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Chelsea Comment: Swine Flu Threat Is New Challenge For Carlo Ancelotti
The League Cup game against Bolton Wanderers will test the players' professionalism…
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Oct 27, 2009 1:36:39 PM
Carlo Ancelotti would never be naive enough to believe he has faced everything that football can throw at a manager, but he still might not have expected that the biggest challenge he would face this week would come from the threat of illness.
Having seen his Chelsea side maul a Blackburn Rovers side decimated by absentees – both Chris Samba and David Dunn missed the game with a suspected case of swine flu – Ancelotti and his charges now face the prospect of two games in a week against another side, Bolton Wanderers, which is facing a health scare in the form of the virulent H1N1 virus.
"From our own point of view, you're not going to be a business with quite a few employees and it [swine flu] totally escapes you," Bolton boss Gary Megson said this week.
"You are going to get one or two with swine flu and I think on the playing staff I think we have had five – four players and one member of staff.
"You try and do your best to avoid it, but I would imagine it's near enough impossible."
Although the Wanderers boss has been advised by medical professionals that it is "very difficult, if not impossible" to contract the virus on the playing field, that didn't stop Rovers boss Sam Allardyce issuing a warning to the Blues after their game on Saturday evening.
When asked whether he thought his players might have passed on the illness during the game, Allardyce said:
"There is no doubt about that. It is one of the most infectious viruses we have had. You don't know where it has come from but they are not going to stop it are they?"
So far, Chelsea have yet to detect any cases of the virus among their players or staff. Nevertheless, Ancelotti will have to draw on all his experience to keep his squad focused on getting the job done on the pitch, despite the potential distractions around them.
It wasn't a problem on Saturday against Rovers, but under the lesser lights of the League Cup, players might find it harder to motivate themselves than in a televised Premier League clash where they have the opportunity to go top.
Ancelotti will not want that to happen. Although he will almost certainly rest a few regular starters as he keeps one eye on maintaining the league challenge at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday, he will not want to give up his 100 per cent home record without a fight.
He will have to ensure the emerging names he calls upon – the likes of Fabio Borini, Daniel Sturridge, Sam Hutchinson, and Jeffrey Bruma – are fully concentrated on the task in hand, as while the League Cup is at the bottom of the club's priorities, any silverware is is of value to the former Milan boss.
Diamond light | Obi Mikel can shine in League Cup
Having seen his Chelsea side maul a Blackburn Rovers side decimated by absentees – both Chris Samba and David Dunn missed the game with a suspected case of swine flu – Ancelotti and his charges now face the prospect of two games in a week against another side, Bolton Wanderers, which is facing a health scare in the form of the virulent H1N1 virus.
"From our own point of view, you're not going to be a business with quite a few employees and it [swine flu] totally escapes you," Bolton boss Gary Megson said this week.
"You are going to get one or two with swine flu and I think on the playing staff I think we have had five – four players and one member of staff.
"You try and do your best to avoid it, but I would imagine it's near enough impossible."
Although the Wanderers boss has been advised by medical professionals that it is "very difficult, if not impossible" to contract the virus on the playing field, that didn't stop Rovers boss Sam Allardyce issuing a warning to the Blues after their game on Saturday evening.
When asked whether he thought his players might have passed on the illness during the game, Allardyce said:
"There is no doubt about that. It is one of the most infectious viruses we have had. You don't know where it has come from but they are not going to stop it are they?"
So far, Chelsea have yet to detect any cases of the virus among their players or staff. Nevertheless, Ancelotti will have to draw on all his experience to keep his squad focused on getting the job done on the pitch, despite the potential distractions around them.
It wasn't a problem on Saturday against Rovers, but under the lesser lights of the League Cup, players might find it harder to motivate themselves than in a televised Premier League clash where they have the opportunity to go top.
Ancelotti will not want that to happen. Although he will almost certainly rest a few regular starters as he keeps one eye on maintaining the league challenge at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday, he will not want to give up his 100 per cent home record without a fight.
He will have to ensure the emerging names he calls upon – the likes of Fabio Borini, Daniel Sturridge, Sam Hutchinson, and Jeffrey Bruma – are fully concentrated on the task in hand, as while the League Cup is at the bottom of the club's priorities, any silverware is is of value to the former Milan boss.
Diamond light | Obi Mikel can shine in League Cup
He will also expect solid performances from the players that have found themselves out of the first team of late, particularly John Obi Mikel.
The Nigerian has seen his place at the base of the midfield diamond taken by Michael Essien, and he will be desperate to prove he can provide competition for the outstanding Ghanaian.
And having come through half of a reserve game unscathed over a week ago, Wednesday evening might see the welcome return of Brazilian defender Alex. However, it might be a tough night for the former PSV defender, as he could well find himself tasked with marking the ever-physical Kevin Davies.
Nevertheless, with Bolton likely to rotate their squad as well, the chances of victory should be good for a side that is buzzing from their best performance of the season, especially as Joe Cole, so influential against Blackburn, might be given another game at the the tip of the diamond as he works his way back to full fitness.
The side Ancelotti picks for tomorrow's game will tell us much about the Italian's attitude towards the League Cup.
The players' performances on the pitch, however, might tell us just as much about Ancelotti's ability to inspire his players in the face of the threat of illness – something that isn't covered in detail in the 'Management 101' handbook.
Alex Dimond, Goal.com UK
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