The good Lord was kind enough to me that I was tied up at work when our capitol one cup tie against ManU was played yesterday. I was able to watch the match in full later when I got home already knowing the score and so was be able to concentrate on details and lessons to learn because had I watched this match in real time I may have been close to having a coronary.
Here are 12 lessons/points I picked up from this match in no specific order..see whether or not you agree and do add any other lessons you leant that I have not mentioned here;
1. Our defense..particularly central defense is a shambles without JT..This is a cause for much concern..the rate we have been leaking goals in the last 3 games is a big issue..if we don`t fix it this will eventually sink our seasons ambitions..not even Barca or Real or Bayern with their potent attacks can leak goals the way we are expect to win matches consistently. We played with heart yesterday but that does not change the fact that we were lucky to get out of that tie as winners. RDM should seriously consider getting a defensive coach to assist him with drilling our boys on defensive nous, discipline and formation..a call to Marcell Desailly or some other of RDMs defensive buddies from his playing era may be in order here.
2. David Luiz..what an enigma..i love the guy to death..his passion, his versatility and his courage is so infectious and genuine yet he is so error prone and he plays in the most sensitive part of the field for us other than in goal. We are committed to him..he has just signed a 5 yr contract so he is a keeper?but for the first time I am starting to wonder if we should not recall Jeffrey Bruma to see how well he can partner Cahill because JT is not going to be there for us too many more years now..As for Luiz considering all the other things he brings to the table including passing range, free kicks, PKs, rampaging runs forward etc for once I am starting to think like some others have said before maybe we may need to change the position he plays for us.
3. Cesar Aspiliceuta and Betrand are the real deal..these two full backs are ready for prime time and they showed it yesterday. RDM needs to rotate them more with Iva and Cole to ensure that our team of fullbacks are always well rested and that the veteran fullbacks are not over taxed.
4. Our conversion rate in front of goal is really worrisome..i don`t think anyone who seriously has Chelseas best wishes at heart can now fail to see that come January we need to get at least 1 and in my mind 2 strikers..Sturridge fluffed so many chances yesterday that shows why he is not ready to be the no 1 choice striker for a club the stature of Chelsea..if he cannot understand this then come January we have to sell him. His confidence is undeniable..his willingness to shoot at sight is refreshing after having to endure the shrinking violet shoot phobic performances of Torres but I must reiterate what one of our vital FC fans said a few days back?it is sad but true that right now ManUs 4th striker in their pecking order; Chicarito is undoubtedly a better and more efficient striker than either our no 1 or 2 strikers..that is the sobering reality.
5. The genius that is Hazard was on display again yesterday..i am so glad we got him and it appears that in him we may have the successor to Frank Lampards throne as our designated first choice PK taker..that extra time PK was a touch of sublime skill and incredible confidence.
6. Oscar`s versatility never ceases to astound me..especially for a 20yr old. He is able to do so many different things so very well.
7. Victor Moses had a very good game in my opinion and showed why he deserves more playing chances..he is a winger who can give us much needed width in the final third but he is no striker..the number of chances he fluffed in this match was almost criminal. Should the thought arise of playing him as a center forward his display yesterday did him no favors in that regard. As it appears Marko Marin spends more time in the treatment room than on the pitch this means we still have a serious lack in the wingers dept. to have Moses as our only consistent wing threat is certainly not enough ..we need to be looking for one more winger in the winter and I will write a separate article later to suggest an available relatively cheap choice.
8. Romeu has a whole lot of growing up to do..he will be a great DM eventually but please..to compare him to Mikel at this point is laughable?I continue to bemoan our releasing Miereles and loaning out Essien..at least we can rectify the Essien error at the end of the season by recalling him..we desperately need more depth in the central mid field.
9. Ramires is amazing..the moment he was injected into our midfield in the match the dynamism was upped. His energy and drive is so inspiring and what he lacks in deft skill he more than makes up in passion and indefatigability..he is every defenders worst night mare when he is running straight down the center of the pitch late in matches when everyone else is running on fumes.
10. Once again our dangerous situation as regarding having no back up goalie to speak of was exposed . We had to play Cech in this match rather than giving him a rest because RDM knows none of our remaining two goalies are reliable in any big game..ManU on the other hand could bring in Lindergaard for De Gea. Can we please address this in the winter transfer season..pretty please? There are numerous serviceable goalies available out there that are way better than Hilario and turnbull..one quick thought is our very own old pal Cudocinni at Spurs who have a major glut of Goalies on the their hands already (Cudocinni, Gomez, friedel and Lloris are still on their books).
11. We need to better rotate our team..after the hell some of our boys went through yesterday they will need to be rested but there is no rest for the weary..Swansea are just round the corner and as they showed against Liver pool they are a very dangerous side. It is time for Eva Carniero and her team once again to work their magic to somehow freshen those boys many of whom will have to line up again on Saturday and then following mid week in a must win against shaktar. Remember all those arguments we had about squad depth and the benefits of having a big enough squad with at least 2 credible first teams with 3 additional utility players to make a strong 25 man roster a la Jose..this is where the wisdom of such thinking becomes painfully obvious..it is already rearing its ugly head so early in the season because despite all the talent we have out on loan elsewhere the actual players we have available on the ground translate in to us not having the needed squad depth for battling effectively on multiple fronts over a full season and we need to fix this by arranging some loan recalls in January.
12. The lion heart of our boys and our coaching staff is so inspiring..despite all our handicaps and shortcomings..despite having the entire BPL refeering community lined up against us (I must say Lee Mason did a decent job yesterday despite being rather lenient on ManU..his call on that injury time PK for us though which was correct and enabled us to win the match will almost certainly earn him purgatory from SAF..you watch he will probably never get to ref another ManU game for at least a year and may get demoted from the BPL for the next few games for having the temerity to actually show some cajones and make the right calls against the almighty ManU) and the media painting us as the devil incarnate the focus and determination of Chelsea was on display out there yesterday and when the chips are down give me heart over skill any day..though it helps to have a bit of both. KTBFFH!!!!
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