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The pressure is on, it’s now our biggest game of the season!
Chelsea‘s game tomorrow against Fulham has become quite simply, the biggest game of our season so far! Forget your Super Cup against Bayern Munich; forget the trip to Old Trafford, these ninety minutes of football have now become so important for Jose Mourinho and for Chelsea Football Club that the whole country will be watching.
Everyone in the country apart from Chelsea supporters will be backing and supporting Fulham. The press and the media will be sitting there with pens ready, fingers on laptops, waiting for Chelsea to fail. After a run of four games without a win, the pressure is on to deliver a result more than ever. Can Jose and his players deliver what we need? God help us if they don’t!
So why the mass panic? Why are there people in this world who are already questioning Mourinho after a few weeks into the season? Is there really a need for panic amongst the Chelsea fans or like me, are you slightly concerned, but have complete faith in the manager and the players to work hard to sort it out and put us back on the right track?
Everyone has an opinion and rightly so. Everyone is entitled to it. I do however question those people who have already called for the manager’s position to be questioned. Jose Mourinho is no fool and nor is Roman Abramovich for that matter.
A few weeks ago, everything was rosy. Two wins on the spin against Hull City and Aston Villa and these questions were never being asked because they never needed to be. As I said before, a run of four games against Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Everton and FC Basel has turned everything on its head.
In addition to poor results, questions remain and are being asked about Juan Mata, Chelsea’s Player of the Year for the previous two seasons. We cannot understand why he isn’t one of the first names on Jose’s team sheet and it’s a real concern right now. It seems that although saying otherwise, the manager has little faith in ‘El Mago’ (The Magician).
Without a doubt, this is the most turbulent start to a season Jose Mourinho has had to face up to and deal with since he was here before. We have to remember that football these days, and especially in England, is a result-based business. You can play the most attractive football in the league with plenty of flair, but if you fail to deliver, you are classed as a failure.
The knives are out, and it’s backs against the wall.
The knives are out for Jose Mourinho and Chelsea and at this early stage of the season, he is already on the defensive, and it’s backs to the wall for the manager and his players.
In saying that, it’s not a bad thing at all. The manager thrives on that kind of mentality. He forges a bond and instills a belief in his players that it’s “us against the world”.
It’s worked for him before and will do so again, so be prepared for Mourinho to come out with something later today in his pre match press conference at Cobham to focus all the media and press attention on him and not his players. All he wants is his players to concentrate on the game.
So, what of the game tomorrow? Well, for Fulham, it’s simple; they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. They would have taken plenty of heart and encouragement watching how firstly Everton, and then FC Basel approached the game against us.
They would have watched the way they set themselves up to defend deep and in numbers without the ball. They would have seen how Chelsea struggled to break both sides down and how we opened ourselves up as we chased the result.
Fulham are a hard working team, playing for each other and the manager, and have managed to pull off a master stroke for two seasons running and have received little credit for doing so.
Two big signings for Fulham
Dimitar Berbatov
The signing of Dimitar Berbatov was and remains a revelation for the Cottagers. He is world class, composed and a sublime footballer of the highest quality. He may not be the quickest; he may not work as hard as plenty of others, but his touch and control of the ball coupled with his sharp footballing brain more than make up for it.
This summer, Martin Jol has done it again with the signing of Darren Bent. Left out in favour of Christian Benteke at Villa (and we have all seen why!), Bent has been looking for a new start and he has that at Fulham.
He’s someone who, if he keeps himself fit, works hard to force himself into the team and plays well enough to stay there, will score 20+ goals a season. Those goals will push Fulham further up the table to finish inside the top 10 easily. If Berbatov and Bent can form a partnership, then who knows where it could take them.
More than anything else, Fulham is a hard working team. It’s the emphasis on the word ‘team’ that is being called into question right now about Chelsea.
Why it’s going wrong!
So what of Chelsea tomorrow? What do we expect and what would I like to see happen?
Let me start by talking about the way we play currently and some observations I have already made. I am really pushing for Jose to make a switch in our formation well away from the 4-2-3-1, back to the 4-3-3 formation as I personally feel it gives us a much better balance.
However, bearing in mind it would have only been three days since Basel, I cannot see that change happening for tomorrow so we need to focus on the current formation.
There are problems at the moment when we are with and without the ball and both are contributing to our downfall. With the ball, we are not using it quickly enough; our tempo is far too slow.
We play with three attacking midfielders who are our flair players, and we should be getting that ball into their feet at the earliest opportunity, for them to attack the opposition’s defences at pace!
But what’s happening at the moment? We are too laboured in possession, we are too slow and allow the opposition to get numbers back behind the ball, and we find it hard to break them down. As a result, we pass the ball sideways and backwards more often than forwards.
There seems to be no interchange of positions throughout the 90 minutes from our attacking three. It all starts well enough in the first half with those players popping up in different positions all over the pitch, but seems to fizzle out and they then remain static and easily marked and played against.
Chelsea’s attacking potential
Tomorrow, I want to see us utilise the attacking potential we have at this club for 90 minutes. We have six players, all fighting for a start in three of those positions. If a need arises, select three players on the understanding that if they are not doing what is being asked of them, they will be substituted by a like-for-like change, no problem.
I want to see them interchange, and I want to see plenty of movement off the ball. I want to see the player with the ball at his feet being given plenty of options as to who to pass to. I want to see those players pull the Fulham defence all over the place, out of position to expose gaps in their defence that just one pass to our striker can exploit!
This is the reason I want to see Juan Mata start and to be given 90 minutes tomorrow. I want Jose to have the same faith in him as we all have and as long as he is prepared to work hard, let the boy play. I want to see that smile back on Mata’s face as he dictates and orchestrates Chelsea’s attacking play.
Without the ball, I want to see each and every single one of them work hard for the team, to be part of our team and to defend as a team. No half-hearted jog back towards goal, I want to see a drive and determination to get back and do the job they are being asked. Like I said, there are plenty of options to bring on players that will do exactly that!
Torres’s chance
I want to see Fernando Torres start the game. No Eto’o and no Demba Ba, I want Torres to be the main man, but I want us to start utilising what he brings to the team.
I want us to encourage him to play on the shoulder of the last defender. I want to see Torres leading the line and giving the two centre backs a torrid time with his movement. I want to see Torres move off the ball like the Torres of old.
The Torres goal against Bayern Munich was and remains a massive sign for me. The way he took that goal indicates to me he is somewhere in his head, near to where he was before. Without a single thought or hesitation, Torres let his instincts take over and bang, he struck the ball so cleanly and so true, the goalkeeper never had a chance and could only sit and admire the strike.
Torres wants to be a part of Chelsea Football Club. He wants to be a part of Jose Mourinho’s plans so please for god’s sake, put him back in there and let the boy play!
I want to see the return of Michael Essien tomorrow, playing in the deeper role next to Ramires. Power and strength combined with bundles of energy, in those two we have the perfect blend to dominate that area and put Chelsea on the front foot.
I want to see Cesar Azpilicueta back in at right back and John Terry to return next to Gary Cahill. At times we need plenty of width and support in wide areas and Azpilicueta and Ashley Cole will provide the team with exactly that.
A time for hard work!
I want to see a team take to that pitch more than anything. I want to see players work hard for each other, support each other and work hard for the manager. I want to see a youthful looking side with plenty of energy, prepared to work hard and to play at a higher tempo than we have been.
I want us to defend as a unit, remain compact, solid and make life difficult for the opposition to get out of their own half first of all, then to find it hard to create anything against us. Chelsea must not get sucked out of position!
Let’s be honest here, Chelsea on paper are far superior to most teams we come up against in the Premier League but you have to earn the right to win games and take three points.
We have seen that on their day, anyone can beat anyone in this league, thus we must not underestimate Fulham.
Still, if you believe in Chelsea like I do, then you may want to put your money where your convictions are.
To sum up this preview, I want to see changes being made by Jose, I want to see a marked improvement in our defensive discipline and our defensive shape, and finally, I want us to raise the tempo of our game and move the ball quickly. If we do exactly that, we can win this game and get our season going again.
It’s one thing talking about it. We need to get out there and do it!
Come on Chelsea!
Carefree & KTBFFH!
