the 'CF' position. Eto'o was only given a one-year contract at the start of the season and I think that's how it should stay. Ba, has been extremely inconsistent - one game, he's instrumental, the other, you wonder if he's still on the pitch. During the January transfer window, Chelsea should simply invest in a striker. I have five propositions to fit the bill.

Javier Hernandez, 25 - Manchester United
   Forget Rooney. This one is more likely. He sits on the bench, 4th choice and wouldn't have a sky-high price. Pacy, goal scorer and has a great reputation. An estimated guess of £15-£20 million. Still a young player too who hasn't reached his peak. Clinical goal poacher. Someone to put the ball in the net. If I were Mourinho, I'd buy Hernandez in the January transfer window.


Robert Lewandowski, 25 - Borussia Dortmund
   This is certainly the player Roman Abramovich should fight tooth and nail to sign a contract at Chelsea. Latest reports coming out of the Lewandowski camp say that he hasn't in fact signed a pre-contract with Bayern Munich and wishes to test himself in the Premier League. Costing absolutely nothing in transfer fees, as his contract expires in the summer, Robert Lewandowski is free to speak to any club in January. Powerful, pacy and knows where the goal is, I would be happy to see him in a Chelsea shirt. Although this wouldn't help in the current season, having signed Lewandowski on a pre-contract, would be exciting news for any Chelsea fans and maybe, the Chelsea strikers would up their game in order to be within the club next season.


Karim Benzema, 25 - Real Madrid
   Maybe an outside bet to wear the Chelsea blue, but I wouldn't be ungrateful if he arrived. His performances for the Los Blancos (The Whites - Real Madrid) have been below par and he has been warned that if his performances do not improve, he could be shown to the door. Rumours speculate that Real Madrid are wanting to sign a striker in the figure of Luis Suarez so this may pave the door for Benzema to be sold for a cheaper price than expected, in the region of £20-£30 million.


Radamel Falcao, 27/29 (depending what you believe) - AS Monaco
  Unlikely as it would seem, having just transferred in the summer, Falcao would be an excellent purchase. Some rumours have it to believe that super agent, Jorge Mendes installed a clause in Falcao's contract which sates that if Chelsea FC or Real Madrid are willing to pay £50 million in January 2014 (the same amount that AS Monaco payed Atletico Madrid in the summer 2013) then Falcao would be allowed to speak to the clubs.


Loic Remy, 26 - Newcastle United (on loan from Queens Park Rangers)
   Almost never going to happen but I see a deadly striker in Loic Remy. Albeit, it's just October, Loic Remy is the second highest top scorer in the Premier League with a below-motivated Newcastle United side languishing in 11th place. Without a shadow of a doubt, he is able to find the net and causes chaos for defenders. He would be a gamble for The Blues but not an expensive one. An estimated £10-£15 million should be enough.

Walking the ball into the net

Walking the ball into the net

   

   What is going wrong? So much talent. The manager, the players, the backroom staff. On paper, tipped for success. On the pitch, different story. Chelsea Football Club have lost 3 out of 3 in all competitions. One in the Super Cup, one in the Premier League and another in the Champions League. I accept the fact that Chelsea lost the Super Cup against Bayern, albeit winning twice against them and being pegged back to 2-2 within the last 7 seconds. Against Everton, created 21 chances, took none. Eto'o drifts out wide too many times so there's no vocal player in the middle. Against Basel, Chelsea were simply poor. Jose underestimated Basel, leaving Torres and Schurrle completely out of the squad. Van Ginkel made his Champions League debut for Chelsea and personally, he looked a boy in man's game. Too many fouls, too many misjudged errors. He looked very average. He needs to be nurtured properly, brought into games, not rushed into the Champions League. David Luiz should have filled in there and Chelsea should have played John Terry with Gary Cahill.

   Chelsea too many times, tried to walk the ball into the net. I can only recall, perhaps twice from Oscar, where he shot from distance, one hit the bar and went out. Every time, Lampard, Mata, Oscar, Hazard or Willian got the ball, it would be to try and walk the ball into the net, dribble through the Basel defence with neat footwork or slick passing. This didn't work. There was no strong, prolific striker. Even Eto'o tried a few dribbling runs. This was pointless. It clearly hasn't worked.

   Rotating so many players hasn't worked either. Willian was almost anonymous tracking back, Hazard had the poorest game in a Chelsea jersey and Eto'o seemed out of place. There was no fluidity between the team. Chelsea seemed like 11 individuals. Mourinho needs to pick his strongest eleven and work with that and rotate rarely rather than constantly. I think we missed Victor Moses running at people. Such a direct player. There is no consistency in the side and Jose underestimated Basel. This is the cause of our loss.

This should have been the team Jose went with:


                Cech
Ivanovic Terry Cahill Cole
      Luiz Lampard
Oscar   Mata   Hazard
          Torres

   Hazard and Oscar will be tracking back as well as going forward to support Mata and Torres. Luiz, as well as Lamaprd, naturally run forward to help the attack. This would have been a far solid squad compared to our eleven individual players last night.

   Next match is Fulham FC at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 21st September at 5:30pm. I look forward to see who starts and how Chelsea perform.  

Eto'o, Willian or simply the Juan?

Eto'o, Willian or simply the Juan?

   As the Premier League resumes tomorrow (Saturday 14th September) after having an international break, I'm going to see who will make the biggest impact between Eto'o, Willian or Juan Mata.

   Willian Borges da Silva: He is an exceptional player. He adds something extra to that already entertaining midfield. His speed, skills, movement and composure are an asset to any team. Rumoured to have cost anything from £25 to £32 million, depends on what tabloid you read, the former Anzhi Makhachkala playmaker glides rather than runs or sprints. A quote from Cahill states, he was ''terrified'' whenever Willian got the ball to his feet in training in the first couple of days. There is a slight problem for the new Brazilian at Chelsea; he is facing a mountain to become a starter. The number of attacking midfielder Chelsea posses is incredible. His natural position is on the left but Hazard, almost guaranteed a starter, will Willian adapt to the right where he faces competition from Schurrle, De Bryune and Oscar? I'm unsure if Willian will start, however, I can see him coming off of the bench and creating an impact on the game.

   Samuel Eto'o: No matter how you view this guy, he is something to behold. He has played for the two biggest clubs in Spain, went on to win the treble with Inter Milan and Jose Mourinho and was later sold to Anzhi Makhachkala, where he earned £300,000 per week, which is 60 pence a second. After signing for Chelsea on a one-year deal believed to be £130,000 a week (no way near the ridiculous number he was payed at Anzhi) Samuel Eto'o is somewhat a mystery. He has signed on a free, at the age of 32 but hasn't played at the top level for 2 years now. Is he a starter ahead of Torres and Ba? For me; yes. If he is able to regain his form he showed for clubs such as Barcelona and Inter Milan, Chelsea would have acquired a bargain. Ba and Torres are stop and start and personally, it is very frustrating to see the pair fire one week and draw blanks the next. Eto'o should start for Chelsea no doubt.

   Juan Mata: The Chelsea player of the year for two seasons in a row. Who would have thought, he wouldn't be guaranteed a starting place. Everything seems to be rosy in the Juan Mata camp but how long will that last after he finds out he won't play as many games as last season? I have total belief in Mr Mourinho but playing Juan Mata is no argument. Embed your method in him. Juan Mata is simply an outstanding player. He can unlock defences like a walk through a park. This guy is a genius. It will be a big blow if we lost Mata but time can only tell and I hope he starts tomorrow.

   I personally believe we have too many attacking players at Chelsea in this moment in time. The players on loan such as Kakuta, Marin, Atsu, Piazon, Victor Moses, Thorgan Hazard, when will they get a chance at the first team? I mean, all the attacking threat in the Chelsea 25 are young too so how will this work out? Wasted talent? I believe in Jose Mourinho and the board but buying a player of Atsu's calibre was a waste? No? Bar Juan Mata and Willian, Atsu is only a year younger than Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bryune, Andre Schurrle and Oscar. We shall see what the future holds. In the mean time, concentrating for tomorrow's match.

My prediction for tomorrow's line up against Everton stands at:

Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Lampard, Oscar, Schurrle, Hazard, Eto'o.

Note: This is my personal view. I am unaware who Mr Mourinho will pick come Saturday 14th September 5:30pm at Goodison Park.

Classic Jose

Classic Jose

   Typical of Jose. Win 2-0 at home. Clean sheet. The ''standard'' win what us Chelsea fans have forgotten about. It may get frustrating throughout the season as we are more likely to see these type of results. I can only say I would be happy if we won 2-0 every game but 1 huge factor that was painful for me to watch was that Juan Mata was only on the bench and didn't even make it onto the pitch. I know this one game and against a newly promoted side and Jose may be saving him for the tougher tests of Aston Villa and Man United but I have my doubts.

   Jose Mourinho likes his players to have STRENGTH or SPEED. Mata has neither. If you look throughout the whole team, every single player contains at least one of these attributes. I'm personally scared for the little Spaniard. Is this going to be a regular occurrence? Will he play against Manchester United where he normally reaches the top of his game? I've got a nasty feeling he won't. I hope I'm wrong.  

   I have faith in Jose but isn't this a little too coincidental? Iker Casillas of last season. Juan Mata his next victim? He does have a lot of competition for his place and hardly featured in pre-season compared to the other players who also played Confederations Cup football. I'm optimistic Jose is saving the magician for something astronomical.

   On a different note, John Terry and Frank Lampard both featured 90 minutes. I'm not sure what I make of this. David Luiz is injured so I expected John Terry to play the 90 minutes but will Terry be a regular under Mourinho? I think it's time to make Terry a squad player rather than a guaranteed starter. Time's are changing and I rather Terry was fazed out and passed on his experience to the younger centre backs than for Chelsea to suddenly be without a leader. Lampard too, I feel, needs to teach his tricks to the younger generation. Don't get me wrong, I wish both stay at the club until they retire but as squad players, more than first eleven.  I believe they should still feature in big games but not in every single game anymore.

   So after beating Hull Tigers comfortably, Aston Villa are next and pose a much bigger threat. They completely tore Arsenal apart. The counter attack of Benteke, Agbonlahor and Weimann absolutely destroyed Arsenal and I have to be honest, I did not see it coming. Chelsea have to be careful and make sure the two wingers defend as well as attack. As previously, I will try to predict the lineup by simply stating who I think will start in Jose Mourinho's second game at Stamford Bridge after his return.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

The back four and the goalkeeper:
Cech, Cole, Cahill, Terry (assuming Luiz is injured) Azpilicueta (Ivanovic rested for Manchester United)

The two holding midfielders:
Essien and Van Ginkel (Ramires and Lampard rested for the trip to Old Trafford)

The three attacking midfielders:
Schurrle Mata Hazard (De Bryune, seemingly a starter, will be rested for the visit to Manchester United)

The striker:
Lukaku (possibly, as Mourinho may believe Torres is his no1 striker)

In addition, when I write rested, I imply that the player will be either on the bench OR not feature in the game.

Note: This is my personal view. I am unaware of who Mr Jose Mourinho will pick come the game on Wednesday 21st August at 7:45pm (UK time) at Stamford Bridge against Aston Villa.