Chelsea v City Match preview
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:54 pmI didn't read the new rules and relied on PM's to get the thing published. My bad.
Chelsea v City match preview.
Ees Important. This match ees very important. It’s not a must win for either side, nor will the title hinge upon the result. But ees important, and for so many reasons. Manchester City has become the barometer by which all Premier League sides measure themselves. No other team has been as consistent, as devastating in front of goal and as capable of tearing an opposition to shreds. Manchester City is the side that gives it’s opposition a true test of it’s capabilities. And Chelsea is a team that is due a true examination.
Chelsea is a difficult side to assess. Although it’s one of the world’s best teams, the short term vision of owner Roman Abramovich has caused fractures to emerge in the squad. Over the past six years the manager brief has been simple: win the Champions League. Although many managers have come close, they’ve fallen short. Abramovich isn’t the most patient of men and has overseen a high turnover of managers. This has had an interesting effect on the playing squad. They are a tight knit group with strong leaders and show great self reliance: even Avram Grant was able to do well with them. However, because the managers have been under so much pressure to get results, there has been little emphasis on youth development. As a result, very few youth players have cracked the first team leaving a core group of ageing players. These players are now hitting 30+ and questions are being asked about their longevity. Changes need to be made and fresh blood is required to reduce the average age of the team.
Overseeing these changes is AVB. The wunderkid of Portugese football. Jose Mourinho Lite, if you will. His success last season at Porto shows that he’s got undoubted talent. But is he the man to oversee the Chelsea revolution? Let’s examine what he’s done so far. He’s brought in some young signings. He’s altered the style of play, with a more attacking sensibility and a higher defensive line. The results thus far have been mixed. Juan Mata has set the league alight. Romelu Lukaku has shown that whilst he’s got the attributes, he’s not yet ready to command a regular first team place. Tactically, the players have struggled to come to grips with the tactical changes and have exhibited a Jeckyll and Hyde personality during games. Occasionally very good and occasionally shockingly bad.
The perfect example of this was the Champions league match against Valencia. Chelsea won the match with a spasmodic 3-0 win. They were clinical in front of goal but were dominated in possession. Mata the new boy was excellent, but the real star of the show was Didier Drogba, a player who should be leaving at the end of the season. Torres put in another forgettable display and Lampard couldn’t even get a start. When Chelsea played in the traditional formation they played well. When they adopted the new style things didn’t look as fluent. AVB admitted he compromised his tactics in order to ensure the result, playing a deeper line than he would of preferred.
The point is that for AVB to mould Chelsea into the side he wants, it’s going to take time. More than one season and a couple of transfer windows. In games where Chelsea has played with his tactics, they’ve struggled. When they play in the old Chelsea style they do well. This match forced AVB into a more pragmatic approach to his preferred style of play. It’s been argued that Valencia weren’t as good as they should have been and weren’t the true test that Chelsea should be judged on.
Which brings us to Manchester City. The most consistent side in the league. A team scoring for fun and churning out result after result. For City, it’s all about maintaining the level and juggling the squad to keep the players fresh. City are playing with such an intensity at the moment that they are grinding teams down by maintaining possession, pressing high up the pitch and being clinical in front of goal.
The big question for Mancini is the personnel on the right wing. With Micah Richards out and Pablo Zabaleta coming back from a slight injury will he trust Savic?
Does he go with one forward or two? And does he play both Silva and Nasri or a more defensive line up with De Jong, Toure and Barry?
How will AVB approach this? Will he keep the high defensive line knowing that City has the pace to expose any defensive speed frailties? With David Luiz out one would expect a reshuffle with Ivanovic coming in to the centre-half position and Bosingwa being recalled. Will he play Lampard, knowing that City have won the midfield battle in previous encounters? Or will he try to blunt City’s attacking prowess with Romeu, Meireles and Ramires? Who will the forward line consist of? Drogba? Torres? Will Daniel Sturridge turn on an inspired performance against his former club?
One thing is for sure. A Chelsea win throws open the Premiership race and provides a huge springboard for them to launch into the December congestion of fixtures. A City win keeps the chasing pack at arms length and puts Chelsea’s progress back in context. It promises to be one of the more cerebral duels of the season. Again, not the be all and end all but ees important.
Odds. Chelsea 2.40 Draw 3.45 City 2.70 These odds have actually changed over the past 24
Chelsea v City match preview.
Ees Important. This match ees very important. It’s not a must win for either side, nor will the title hinge upon the result. But ees important, and for so many reasons. Manchester City has become the barometer by which all Premier League sides measure themselves. No other team has been as consistent, as devastating in front of goal and as capable of tearing an opposition to shreds. Manchester City is the side that gives it’s opposition a true test of it’s capabilities. And Chelsea is a team that is due a true examination.
Chelsea is a difficult side to assess. Although it’s one of the world’s best teams, the short term vision of owner Roman Abramovich has caused fractures to emerge in the squad. Over the past six years the manager brief has been simple: win the Champions League. Although many managers have come close, they’ve fallen short. Abramovich isn’t the most patient of men and has overseen a high turnover of managers. This has had an interesting effect on the playing squad. They are a tight knit group with strong leaders and show great self reliance: even Avram Grant was able to do well with them. However, because the managers have been under so much pressure to get results, there has been little emphasis on youth development. As a result, very few youth players have cracked the first team leaving a core group of ageing players. These players are now hitting 30+ and questions are being asked about their longevity. Changes need to be made and fresh blood is required to reduce the average age of the team.
Overseeing these changes is AVB. The wunderkid of Portugese football. Jose Mourinho Lite, if you will. His success last season at Porto shows that he’s got undoubted talent. But is he the man to oversee the Chelsea revolution? Let’s examine what he’s done so far. He’s brought in some young signings. He’s altered the style of play, with a more attacking sensibility and a higher defensive line. The results thus far have been mixed. Juan Mata has set the league alight. Romelu Lukaku has shown that whilst he’s got the attributes, he’s not yet ready to command a regular first team place. Tactically, the players have struggled to come to grips with the tactical changes and have exhibited a Jeckyll and Hyde personality during games. Occasionally very good and occasionally shockingly bad.
The perfect example of this was the Champions league match against Valencia. Chelsea won the match with a spasmodic 3-0 win. They were clinical in front of goal but were dominated in possession. Mata the new boy was excellent, but the real star of the show was Didier Drogba, a player who should be leaving at the end of the season. Torres put in another forgettable display and Lampard couldn’t even get a start. When Chelsea played in the traditional formation they played well. When they adopted the new style things didn’t look as fluent. AVB admitted he compromised his tactics in order to ensure the result, playing a deeper line than he would of preferred.
The point is that for AVB to mould Chelsea into the side he wants, it’s going to take time. More than one season and a couple of transfer windows. In games where Chelsea has played with his tactics, they’ve struggled. When they play in the old Chelsea style they do well. This match forced AVB into a more pragmatic approach to his preferred style of play. It’s been argued that Valencia weren’t as good as they should have been and weren’t the true test that Chelsea should be judged on.
Which brings us to Manchester City. The most consistent side in the league. A team scoring for fun and churning out result after result. For City, it’s all about maintaining the level and juggling the squad to keep the players fresh. City are playing with such an intensity at the moment that they are grinding teams down by maintaining possession, pressing high up the pitch and being clinical in front of goal.
The big question for Mancini is the personnel on the right wing. With Micah Richards out and Pablo Zabaleta coming back from a slight injury will he trust Savic?
Does he go with one forward or two? And does he play both Silva and Nasri or a more defensive line up with De Jong, Toure and Barry?
How will AVB approach this? Will he keep the high defensive line knowing that City has the pace to expose any defensive speed frailties? With David Luiz out one would expect a reshuffle with Ivanovic coming in to the centre-half position and Bosingwa being recalled. Will he play Lampard, knowing that City have won the midfield battle in previous encounters? Or will he try to blunt City’s attacking prowess with Romeu, Meireles and Ramires? Who will the forward line consist of? Drogba? Torres? Will Daniel Sturridge turn on an inspired performance against his former club?
One thing is for sure. A Chelsea win throws open the Premiership race and provides a huge springboard for them to launch into the December congestion of fixtures. A City win keeps the chasing pack at arms length and puts Chelsea’s progress back in context. It promises to be one of the more cerebral duels of the season. Again, not the be all and end all but ees important.
Odds. Chelsea 2.40 Draw 3.45 City 2.70 These odds have actually changed over the past 24