AVB: The Fledgling Genius?

The last time Chelsea lost back-to-back home games was in 2002. Roman Abramovich hadn't yet appeared on the horizon, and many Chelsea fans would've been content to see their team 5th in the league table. But defeats against Arsenal and Liverpool now, and suddenly there appears to be a full-blown crisis at Stamford Bridge. The Blues currently lie fifth in the league table, and even the very thought of finishing outside the Champions League places is a nightmare for the Chelsea faithful.

It all appeared to be so promising at the start. A dashing new manager, who cost a world-record transfer fee. Andre Villas-Boas promised to bring the revolution that Chelsea fans have been waiting so long, ever since the Blues' infamous collapse at the Bridge versus Sunderland. So, what has suddenly gone wrong? While it's outright rubbish on some fans' part to demand AVB's sacking, what is it exactly that's ailing Chelsea right now?

The Lampard-Drogba-Malouda Conundrum:

Chelsea's Golden Generation seems to be on the way down...
Picture Courtsey: Audrey Pilato

Frank Lampard went on a scoring spree recently, and suddenly it was all about shutting the critics up. Yes, he has been sparkling at times, but why we keep forgetting that He's 33 now. Isn't it simply too much to expect him to play every single game, and still be on top of it? Just have a look at Manchester United. Ryan Giggs does have legendary status there, like Lampard has at Chelsea. But does Ferguson give him starts day-in-day-out simply because he was brilliant in one game? It's imperative for Chelsea to realise Lampard and Drogba will have to be used sparingly, even when in form. Taking the risk of stating the obvious, Drogba is a pale shadow of the monster, that could bully the World's best defenders into submission.
But for me, the biggest disappointment is Florent Malouda. The Frenchman was Chelsea's most inspirational player couple of seasons ago, when Chelsea stormed to the Double (And I say it, despite the bucket-load of goals Drogba and Lampard scored that season! ) But this season, he's simply looked...terrible. Too selfish on the ball at times, no more the clever reader of the game, add that dreadful back-pass against Arsenal, Florent Malouda should simply play no part in AVB's attempted revolution.

The Makelele Void:

Very few may have noticed it, but Chelsea have hardly been the impregnable defensive unit they once were, ever since Claude Makelele left the club. The French destroyer was not just the ever-present shield in front of Chelsea's back-line, but he also quickly released the ball to his attackers, never allowing the opposition to close down the spaces and pressurize. Essien did a commendable job at that position, but his fitness is always an issue.John Obi Mikel does try his best in that role, but so far, he hasn't simply been good enough.
If AVB wants Chelsea to play a fast-passing game, Mikel is always going to be a liability. He's a good passer of the ball, agreed.But, he's too slow to make the passes, to get the ball out of the defense and to the pacey frontmen. It was precisely this reason that Liverpool got their first goal this Sunday. Would Oriol Romeu, a player brought up in Barcelona's tiki-taka style take that much time on the ball? Never. And if he's considered too young to handle the pressure, there's always Raul Meireles who is an excellent passer of the ball.
Of course, it's not just Mikel's fault. He was more of an advanced midfielder before coming to Chelsea, having been touted as one of the most exciting young prospects in 2005 FIFA World Youth Championships.  Even now, he does produce some great long balls out of nowhere, but that's a rarity because of his deep-lying role. When he arrived at Chelsea, Claude Makelele was on the wane, and Mikel was a strong,physical guy. So, Jose Mourinho added one and one as two, and started grooming Mikel as Makelele's successor. As it's clear, it hasn't worked out. Carlo Ancelotti talked about using Mikel as a deep-lying play-maker. But, it never materialized. Sadly now, he simply doesn't fit into AVB's system any more. Chelsea need a player who can move the ball quickly from deep, otherwise the opposition can close down the spaces, put the pressure and force mistakes. We all saw a live example last Sunday.

The High-defensive Line:

The problems Chelsea's high defensive line faces: Long balls across the defense

Okay, loads of stuff has been said about this already. I won't bore you with more. It's just that, the fault doesn't lie just with the system, but also with the personnel. Chelsea could've pulled it off, if John Terry was 26 instead of 31, and he had a reliable defensive partner like Ricardo Carvalho. This Chelsea team lacks on both counts. Luiz is many things as a footballer, but reliable is not one of them. In fact, it's the spontaneity in his game, that makes him special. Ivanovic has been Chelsea's most reliable defender so far, either at Right-back or at Centre-back. The problem is, he can only play in one position at a time. John Terry is still a terrific defender, but he doesn't have the same pace to match the pacey runs off his shoulder anymore. And that's the exact reason Chelsea's high defensive-line is on a break-point, every time there's a long ball across the defence.

Same Old-Same Old Story:

There were talks about revitalising the current Chelsea squad with dazzling new talents. We all got excited as Sturridge started banging in goals, and some of the hottest young prospects were arriving at Chelsea. Three months into the season, and what's the reality? England's supposed new superstar, Josh McEachran is yet to start a league game, so are Oriol Romeu and Romelu Lukaku. Sturridge may have established himself in the team, but too much tinkering with forwards isn't helping much. Villas Boas needs to make his picks now. For all the great things he has done for Chelsea, Didier Drogba can no more carry them on his shoulders week-in week-out. Sturridge and Lukaku are the future of the team.And for all the ridicule he has received, Fernando Torres is the present of Chelsea Football Club. Chelsea need to build around him, there's no point playing him with Malouda and Anelka, and expect him to score tons of goals without any service. AVB knows it very well. But he simply has no one apart from Mata, who can play the creative role. Signing Jovetic or De Bruyne in January may not be a bad idea at all.

It has to remembered that there's massive re-building work to be done at Chelsea. There was only one great Chelsea team built in the Abramovich era, by Jose Mourinho. It was just patched up at times by different managers, but the core remained the same. Even Hiddink, if ever to be called again, would do some more patching-up to coax a bit more out of the team. But make no mistakes, unless Chelsea can somehow lure the master re-builder Sir Alex Ferguson, Andre Villas Boas is their best hope for a revolution!

The Theater of Nightmares...

       
         So, you all had a great weekend then? The weather was lovely, wasn't it? Many of us might've had a nice picnic. Or did you catch any new movie over the weekend? There were quite a few on TV this week, too. Watching "Just Dance" can be a great experience too, to relax. What else? Anything nice on TV? No, I have talked about that already. The weather? Nope, I've been through that as well.
   

          Okay, can't beat around the bushes any longer now. All of us saw what happened at Old Trafford this Sunday. It wasn't Chelsea's first defeat of the season that got the headlines, nor United's rolling juggernaut despite a less than commanding performance. The only thing the world media is talking about now, is THAT moment from Fernando Torres. As the commentator rightly said, you wouldn't wish that on anyone.Seriously. Not even on Emmanuel Adebayor. You can defend, saying all great players have crazy misses sometimes, but for someone who was finally finding some confidence after a marathon break, you just pray the miss doesn't prove to be catastrophic.

One didn't really want to look at Torres's face after that miss ! "Shattered" is the only word there...

                   Talking generally about the game, it was far more open than expected. With a bit better finishing from both sides, it could easily have been 6-5, or better,6-7! But, the Torres miss overshadowed rest of the game so much, that no one even talked about both of first two United goals being offside. Yes, United were the better team in the end, but can you imagine the same silence on refereeing standards, had Fergie's team been on the receiving end ? AVB knew that his team were just as much to blame though, as it was really a lesson from the Red Devils in finishing games off. Chelsea were creating dozens of chances in first half, and still United incredibly led 3-0 at half-time, with 3 shots on target. That's called ruthlessness. They aren't the 19-time Champions for nothing.

        But, what for me was one of the biggest decisions of the match, which can have a massive impact on Chelsea's season went almost unnoticed. Lampard, the legendary 20-goals-a-season-from-midfield Frank Lampard was substituted at half-time by Villas Boas for Anelka, a decision that paid dividends in just about 30 seconds! Had it been any of the former Chelsea managers still in the Blue's dugout, Torres or Sturridge would come off to make way for Anelka. AVB made his statement right there. No one is safe at Chelsea anymore without performing. And unlike most of his predecessors, he really means that. That's why Roman Abramovich took the massive gamble on this relatively inexperienced guy from Portugal. There are radical changes happening around at Stamford Bridge.In Game-play. In discipline. And most importantly, in the personnel. Earlier, no one would even dream if Resting (!) Terry and Lampard in the opening game of the Champions League. No one would start Daniel Sturridge against Manchester United in favour of Anelka or Malouda. Villas Boas is bold and fearless, there are distinct similarities with Mourinho there. The delicious  unpredictability in substitutions is back. The team that looked jaded and tired for much of last season, looks suddenly revitalised now.They are hungry, they are pacey, and they want to win. They might be 5 points off the pace already, but write Chelsea off at your own peril.

              Meanwhile, giving due credit to the devils, they were indeed magnificent. They may not have dominated the game, but when on a roll, Fergie's men are as merciless as a Genghis-khan or a Tamerlane.  Chelsea did threaten with a comeback. But even after Rooney doing his own version of the "Moscow-miss" and Berbatov showing his own prowess at missing chances-one-can't-miss, United ran out deserved, if not comfortable winners. 15 points, 21 goals, a goal difference of +17, all this from just 5 games, this United team are going to need some stopping from romping to another title.

Even with a Moscow-like miss, Rooney is far ahead of competition in this year's EPL!

                                       

         Just a word to all those Chelsea fans lashing out at Torres though, AVB is building something big here. And even if you find it hard to believe, Fernando Torres is the man much, much likely to lead his charge, rather than a Didier Drogba or a Nicolas Anelka, and at least for the time being, even Daniel Sturridge. The entire league is being sliced open like never before. Get ready for the ride with your seat-belts, for it's going to be far more bumpy and unpredictable than you can ever imagine!

Landing The Big Fish : Juan Mata

           
              It was all turning out to be so familiar. Trying to somehow scrape past a minnow, with that straight-line passing and the slow and mundane build-up play, that seemed to have become a characteristic. Ever since that infamous collapse against Sunderland last season, Chelsea fans had been craving for something exciting. And then, he arrived. In just the 26 minutes of his debut, Juan Mata showed the Blues what they had been missing. It was that finesse, that trickery, that magic that hadn't been seen at Stamford Bridge, perhaps since the days of legendary Gianfranco Zola. It might be precocious to say this, but Mata could just turn out to be the missing piece in Chelsea's jigsaw.
              It's been no secret that Roman Abramovic wants Chelsea to play with flair. As fortunes had it, Zola had left Chelsea for his native Caligari just a week before Roman bought the club. Abramovich did his best to get him back to London. Legends even say, Roman tried to buy the entire Caligari club to facilitate Zola's transfer back to Chelsea, but Zola would not budge on his promise given to his home club. Whatever might be the truth, Zola didn't return, and Chelsea have never had such an artist to thrill the crowds ever since.

Juan Mata has had an instant impact at Cheslea!

                Not that Chelsea's game has been boring and dull. When on song, they play football to mechanical perfection. But, organisation has always been prioritized to a free-roaming approach. Yes, they are a joy to watch when on fire. Didier Drogba bulldozing through the entire defenses, the famed long-rangers from Lamps or Essien, the relentless runs by Ashley Cole. But when the opposition decides to  park their bus  in front of goal, Chelsea don't have a Special player, who can pick the locks, or at least they didn't have one till now. Scolari moaned about his failure in pursuit of Robinho, or not having retained Arjen Robben, precisely for the same reason.

             Let's face it, almost every big club has one. Barcelona have Messi. Period. Real have Ronaldo, Manchester City have David Silva. Manchester United may not have one such in particular, but their ever-revolving front-line of Young, Rooney, Chicharito and Nani more than compensates for it, as some EPL clubs have already witnessed to their own peril. Chelsea didn't even need one till two seasons back, when Drogba was literally bullying every defense into submission, and Lampard was popping up from anywhere to slot in goal-after-goal. But cracks appeared in the Armour last season, when Drogba was hit by  malaria, and Lampard was lost to injuries. Both haven't yet looked the same, even after returning. Villas Boas had spotted the over-dependence on the few personnel, which has been the downfall of so many Chelsea managers. And, it's been evident in his transfer policy. Apart from Mata, Romelu Lukaku, Oriol Romeu and Thiabaut Courtois, all regarded to be  the best of upcoming talents were signed. Best part was, Romeu and Lukaku weren't loaned out straightaway to some un-pronounceable foreign clubs, a fate incurred by so many  of Chelsea's young signings.

Mata has already impressed the Blues faithfuls, with some classy football..

           
         Focusing on Mata, the diminutive Spaniard looked to pretty-much home right from the start. He ran, he dribbled, he chipped, he crossed, he tricked and Stamford Bridge was on it's feet in no time. Chelsea have got a real superstar in the making. Even David Silva, arguably the play-maker in the league at the moment, took almost half-a-season to adjust to the English game. It might not be widely known, but Juan Mata was a product of Real Madrid's youth setup (Yes, they Do have a youth system! ) . But, after shining for their B team, Mata and his parents demanded a contract with the senior team. Real refused, choosing to sign Royston Drenthe (yeah, the same one who was struggling to find a club few days ago!) instead. Valencia were waiting in the wings to pounce, and Mata hasn't disappointed since. He was the sole reason Valencia weren't plunged into an unknown darkness of failure, even after departures of two majestic Davids to Barcelona and Manchester City. It was a writing on the wall that he'd follow them to bigger clubs. Within days of signing for Chelsea, he looks to have upstaged Malouda, the French veteran, for the role on the left flank.

               If given proper time to gel, Mata could just be the man to unlock Fernando Torres's 50-million-pounds-worth potential. El Nino is still craving for the defence-splitting through balls that Gerrard and Benayoun could provide him, as Chelsea try to break from their routine of launching the ball to Drogba and let him do the rest. Early signs suggest AVB will stick to the 4-3-3 formation, which means Mata will be playing out wide on the left, rather than centrally, although a prospect of a super-fast Mata-Torres-Sturridge forward-line is fascinating for the Blue supporters.


                     The era appears to be changing at Chelsea. The veterans like Drogba, Malouda and Anelka are no longer guaranteed starters, and with the emergence of McEachran and Romeu, Frank Lampard could find himself added to that list soon.And Juan Mata promises to be the star of Chelsea's attempt at a revolution. Even with a huge clash against a rampant-looking defending Champions looming large, times have hardly been more exciting to be a Chelsea fan !