Anelka Defying Critics To Be Happy At Chelsea?

Nicolas Anelka has played a lot more this season courtesy of Didier Drogba’s persistent injury problems so far this term. However, despite getting much more of a look in, Anelka suggests his preference would actually be to play alongside the Ivorian.

Anelka says “Didier and I can play together but we have not done that since I have been here.  We have never started together up front. If we have started together then I was either on the right or left.  So it’s a shame, because I wanted to play with him when I first signed with Chelsea, but I hope it will happen. I think it could work with the two of us. But it’s the choice of the manager.”

Now to me, that seems a fair enough statement, and yet some of the daily’s are digging as hard as they can to find a story in there about a ‘frosty relationship’ with his manager. Anelka seems to give them what they’re looking for by going on to say “My relations with Scolari? I would say they are “polite.  He asks me to wait for my chance, then to play, then to score. I obey him even though I would prefer to play 4-4-2 than 4-3-3. I would like to play with Didier Drogba but the coach prefers one player up front.  I would prefer to play as a number nine and a half.”

So, he’s saying he does what he’s instructed to do? Is that really such a big deal?

Well, apparently not a big enough deal because the press then go on to hint that with all three of his goals against Sunderland not being all that far from the goal-line, the Frenchman has turned into little more than a poacher. And still they fail to ruffle Anelka’s feathers, with him saying “Yes this has been a good week for me but I do not get carried away by these things.  I have not suddenly turned into just a goal poacher. I don’t think I have to score to be a good player, my priority is taking pleasure. And that is the case right now.  I had already scored four against Milan in pre-season so the hat-trick thing isn’t something that I was waiting for but if people want to advertise it as a big deal it’s up to them.”

Finally, on life at Chelsea and the Premier League in general, Anelka says “There is competition for places here, it happens in every big club but even more so in England. People say this is the best league in the world - and it is.”

So it seems, much to the media’s annoyance no doubt, Le Sulk is happy enough after all.