EPL Talk » Chelsea

Observations About Premier League Saturday Matchday 13

The Gaffer — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:21:26 +0000

Thank god the Premier League is back. Nothing against international football, but there’s something very comforting with getting back into the ritual of watching Premier League football and being familiar with the surroundings, the pace of the game and the excitement it creates.

So the Liverpool against Manchester City game on early Saturday was the perfect re-introduction to the Premier League. I found the first half not as boring as ESPN’s Tommy Smyth claimed it was. Sure, there were few chances, but the flowing football was easy on the eye which was punctuated by two unfortunate injuries for Daniel Agger and Ryan Babel.

The second half of the match erupted. The last ten minutes of the match were pulsating with both teams throwing everything forward to try to get the winner, but alas the game ended 2-2 — which I thought was a fair result for both teams.

For me, the player who had the biggest impact on the match was Carlos Tevez who came off the bench and transformed City from a team who looked soulless in midfield to a team that was suddenly dangerous on the attack and had more possession. The thing I love about Tevez the most is that he turns nothing into something. He constantly fights for the ball and a perfect example of this was how he won the ball down the left wing and ran with the ball, passing it to Shaun Wright-Phillips who planted a beautiful pass to Stephen Ireland to score a valuable goal for City.

In the other games I watched, the football wasn’t as exciting as the match at Anfield.

Sunderland’s 1-0 victory against Arsenal was a game that wasn’t for the soccer purist. Both teams played well but Sunderland suffocated most of Arsenal’s attempts on goal and the Mackems had few chances of their own. That’s not to take anything away from Sunderland’s performance. The team battled hard and deserved to get something out of this game, and had a bit of good fortune in the ball falling to Darren Bent to win the match. While Tevez was my man of the match in the Liverpool versus City game, my man of the match at the Stadium of Light was Andy Reid who delivered a performance equal of Tevez by constantly fighting for the ball and pouring his enthusiasm into everything he did for Sunderland.

Just as Liverpool and Manchester City didn’t look like Premier League champion material today, neither did Arsenal. It wasn’t that they were bad. Instead the Gunners were shut down well by Sunderland similar to how Steve Bruce’s side did the same against Manchester United at Old Trafford recently. I’m sure a lot of the excuses for Arsenal’s defeat today will be aimed at the unavailability of Robin van Persie due to injury, but I feel that’s unfair. Arsenal had a few golden chances near the end of the game to equalize but it just wasn’t their day.

With Arsenal’s loss in the northeast, Chelsea moved eight points clear of the Gunners with an emphatic 4-0 home win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Seriously, Chelsea have become incredibly boring to watch this season. Don’t get me wrong. They’re playing wonderful football, but the matches they play are so one-sided that I find myself losing interest because they constantly cruise to victory with simplicity (except of course in a few games this season such as against Manchester United and Wigan Athletic, where the opposition was tougher to break down).

Last but not least, the match between Manchester United and Everton was exceedingly enjoyable to watch. Everton were very much in the game and fighting for every ball until the 35th minute when Darren Fletcher rocketed the ball with his right foot into the top corner of the net. Despite Everton’s constant persistence, they created very few chances against a Manchester United side that seemed to be buzzing after their recent drop in form during the past few matches.

The second half of this match was very wide-open with both teams trying to get the decisive goal. But it was another piece of class in this game that saw Manchester United scoring a goal. This time it was a perfect pass from Ryan Giggs to Michael Carrick who knocked in a shot with precision into the far corner of the net to make it 2-0 to United. Antonio Valencia’s shot near the end of the match which was deflected in to make it 3-0 made it a very convincing win for Manchester United although you have to think that the scoreline wasn’t a fair representation of how well Everton played at times during this match.

I’ll try to spend some time later tonight watching the other Premier League games played today. But in the meantime, feel free to post your observations about the games today and what was interesting for you.

Photo credit: Soefrie.

Panic Over Cudicini Motorbike Crash

Paul Bestall — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:19:51 +0000

It seems that the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, Carlo Cudicini, has been involved in a serious crash this morning after hitting a car whilst riding his BMW motorbike. It’s been confirmed that Cudicini has fractured both wrists and sustained serious pelvic injuries according to a statement by London’s Metropolitan Police.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “London Ambulance Service, HEMS [helicopter emergency medical service] and police attended and discovered the 36-year-old male motorcyclist suffering from injuries described by LAS as possibly life-changing and has been taken to an east London hospital for further assessment and treatment.”

Thankfully the driver and passenger of the car involved in the crash didn’t need medical assistance, but the extent of Cudicini’s injuries are yet to be ascertained. With most road traffic accidents, the time waiting between the initial diagnoses and the results of the x-rays and tests over the the next few hours can change. Yet the term “possibly life changing” is a strange and worrying term to be included in a statement.

It’s unusual for a detail like that to be released, I can’t think of another incident recently that would have included such language and already social networking sites are buzzing with the news and wishing Carlo a speedy and healthy recovery regardless of what team they support.

Cudicini has been a firm favourite for both Chelsea and since he joined Tottenham in January this year and has constantly given 100% wherever he has played. Only ousted at Chelsea by the arrival of Petr Cech, who was at that point the worlds best goalkeeper, that saw his run as Chelsea’s number one come to an end. Signed by Gianluca Vialli in 1999 for the bargain price of £160,000, Cudicini saw off Mark Bosnich to make the number one jersey his own at Stamford Bridge.

He even won the player of the year award in the 2001-02 season as Chelsea struggled to maintain a consistent level of performance, but as the side grew, Cudicini continued to grow as a player. In fact, when Chelsea stood on the threshold of the Champions League final, it was his absence in the semi-final against Monaco in 2004 that probably cost the Blues the chance to face to Porto.

He continued to deputise for Cech at Chelsea and give 100% when the opportunity arose to play. One of his most notable appearances under Mourinho was during the infamous game at Reading’s Madjeski Stadium in October 2006. After replacing Cech, injured by Steven Hunt’s wayward knee in the first minute, Cudicini was also carried off unconscious after a disgraceful challenge by Ibrahim Sonko and John Terry ended up going in goal for the last few minutes.

He’s certainly continued to impress be it at Chelsea or at Tottenham. where he has continued to put pressure on Heurelho Gomes, probably bring the best out of the Brazilian who is now showing his form that earned him his transfer to Tottenham in the summer of 2008. When he’s had the opportunity to play, he’s given his all.

I’m sure all football fans will wish Cudicini a swift and speedy recovery and be thankful that his injuries are not more serious.

Does Chelsea have a Frank Lampard problem?

Sebastian Shepard — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:48:03 +0000

After 10 games, one might think that Frank Lampard, the engine and inspiration behind most of Chelsea’s offensive production over the past 5 seasons, has run into a torrid patch of form. This is mostly due to his low goal return – one in the Premiership and one in the Community Shield. Most fans expect 3 or 4 goals by now, especially against the relatively weak opposition that Chelsea have faced thus far in the Champions League and EPL.

But before we condemn Frank Lampard, let’s wind back our memories to the summer of Real Madrid spending. Carlo Ancelotti arrived and sought Andrea Pirlo to be the visionary passer in his midfield diamond. The Italian didn’t arrive, and nobody filled his role. According to some.

According to me, Lampard is now positioned as an advanced Pirlo (who doesn’t score a tremendous amount of goals, but is the offensive heartbeat of AC Milan). The goal drought is more due to formation and position rather than a failure of Lampard’s or bad form.

In Mourinho’s 4-3-3, the wingers knew they couldn’t only rely on crosses to Drogba and cutting inside to take the occasional shot to win games. Enter Lampard. He excelled at arriving and providing a lethal 3rd option. Thus the 20-goal seasons.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea plays a midfield diamond, with Lampard supposedly at the top. But he lacks the right qualities to fill this role and has dropped a little deeper than players who naturally can fill this role like Kaka. Nonetheless Chelsea play the diamond.

The change in formation requires less goal return from the midfield because two strikers lurking in the box will both score more goals and require service. Both of these will drain the midfield of its goals, but not its productivity.

Frank Lampard already has four EPL assists in 7 games. Last season he recorded 10 in 37 games. One could argue that Lampard has adopted a Pirlo mindset, but not quite his position. As he fans out dangerous passes to the in-form Malouda, Anelka, and Drogba while staying a little deeper, Lampard is actively contributing to Chelsea’s good start to the season. For this, he is labeled as out of form.

Granted, his finishing has suffered under Ancelotti. He seems to be missing chances that three or four years ago, he would bury ten times a season. Perhaps he is uncomfortable in his new semi-trequartista, semi-Pirlo position. In any case, I’m not sure Chelsea fans have a great cause to be worried. The system seems to be working for the rest of the team, and even if Lampard won’t get his 20 goals, he’ll rack up many more assists. If the sort-of-diamond can bring back the silverware of the EPL title or the Champions League, even Lampard won’t complain.

The First Title Clash: Chelsea vs. Liverpool

Adam Mikhail — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:08:24 +0000

On Sunday at 11:00 AM, the Premier League will be treated to its first significant title clash when Liverpool take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Indulge me while I set the scene for the match. Chelsea and Liverpool have met 4 times or more for the past five years and until quite recently, the matches have been as dull as a Pompey shooting session. They will meet at Stamford Bridge where Liverpool ended Chelsea’s historic unbeaten run in the same fixture last season. The match will be just months after Chelsea emphatically eliminated Liverpool from the Champions League. There will be plenty of revenge for both teams and it has the potential to be make-or-break for both Ancelotti’s Chelsea and Benitez’s Liverpool.

Some of the readers will immediately bring up that I’m ignoring the United-Arsenal match as a title clash. No disrespect to Arsenal(who I now have a soft spot for after Adebayor proved to be a childish, hypocritical, drama-queen) but most of us never thought Arsenal had a chance of winning the Premier League. Not to say they are out of it – I’m sure an Arsenal fan will quickly note they have just as many losses as Liverpool – but it’s just my opinion. You may say I’m simply alienating Arsenal so I can create a post with the title, “The First Title Clash,” and I would tell you: you’re right.

Chelsea sit second in the table with Manchester United on top only by goal difference. Liverpool, in third place, top the mini-league of 15 pointers with their impressive goal difference. A Liverpool victory would see last season’s table take shape as they would leap-frog Chelsea. You know, my inner Chelsea fan is always optimistic that when we play Liverpool we’ll win and it will be exciting. In the Premier League, I’ve been disappointed on both fronts. Going through last few years it’s hard to remember a genuinely exciting match between the two. None were more boring than the 0-0 at Stamford Bridge in 2008, perhaps in the history of football. That’s okay though because they made up for it in the Champions League. My optimism for a Chelsea victory would be much greater had last week not occurred. Not only did Chelsea lose to Wigan, Liverpool proved to me that they are the best offense in the league, without a doubt. It should also be noted that Chelsea have failed to beat Liverpool in the Premier League since 2006.

It’s really a strange thing though. Chelsea-Liverpool matches have been the cagiest affairs of all big-four match-ups but still Chelsea and Liverpool fans really hold some sort of false hope that, “this time will be different.” It’s like Spurs thinking they’re going to make the top four every year. We all know how that one ends. Some small hope I can look to is the possibility that Liverpool lost their ability to kill entertainment when they sold Alonso. Surely Lucas cannot complement Mascherano as well as Alonso did. The Mascherano-Alonso tag team could commit 20 fouls a game and not see a card between them. Lucas is far too sloppy and obtuse to perform that feat with the grace of Alonso. If they try, one of the two will probably be sent off. That’s just wishful thinking, however. Knowing the Premier League, Lampard will himself be fouled and receive a red card(not a reference from last year, nope).

My humble prediction is a 1-1 with a great atmosphere and three games worth of crunching tackles. Torres will probably score, he always does against Chelsea. It was all downhill after he turned that buffoon Ben-Haim inside out a couple seasons ago.

Ancelotti’s Honesty Is So Refreshing

Paul Bestall — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:57:55 +0000

Well, I had to check a couple of times that I’d read the paper right on Sunday morning such was the surprise that I viewed Carlo Ancelotti’s comments about Chelsea’s shock defeat at the D.W Stadium. Perhaps it was the shock at playing at one of the worst named grounds in England, but either way it was so refreshing to hear one of the big four managers actually not try and wash over the event.

There is one thing that incenses me when I listen to post match comments and that’s when a manager blames everyone else but themselves for a defeat. The prime example of this idiotic line of defensive commentary is Neil Warnock. I have never, ever heard him in a post match interview admit his side were beaten by a better team. Never. In nearly twenty years of listening to him whine, he has never lost a game to a better team.

He whined at Notts County, he whined at Huddersfield Town, at Oldham, at Plymouth and it was everyone else’s fault at Sheffield United. It was always the referee, or the opposition cheated or anything but face the fact that he’d got it wrong. Again, time after time and it became simply pathetic.The main reason Sheffield United were relegated was that the manager bought badly, played too defensively away from home and paid the price. Of course West Ham United cheated, but if he’d got anything about him, United wouldn’ t have been in that position.

Ferguson last season after Liverpool had absolutely ripped Manchester United to pieces at Old Trafford with a 4-1 win was in danger of being sectioned after his summary. “I thought the best team lost” he countered. Really? Honestly? Seriously? Liverpool absolutely tonked United that day, no question about it. To say anything else simply made Ferguson seem silly.

So thank you Carlo Ancelotti for coming out and saying it like it is. Wigan were immense on Saturday, they really were and Chelsea were completely out of sorts all match. It was like a performance under Phil Scolari rather than the exuberant style of play Ancelotti has managed to stamp on Chelsea so soon in his managerial career at Stamford Bridge. I doubt however that Chelsea fans need worry about a return to those days. It was simply a bad day at the office. Nothing more, nothing less and the manager recognised it as such.

By stating he didn’t know what had gone wrong, he showed a new side to the fans. He picked the best team, gave them the tactics and they couldn’t put it in to place. It happens. Of course the sending off didn’t help, even though I thought it was a little harsh, but it certainly was a penalty. He didn’t even dispute that decision. Astounding. Football managers do not do this kind of thing, but I wished more of them did. It gives them kudos for being honest rather than the usual defending terrible displays with criticism of the officials. It makes them seem more real, more unbiased and more like the viewer.

Sometimes post match comments are so insipid, so bland that it makes you want to throw something at the screen. The banality of some footballers and managers post match comment could put an insomniac to sleep. One former Premiership manager’s inability to talk without using the word yerknow every four words simply made him sound dreadful, but I doubt anyone will give him another chance for quite a while.

Ancelotti really has impressed me since he arrived at Stamford Bridge and Saturdays humble and erudite summary of the game coupled with his honesty makes me appreciate him even more. I won’t hold my breath for the others to follow suit though but more’s the shame because of it. It really makes a refreshing change and shows they are human after all.