Despite the heavy scoreline, there were many reasons to be optimistic about Sunday`s game, if only because of the overall performance. But also the audacity that Andre Villas-Boas displayed.
A first positive is that Chelsea were not totally outclassed by Manchester United. In our most difficult League fixture, Chelsea can consider that that there were many parts of the game that Chelsea more than matched the hosts.
If we need any further proof, it is in the reaction from Manchester United. Patrice Evra declared that his team are going to need to raise their game and do better if they are to walk away with the trophy. Siralex mixed the unusual (berating his players for some poor work, in particular some bad passes) with his habitual ‘mind-games`: trying to focus the attention on Ashley Cole`s tackle on Javier Hernandez as if to imply that his side were hard done by since the referee didn`t quarter the left back on the spot, that the tackle was the worst ever and that Hernandez would be lucky to walk again. That`s the same player who is due to return to training this week.
And yet Siralex knew that, if anything, it was Chelsea that were hard done by. They were punished by poor referee decisions (two of the goals that Manchester United scored were offside) but, more than anything let down by the gulf in clinical finishing. Whereas Manchester United made the most of all their chances, Chelsea squandered too many. Another day and Chelsea would have more than matched not only on the pitch but also on the scoreboard.
It is tempting to chalk up that Fernando Torres miss as one of the negatives and to suggest that that will be bearing on an already fragile confidence. But that would belie the huge positives: firstly the same Torres also scored a great goal, showing cold-blood and skill from a difficult angle. Given El Niño`s scoring record since he joined Chelsea, that is huge, all the more so that it came at the kind of moment that you want to score a goal, not to mention in one of the most hostile fixtures. That he made – but also fluffed – a second goal is harsh but hardly a hammer blow. In any case, you have to look at the overall performance: Torres was a constant threat who drew out the Manchester United defenders. He got into position, was comfortable on the ball, and the indications are that he has Andre Villas-Boas` trust. AVB also has a good idea how to structure the team to the best effect to get the most out of Torres and to bring back the striker`s confidence.
If we look at the overall performance not to mention that of Torres, we have to also consider team management. 3-0 down at half time at Old Trafford, facing a scoreline that was very harsh to Chelsea, many other managers and teams would have tried to make their way directly to the team bus. Not Chelsea.
And there we have another of the more encouraging aspects of Sunday, the way that AVB reacted. He did something that would have seemed anathema barely weeks ago, making a tactical decision that paid off. He substituted Frank Lampard at half time and brought on Nicolas Anelka.
It was a bold and radical decision, and it was the right one as it yielded a goal immediately and a number of chances during the second half. In doing so, AVB also struck a blow to a shibboleth that has been dragging Chelsea down, that Frank Lampard is an automatic first starter and an essential element of the team. Of course, as Chelsea supporters we all love Lampard and are deeply grateful to him. That does not mean that the player who has given so much to the club should continue to play when his contributions are diminishing. Last season, when the goal-scoring midfielder`s haul was considerably lower than what we have grown to expect was already a warning, so was the months that he spent out on a hernia. It was the wake-up call for the need to prepare for life after Frank.
Lamps simply doesn`t have the speed any more to play the role in which he has excelled: the point in a diamond midfield, ball distributor to the strikers and getting into excellent positions with perfectly-timed runs for the second balls. He`s been given a role on set pieces that have become wasteful (his corners are missed opportunities). Keeping him in the starting XI is a romantic luxury that the club can ill afford as the game changes: it has become more athletic, faster and, as a consequence, younger. And so Lampard might need to reinvent himself further down the midfield (into positions where his tactical sense can compensate for lack of speed) or expect to be used sparingly.
As it was, AVB`s tactical decision was the right one. It was a daring and bold decision, one that (for instance) Carlo Ancelotti would not have attempted. On paper, AVB dared a 4-2-4 at Old Trafford and he has to be applauded for that, at least salvaging something from the game, providing Chelsea with a rousing second half.
The players will know that there were many positives to draw from the positives, even if the result indicates the work ahead of Chelsea. And perhaps the best conclusion is that the manager is to be given a free hand to continue with Chelsea`s rehabilitation programme. That programme will involve new tactics and reducing the club`s reliance on particular players. Even living legends such as Frank Lampard.
And having suffered a smarting result, the Carling Cup game is an excellent opportunity. It`s a game at home, it`s a chance for AVB to hand starts to some of the lesser-used players (Lukaku, Oriol Romeu) but possibly also to continue working with Fernando Torres. With the League game against ManU behind us, it`s onwards and upwards.
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