The Story So Far for Chelsea

Alex Clackson — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:33:24 -0500

Chelsea still sit at the top of the Premier League after losing just one game this season to Liverpool, who are refusing to give up on their title hopes.

Chelsea are also in a good position in the Champions League and even their loss to Roma still makes them favourites to qualify top from their group. So things are looking good for Chelsea, but could they have been even better?

The Chelsea fans strongly believe that the loss to Liverpool and Roma could have been avoided, and some of the draws—especially against CFR Cluj and Tottenham—should have been wins.

By analysing all the positions in the Chelsea squad (defence, midfield, and the attack) it might be possible to find out why certain games did not go by plan for Chelsea.

Lets start with the defence, the so called "unbreakable wall of Chelsea" led by the heart and soul of Chelsea—John Terry.

No wonder the Blues concede only once in a while.

If Chelsea have Terry and Carvalho in their defence, then the opposition might as well not even try to get past them.

Apart from the 3-1 loss to Roma, Chelsea have not conceded more than one goal this season in a game. So if Terry and either Carvalho or Alex stay fit, the London club should not have a problem with conceding a lot of goals.

Chelsea's midfield is just as good as the defence but with different attributes. The passing and movement from Chelsea have been superb this season, no doubt something Scolari has been part of.

In an open game like against Aston Villa and Blackburn, Chelsea continuously create chances through super Lampard and Deco and with the full backs attacking as well, the midfield is usually packed with Chelsea players making it difficult for the opposition to man-mark the team in blue.

Finally let’s analyse the attack.

Anelka has manged to answer back his critics by being the top scorer in the Premiership so far.

However, this is where Chelsea are most vulnerable. In a close game like against Liverpool, where there are few chances, Anelka struggles to take the opportunity. No matter what anyone says, Chelsea need Drogba in those type of games and if he would have been fit this season, Chelsea would not have drawn as many games.

Against the big teams like Manchester United and Liverpool, Didier is the man to lead the attack and Scolari will be hoping that the Ivorian international will be fit for the game against Arsenal on the 30th of November.

Nevertheless, Chelsea have got a very bright future on their hands. It would not be surprising to see them stay on the top spot and if they can get rid of the injury plague and keep the players on top form, Chelsea no doubt will be crowned the champions of England in May.

If Scolari Keeps His 4-5-1 Tactics, Drogba Must Get the Nod

Alex Clackson — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:44:07 -0400

Didier Drogba has been injured since last May and has not played a full 90 minute game since the final of the Champions League in Moscow.

As the Ivorian player missed the start of the season, Nicolas Anelka had to step up and fill his shoes. So far Anelka managed to bag two goals in five Premier League games and also one against Bordeaux in the Champions League.

This is actually not a bad goalscoring record and "Big Phil" Scolari must be quite pleased with the Frenchman.

However, now Drogba is slowly making a full recovery and has already played 15 minutes against Manchester City and 45 minutes against Manchester United, but to be totally honest, so far he looks very rusty.

His strength appeared to be nowhere near as good as last season and he looked out of place in both games. It is quite clear that Drogba is yet to find his full fitness and once he does that, there is no doubt that he will become a goal machine again.

So here is the dilemma: Anelka has been on good form so far, scoring a few goals and looking very sharp, so he certainly deserves a place in the starting line-up.

On the other hand we have a recovering Drogba, who we all know is unstoppable when fully fit and therefore should be in the starting 11 too.

This certainly will give Scolari a headache, but lets look at the negative sides of these two strikers.

First Nicolas Anelka—a player who seems to know where the net is and yet miss from four yards from a Joe Cole cross against Manchester United.

This is a problem with Anelka.

Now and then he misses chances that causes Chelsea fans say "even I would have scored that".

Against Bordeaux in the Champions League, Anelka could have scored five or six goals if he managed to hit the target, but he only managed one goal. It did not really matter against the French side as Chelsea came out on top regardless, but against the English champions Manchester United, that miss from four yards out certainly did matter.

This is the reason why Anelka drives so many Chelsea fans mad and looking at the hand signals of Luiz Felipe Scolari when Anelka missed, its pretty clear that the Brazilian manager was not too pleased either.

Now lets see what negative attributes has Drogba got. Well apart from the attitude, there aren't any.

Give Drogba a chance and he will put the ball into the back of the net using either his head, his right foot, his left foot, or any other body part you can think of.

Last season Didier was hit hard by injuries and the African Cup of Nations, but whenever he played for Chelsea, he always looked like he was going to score and as a matter of fact, most of the time, he did score.

After the Champions League final, the Chelsea fans were understandably upset with Drogba; his red card may have cost Chelsea the trophy and yet the majority of the fans forgave him straight away for a simple reason—Drogba is the number one reason why Chelsea got to the final in the first place.

So if Drogba can get his form of the last two seasons back, there is no doubt that he should start over Anelka.

Here is another thought though.

Why not play them two together with Deco just behind them playing as "the creator"?

Lampard and Ballack can stay in midfield with Mikel playing just in front of the back four. This of course would mean that Joe Cole and Malouda would have to sit on the bench, but to be honest their performance against Manchester United did not set the world on fire and therefore they will not be missed on the pitch.

In my opinion, a Drogba—Anelka combination CAN work, with the Frenchman running about trying to create something for the Ivorian who will certainly put the ball in the back of the net.

Something tells me though that Scolari will keep his 4-5-1 formation and if that is the case, then Drogba should certainly start every game and there is no doubt that he will be a massive success again this season.

And if he ever gets injured, there is always Nicolas Anelka to score, and then miss from four yards out.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Alex Clackson

The Story So Far for Chelsea

If Scolari Keeps His 4-5-1 Tactics, Drogba Must Get the Nod