Chelsea boasts a cosmopolitan site that has been almost universally picked to win the Barclays’ Premier League. Carlo Ancelotti’s reign as manager of AC Milan yielded only a single Scudetto. Ancelotti won the UEFA Champions League in 2003 and 2007 and was the runner up in 2005 after Liverpool’s epic comeback. It is for this reason he was hired by Chelsea.
The Blues frailties were exposed Saturday at Eastlands. The side plays with little width, particularly when Flourent Maluoda is not in the starting XI. With three possession/attacking midfielders being fit into differing roles in the XI, the football is played on the ground more often than under previous Chelsea managers.
As has been the case with Arsenal for the past several seasons, a side with many foreign players who like to keep the ball at their feet is not suited for the English winter, particularly matches in the North of the country. It’s one thing to play a continental brand of football in London, but entirely different on trips to Blackburn, Manchester, Sunderland or Burnley. Chelsea’s tactical setup under Ancelloti, particularly the midfield diamond which gives little width is not suited for rough winter matches.
In promoting Ray Wilkins, a Chelsea legend to first team coach, Ancelotti has an experienced English hand to help guide him through the brutal winter. However, not having Steve Clarke as Chelsea’s number two (Clarke accompanied Chelsea’s greatest player of the pre Jose Mourinho era, Gianfranco Zola to West Ham United, serving more or less as a co-manager for the Hammers.) really hampers what Ancelotti can accomplish. Clarke’s expertise guided Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant through rough patches in the winter: in Grant’s single year as Blues manager, Chelsea actually made up ground during the winter on Manchester United.
Ancelotti has the most talented side in English Football at his disposal. He also needs to make tactical changes to get the Blues back on track and pointed towards a league title. Perhaps, Chelsea’s supporters are willing to sacrifice the league once again, to try and achieve European glory.
Europe has been elusive prize for the Blues and Ancelotti was brought in for that purpose. But the Blues elimination from the Carling Cup and continued struggles against inferior sides in the league, raise many questions about the managers understanding of the English winter.
In Milan, we see the manager’s former player Leonardo changing the tactical setup and achieving the type of results Ancelotti failed to deliver in Serie A the last few seasons. League play is not the manager’s strong suit. Let’s hope for Chelsea’s sake, Europe continues to be a place where Ancelotti’s tactics and management excels.
This week's Set Piece Analysts' daily podcasts will focus on the international competitions going-on across the globe: UEFA and CONCACAF Champions Leagues, Copa Libertadores, and even some talk about AFC and UEFA Women's Champions League.
I disagree, Kartik, I think Ancelotti’s 4-4-2 is setup to deal precisely with games like those at Sunderland and at Stoke, etc. I don’t necessarily like it, but they clog the middle and get the ball forward as quickly as possible to Drogba and Anelka. Not a bad strategy when you have those two guys out there.
As you said, the diamond really restricts the width, which makes it tough for him to use guys like Malouda, Joe Cole, and Zhirkov (when he’s healthy). The Bosingwa injury has really hurt Chelsea as well, he’s their width on the right and his replacements (Ivanovic, an aging Ferreira, an aging Belletti – who does better at giving them width, but can’t defend or recover at all) just don’t cut it when your talking about the world’s highest level.
Their biggest problem is a shaky goalkeeper, Cech has been poor for a while now, and seems to give up a soft goal in almost every game (like the second one against Manchester City last Saturday), and defending set pieces consistently. For some reason when they get away from Stamford Bridge, they forget to mark anyone on free kicks and corners.
They still lead the Premiership, and I think the next 6 or 7 games will tell the tale. If they can get full points at a soft point in their schedule (some of which will find them depleted because of the African Nations Cup), I think they’ll win the title. But Manchester United will push them every step of the way, that’s for sure.
Sorry to add on, but should anyone be surprised that they conceded two goals today with Belletti and Zhirkov (?) playing outside back? And why would you play anyone of note today? Game meant nothing, and now you’ve lost Essien. Ancelotti has to answer those questions more than he does the system.
Great point re: Essien, but especially Essien because they have cover for him.
Not that they even need cover. I think everybody understood why Wenger started the team he did.