posted Nov 11, 2008

I agree with mypetfish. Teams try to neutralise Chelsea's superior quality in midfield by packing bodies in the middle, and making themselves hard to break down, or making it hard for chelsea to pass through midfield.

Anelka's runs and pace make teams retreat to their back line, affording chelsea more room in midfield.

I think he's a great addition to the squad who is really coming good this season. His goal average is also higher than drogba's at this stage in the last two seasons. He plays with a serenity which I think is sometimes misinterpreted as surliness.

That said, I love Drogs as much as the next Chelsea fan, but Anelka is currently undroppable. It remains to be seen if Scolari can incorporate both in the team.

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posted Nov 11, 2008

Generally a good piece by Lee Dixon - coming from an outsider's point of view - his only bias being he used to play with Anelka yonks ago...

The thing I've noticed in the last few weeks is that Anelka has upped his game - whether this is due to better confidence as he's got amonst the goals OR that the threat of losing his place because Drogba will return after injury very soon?? Either way, it's the best he's played, probably since his Arsenal days.

The other thing that keeps being brought up is that he doesn't score goal of the month but toe pokes or deflections. This is an art in itself and shouldn't be belittled - after all at the end of the game an Anelka toe poke from 2 yards is worth the same as a Beletti screamer from 35 yards!!

The problem for Scolari is once everyone is fit how do you fit them all in? Joe Cole in for Malouda - straightforward enough, but Ballack comes back in for?? Essien returns in January, who do you drop? Mikel is playing really well in the holding role. Then if you do play both Anelka and Drogba up front, who do you take out then??

Things could be very tasty on the run in to the end of the season!!

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posted Nov 11, 2008

What happened to Joe Cole? He wasn't even on the bench on Sunday was he? If someone could enlighten me that would be fantastic.

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posted Nov 11, 2008

Don't expect Drogba to be the same player of past season; He's not likely to fit well to Scolari's kind of football. I don't see him much as team player like Anelka that always put 100% to the team when on the field. Selecting Drogba ahead of Anelka is picking names ahead of a player which Big Phil is not for.

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posted Nov 11, 2008

sorry but I disagree with the last comment. Lets test drogba first (when fully fit)and if he fails then we can conclude that he won't fit. I think its abit premature and highly unfair to 'declare him guilty until proven innocent'.

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posted Nov 11, 2008

I always thought and I still think,if I was Scolari I'd sell both Mouluda and Anelka.They are too inconsistent and sometimes truly awful(against Liverpool,Roma....etc).Anelka needs 5-6 clear chances to score a goal,while Mouluda can't score no matter the opportunities.For me Kalou is a much better option.He offers more creativity in attack,but lacks strength and tends to lose the ball quickly if challenged otherwise he'd be perfect.When Ballack returns I supose we wont se much of Mouluda anyway.

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posted Nov 11, 2008

Interesting to read all the comments above, here's my 2 bobs worth.

Anelka: Clearly as a Chelsea fan I have to appreciate the goals he's managed to bag so far this term & would stick with him as he appears to be happy and is scoring goals- job done. As a season tkt holder I'm still frustrated by him, only because I know he has the potential to be far and away the best goalscorer by miles in the league. I was also in Moscow and saw his much glossed over penalty miss. The real frustration boils down to him not delivering in big games for us Moscow, Liverpool at home few weeks back, Utd at home....

Drogba: We just need to reintroduce him slowly, I think he's feeling the pressure and is itching to be a part of it again. Drogba can fit into this style perfectly well, he'll just take time adjusting (he actually prefers playing on defenders shoulders, as he did with Marseille). He also played alongside a striker within a 442 formation at Marseille too.

Malouda: I've examined him at length whilst going to the games and watching on tv & i really do not know why this man was rated in France (either that Ligue 1 must be appalling or he just cannot adapt his game to fit our English league)

If everyone was fit tomorrow now I'd select, the following in our usual 4-3-3 formation:

Cech, Bosingwa, Terry, Carvalho, A. Cole, Essien, Lamps, Ballack, J. Cole, Anelka, Deco

Deco and Cole switching around behind Anelka, would be far more useful than Kalou and Malouda endlessly giving the ball away!

Carefree!

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posted Nov 12, 2008

Many of Anelka's previous goals were scored when Chelsea were already a few goals up. He rarely gets the important first goal or match winner goal (although this weekend is the exception)

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posted Nov 12, 2008

Just one question,can we now come for Drogba????So i can ring Mourihno at once.What happened at Rome,just one or two good performances cant make someone indispensable,consistency is all we need.cheers,laugh,applause

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posted Nov 13, 2008

I nderstand what you guys mean. But you should understand one thing about Anelka he has to be setup to score. Most of his goals are fairly easy.But with Drogba You can put him up against tougher sides like manu and liverpool (and of course in Europe) with better defences that are not just going to give are midfield space like black burn did. And he can go solo create his own chances and score and score that is why he is a top class striker! you can depend on hIm. Can you guys remeber Chelseea V Arsnel last season when we almost lost our home record.WHAT DID DROGBA DO? 2 LATE GOALS TO TAKE US TO VICTORY and juding from the bursnley brilliant goal he can still do stuff like that to take us to victory. Also dont forget that we have only played 2 top side this season Liverpool and Roma and booth lost because Anelka can not compete at that level ( I LIKE HIM BUT HIS GOALS ARE EASY AND NEED MAJOR ASSISTANCE)Drogba knows how to handle top sides!!

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