Chelsea Rocks

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

CHELSEA MAGAZINE: ASK THE GAFFER

Posted on: Mon 19 Oct 2009

If you've not taken the opportunity to ask Carlo Ancelotti a question in Chelsea magazine yet, now is the time to think of a query for our manager.

Each month in our exclusive feature, 'You ask the questions', Carlo answers a selection of enquiries from supporters.

Two away defeats have been buffered by a brilliant 2-0 win over Liverpool, leaving Chelsea second in the League, one point behind Manchester United.

Maybe you want to know the gaffer's thoughts on the past month's mixed results and what has impressed him most about this squad of players.

Or perhaps you want to know a bit more about Carlo the man - all you have to do is email your question in to Chelsea@programmemaster.co.uk and we'll ask him the best ones during a one-on-one interview at our Cobham training ground.

The November edition of Chelsea magazine is on sale now in all good newsagents and the club Megastore at Stamford Bridge, so buy your copy for just £3.25.

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BEHIND THE MIC: ASTON VILLA V CHELSEA

Posted on: Mon 19 Oct 2009

On Monday Chelseafc.com catches up with the expert summariser from the club's radio partner, BBC London 94.9, for analysis of the weekend's game.

Former Blues favourite Clive Walker was the man who made the early journey to Villa Park. He saw the Blues downed by some fundamental errors.

In open play Chelsea are still generally okay in keeping it tight. They can close games out but if you switch off at dead ball situations and the delivery is good, you can't expect to win football matches. You have to give credit to Villa, their deliveries were a lot better than Chelsea's on the day.

Frank Lampard has done his best to get some sort of contact on the ball before Villa's first goal. He was unfortunate with that, but the Chelsea markers were not following the opposition players coming in and it was a free header and no chance for the goalkeeper. The players haven't managed to concentrate for the full 90 minutes. It doesn't matter if you are doing man-to-man or zonal marking, you can't give anyone at Premier League level free headers.

John Terry was quite rightly furious. He is doing his job and he expects the players around him to do similar jobs and stay close to their markers. If you get close to them and they are bigger, overpower you, or they time their jump well, some times you have to hold your hands up and say well done. On Saturday with the two goals Villa scored, no-one was within three or four yards of them inside the six-yard box.

There were bits and pieces when some lovely flowing football was played by Chelsea but without the end result. The shots we had from Anelka, Malouda and Deco were straight at Brad Friedel during an important time in the game. The Anelka one was especially disappointing. People knock him for his involvement in a game but I think his work rate is okay, but when those opportunities come, that's when he usually steps and says that is what I am good at. But it hit Friedel dead centre.

I think the ball hit the white line for Drogba's goal and maybe with a dip in temperature the night before, the line had hardened slightly. It was a great first touch to give Drogba the space, and he has got a super bit of top spin on the ball, but Friedel mis-read the bounce. You have got to put some blame on the keeper, he is expected to save those, but it did dip viciously and it was a big bounce. But credit to Didier for making the space and hitting the target with good pace on the ball.

Cech made some great decisions in the first half when we needed him to come out and collect crosses and Villa were coming forward. He also swept up well because Agbonlahor's pace was at times electrifying, he gave Ashley Cole a run for his money a couple of times which eventually got Cole a booking. The only question mark against Cech was over the winning goal. He got too close to Terry who the ball was obviously going to clear and maybe took his eye off the ball. But the markers should have got closer to the scorer anyway.

Chelsea haven't looked very bright in the first 15 minutes of games recently. The team need to impose themselves on teams quicker and put them on the back foot. Jon Carew played very well for Villa up front and James Collins was outstanding as centre-back and at times dominated Drogba - and that doesn't happen too often. Joe Cole maybe should have been given longer as a sub, especially if he is going to get back to full fitness, and there is an argument for Yury Zhirkov to come on with his pace. Kalou we know is an impact player, but with hindsight it is always easy to say things about substitutions.

Chelsea could make a tactical change for the next away game but I'd be quite happy to keep the same shape. The 4-diamond-2 has been shown to probably be the best this season. It is all about getting the performance out of the players on the day. Liverpool apart, in the previous few games the players haven't got up to speed quick enough. I like to think that they can go back to the training field and sort out the defending of set-pieces.

BBC London has live radio commentary on every Chelsea game and can be accessed online via Chelsea Plus. They are also our partners in the official Chelsea Podcast.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

CHELSEA MAGAZINE: ASK THE GAFFER

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BEHIND THE MIC: ASTON VILLA V CHELSEA