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Chelsea Comment: Carlo Ancelotti Wary Of Impending Strike Problems
Daniel Sturridge's poor form needs to be rectified by January...
29-Oct-2009 5:24:36 PM
With 13 goals in their last three games, and eight clean sheets in their last eight home games, it would be fair to say that Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is pretty content with life at the moment.
Last night's 4-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup was just the latest in a string of impressive results for the club, and a repeat performance in two days' time at the Reebok Stadium on Premier League duty will do a lot to quell the suspicion, however minor, that the Blues are poor travellers.
"The most important thing for a team is balance and during the 90 minutes we maintained good control both defensively and offensively," Ancelotti stated after the game.
"It is a good moment for us."
Such straightforward talk is unsurprising. After all, the Italian's job is not to dwell on the present positives, but to foresee and counter potential problems that might crop up in the near future.
And, like Royal Mail a few months ago, even after last night's goal fest he might be becoming increasingly concerned about impending strike problems.
As every Chelsea fan is well aware, the Blues will be without Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou throughout January as they take part in the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast.
Drogba has been exceptional all season, but his fellow countryman's goal last night served as the latest reminder that he too has been a valuable contributor to the campaign.
Without them in the New Year — not to mention the loss of Ghana's Michael Essien and Nigeria's John Obi Mikel in midfield — Ancelotti will have to adapt his approach.
Nicolas Anelka will still be there, and will almost certainly be asked to lead the line for his team.
Will you miss me? | Kalou scored again last night
Considering how impressively he has performed the role in the Champions League, where Drogba has been suspended, the Italian will have little concerns about handing the Frenchman such extra responsibility.
The problem comes in the second striking position. The fourth striker in the squad is Daniel Sturridge, but the former Manchester City youth product has struggled for chances this season and when he has got them — as he did last night — he has generally failed to take advantage.
The 20-year-old missed two good opportunities to score, and looked out of his depth in his exalted company. The fact that he was withdrawn on 60 minutes for Drogba, with the game already won at 2-0, hints that the manager felt it just wasn't his day.
Nevertheless, Ancelotti did not criticise him after the game.
"I asked him to play for the team, not to score goals," he said. "He did what I asked of him."
In private, however, the 50-year-old will have hoped for more. In the run-up to January, the former AC Milan boss will certainly give his No23 more first-team opportunities to boost his confidence in the system, and with his team-mates.
He needs to find a way to reinstall the belief that the youngster always appeared to have in himself at Manchester City, the inner conviction that led him to leave one of England's emerging forces because he felt undervalued.
After all, the England Under-20 international will be his only other practical option. If he — or, heaven forbid, Anelka — pick up a long term injury, Ancelotti will have few options but to pray the club's transfer embargo is lifted.
Fabio Borini, the young Italian striker arguably in contention for playing time, is at the moment too young and lightweight to cope with Premier League defences.
Franco di Santo, currently on loan at Blackburn Rovers, might be recalled in the transfer window, but you get the feeling that Ancelotti is reluctant to terminate what is a good arrangement for all concerned for the sake of one month's cover — especially as the Argentinian would have to learn the 50-year-old's system and adapt to the Blues' style in a very short space of time.
Other than Sturridge, then, the only viable alternative would be to tailor the formation slightly, with Anelka a lone man up front and perhaps two attacking midfielders playing just off him.
Look at me | Sturridge oozed confidence at City
Last night's 4-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup was just the latest in a string of impressive results for the club, and a repeat performance in two days' time at the Reebok Stadium on Premier League duty will do a lot to quell the suspicion, however minor, that the Blues are poor travellers.
"The most important thing for a team is balance and during the 90 minutes we maintained good control both defensively and offensively," Ancelotti stated after the game.
"It is a good moment for us."
Such straightforward talk is unsurprising. After all, the Italian's job is not to dwell on the present positives, but to foresee and counter potential problems that might crop up in the near future.
And, like Royal Mail a few months ago, even after last night's goal fest he might be becoming increasingly concerned about impending strike problems.
As every Chelsea fan is well aware, the Blues will be without Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou throughout January as they take part in the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast.
Drogba has been exceptional all season, but his fellow countryman's goal last night served as the latest reminder that he too has been a valuable contributor to the campaign.
Without them in the New Year — not to mention the loss of Ghana's Michael Essien and Nigeria's John Obi Mikel in midfield — Ancelotti will have to adapt his approach.
Nicolas Anelka will still be there, and will almost certainly be asked to lead the line for his team.
Will you miss me? | Kalou scored again last night
Considering how impressively he has performed the role in the Champions League, where Drogba has been suspended, the Italian will have little concerns about handing the Frenchman such extra responsibility.
The problem comes in the second striking position. The fourth striker in the squad is Daniel Sturridge, but the former Manchester City youth product has struggled for chances this season and when he has got them — as he did last night — he has generally failed to take advantage.
The 20-year-old missed two good opportunities to score, and looked out of his depth in his exalted company. The fact that he was withdrawn on 60 minutes for Drogba, with the game already won at 2-0, hints that the manager felt it just wasn't his day.
Nevertheless, Ancelotti did not criticise him after the game.
"I asked him to play for the team, not to score goals," he said. "He did what I asked of him."
In private, however, the 50-year-old will have hoped for more. In the run-up to January, the former AC Milan boss will certainly give his No23 more first-team opportunities to boost his confidence in the system, and with his team-mates.
He needs to find a way to reinstall the belief that the youngster always appeared to have in himself at Manchester City, the inner conviction that led him to leave one of England's emerging forces because he felt undervalued.
After all, the England Under-20 international will be his only other practical option. If he — or, heaven forbid, Anelka — pick up a long term injury, Ancelotti will have few options but to pray the club's transfer embargo is lifted.
Fabio Borini, the young Italian striker arguably in contention for playing time, is at the moment too young and lightweight to cope with Premier League defences.
Franco di Santo, currently on loan at Blackburn Rovers, might be recalled in the transfer window, but you get the feeling that Ancelotti is reluctant to terminate what is a good arrangement for all concerned for the sake of one month's cover — especially as the Argentinian would have to learn the 50-year-old's system and adapt to the Blues' style in a very short space of time.
Other than Sturridge, then, the only viable alternative would be to tailor the formation slightly, with Anelka a lone man up front and perhaps two attacking midfielders playing just off him.
Look at me | Sturridge oozed confidence at City
Florent Malouda often drifted into the role at the tip of the diamond last night, showing just how many options the club have there.
But considering that, by Malouda's own admission, the players are only now getting fully comfortable with the diamond, the manager would surely be loath to make another tactical change midway through the season.
"We have more confidence with the way we are playing now," the Frenchman said after the game last night.
"We are trying to keep the ball to play our game and all the players are fitting into this system.
"The most important thing is the runs you make and you must have confidence in the other players, that's what helps us get the result."
Over the next two months then, Ancelotti will keep one eye on maintaining the club's impressive form, and another on getting Sturridge fully integrated into the squad.
If he doesn't, January could be the month when strike problems hit Chelsea
Alex Dimond
Inside Goal.Com
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