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Bolton Wanderers: Mid Season Review

Dec 11, 2008

Welcome to the review of Bolton Wanderers' Premier League season so far. Half way through the season, it's clear to see that despite massive improvement in Bolton's form, the squad size is a major issue, and we're going to analyze these positive and negative aspects throughout this review.

Results

Firstly, we can't hide that Bolton had a terrible start to the season, after of course beating Stoke 3-1 on the opening day. The next five games saw a winless run, albeit including defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal.

Nevertheless, in between all of this, Bolton lost to Northampton Town after extra time in the Carling Cup, which sent confidence even lower. A win versus West Ham in London, where the Whites had not won a game in some 16 visits, seemed to put Wanderers on the right path, but four defeats in the next five games saw Wanderers fall towards the wrong end of the table.

However, the fans' reaction to the results was tamed due to the good performances maintained throughout defeat, and the players remained confident. 

This confidence turned in to results against local rivals Manchester City and then league upstarts, Hull City. A 2-0 loss against Liverpool was the expected result; however, Bolton tried hard to upset the Reds.

Johan Elmander's performance in recent games was under the microscope, having drawn a blank since the first match of the season and experiencing injury problems early on in his Bolton Wanderers career. With that in mind, his contribution and goal in the 3-1 win against Middlesbrough was pleasing to Wanderers fans as they got a taste of what might be coming from the £11m man.

His performance against Sunderland in the next match showed his predatory instincts and precise finishing, the reasons for which he was scouted by clubs all over Europe before signing on at the Reebok. The 4-1 win will be forever remembered as Roy Keane's last managerial experience at the Stadium of Light, perhaps his last ever, but Elmander took advantage of lax defending and great vision from Kevin Nolan to grab two goals in this rout.

Unfortunately, Bolton faced Chelsea after this great win, and couldn't have wished for a worse start, losing a goal early on and allowing Chelsea to capitalize. However, it's safe to say that losing 2-0 should not dent Bolton's confidence after the way that they have come back from adversity this season already.

Stand-out Performance

Few players can claim to be consistently performing well for Bolton this season, but without a shadow of a doubt, Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen has "Player of the Year" written all over him. Performances such as the one he turned in during the win against Hull show that Jussi wins matches for Bolton Wanderers, and the fans should be delighted that he signed a new contract despite renewed speculation that clubs are still interested in signing him in the January transfer window.

Personally, I doubt that this long servant of the club will leave for pastures new and he will continue to deliver as Bolton's No. 1 until Ali Al-Habsi is too good to leave out. These sentiments are echoed by manager Megson, who said "I wouldn't have thought Jussi would be going anywhere else," in The Sun. "He seems settled here." That's good enough for me.

Some players have stood out as much improved, in particular Gavin McCann, who had some indifferent displays in his first season at the Reebok. His recent performances, pulling the strings in midfield and improving his pass success ratio, have caught the eye of local media and fans.

While Kevin Nolan hasn't been captain fantastic, his performances have been consistent and while he's no Steven Gerrard, his motivation empowers his team to perform. He always gives 100 percent.

Gretar Steinsson is undoubtedly Bolton's unsung hero at right-back. He’s definitely a legend in the making if he stays at Bolton and emulates his Icelandic compatriot, Gudni Bergsson, who recommended Steinsson to Bolton in the first place. He is not only a fine defender, but he can get forward and provide for the forwards, and as shown in recent games, score goals himself.

Finally, who can forget to mention Gary Cahill? With calls for him to be called up to the England squad after injuries to some first teamers, this young defender seems to have all the tools to become a great at the Reebok, and undoubtedly anywhere else. A £5m bargain and one of the team's best signings in the last two years.

Disappointment

Last season's disappointment was losing Anelka to then champions Chelsea, but this season's disappointment is a lack of strength in depth.

The consistency in the team is proof that we have a good first team, but does Ebi Smolarek give Johan Elmander a run for his money? Is Danny Shittu really worth another shot in the premiership after an error-strewn first appearance in the league?

I'm not so sure, but it is certain that Gary Megson will need to invest whatever cash he can get his hands on, probably on every section of the pitch.

Wanderers have quality players like Ricardo Gardner and Mustapha Riga waiting (literally) in the wings to get a regular shot, but cover for the strikers and in the middle of the park may be most important. Despite having a consistent back four, apart from Danny Shittu, cover is lacking.

Round-up

It would be quite easy to say that Bolton could still be in trouble, however, this Premier League has proven to be quite a tight one. Clubs can easily jump between Champions League places and relegation places within three games, which shows how tight the league has become. Bolton's future success depends entirely on strengthening their squad, especially during winter when injuries plague small squads, and they will have to buy quality players who can get in their first team, not just first team cover.

Bolton have a difficult fixture list over the Christmas period, with matches against Aston Villa and Liverpool, both of which are in the top five at the moment.

However, they may well believe they have a chance to get points out of both teams, as well as against Pompey and Wigan, who have both been skulking around mid-table like Bolton.

In the next ten games, Bolton also meet Manchester United and Arsenal, but at least it means it will only be Chelsea of the "top four" that the Whites have to meet during the remainder of the season, which gives some relief toward the end of the season that could see Bolton take back their over-achiever status after last season's escape.

Scolari plays down Drogba impact – who is he kidding?

Dec 10, 2008

I’m going to make this relatively brief today, because I have often commented on this blog that I consider Didier Drogba Chelsea’s most important player. This view hasn’t changed and I don’t want to bore you with the same views again.

 

However, something riled me slightly last night after the narrow victory over CFR Cluj in the Champions League. Earlier, Drogba had come of the bench and scored the goal which helped Chelsea stumble into the last 16 of the competition. The striker’s influence was there for all to see and he gave the team a new dimension, a new belief and a new impetuous.

 

Everyone in the ground knew that Drogba had made the difference. Chelsea were looking rather short on ideas until the Ivory Coast man came on.

 

However, speaking after the game, Luiz Felipe Scolari seemed to play down the impact that the striker had on the game. Despite the fact that Drogba played a huge part in securing Chelsea’s first home win since the beginning of November, Scolari couldn’t quite bring himself to heap to much praise on the player.

 

The Chelsea boss did describe Drogba as ‘one of the best in the world’, but this was merely a brief passing comment. Scolari’s focus was instead on ensuring that people knew that Nicolas Anelka is his main striker right now.

 

He said that ‘our scorer is Anelka’ and proceeded to remind everyone that his team haven’t done too badly considering Drogba has only played 11 times this season. This may well be the case, but I think it is fair to say that if Drogba didn’t play again this season, the football odds wouldn’t fancy Scolari’s men to conquer in Europe.

 

There may not be too much to read into Scolari’s comments, I just found it bizarre that he was being so defensive. We all know that Anelka has done well in recent weeks and we all know that Chelsea are a more threatening team at the highest level when Drogba is playing. Why not just admit that? Why is there the need to defend Anelka when praising Drogba?

 

Chelsea captain John Terry told it more like it is. He said that it was a ‘great boost’ to have Drogba back and that he is a ‘great dimension’ for the team. These are the views echoed by everyone—other than Scolari, whose opinion is likely to have the most impact on Drogba.

 

Chelsea can’t afford to lose Drogba during January, because he is irreplaceable in terms of the team’s ambitions this season. Something that makes Scolari’s nervy and defensive comments even more bizarre.

 

Thoughts?

 

By Thomas Rooney - A sports writer who blogs about football betting

      

Bolton 0-2 Chelsea: Away Win Sets New Record

Dec 7, 2008

BOLTON 0-2 CHELSEA

Chelsea kept up their 100 per cent away record in the league with a comfortable enough win at the Reebok.

 

First half goals from Nicolas Anelka and Deco proved enough to seal a 2-0 win as Chelsea made it a record 11 wins on the trot away from home.

 

On his old stamping ground, Anelka launched himself at Bosingwa’s cross in the eighth minute to head in off the post and make it nine goals in seven in the league and 99 overall for the Frenchman in the top-flight.

 

Chelsea’s second came courtesy of a spectacular Deco scissor-kick 12 minutes later. Jaaskelainen had kept out a Bosingwa shot with his legs only to see it spin up towards the head of Michael Ballack who headed it down for the lively Deco to finish superbly.

 

Megson had clearly had a few words at half-time because Bolton looked much more up for it in the second 45, which saw Chelsea changing tact as their defence reacquainted themselves pretty effectively.

 

Fortunately a couple of penalty appeals for handball by John Terry came to nothing and Petr Cech’s reflexes were looking pretty sharp to keep out Gary Cahill and a Gavin McCann follow up. It was a valiant display from Bolton in the second half although they were still vulnerable on the break and we had our chances for a third.

 

After the game, a disappointed Megson said: "You can always take positives out of a game once you sit and analyse it but at this moment in time I’m disappointed—not just with the result, but with the way we played in the first half. We always try to push on against teams and take the game to them—get in their face, to use a players’ expression—but we just weren’t intense enough in the opening half.

 

"Ultimately, it has cost us because you can’t expect to give a team like Chelsea a two-goal lead and get away with it. Yes, we did better in the second half, but by then it was too late."

 

A happier Ray Wilkins meanwhile stated: "It was a great win for us. When we needed to fight, we fought, and when we could we played good football and made some very good chances, so we’re delighted.

 

"We’re not too concerned about the record, all we’re worried about is silverware so this was all about three points. Of course our away form is exceptional but no-one here is worried about our home form. That will come, I’m sure."

 

Overall then, Chelsea looked good value for the win, creating another record in the process. And whilst our home form still needs a lot of work, our eight wins away aren’t doing our point tally or goal difference any harm, particularly since another clean sheet means we’ve conceded just one goal on our travels so far.

 

TEAMS

BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Andrew O’Brien, Samuel (Smolarek 80), Davies, McCann, Nolan, Muamba (Gardner 46), Taylor, Elmander.
Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Riga, Shittu, Basham, Obadeyi.

 

CHELSEA: Cech, Bosingwa (Ivanovic 89), Terry, Alex, Ashley Cole, Mikel, Kalou (Ferreira 83), Lampard, Ballack, Deco, Anelka.
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Sinclair, Mineiro, Stoch, Woods.

 

Goals: Anelka 9, Deco 21.

 

Hindsight...| Portsmouth Should Never Have Let Matthew Taylor Leave

Dec 7, 2008

In a new series, Ryan Lynch takes a look at decisions made in football that could have been very different. In this first instance of the series, he looks at left winger Matthew Taylor's departure from Portsmouth to rivals Bolton Wanderers.

I should begin this article by writing that Matthew Taylor is one of my favorite players to have ever worn a Portsmouth shirt. Thus, when Harry Redknapp decided to let the capable left-sided player leave in the January 2008 transfer window, I was very disappointed.

Taylor had never really put a foot wrong in his last two seasons with Portsmouth. In the 2005/2006 "Great Escape" season, it was Taylor's cooly-taken penalties against Sunderland and Wigan in the final two games of the season that kept us up.

In the 2006/2007 season, Taylor was absolutely sensational, going on to score several incredible goals in matches against Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester United, and Arsenal.

Taylor was absolutely on fire, and it seemed that every goal he scored was a stunner.

Following the game against Everton, as Taylor scored a 40-yard screamer in mid-air, I remember one commentator stating that "It seems Matthew Taylor is on a personal crusade to score THE goal of the season!"

Simply put, it was wonderful.

The buzz was all about him, too, to earn a call-up to the full England squad, something which I believed was certainly deserved.

While he may not have been able to unseat Stuart Downing and Joe Cole for the left midfield berth, I felt no reason why he couldn't fill in the left-back spot traditionally held by an injured Ashley Cole.

And while the season ended for Portsmouth with disappointment in just missing out on a UEFA Cup spot on the last day of the season, Taylor's only disappointment could have been not earning that call-up.

I could only look forward to what was to come from Matty.

As I had written in the past, however, the form of Portsmouth's attacking midfielder Niko Kranjcar would cause him to be viewed as nearly undroppable. Taylor was left with a spot on the bench, and forced to subside with only cameo appearances until he left in January of that season.

The writing had been on the wall, however. When Pompey stalwart Gary O'Neil was allowed to leave for Middlesbrough on deadline day of the season, I knew that the players I believed would never be sold didn't have such status. No one was safe.

When the season began, Redknapp wasn't playing him, and although Taylor loved Pompey, a player of his quality wasn't going to stay sitting on the bench following the form of his life.

Redknapp, however, didn't seem interested in playing him. Was it purely because of Kranjcar's involvement? It didn't seem that could be the entire story. Redknapp preferred to employ Kranjcar on the left wing, but he has always been a right-footed player.

In addition, Kranjcar has always played his best games for Portsmouth in a center-attacking role.

Needless to say, Taylor left the south-coast side during the January window for Bolton Wanderers, and I hoped that we wouldn't miss him. When we faced up against Bolton that same season, I was expecting Taylor to give us a torrid welcome by scoring.

Instead, he missed several absolutely golden opportunities. "Was Harry right?" I wondered. Or was this simply a one-off?

Taylor, however, has gone on to put in some excellent performances for Wanderers, finding form again and scoring thunderbolt goals for the side. He played an important role in keeping them away from relegation last season, and he is doing well again this season.

Some Portsmouth supporters might read this and ask "Why would we need Taylor again when we've had such a strong left side this season?"

While Armand Traore has been a wonderful player to have in the side, I am not expecting us to be able to seal a deal for the lad at the end of the season.

I could only imagine how wonderful a relationship Nadir Belhadj and Taylor could have formed if he was still at the club today.

With Taylor performing well for Bolton and with Portsmouth lacking significant concentration this season, I believe the influence of Taylor in the side would have done wonders for our form.

While Hindsight is always 20/20, I don't believe Portsmouth should have ever let Taylor leave. Pompey's loss, but certainly Bolton's gain. Expect more great things from him in the future, Wanderers fans.

Bolton vs Chelsea: Preview

Dec 6, 2008


Chelsea travel to the Reebok to take on Bolton this afternoon, with the chance of setting a new top-flight record of 11 consecutive away wins.

 

Chelsea remain the only unbeaten club away from home in the Premier League although they’re without a win in two whilst Bolton have won their last couple of games.

 

In fact, having started last month in the relegation places, Bolton went on a bit of a run, beating City, Hull, Boro and Sunderland, although slipped up against the Scousers.

 

Of this fixture and Bolton’s recent form, assistant manager Chris Evans says “Obviously most of the games they play they are regarded as the favourites and I don’t think that will be any different this weekend. 

 

"But we are having a good run of form and apart from results, we are playing very well. Even when results weren’t going well for us we felt we were putting a good shift in. 

 

"Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve but, if you have the belief, then results will turn and that’s exactly what’s happened to us. Confidence is a big thing in any sport but since the beginning of the season there has been a terrific camaraderie at the club.

 

"That’s not something that’s just happened and it’s not false - the players get on well together here and the manager goes to great lengths to foster that.  The one thing we do have is a terrific spirit, a great togetherness and, if you have that, you can align it with ability and you have the ingredients for success.”

 

On team news, it looks as if Gary Megson has a full strength squad to choose from. Chelsea meanwhile are without Didier Drogba who continues to serve his 3 match ban and could also be without Joe Cole (ankle).

 

Ricardo Carvalho (knee), Franco Di Santo (hamstring), Juliano Belletti (ankle) and Michael Essien (knee) all remain out.

 

Key Players

 

Bolton

 

Johan Elmander – Bolton are scoring goals and although he might not have justified his £8.2million price tag initially, the Swedish striker is starting to look worth the money.

 

The 27 year old, who bagged a couple against Sunderland, is expected to lead the Bolton and could be a real threat to Cech’s goal.

 

Chelsea

 

Nicolas Anelka – again facing another former club, Chelsea will be relying heavily on Nicolas Anelka for goals.

 

With Drogba out and Joe Cole’s run-ins from the wing not an option either, we’ll be looking for Anelka to make his attacking pace count.

 

Club Form

 

Bolton

 

Bolton have won four of their last five games in the league although have lost their last four at home against sides in the current top four.

 

In fact, from the last 24 points available against the ‘Big Four’, Bolton have managed only one point – albeit against Chelsea. Bolton go into this game 9th in the Premier League.

 

Chelsea

 

Chelsea are on the longest unbeaten away run in the Premier League, winning 15 and drawing 2 since December 2007.

 

They’ve won all seven away so far this season although have lost a couple at home so far. Chelsea have won 10 of the 15 games under Luiz Felipe Scolari although a loss today would be their 100th away from home in the Premier League.

 

Chelsea go into this game in 2nd place.

 

Head To Head

 

Chelsea are unbeaten in 9 against Bolton in the Premier League (won 6, drawn 3). The last time Bolton took all three points off Chelsea was some eleven years ago and they haven’t scored against us on home soil for the past 6 years either.

 

Not ideal news for them considering Chelsea are the highest scorers in the Premier League although the Reebok has seen fewer top-flight goals than any other ground so far this campaign.

 

Home and Away

 

League (inc PL): Bolton 34 wins, Chelsea 39 wins, Draws 27

Prem: Bolton 3 wins, Chelsea 10 wins, Draws 5

 

At Bolton Only

 

League (inc PL): Bolton 22 wins, Chelsea 14 wins, Draws 14

Prem: Bolton 2 wins, Chelsea 5 wins, Draws 2

 

Last Season

 

Bolton 0-1 Chelsea

Chelsea Scorer: Kalou 41

7 October 2007 – Ref: Alan Wiley

 

Prediction

 

Chelsea might well start this one as favourites given their away form although the Trotters are in better form at home, although bearing in mind this game is between a Bolton side who’ve failed in their last seven attempts to score against a Chelsea side who’ve managed 10 clean sheets, I won’t be anticipating a goal-fest.

 

Teams

 

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, A O’Brien, Samuel, Nolan, Riga, McCann, Muamba, Gardner, Taylor, Davies, Elmander, Al Habsi, Shittu, Smolarek, Basham, Cohen, Fojut.

 

Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Bosingwa, Ferreira, Alex, Terry, Ivanovic, Bridge, A Cole, Lampard, Deco, Ballack, Mikel, Kalou, Malouda, Anelka, Sinclair, Stoch

 

Referee

 

Howard Webb (Yorkshire) 

Anelka and Deco Create More Happy Memories For Chelsea at The Reebok

Dec 6, 2008

Nicolas Anelka and Deco grabbed the goals as Chelsea beat Bolton 2-0 at the Reebok stadium this afternoon, and set a new record in the process.

With this win Chelsea have surpassed Tottenham’s record for consecutive away league wins set in the 1960/61 season. It also adds to a growing collection of happy memories for Chelsea at this ground.

It was at this ground in 2005 that a Frank Lampard double secured Chelsea’s first league title in 50 years.

Anelka opened the scoring with a diving header, and Deco doubled Chelsea’s lead with a brilliant scissor-kick into the corner.

Both players had a chance to add to Chelsea’s tally, but they were wasteful in front of goal.

Kevin Davies found himself unmarked from a corner in the early stages, but he headed over.

Davies was made to pay for his profligacy when ex-Bolton striker Anelka put his current club ahead. The Frenchman’s diving header from Jose Bosingwa’s cross found its way in off the post.

Deco produced a sublime second with just over 20 minutes on the clock. The diminutive Portuguese midfielder - who has been noticeably off form recently - scissor-kicked a volley into the bottom corner.

Chelsea sniffed blood, and Anelka could have grabbed a second a couple of minutes later, but his effort was wide of Jussi Jaaskelainen’s goal.

Bolton found themselves unable to deal with Chelsea on the break, and were lucky to go in at half time with the score at 2-0.

The home side emerged for the second half with the words of their manager Gary Megson no doubt ringing in their ears, and they began to show a marked improvement.

However, they were still vulnerable on the break, and Deco should have added a third in the 55th minute, but he tried to be far too clever in chipping the ball over Jaaskelainen and saw his shot trickle wide.

Chelsea had to weather a number of Bolton attacks, and survived two penalty appeals for handball by John Terry within minutes of each other.

Lampard also had a great chance to find the back of the net, but he shot straight at Jaaskelainen after being played in by Anelka.

Alex had a go with a typically powerful free kick, but Jaaskelainen was equal to the task and managed to hold onto the ball with Anelka in close attendance.

Gary Cahill had Bolton’s best chance to reduce arrears in the second half, but Cech managed to parry his header and then block the follow up from Gavin McCann.

Paulo Ferreira and Branislav Ivanovic were sent on to whittle down time and see the game out, but not before Bosingwa rather poorly fired over the bar when it seemed easier to score.

Chelsea are starting to confront a new found vulnerability at home, but on the road they remain a different proposition entirely.

Liverpool qualify for last 16 of Champions League

Nov 27, 2008

Five-time winner Liverpool, Italian champion Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid all moved on to the knockout phase of the Champions League on Wednesday but last season’s runners-up Chelsea still has work to do in the final round of games after a 1-1 tie with Bordeaux.

Steven Gerrard, coming off a groin injury, scored on a header in the 23rd minute to give Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Marseille while Atletico Madrid beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in the other Group D game to finish second in the group.

Barcelona won 5-2 at Sporting in a meeting of two clubs that had already qualified. Shakhtar Donetsk routed FC Basel 5-0 behind a hat trick by Jadson in another high-scoring Group C game.

Inter was beaten 1-0 at home by Panathinaikos but still qualified. Its two nearest rivals, Panathinaikos and Anorthosis Famagusta, meet Dec. 9 and only one of the teams can finish above the Serie A leader.

Josu Sarriegi revived Panathinaikos’ chances with the only goal at San Siro in the 69th minute. The Cypriot team Anorthosis, one of the surprises of the competition, squandered a two-goal lead and was held to a 2-2 tie by Werder Bremen to slip from second to third.

Chelsea appeared on course to join the other three qualifiers after Nicolas Anelka put the Blues ahead at Bordeaux. But Alou Diarra tied it in the 83rd and Chelsea’s Frank Lampard was sent off near the end for two yellow cards.

AS Roma went top of Group A after winning 3-1 at CFR Cluj, helped by two goals by Matteo Brighi. The Italian team has nine points, Chelsea eight and Bordeaux seven going into the final round of games when Roma hosts the French team and Premier League leader Chelsea is at home to Romania’s Cluj.

Group A
Roma - 9
Chelsea - 8
Bordeaux - 7
CFR Cluj - 4

Roma have yet to qualify for the knockout stage. A draw against Bordeaux will guarantee their passage into the next stage. If they lose to Bordeaux and Chelsea do not defeat CFR Cluj they will also qualify. If they lose to Bordeaux and Chelsea defeat CFR Cluj they will finish third. A win against CFR Cluj will guarantee their finishing first in the group, as will a draw between Chelsea and Bordeaux. The only way in which they can finish second in the group is if they lose to Bordeaux and Chelsea fail to beat CFR Cluj.

Chelsea have yet to qualify for the knockout stage. A win against CFR Cluj will guarantee their passage to the next stage. If Roma do not lose to Bordeaux they will also qualify, regardless of their result against CFR Cluj. Chelsea can win the group by finishing ahead of Roma on points only, as their head-to-head record is inferior.

Bordeaux have yet to qualify for the knockout stage. If they beat Roma they will qualify for the next round. Anything less than victory will see them finish third, as they have an inferior head-to-head record with Chelsea, with whom they can finish level on points.

Group B
*Inter Milan - 8
Panathinaikos - 7
Anorthosis - 6
Werder - 4

Inter Milan have qualified for the knockout stage. They will finish first with a win over Werder Bremen. They have an identical head-to-head record to Panathinaikos and a superior goal difference of two; if they maintain this difference and finish level on points with Panathinaikos they advance as group leaders; after that it comes down to goals scored, and then coefficients (in which case Inter lead.) If they finish level on points with Anorthosis they will finish first due to their superior head-to-head record.

Panathinaikos have yet to qualify for the knockout stage. A draw or win against Anorthosis will see them through to the next stage. They cannot finish lower than 3rd due to a superior head-to-head record with Werder Bremen.

Anorthosis have yet to qualify for the knockout stage. If they beat Panathinaikos they will reach the next stage. They can only finish fourth if they lose to Panathinaikos and Werder Bremen beat Inter.
The last 16 already includes eight teams that have won European soccer’s biggest club competition with three more spots still to fill.

Ten teams had already qualified—Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon from Group C, Manchester United and Villarreal from Group E, Lyon and Bayern Munich from Group F, Arsenal and FC Porto from Group G and Juventus and Real Madrid from Group H.


Bordeaux-Chelsea: Champions League Preview

Nov 26, 2008

Group A
BORDEAUX vs CHELSEA

Kick-off  7.45pm  SSX

 

Seems like a very long time ago we were thumping Bordeaux 4-0 at Stamford Bridge and things aren’t anywhere near as comfortable for Chelsea in the Champions League.

 

It’s now matchday five and with us just one point clear of our opponents and all four teams still able to qualify, Chelsea need another win to be certain.  

 

Whilst Chelsea lost to Roma in their last very forgettable night in Europe, Bordeaux’s back-to-back wins over Cluj have raised their chances of qualification.

 

A win for us tonight and a defeat for Roma would suit us nicely, although Bordeaux boss Laurent Blanc is clear there’s no chance of a repeat of our last meeting, saying “We were afraid, we completely messed up the match and we played like kids. We won’t do that again.”

 

Chelsea’s in-form Nicolas Anelka scored in our last game against Bordeaux and will no doubt be hoping to put Didier Drogba (whose domestic suspension doesn’t affect his availability tonight) in the shade.

 

Chelsea midfielder Deco, however, does miss out following his ridiculous sending off against Roma. Michael Ballack will no doubt be looking to put in his usual solid performance in Europe, although how Bordeaux’s least favourite player, Florent Malouda will respond to his unwelcome reception, we’ll have to wait and see.

 

 

 

KEY BATTLES

 

YOANN GOURCUFF vs. JON OBI MIKEL

One of France’s most promising talents, Yoann Gourcuff provides plenty of creativity in the Bordeaux midfield. The 22-year-old has scored twice in the Champions League so far this season, and Jon Obi Mikel will need to be on his game to stifle the young Frenchman nicknamed "the new Zidane."

 

Chelsea’s Jon Obi Mikel, who’s done an otherwise outstanding job in the Makelele role, unfortunately had a nightmare against Roma, so he’ll be looking to polish up his act tonight.

 

 

 

ALOU DIARRA vs. FRANK LAMPARD

Defensive midfielder Alou Diarra never managed to break into the first-team during his time at Liverpool although is highly rated at Bordeaux.

 

His job tonight will be to keep an in-form Frank Lampard in check. The Blues midfielder will be without the services of his creative partner, Deco ,and with Michael Ballack still returning to fitness, we’ll need a decent performance from Lampard if our midfield are going to impress themselves on this game.

 

 

SOULEYMANE DIAWARA vs. NICOLAS ANELKA

Former Charlton man Souleymane Diawara as a first-choice centre-back for Bordeaux faces the prospect of trying to contain a Nicolas Anelka (and possibly the stronger although currently less prolific Drogba).

 

Anelka, who’s settled back into the Premier League nicely now, will be looking to impress himself on the Champions League with Chelsea. Oh and look out for the pink boots he’s threatened to wear!

Didier Drogba Playing Catch-Up With Anelka?

Nov 12, 2008

Didier Drogba should finally start a game tonight for the first time since recovering from his knee injury. However, with him still being short on fitness and Nicolas Anelka having found some form, Drogba shouldn’t expect to walk back into the side when it comes to our Premier League games.

Whilst the Ivorian’s name has always been one of the first on the team sheet, his lengthy absence and slow recovery, together with Nicolas Anelka’s sudden ability to hit the back of the net with a much more respectable frequency, means Drogba won’t necessarily be Chelsea’s first choice striker just now, and rightly so.

Chelsea’s assistant first-team coach, Ray Wilkins, who seems to be doing rather a lot of interviews lately if I may say so, says “Didier faces a fight to get back in the side and that’s what being at a big club is all about. Nicolas has different attributes to Drogba and his pace can get him behind defenders in a flash. There’s a very healthy rivalry between the two guys over who will score the most this season. I’m not surprised at how well Nicolas has played because if you look at him over the years he’s always had immense quality. At the moment Luiz Filipe Scolari is getting the best out of him. Nicolas has worked extremely hard to get himself in this situation and we must give him a lot of respect for what he has done.”

Whilst on the Ivorian’s efforts to get back in contention, he says “Didier trained very well yesterday, he also trained today with the guys and is back in the squad, so that’s very pleasant for our situation because obviously we do have Nic in fantastic form. With Didier breathing down his neck for a game it is a nice situation to be in.”

      

Blackburn 0-2 Chelsea: Rain Didn’t Stop Play

Nov 10, 2008


BLACKBURN 0-2 CHELSEA

So Luiz Felipe Scolari got three points for his 60th birthday on a ridiculously wet day at Ewood Park and hopefully we can all forget the lack of effort in Rome. Because effort was definitely called for in the conditions more befitting waders than football boots.

 

Didier Drogba was conspicuous in his absence although we’re told he “doesn’t feel ready to crack on yet” (boo bloody hoo), and seeing as I’d predicted Joe Cole would have a big influence on the game, I wasn’t surprised to see him missing from the squad with a hamstring injury either.

 

We definitely should have had a penalty early on when Anelka picked up a woeful back-pass and Robinson caught his foot. The fact that the Chelsea man attempted to stay on his feet before the momentum took him down probably dissuaded the ref from pointing to the spot.

 

It was certainly a let-off for the home side and seemingly inspiring the Blackburn keeper to have one of the best games he’s had in a very long time. He saved with his feet from Anelka soon after and once Terry had hit over the bar, Robinson saved from a Mikel header at close range, with a little help from the post.

 

I have to say I expected a tougher time in the first half, in the sort of conditions that should act as a leveller, and yet it was one way traffic.

 

Blackburn were defending well enough at times, forcing Chelsea to work hard to find space but it was all played in their half and they couldn’t get out. With pretty much everyone fancying their chances on a pitch carrying way too much water, Lampard forced another save from Robinson from distance.

 

To be fair to Blackburn, they did get out of their half once or twice, even forcing a fantastic save from Cech on one occasion from Villanueva. But for most of the half it was all about Chelsea and again on the half hour, Robinson denied Nicolas Anelka who’d put in some lovely footwork to carve out a shot.

 

The Frenchman looked sharp and up for it and his effort finally paid off in one of the funniest goals I’ve seen for a while, shortly before the break.

 

Jose Bosingwa, fancying a bit of hit and hope from distance walloped a shot which was always going wide until it came off Anelka’s knee, wrong-footing Robinson and then seeming to take an agonisingly long time to force itself against the building current that used to be a pitch and crawl over the line.

 

And did I celebrate? No, while Blackburn were busy moaning about some handball that apparently only those with a northern accent and a meat pie in their hands could actually see, I was laughing my arse off.

 

Not since Tromso in ’97 have I found the weather such an amusing addition to a game of football to be honest. It wasn’t pretty and despite the fact we hadn’t really got much of a return for all the effort put in, it was a good laugh.

 

Anyway, second half and Blackburn had a lot more purpose about them but having watched Chelsea try and keep some kind of tempo and momentum going in the rain-soaked first half, their legs must have felt like lead by now.

 

In a weird kind of way, I was happy that one of my predictions wasn’t that far off the mark, as Jason Roberts caused Alex and Terry their share of problems, most notably when he turned the Chelsea captain way too easily and forced Cech to block.

 

With Blackburn pushing ever harder, Scolari sent on Juliano Belletti for Salomon Kalou and not long after, a Lampard pass saw the livelier Nicolas Anelka lift the ball over Robinson for his second of the game and his eleventh this season.

 

All in all then, the conditions were a bit slapstick and whilst Chelsea weren’t great, they were certainly good enough.

 

TEAMS

 

BLACKBURN: Robinson, Simpson, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Olsson, Grella (Mokoena, 45), Warnock, Villanueva, Andrews (Derbyshire, 46), Pedersen, Roberts (Fowler, 77)

 

CHELSEA: Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, Bridge, Lampard, Mikel, Deco, Kalou (Belletti, 62), Anelka, Malouda

 

Goals: Anelka 40, 68

      
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