Posts Tagged ‘Richard French’

Carlo Ancelotti. Burying the Ghost of the Special One

Ancelotti has allowed Chelsea fans to move on from the Mourinho days

When Chelsea lifted the FA Cup on the 15th May earlier this year, becoming double winners for the first time in their history, Carlo Ancelotti achieved something no one else has.

He eclipsed Jose Mourinho.

When Mourinho left three years ago next week, many Chelsea supporters were in uproar at the absurdity of parting company with the greatest coach in the history of the club. Three years, some painful defeats and baffling decisions later, it seems Roman Abramovich was right all along.

With Ancelotti, Chelsea are becoming the team that the Russian owner has wanted all along, playing with flair and beauty whilst also showing passion and strength in equal measure. In fact, for the first time since he took over in 2003, it can be said he has as close to a perfect team as is possible.

Mourinho was never briefed to build a dynasty at the club; he was too abrasive for that. He is supremely motivated to win and as Premier League fans will know, that comes at any cost. His insatiable lust for victory was what Chelsea needed in the summer of 2004, nearly 50 years since the club had last climbed to the pinnacle of English football.

Of course, he delivered in fine style with back to back titles and restored pride to West London. His outbursts and controversial mutterings in the media were tolerated rather than encouraged by the Chelsea hierarchy, with the feeling that it was perhaps a necessary evil at a time when winning was all that mattered.

Results alone were never enough for the owner, however, and it came to pass that the Portuguese and Chelsea would part company in 2007, with the little known Avram Grant to take over.

It was a transitional phase in the future plans of Abramovich, letting Mourinho leave with his Curriculum Vitae significantly stronger and allowing the marketing men at the club to start work on repairing the image and reputation which they had gained under the relentless arrogance which came with the ‘Special One’.

Grant was never to be a full time appointment, just someone to guide the team through the rest of the season, picking up silverware where possible. Of course, he was denied any by a John Terry missed penalty in the Champions League final in 2008 for those who can’t remember.

Similarly, Luis Felipe Scolari was never intended to be the long term coach either, as in the summer of 2008 Abramovich met several times with then A.C Milan boss Ancelotti to discuss the managerial position at Chelsea. The Italian decided to spend another year with the Rossoneri, eventually joining the Blues in 2009.

Chelsea had their man. In fact, they had the man they had wanted to take charge before Mourinho in 2004. It was one of the worst kept secrets in Italy that Ancelotti was short listed by Chelsea to take over those six years ago, but wanted to stay with the club who had saved his managerial career after he was sacked by Juventus in 2001.

Ancelotti is a perfect fit for Chelsea and, more importantly, Abramovich. He worked with huge success at Milan for eight years, with two Champions League titles, the Italian league and Cup as well as the UEFA Super Cup and World Club Cup for good measure.

It was not only due to his success on the field that he was appointed. It was owing to his success working under another big name owner, Silvio Berlusconi, who is said to be a demanding and hugely ambitious man who is difficult to please. If Ancelotti could please him, he surely has what it takes to show more diplomacy when dealing with Abramovich than his more outspoken predecessor.

The other factor, and a major one at that, in his appointment was his amicable nature. ‘Carletto’ as he is known in his homeland, is notorious for his practical jokes and light hearted persona around the training ground and is generally a well liked figure (perhaps with the exception of Juventus fans, who received a middle finger salute when after a Milan victory in Turin some years ago).

This sort of personality is what Chelsea needs to build bridges with the public after years of being hated. It hasn’t taken long, with the focus of the media and public house conversations circling Chelsea’s brilliance on the field rather than their controversy off it. John Terry and Ashley Cole ‘love rat’ stories aside, people are coming round to the idea of the Blues as more than just an object of hate.

Some supporters might have been yearning for the Mourinho days whilst the club was in transition, indeed some may still feel that letting go of him was a mistake. The fact is, however, that there was no way that Stamford Bridge was big enough for two egos to work efficiently for any longer than they did.

The sacking of the greatest football coach of the 21st Century will continue to prove to be the best move for a club which just wants to be loved.

Chelsea take foot off the gas but still run out comfortable winners

by Richard French

MSK Zilina 1-4 Chelsea

Oravec 55′          Essien 13′. Anelka 24′, 28′. Sturridge 48′

Chelsea scored three goals in the opening half an hour to put to bed any chance of an upset in their opening group game against MSK Zilina.

The Slovakians were bright and in truth had the visitors on the back foot at times, but the Londoners’ class showed with Michael Essien opening the scoring early on and Nicolas Anelka adding two more before the half hour mark.

Daniel Sturridge struck just after half time, scoring his first Champions League goal and effectively sinking the home side in the process.

Tomas Oravec managed to net something of a consolation goal minutes later, however, capitalising on a Petr Cech howler. The goal was deserved for the Slovak Champions and delighted the 11,200 capacity crowd.

The game started with Chelsea trying to find their rhythm and it didn’t take long, with Florent Malouda and Yuri Zhirkov linking up well on the left hand side and looking threatening.

Essien was again playing in a more advanced role, with Frank Lampard still out after hernia surgery. He was involved in everything good which Chelsea did, looking powerful and hungry as ever but being set free to do more damage in the final third.

It didn’t take long for the Ghanaian to add to his brace against West Ham at the weekend, ghosting into the box on 13 minutes to coolly slot home a delightful Anelka cut back from 12 yards out.

The small stadium fell silent, apart from the sound of the small number of travelling Blues supporters at the other end of the ground.

After the first goal the English Champions began to take their foot off the pedal, allowing Zilina a glimmer of hope by letting the yellow shirted team have spells of possession and a few half chances.

Cech spilled a Robert Jez freekick before scooping up the loose ball to spare his blushes, and Babatounde Bello headed goalwards only to see his effort comfortably saved.

The home crowd were spurred on by these promising spells, but on 24 minutes they fell silent again when Chelsea made it 2-0. The visitors were playing the ball around in midfield beautifully, waiting for the opening to appear and the moment to strike.

That moment came on 24 minutes when the industrious Yossi Benayoun, starting for the first time in a Blue shirt, gave the ball to Malouda. The Frenchman found Anelka with a teasing through ball and the front man finished superbly with his left foot, drilling the ball low and hard into the corner of the net.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti would have been delighted with the way his side was playing without key players like Lampard, Ashley Cole and the suspended Didier Drogba and just four minutes later he would have been even happier as Anelka added the third.

Malouda took a corner from the right hand side which was met by skipper John Terry, but the defender saw his powerful header strike the crossbar. The ball dropped to Anelka who stabbed home unmarked from just two yards out.

Chelsea seemed content at 3-0, as once again they decided to ease off the home team. Zilina deserve credit for the fact that they didn’t let their heads drop and once again they threatened, with Admir Vladavic trying his luck from distance to force a smart save out of Cech.

Three minutes after the break Chelsea had the ball in the net again, this time through Sturridge.

The England under-21 striker latched onto a superbly weighted Benayoun pass which split the defence in two, before rounding the keeper to side-foot the ball into the net. Ancelotti described Sturridge as the quickest player he had ever seen earlier in the week and he certainly showed great pace to get to the ball and finish on this occasion.

The game was as good as over at this point, though Chelsea were becoming more and more complacent with their lead, resulting in gifting the home side a goal.

Cech needlessly flapped at a high cross from the right hand side, once again showing his frailty on crosses. The ball then came off Branislav Ivanovic and began to trickle towards the goal, leaving Oravec the opportunity to slide the ball over the line and get his name on the score sheet.

There was still time for the home team to worry Chelsea further, with substitute Tomas Majtan shooting just wide and Lubomir Guldan flashing a header past the upright, encouraging signs for Zilina as they attempt to make waves in Europe’s premier competition.

Just like the 3-1 win at West Ham four days previously, the goal proved to be nothing more than a blemish on the otherwise perfect performance from the Blues, though the complacency shown will have to be stamped out of their game.

Gael Kakuta, Patrick Van Aanholt and Josh McEachran all came off the bench for Chelsea, giving the team an unfamiliar and youthful look as they played out the remaining minutes in Eastern Europe.

The result put Chelsea at the top of their group, where they will aim to stay as they continue their search for that elusive Champions League crown.

Chelsea team:

1 Cech

2 Ivanovic, 33 Alex, 26 Terry (c), 18 Zhirkov

12 Mikel

10 Benayoun (McEachran 79′), 5 Essien 15 Malouda (Van Aanholt 88′)

39 Anelka, 23 Sturridge (Kakuta 61′)

Champions League Preview

Group F:

Chelsea
Marseille
Spartak Moskva
MSK Zilina

Chelsea were handed a Champions League group which they should be able to negotiate without too many problems, avoiding the tough task of facing Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid in the group stage.

The Blues also avoided trips to Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel and to Rubin Kazan, 400 miles east of Moscow, where they will have to travel to face Spartak Moscow.

In what should bring three home wins given the stunning form Chelsea have produced so far this season, the away trips become less important, meaning draws in Marseille and/or Moscow would not prove disastrous for Carlo Ancelotti’s men.

Marseille:

With former Blue Didier Deschamps at the helm, L’OM won the French title for the first time in 18 years last time out, the ninth in the Southern French club’s illustrious history.

The only side in this group to have won the European Cup, back in 1993, Marseille will be confident of progressing to the knockout phase of this year’s competition as Deschamps continues to turn the Stade Veledrome back into the fortress it once was.

Summers signings Andre-Pierre Gignac and Loic Remy from Toulouse and Nice respectively will add goals to the side, after the Champions fought off huge competition from numerous clubs for both players’ signatures in the close season.

Deschamps has been charged with bringing the glory days back to the club after many years playing second fiddle to Olympique Lyonnais and, to a lesser extent, Girondins De Bordeaux.

In the early nineties Marseille boasted one of the finest teams in Europe, which included another Blues legend Marcel Desailly as well as Deschamps himself. This team provided the defensive spine to France’s World Cup winning side of 1998, with Fabien Barthez in goal for the club’s one and only European success to date.

Whilst Chelsea will be expected to beat L’OM, this is not going to be an easy game for the Blues as there is a real buzz surrounding the French side at the moment. Remy and Gignac will provide more of a threat to the Chelsea defence than any Premier League team has done so far this campaign, and Terry et al will have to be fully alert to get through what will prove a tricky encounter.

Predictions:
Chelsea 2-1 Marseille
Marseille 1-1 Chelsea

Spartak Moscow

In what will be the first meeting between the two clubs, Chelsea will surely prove too strong for last season’s Russian runners up.

Having not won the top division since 2001, Spartak have had to see their neighbours CSKA Moscow become the first Russian team to win a European trophy (2005 UEFA Cup) whilst also watching them claim three titles in the last seven years.

Not to mention the rise of teams like Zenit St. Petersburg and Rubin Kazan in recent years, which has pushed the club out of the lime light even further.

Therefore Spartak will feel they have something to prove and will entrust their star goal scorer, the 23-year-old Brazilian Welliton, with the task of firing the club into the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in six years.

Welliton, having transferred from Brazilian club Goiás in 2007, has become one of the Russian league’s most feared marksmen. With 46 goals in 66 league games he could prove a handful, especially if underestimated.

Another notable player in the Spartak team is Republic of Ireland international winger Aiden McGeady, who joined the club in August after growing tired of receiving abuse from sections of the Glasgow public. In completing his £10 million move he became the most expensive Scottish Football export in history.

Despite these two talented young players, Chelsea should expect to breeze past Spartak at Stamford Bridge against a side which lost nine times in a relatively weak domestic league last time out.

The potential banana skin of a rather lengthy trip to Moscow must be taken seriously, though it is unlikely the Blues’ group of experienced players will be anything other than professional and one must expect them to get the job done.

Predictions:
Chelsea 3-0 Spartak Moscow
Spartak Moscow 1-2 Chelsea

MSK Zilina

Zilina were Chelsea’s first opponents after the takeover of Roman Abramovich in 2003, and the Russian owner will be expecting his side to steamroller the Slovakians.

Ranked number 150 in Europe by UEFA, they fall behind teams such as Aberdeen (136) and Partizan Belgrade (123). Based on that evidence, there should be very little trouble for Chelsea who come in third in the list, behind only Barcelona and Manchester United.

However, along with Slovan Bratislava, Zilina are the most successful team in Slovakia. Both clubs have five league titles to their names, including success last season for Zilina, who will be hoping to cause an upset in a group which they are surely favourites to finish at the foot of.

With the third placed team getting a place in the Europa League, there is everything to play for for a club like Zilina. Even a run in the Champions League’s less prestigious sibling (which has changed its name in an attempt to become a more coveted trophy), is welcome for a club which finds it difficult to raise substantial funds. Their home stadium holds just 11,200 people, a minute number compared to the clubs they will be facing in the group stages in the coming weeks.

Nonetheless, as with any game in the Champions League, Chelsea will have to be professional and deal with the threat posed by the Slovaks. The Blues should be able to overcome a team which failed to send one International to this summer’s World Cup, a measure of the gulf in class between the two sides, with almost all of Chelsea’s first team involved in the tournament.

Predictions:
Chelsea 4-0 Zilina
Zilina 0-3 Chelsea

Support eChelseaFC

Chelsea travel to Slovakia to commence search for European Glory once again

Can Chelsea follow in the footsteps of Inter Milan?

Chelsea will resume their quest for Champions’ League glory on Wednesday night when the English Champions travel to Slovakia to take on MSK Zilina.

Knocked out by eventual winners Internazionale last season, the Blues will be hoping that they can transfer their stunning league form to the European stage this time out, as the club searches for its first ever Champions’ League title.

Carlo Ancelotti rested some of the club’s key names in the 3-1 over West Ham at the weekend, meaning the team is in good shape for the game against one of Slovakian Football’s most successful teams.

Florent Malouda, Alex and Frank Lampard all missed the win at Upton Park which extended Chelsea’s 100% record at the start of the season, having scored 17 goals in the first four games, conceding just one.

Malouda and Alex will be in the starting line up in Eastern Europe, but it is still unclear as to weather Ancelotti will risk Lampard after his hernia surgery during the recent international break.

New signing Ramires slotted into the midfield with ease at the weekend, meaning that the manager may contemplate letting Lampard have a few more days to recover while the Brazilian starts the opening group game.

Whether Lampard plays or not, Chelsea should run out clear winners given the almost absurd strength of their side. This is despite the fact that Zilina tops the all-time Slovakian league table, just ahead of Slovan Bratislava. They have won the league title five times and have finished outside the top two only once in the last nine seasons, a good achievement at any level of the game.

Some might not be familiar with the current Slovak Champions, but the two sides have met before.

In the 2003-2004 Champions’ League campaign the Blues beat Zilina 2-0 away from home and ran out 3-0 winners in the home tie under another Italian boss, Claudio Ranieri. A repeat score line with minimum fuss would please all involved, especially with the visit of an in form Blackpool at the weekend which is a potential banana skin for the league leaders.

Of course, as with the last meeting the Pod Dubnom stadium will be at its full capacity of 11,200, as some of the 85,000 residents of the fourth largest city in the country try to catch a glimpse of Chelsea’s superstars.

Chelsea will feel that this season is their best chance of winning the most coveted trophy in the game, as the team is playing with a swagger and self confidence which is born out of not only playing superbly beautiful football, but winning every game which they play.

The squad is fresher than it was last season, with Ancelotti clearing out the deadwood and bringing in some useful players. This coupled with the fact that the youth players coming through will add a hunger and fearlessness to the vastly experienced and settled group which is already in place.

The final will take place at Wembley, a ground which has been kind to the club in recent years, on the 28th May next year and after so many disappointments in this competition, few would begrudge Chelsea glory after having been inches away from victory two years ago.

The days of the club being so loathed are seemingly behind us, as the neutrals are waking up to the fact that Ancelotti’s team is playing the best football and deserves respect rather than resentment.

Support eChelseaFC

Ramires Transfer to Chelsea Imminent – Clubs Agree a Fee

It seems that Carlo Ancelotti and Roman Abramovich have been reading eChelseaFC, as in the coming days it seems likely that having agreed a fee, Chelsea will sign Brazilian midfielder Ramires.

Ramires has been one of the signings that eChelseaFC and Richard French have been advocating since the transfer window opened.

 Although a Brazillian international with high profile, this signing is welcome relief from the rumours that we were going to fritter away money on over valued superstars such as Fernando Torres or Kaka.

£18m seems like a very good price for a Brazillian international, with both strength and technical skill.

 In the coming days we will be profiling the player, once the picture on his signing becomes clearer, we don’t want to do a Robinho and start printing shirts with his name on just yet you see.

The Players That Chelsea Should be Signing

 The Complications of the Ramires Signing

 Ramires Video

Lets Hope Ramires is not Another Robinho