On November 29, Didier Drogba, a long-term Chelsea fixture (and record-holder – ranked 6th all-time goal scorer for Chelsea), turned down an offer for a one-year contract extension with the Blues. Thierno Seydi, agent of the 33-year old striker, has rather indelicately stated: "at Didier's age, he has nothing left to prove as a player. He will go where he is offered the most money." At least he's being honest.
Didier Drogba
Where will Drogba end up?
Apparently he's considering a move to Asia (Russia looks especially promising), as well as the USA. I'm aware that Anzhi Makhachkala, the Russian team that makes Manchester City look impoverished, has put Drogba on its wish list. If successful, Drogba will be a nice addition to a squad that seems to be amassing its own private army of brilliant footballers and coaches (Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto'o, possibly Guus Hiddinck, and possibly Marcelo Lippi). And if it's truly money he wants, Anzhi is definitely the place to go. Money seems to be absolutely no object for the Russian side, with the club signing Samuel Eto'o to a contract in August that officially made him the world's highest-paid football player (10m Euros/season). I believe that the offer from Anzhi was a transfer fee in the ballpark of 10m Euros. Another option for Drogba is MLS side LA Galaxy, which his agent has stated is "possible." The Galaxy are certainly no stranger to amassing great talent either, picking up David Beckham and Landon Donovan, as well as being linked with Luca Toni, Michael Ballack, Ronaldinho, Frank Lampard (!), Alessandro del Piero, and Guti. Personally, I'm hoping he comes to the Galaxy, because when the Galaxy play Toronto FC (my home club), I might be able to see him. So, for entirely selfish reasons, I want him to reach Los Angeles.
What does this mean for Chelsea?
While losing Drogba will, of course, be very unfortunate for the club, in all truth I do not believe it will force a huge difference in Chelsea's tactics. André Villas-Boas seems to be favouring Fernando Torres as the target man in the Chelsea formation. As well, Drogba look-alike (and play-alike) Romelu Lukaku is waiting in the wings to become a permanent fixture in the starting 11.
Romelu Lukaku
When he comes of age, the 18-year-old striker will be the one to take Drogba's place in the squad. Drogba is undoubtedly one of my favourite Chelsea players ever – it will truly be devastating to see him off. And when Drogba's last game at the Bridge is played, I have no doubt that he won't be leaving without at least one standing ovation (he'll get one from me, at least).
Hey everyone,
So after a truly devastating 2-1 loss against Bayer Leverkusen (Champions League) on Tuesday, the general public really stepped up the speculation over the future of André Villas-Boas' job. It's true, Chelsea is definitely not where they were expected to be this season. Their title hopes are extremely low (Manchester City has pretty much locked it up after only 12 games, providing their incredible run of form holds); they require a win against Valencia to qualify for the Champions League; and Chelsea are currently sitting at 5th in the Premier League table. Past managers have been in better positions than Villas-Boas is currently, and were still sacked by Roman Abramovitch (think Carlo Ancelotti, Avram Grant, etc). The Russian multi-billionaire is quite impatient with his managers, expecting almost immediate results. Since José Mourinho, he's gone through 6 managers in 5 years. The conjecture among the general population is that if Chelsea do not advance to the next round of the Champions League, it will not be long before Abramovitch hands Villas-Boas his marching orders (and AVB has acknowledged this).
Personally, I hope this doesn't happen. I actually think he's quite a good manager, and that he needs more time than just 20 or so games. Even if we don't manage a Champions League win, the main goal should be to finish in the top 4 in the Premier League (which will get us a CL spot next year), and use the break to try and fix up the team. Transfers need to be made. It's definitely an aging team: the average age of the team is 27.5, 8th highest in the league. When compared to top teams such as Manchester City (26.4), Manchester United (26.1), Arsenal (25.3), Liverpool (26.7), etc... it's obvious that Chelsea needs some younger players. John Terry is 30, Frank Lampard is 33, Didier Drogba is 33, Petr Cech is 29, Ashley Cole is 30, Florent Malouda is 31, Nicolas Anelka is 32. With the occasional exception of Anelka, these are all regular first-team players. The average age of Chelsea's usual starting 11 (I'm going to say Cech, Cole, Terry, Luiz, Ivanovic, Meireles, Lampard, Ramires, Malouda, Torres, Mata, just for argument's sake) is 27.8. In a few years, the majority of these players will be gone, and Chelsea need to have a contingency plan. Purchases such as Romelu Lukaku (who plays in a very similar style to Drogba), Oriol Romeu, and Thibaut Courtois (who will be ready to step in as the new goalkeeper by the time Petr Cech retires) are excellent. Chelsea need to continue to invest in developing footballers and supplement the current squad with young, creative players who can strengthen the team.
André Villas-Boas: the perpetually squatting manager of Chelsea (and we love him for it).
Chelsea had a Champions League match stolen from their grasp on Tuesday, when Bayer Leverkusen scored in the 92nd minute to win the game 2-1 at the BayArena. Chelsea had gone up 1-0 after a Drogba goal in the 48th minute (on a Daniel Sturridge assist). After bookings to Ivanovic and Meireles, Erin Derdiyok came on for Leverkusen and scored after only 2 minutes. The game looked to be a draw when 90 minutes passed; however, it was at that moment when Manuel Friedrich headed in a Gonzalo Castro corner to win the game 2-1. With this unlikely loss, Chelsea moved to 3rd place in Group E with 8 points and a +6 GD, and now need a win against Valencia (8 points and a +8 GD) in order to advance to the next round of the Champions League. Chelsea are in an extremely tough position now, with André Villas-Boas' job on the line as well. They desperately need a win against Valencia. In their last game against them (in Valencia), the two teams drew 1-1. The next match will be at Stamford Bridge. Hopefully the support of the fans can drive Chelsea to a victory and a place in the next round.
This was depressing: the winning goal at the BayArena on Wednesday.
This morning, Chelsea emerged victorious with an important 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton that saw them put a bit of distance between themselves and Arsenal (2 points), as well as close the gap slightly between themselves and the likes of Newcastle (1 point), Tottenham (3 points), and Manchester United (5 points). With Newcastle up against Chelsea next Saturday, I'm definitely hoping that next weekend we'll all see a shift in the Premier League standings (with Chelsea overtaking Newcastle and reaching 4th spot). In today's match at the Bridge, goals from John Terry, Daniel Sturridge, and Juan Mata (with Mata assisting the first two goals) put Chelsea up 3-0 at the end of the first half.
NOTABLE CHELSEA PLAYERS:
- Juan Mata: Man of the Match performance. Assisted the first two goals, and scored the third. Showed great composure and vision with his crosses. Provided Sturridge with the easiest of tap-ins and Terry with a lovely corner ball. Overall, he had an excellent game.
- Daniel Sturridge: Positioned himself well to tap home Mata's cross for the 2nd goal of the game. At times seemed a bit needlessly selfish with the ball (went for goal, even though passing it off would have been a perfect option), but nonetheless played a great game. Created a beautiful run for himself down the length of the pitch in the 2nd half, but couldn't finish.
- John Terry: Positioned himself well and got up to a good height to score the first of the game off a Mata corner. Defended well during the game.
- Oriol Romeu: In his first Premier League start for Chelsea, he looked extremely comfortable in the holding midfield role. Linked up well with the attack, and defended well when needed.
- Ramires: Played excellently in midfield. His incredible pace gave Chelsea a number of opportunities. Showed his great value to the team when he dispossessed a Wolves player at the centre of the pitch and made a brilliant run down the middle, unleashing a blistering shot which was saved by Hennessey.
Juan Mata celebrates his goal.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
Chelsea did very well to dominate the game from early on, with John Terry scoring off a Mata corner in the 7th minute. According to the commentators, the goal could have easily been cleared at the far post if Wolves had defenders marking the posts. However, both were left wide open and Chelsea went up 1-0. A fluid passing play in the 29th minute between Cole, Romeu, and Mata led to Sturridge tapping in the brilliant cross by Juan Mata. In the 45th minute, Drogba passed it off to Cole, who crossed it to Mata in the box. Mata, from 10 yards out, volleyed the ball into the top netting to make the score 3-0 for Chelsea. Chelsea dominated the entire 2nd half, only allowing Wolves 2 shots on target during the entire game (as opposed to Chelsea's 12). In the 90th minute, John Terry got himself booked for time-wasting (what he was doing, I have no idea – he pretty much just held on to the ball during a throw in for a minute, when it seemed that he had plenty of options. There was no real need for any time-wasting, since Chelsea were up 3-0 and the game was about a minute away from being over). Final score: Chelsea 3-0 Wolverhampton.
MATCH STATISTICS:
Chelsea Wolves
Ball Possession (%) 5347
Shots (on target)21(12) 8(2)
Corners8 2
Crosses2011
Fouls Committed1011
Yellow Cards1 2
Red Cards00
Offsides 1 0
No highlight reel on Youtube, sorry, but here's a good link with the video at the bottom:
So after watching an exciting (and ultimately depressing) Chelsea-Liverpool game this morning which ended 2-1 in favour of the Reds, a conclusion has been reached: Chelsea needs to buy some defenders come January. After watching the past few games, the only defender with whom I don't have any issues is Branislav Ivanovic, which just makes me love him all the more. Credit to Ashley Cole, who is usually quite consistent (with the exception of today's game, where Glen Johnson managed to outmaneuver him to get the winner); however, John Terry seems to need some conditioning (he looks quite uncomfortable in his own defense, and in the past few games he's made a few costly mistakes); José Bosingwa's marking needs improvement (he's actually been dropped from the lineup in recent weeks); and David Luiz... well. I've already voiced my concerns over David Luiz. I honestly think he should be playing in a holding midfield role. I also think he needs to learn how to control his temper. In today's game, after losing the ball and hitting the ground, he actually just lashed out with his cleat and kicked a Liverpool player in the back of the legs. He luckily received just a yellow (it could have easily been a red), but players shouldn't behave like that. Ever. He is pretty young (24 years old), and he's still adjusting to the Premier League after moving from Benfica in January of this year, but he has to know the consequences of his actions. Maybe in a year or two he'll be the complete package, but at the moment I do not think he's ready to feature in the starting lineup as a centre-back.
In a weekend where Chelsea was presented an absolute ideal opportunity to reclaim third place (after Manchester City handed Newcastle its first loss of the season), we could not manage to take advantage of the opportunity, and, as a result, Chelsea remains in 4th (likely to be 5th if Tottenham manages a win or a draw from tomorrow's match against Aston Villa).
Look! I made a cool starting 11 image! You don't even know how proud I am of this. And it was also really annoying to make because I had to make my computer think that all of the players' names were actual words so that they wouldn't get that red squiggly line underneath.
- Daniel Sturridge: Tipped in Malouda's pass to tie the game and get Chelsea's only goal. His introduction at half-time changed the pace of the game and definitely improved Chelsea's overall play.
- David Luiz: I've said it all in the above paragraph.
- John Obi Mikel: Voted Flop of the Match on Goal.com, it was his mistake that initiated the build-up for the first Liverpool goal. Needs to improve defensively if he wants to keep his place in the starting 11.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
In a game where the balance of power seemed to be in perpetual flux, Chelsea began well, holding possession and creating good chances. After Drogba came incredibly close to scoring a free kick (he had Reina beaten, but the ball went wide and hit the back of the net), Liverpool struck first in the 33rd minute after Petr Cech passed to Mikel, who was then dispossessed by Charlie Adam. After a neat passing play between Adam, Bellamy, Suarez, and Maxi Rodriguez, Liverpool was up 1-0, courtesy of a Rodriguez shot from the far post. In the 42nd minute, Luiz was lucky to escape with just a yellow after lashing out at a Liverpool player with his cleat. At half-time, Sturridge came on for Mikel, and immediately changed the pace of attack. Just nine minutes after coming on, Sturridge slotted home Malouda's cross at the far post to equalize, 1-1. In the 57th minute, Branislav Ivanovic pulled off an amazing header which would have been a goal, if not for Reina's incredible save. After yellow cards to Ramires and Ivanovic in the 62nd and 79th minutes, respectively, a double-substitution was made in the 84th minute: Torres for Drogba, and Meireles for Ramires. In the last 5 minutes of regulation time, both teams were going all out – they both desperately needed a win. Chelsea looked slightly stronger near the end; however, it was Glen Johnson, a former Chelsea player, who found his way around Ashley Cole and netted the winner through a brilliant solo effort.
Final Score: Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool.
Daniel Sturridge celebrates his goal.
He's dancing, by the way.
MATCH STATISTICS:
Chelsea Liverpool
Ball Possession (%) 5644
Shots (on target)17(3) 8(2)
Corners5 5
Crosses2919
Fouls Committed1312
Yellow Cards3 2
Red Cards00
Offsides 1 2
Okay, so for some weird reason, Blogger won't let me post Youtube videos at the moment, so I'll just post the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfz_IqHnQfg
That one is Sturridge's goal – unfortunately there aren't any full highlight reels that I can find.
This Wednesday we have Chelsea playing Bayer Leverkusen in an important Champions League match. Let's go Blues!
Hey everyone,
Very sorry for not posting anything for the past couple weeks. Work has been absolutely ridiculous, and it was getting to the point where it was becoming very depressing to write about Chelsea activities (you'll see why after you read this post). But things are looking up (as of today, with a 1-0 win over Blackburn at Ewood Park), and I'm looking forward to the next few weeks, especially Chelsea-Liverpool on November 20th and Chelsea-Man City on December 12th).
Frank Lampard celebrates his goal in the 3-5 loss against Arsenal last weekend.
So I'll give you a quick rundown on last Saturday's 5-3 defeat to Arsenal (you can see why I was depressed now, right?), and then an overview on their 1-1 draw with Genk on Tuesday (depression increasing), and then how Chelsea dropped to fourth place behind an impressive Newcastle side today (gah!).
First: the 5-3 defeat at Stamford Bridge against Arsenal. That was a really exciting game (although the result wasn't favourable). On average, there was a goal every 11 minutes. A goal from Frank Lampard put the home side up 1-nil in the 14th minute. Robin van Persie then equalized in the 36th, and John Terry's header put the home side on top in the 45th minute. Andre Santos equalized again for Arsenal in the 49th to make the score-line 2-2, and Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead 3-2 in the 55th. After a series of substitutions and bookings on both sides, Juan Mata scored an incredible goal in the 80th minute. After a few more minutes of breakneck pace from both teams, Florent Malouda sent a poor back-pass to John Terry, who then stumbled while trying to chase down the ball. Van Persie took control and advanced on Petr Cech, who couldn't make the save. In the 90th minute, Arsenal struck again through Robin van Persie to make the final score 5-3 in favour of Arsenal. This was Arsenal's best result at Stamford Bridge since 1934, when they won 5-2.
When van Persie scored his 2nd goal, apparently quite a few people (and some of the more tabloidy football websites) misconstrued his celebration as "Sieg heil." Here it is. Honestly, I'm thinking it must have been a ridiculously slow news day for anyone to even consider printing that.
MATCH STATISTICS:
Chelsea Arsenal
Ball Possession (%) 5347
Shots (on target)12(7) 11(6)
Corners3 2
Crosses2011
Fouls Committed817
Yellow Cards2 3
Red Cards00
Offsides 5 2
Sorry about the lack of highlight reels – I couldn't find a single one on youtube. If you see any, link it in the comments and I'll add it to the post.
So now for game #2: Chelsea 1-1 Genk on November 1.
I remember watching this game, and just getting very frustrated that we weren't winning. We had so many chances, but just couldn't finish. After Ramires' brilliant give-and-go with Fernando Torres in the 26th minute to put Chelsea up 1-0 at Cristal Arena, Chelsea just couldn't score a second goal. Raul Meireles' excellent strike hit the crossbar; Frank Lampard's shot (on an almost-open net! From 3 feet away!) went wide of the post; and David Luiz couldn't convert a penalty kick into a goal. Now hold on a moment. Surely you're asking yourself: with the likes of Fernando Torres, Florent Malouda, Raul Meireles, and Nicolas Anelka on the pitch (all more than adept at taking penalties), why was David Luiz stepping up? He's playing as a centre-back! Why is your centre forward not taking that penalty?! Everyone, including myself and the game commentators, was flabbergasted (yes, flabbergasted) when we saw David Luiz behind the ball. I know he's good on the attack, but surely with the likes of Torres (or any of the other attacking options) on the pitch, you don't need anyone else taking penalties. I'd really like to know the story behind that one. Later on, in the 61st minute, Vossen scored for the home side, and the game ended 1-1. Quite unfortunate, considering that Chelsea dominated the majority of the game, but just couldn't finish. In all truth, that game could have easily ended 4-1 in our favour.
Highlights of the Chelsea-Genk match.
MATCH STATISTICS:
Genk Chelsea
Ball Possession (%) 4456
Shots (on target)9(5) 18(6)
Corners5 5
Crosses1316
Fouls Committed99
Yellow Cards1 1
Red Cards00
Offsides 1 1
Now, to today's victory over Blackburn.
We won 1-0! Yay for breaking a streak of taking only 1 point from a possible 9 in all competitions! A 51st minute diving header from Frank Lampard, who now has 6 goals in 8 games, sealed the win for the Blues at Ewood Park.
Here was the starting 11 (4-3-3). Very interesting to see Daniel Sturridge leading the attack. He played very well. When Torres came on in the 2nd half, Sturridge moved out wide on the left and Torres took over in the middle of the attack.
Malouda (Torres) --------- Sturridge --------- Mata (Meireles)
Lampard ----------------- Mikel ---------- Ramires (Romeu)
Cole --------- Terry --------- Alex --------- Ivanovic
Cech
MATCH STATISTICS:
Blackburn Chelsea
Ball Possession (%) 3862
Shots (on target)10(4) 13(4)
Corners5 8
Crosses1116
Fouls Committed1211
Yellow Cards4 2
Red Cards00
Offsides 3 1
In the 51st minute, Branislav Ivanovic made a lovely run down the right-hand side and delivered an excellent ball with the outside of his foot to Frank Lampard, who had to get so low to head in the goal, his head almost hit the ground. As well, the game was stopped for 7 minutes while Petr Cech, who had earlier collided with Yakubu and Ashley Cole, received medical treatment for a broken nose. Everyone was expecting him to come off at some point, but he put on an amazing show of bravery and played out the full 90 minutes, making a few excellent saves and recording his 2nd clean sheet of the season. Apparently he went through two different jerseys during that game due to the sustained bleeding.
What have we learned? Having a broken nose makes you play soccer really well.
I think we can all agree that he goal was pretty much the best thing ever. Seriously.
Unfortunately, no highlight reels of the Chelsea game can be found on youtube – if you see one, link it in the comments and I'll make it part of the post. With Newcastle's 2-1 win today over Everton, they slot into 3rd place in the table with 25 points. Manchester United have 26, Manchester City have 31, and Chelsea are in 4th with 22. Tottenham sit in 5th at 19 points, but they have 2 games in hand.
Thanks everyone! Have a great week, and I'll post again soon.
