thesuperspecialone

CHELSEA VS UNITED (or as i like to call it: ALI VS FRAZIER)

HELLO LADIES AND GENTLEMAN TO AN AMAZING BOUT THAT IS TO COME OUT. 

NOVEMBER 8th at the BRIDGE!!! ITS A HYPER HEAVYWEIGHTS CLASH WHICH WILL BE THE FIRST OF A FEW MATCHES TO DETERMINE THE PREMIERSHIP TITLE!!!

LETS BREAK IT DOWN:

1. players and injuries

2. coaches and tactics

3. stadium and  psychological advantage

4. current form

Okay gents and lasses, if you pay attention to Dr.J you may just get those 300 quid back from the paddy.

1. Players and Injuries:

a) United: (aka frazier, because frazier beat ali enough to be a rival, though i actually respect frazier.. sooo...)

GK:

Van Der Sar is very much alive now, and he'll be a sure-bet to be tendin in between the stix for united. However, van der sar is very much a weaker GK then last seasons unstoppable giant. Albeit it may be blamed on ferdinand, but the fact that he couldnt do anything in the one-on-ones with torres and ngog at liverpool and that he conceded a goal to bolton (of all teams) proves that he may not be the best and he certainly wont leave the bridge with a clean sheet.

Defense:

United has the amazingly annoying centreback duo of Ferdinand and Vidic, however Ferdinand has had a mess of screwups and is considered day-to-day in his injury and form.  This probably means that there is a high chance that Ferdinand may be swapped off for John O Shea, aka guy who tackles way too aggressively in the box, aka pens for franky. Though Vidic is a set-piece danger, so Chelsea will definitely have to watch out and mark him heavily, i'm thinking ivanovic, who is an amazing set-piece defender and attacker. Evra is also a huge threat, especially because he dreams of winning in the bridge, though united will never take that from chelsea again. As for RB, united seems to be intent on holding on to Wes Brown, who does a very paulo ferreira job, doing a good workman-like job, and he doesnt roam forward too much. So he'll have to deal with Ashley Cole and Lampard, which means there is a 50% chance of a goal from either.

Midfield:

Now that they dont have pansy-boy ronaldo most of united's offense is very disoriented. For one, their Right flank is now heavily under-manned, and neither valencia nor nani can really fill in the boots. Although Nani scored against us in the community shield, it was more cech's unreadiness then nani's skill, and i doubt he will score. as for the scholes-fletcher carrick-fletcher scholes-carrick midfield tandem, either of the three is menacing in some way, though i'd say the most menacing might be scholes-fletcher. Fletcher scores the occasional goal, and scholes is a rock so i think it'll be interesting to see how they deal with ballack, lamps and essien. primarily how they deal with essien, who is a bison. 

On the left wing we will see the welsh-wizard, and the only united player i have enough gumption (thats right i said gumption) to somewhat respect (maybe van der sar too.. and obvs park ji sung). The welsh wizard is exceedingly ancient, and quite honestly should have retired after the champions league victory in moscow, because it was a win by luck, and his luck is fading rapidly (the next champions league final for instance) I think he will be a make or break for united. If he doesnt provide enough creativity and pace he will be subbed off. Or vice versa, if nani or valencia cannot provide either pace or creativity he will be united's trump card (which might also be a total failure) if he's on the left he'll be marked out by either bosingwa or ivanovic (my moneys on ivanovic) if on the right, he'll be devoured by ashley cole.

Offence: 

If anyone in united scores, it'll be rooney. Though he may be marked out by essien and made completely useless, and i doubt berba can create his own shot against chelsea. especially if we play a strong defensive game. I also havent seen macheda on the bench so that gives us more advantage. Michael Owen may have a shot, but he's honestly been a useless striker since he left liverpool, so i dont really fear him either. My bet for goal if it happens for united (80% chance unlikely) is rooney.

b:)Chelsea aka Ali, we hop like a butterfly (with our beautiful attacking football) and sting like a bee (with our hard tackles and strength to create goals)

GK: Cech will be in goal, and his recent run of clean sheets has positioned us as a better team (though other than atletico we havent had much problems) but having fought aguero and forlan and kept a clean sheet means we can definitely beat off rooney and berbatov. We need to watch out for long shots, because thats cechs weakness somehow, but other than nani, i doubt there will be any longshot threat.

Defense: We have JT and maybe Alex or ivanovic over Carvalho. Carvalho used to be the best defender at chelsea (yes, over JT) and I was definitely in favor of carvalho for years, but recently his form has dropped heavily. Scolari and Hiddink really did a number on him, but really he got injured too, so maybe his form is similiar to ferdinands. At any rate, i think it will be JT and Ivanovic, just because branislav is great at set-piece defense, and handling the counterattack quite well. And JT's goal-line saves and blocks are legendary. Bosingwa will probably be at Rightback now, come to think of it. And the unibrow machine is definitely going to give us the width and pace we need. Though IVanovic proved against bolton that he's equally as effective at Rightback while also providing defense. I think bosingwa will do his job at marking the left (who will be giggs or nani, maybe ji sung park) and he'll mark well, because he marked henry decently during the champions league game in camp nou. His recent form hasnt been stunning, but he gives us that extra width and attack, and i think he may be an element to our victory. On the left side is obviously ashley kill em cole, who is without a doubt the best leftback in the world. It's not nani, or maxwell, or clichy, or abidal. Now he's no roberto carlos, but he certainly is a rock on the defensive side (he's the only player i think that can handle messi and c.ronaldo) and he scores goals! he might even score against united. that or provide a damn good cross. Either way, our defense is a rock.

Finally, every game ivanovic has started has been a win for chelsea, and we have conceded one goal per game at the most... food for thought.

Midfield:

Assuming ze german is fit, he'll be the regular tank he is, and essien will bulldoze down the opposition or mark out a player, and lamps will score at least one. he's my bet to score. why? because he usually scores against united. The midfield is really quite impressive, and chelsea's midfield has always been the source of victory as we control possession and kill our opponents with it.. usually.

Joe Cole i think will start at the number 10 on top of the diamond, and cole is probably the best dribbler and his vision is a fourth dimension, his flicks are sublime and he will pull off a trick or two on John O Shea which brings me to the offense...

Offense: 

k. first of all, drogba is on FIRE, which means that united will definitely NOT extinguish the ivorian. and he will fucking RAPE o shea. Vidic is also on drogbas hitlist, so i think drogs will find a way to score a brace (though that might be hard) Drogs will score. his power and pace will make it happen. the question is if his finishing will permit him to score more then one. And now our unsung hero, Nico Anelka.

Most of you were like "oh why did we sign anelka, he's so useless" and i was like "no way, he'll be a great Second Striker and can play just like henry!!" and guess who proved them wrong last season? me. and ma boy anelka. Why?  because when wenger picks em, he picks em!! Anelka has converted himself into the aguero for forlan role, and him and drogs are probably the best attacking duo in the premiership right now. I wont say in the world quite yet (though im hard pressed to find another attacking duo other then aguero and forlan that can stand up to drogs and anelka... (villa and torres dont count, they're an international duo) Anelka also embodies the Muhammad Ali attack plan. he floats and drifts out wide, then creates for drogba. and! he taught drogs how to do it too! because thats how we destroyed liverpool!!

Bench: (because our team is better)

We have malouda, who has scored 2 goals off the bench in 6 games (which is pretty awesome) Deco is a good backup number 10, and he has shown us that he still has flashes of brilliance when he plays. We still have Zhirkov who is in my opinion our best backup player (yes over malouda) and then we have mikel obi who still needs some work, but can be our best defensive player in the future, sturridge who may never get a chance to play at the rate we're going, and Alex (if he's healthy) or beletti (who is oddly good sometimes) 

2. Coaches and tactics:

Sir Alex Ferguson 

is a very lucky man. not only has it been statistically proven that his team gets a minute or two more in injury time, it's fucking bullshit that he does. Now to most, a minute or two doesnt seem like much. But when a team has been playing 90 minutes, they get pretty tired, and united getting that extra bit of time with a fresh sub or two can do some damage. especially if you think about it. If I can score 3 goals in fifa in 4 minutes of play, imagine how it could work in real-life. that's like an injury time goal every other game, and then the tension and rivalry makes the pressure bigger. so yea.

In the past ferguson was hailed as an attacking manager, who let relentless attack happen through set-piece, open play, any way possible. Today he is a defensive manager, who despite having achieved the longest cleansheet streak only plays counter-attacking football. Plus he's kind of losing it now. The last champions league proves that his tactical mingling is becoming much stupider, and that his formations lack creativity without giggs. His purchase of berbatov was also pretty dumb. But he can still pick out youthful gems like wenger, and although his current starting XI doesnt have any of them, im always wary of macheda..

Odds are wenger will field a 4-4-2 over a 4-3-3. He favors the midfield of scholes and fletcher and wants the attack to go through rooney (something he stole from don fabio capello) otherwise he keeps his fullbacks on the defensive, but now that chelsea doesnt use wingers, it may be a bit different for him. It took him by surprise in the community shield, and i know carletto has more than one trick under his sleeve.

Fergie might make this game a defensively boring showing, but if fatman benitez can beat fergie..... 3 times in a row? then it shouldnt be an issue. also i think vidic is suspended.. but either way im unsure.. though if he is then the game is probably in the bag. 

Carlo "Carletto" Ancelotti

Holy cow, has this man changed things around. Not only has he switched us to a formation that is bulldozing our enemies (we've score 17 goals in the last 4 games and havent conceded a single goal in those four games). He pushes us to attack, but ensures that our defensive line is great in open play. Now we've suffered a bit in set-pieces but thats just because of carvalho. Carletto probably drilled the boys to learn to defend corners well enough by now, and JT is certainly pissed enough to do the job single-handedly now. Carletto is a big-game coach, and he wins using tactics and instilling confidence in his veterans. The 2007 CL against a better united with a horridly undermanned ac milan proves his ability over sir alex. and he's only beaten rafa twice, but other then the one game slip up, it looks like Carletto understands english football well enough by now to deal with it. Wigan was a 9 man game, and villa was set-piece defending. I think our recent run of power will position us to beat United on the 8th. and i'm pretty confident it'll be a 2-0. Carlo's Diamond formation has eaten the opposition, and against our two biggest tests so far we've beaten tottenham 3-0 and liverpool 2-0. Against a liverpool that wanted to bounce back (which is huge) and against tottenham that was in great form recently beating liverpool (thats with stevie g and torres) so i'm pretty confident we have a win or by the worst, a draw. and if we lose, carlo will add a new lesson to the gameplan. My only regret is that he doesnt play sturrdge (yes im on the bandwagon too) mainly because sturridge is one of the better strikers in the EPL that is ridiculously young. I think he should be loaned out and then put into the first team in 2 years. And if not sturridge... THEN FUCKING PATO. screw ribery. if we have pato i'll be happier. How do you score against italian defences so well at 20? thats ridiculousness. 

Anyhow, if anything comes chelsea's way if they have the right mindset and fitness and form then they can beat anyone, thats the strength of chelsea. The weakness is maintaining that level of power, and i think ancelotti can get us to hold on at least enough to beat united.

3. Stadium and Psychology

Its no lie that the bridge is the fortress of the EPL. Other then last seasons blip, no team has REALLY taken the bridge in years. If united couldnt do it during avram and scolari, then i'm positive it wont be taken under ancelotti unless there's some ref misconduct going on (i bet united has some scandal going on like juve...) 

In fact i recall evra stating that a win in the bridge is his dream. and the man to make it his nightmare will be drogba and lampard. evra will fucking cry by the end of it, im positive. (okay im not positive he'll cry but it wont be an easy loss) and i know i'm cocky, but unless i get a strange feeling i usually end up being right about victory. (i got an uneasy feeling during wigan, same as villa) 

Generally speaking though, most players are afraid of the bridge. for good reason. it's a tough place to win. just like camp nou, it's a fortress. other than arsenal winning (with two goals that should have been offside) and a xabi alonso deflection, the bridge hasnt been conquered since. and i dont think united has the ability to take the bridge for a day. 

also, ferguson's lack of confidence in ferdinand may be his undoing, as his defense will be more fragile in the middle especially against drogba, who will boss o shea around, and although vidic is a good defender, he will probably swap off to anelka after a bump and bruise or two. with two amazing strikers comes fear with only one amazing centreback. Ferguson also just counterattacks now, meaning that we just have to keep some defenders in the back, and hold an offside trap. 3 points in the bag.

4. Current form for chelsea in the last 5 games:

L, W, W, W, W 

GS: 18

GC: 2

Toughest opponent: Aston Villa L, 2-1.

Current United form in the last 5 games:

W,W,L,W,W

GS: 7

GC: 3 

Toughest opponent: Liverpool L, 2-0

Similar fixtures in the last 7:

Liverpool vs United = 2-0 L 

Chelsea vs Liverpool = 2-0 W

United vs Bolton = 2-1 W

Chelsea vs Bolton = 4-0 W (twice)

United vs Blackburn  = 2-0 W

Chelsea vs Blackburn = 5-0 W

United vs Sunderland = 2-2 D

Chelsea vs Sunderland = 3-1 W

I'd say we have the advantage.

Keep the Lion in your hearts, the club in your mind, and the dreams in your voice

because this ride is for life. Next stop: Victory!

Post number Two: A stroll down memory lane.

Since the good old days that i've been a chelsea fan (cough 1998 cough cough) our beloved club hasnt really had a period of general stability. Back when people thought we were a mid-tier team and when the EPL was the third rate league underneath La Liga and Serie A, the good old Premiership was the bitch of both Manchester United, and for a season or two, Arsenal F.C. Liverpool F.C was fading away into nothingness, and Ewood Park's Blackburn Rovers had begun their descent from Alan Shearer and King Kenny to who cares and why does it matter. Teams like Tottenham had their one-day savior in Gary Lineker and their job as stepping stool of the table, Newcastle was a top-tier club visiting the champions league every so often, and of course Leeds United wasn't bankrupt and their atrocious yellow jersey's stunk up the premier league. 

Chelsea had gone through some decent managers in Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli and although our team had high hopes and potential, the expectations most fans have today at the bridge are without a doubt 3000 times stronger today then back in the day. With the exception of the one season under Ranieri where Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was sure we would hold the domestic crown up high (2002-2003), we were a 6th place team, and the day we finished off fourth and in the champions league that was the furthest we were believed to reach. Alas, while our ragged hooligan-laden club would taste champions league football, we had no idea that Ken Bates and his tyranny would finally pull off the revolutionary masterstroke that would change the footballing world forever. 

While our dear Chelsea team was full of blooming talents in John Terry, Frank Lampard, Eidur Gudjohsen and Carlo Cudicini, it was Gianfranco Zola and Dennis Wise leading the way in the old days, pushing our team to a top 10 place and guaranteeing a cup win or two. Chelsea was the team where an accomplished veteran would prepare for club retirement or where a sleeper talent would begin the best parts of their career. The Chelsea F.C of the old days was indeed a team with the expectations of Aston Villa today. A team with some very strong players, but no serious Marquee names. However this talented team would often fight against the very titans of English football, treble winning Manchester United, domestic dynamos in Arsenal, Michael Owen's Liverpool (my how things have changed), Alan Shearer's Newcastle, and Rio Ferdinand's Leeds (indeed how things have changed!) At any rate, Chelsea may have had Zola, but he was certainly not as highly acclaimed as Michael Owen, Alan Shearer, David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera, or Denis Bergkamp, though probably Rio. And even then, Newcastle was under the managerial noux of Bobby Robson, a british legend and united has living legend Sir Alex Fergie, and Arsenal had the amazing water into wine talents of Arsene Wenger. If anything, Liverpool was shite at the time, but Gerard Houiller was certainly a better manager then Ranieri, Gullit, or Vialli. 

Fast-forward a bit to the Ranieri days. An italian manager who couldn't speak a lick of english and was if anything, an unsure man drained of confidence. He would rotate the squad so frequently his nickname became the tinkerman, however as he tinkered he began to nuture youth talents. John Terry and Frank Lampard would grow to become the best in their position under his tutelage and although he would sell club legend Dennis Wise, he would go on to create a new Chelsea. Under Gullit and Vialli, Chelsea was full of old veterans who had the ability to win cup ties, but had neither the stamina nor the drive to fight for the league. Ranieri would lead a new revolution in place and when Ken Bates sold the club to Roman 'sugardaddy' Abramovich, the signings began to pour in and Chelsea would push off United, Newcastle, Liverpool and the nearly depleted Leeds United to become a titan in the Premier League. 

Of course, without winning anything Ranieri would lose his job, and although it was considered a sad end for such a great man for the club it was a necessary end. Having lost to the invincible Arsenal squad in the premier league was acceptable to a level, but losing to recently retired Didier Deschamps AS Monaco team in the Champions League was considered a disgrace. Deschamps at this point had retired quite recently as he was with the chelsea FA cup winning squad of 2000, making his manager experience a whopping total of 3 years in a team without any seriously strong players in a league considered the 5th best in the world. (the dutch league or the german league was 4th) 

It is at this point that Abramovich would choose Mourinho over Sven Goran Erikksson (oh how the times have changed...) and we would become the most hated team in english football (or soccer) which played ugly defensive victorious long ball tactics full of a Sam Allardyce feel, but with pressure defense, strong set-pieces and an unbreakable defensive shield and a battering ram offense. And although Abramovich would end up spending a good 100 million GBP in the process to create a team of depth and menace, it would force other teams in the premiership to put up or shut up, creating the Big four and in the process bringing a new gambler's and expert's pick to win pretty much every trophy including the coveted champions league.

Of course, with such investment there comes a necessity for Champions League victory, a trophy which eludes our enigmatic club to this day, and despite the efforts of Avram Grant (who i will not write about due to the endless hatred of him), Big Phil Scolari (who turned out to be a huge failure) and the great Guus Hiddink (that was just unfortunate) have one empty trophy case in the hallowed hall in the bridge. 

Jose's arrogance as the special one put Chelsea on the map as fast as possible. We became back to back premiership winners and would break records for least goals conceded and most points in a season. However despite the many many victories and trophies, the team Jose created would still play the boring pressure football which was successful but ultimately the most boring thing in the world. I would gouge my eyes out if I had to compare Jose's Chelsea to Hiddink's Chelsea because Jose's teams would play the long ball and then use the counterattack to get a good cross in, or rely on Lampard to score an unbelievable goal. And despite our Set-piece superiority, the games would become exceedingly dull. And thus, after a string of bad form (losing to villa, drawing to Rosenborg in the champions league) and not playing the players Abramovich wanted (Shevchenko definitely, Ballack somewhat) and for not winning the champions league in three tries, Roman would fire Jose, a huge shock to some, but in some ways a way to clean up Chelsea's image. If anything, Chelsea was akin to an arrogant snobbish guy in the arcades, who learned one ridiculously cheap combo, and would continue to spam it over and over and then if anything went wrong would block every attack and then counter attack effectively, if anything a very boring way to play. Roman wanted to see 10 hit combos and flashy moves, running fullbacks, exciting interplay, tricks and of course a champions league trophy. Which would lead to one of his strangest managerial choices yet. Enter Avram Grant, a short fat awkward looking man who was hated for his judaism (which to me was complete bullshit considering that Roman himself is a jew, something which many chelsea fans forget far too conveniently) at any rate, his football was the exact same as Jose's though probably less inspired, and if it was not for the miraculous performances of Michael Ballack and Joe Cole due to his faith in them, and the subsequent rage that drogba would have against Rafa Benitez, Chelsea would not have reached two finals (the champions league being the big one) as well as be level with points against Manchester United. If anything, Avram was a smart scout in the transfer market, buying Jose Bosingwa, Anelka and Ivanovic, all staple members of the first team. And his confidence in Ballack and Joe Cole would ensure two more big hitters for the future of the team, however his career would end due to several unfortunate incidents. For one, Avram could not control Drogba, who would go onto bitch slap away Chelsea's chances in the champions league final. Furthtermore due to his strange appearance and lethargic performances, Avram would be sacked. It would be considered unfair, but most fans simply wanted a more experienced man at the helm. And we would learn to be careful for what we wished for... Next the giant bald douche that is peter kenyon (yea i said it, i had that scumsucker) would hire the biggest fish in international football managers (well.. second biggest, i'd say hiddink was the biggest at the time) Luiz Big Phil Scolari, or as he would be parodied as the "Gene Hackman" (they do look alike). Big Phil was expected to bring a samba style to the defensive dullness in Chelsea's game and was also expected to bring both champions league and premiership to the trophy cases of the club. A man who had won the world cup, and had steered Portugal from extremely talented into major tournament favourites was seen as the top man for a club that was begging for everything he would bring to the table. And boy did we celebrate. His first win against Portsmouth was seen as something out of a dream, attacking fullbacks mixed with a deadbolt defensive midfielder with fast paced wingers and some truly enigmatic goals. He promised us Deco would be our Zidane and was modest and charming to the press. Then the robinho saga happened. Kenyon (the biggest d-bag in english football in the last 5 years) would go and drop the ball on signing robinho a good three times, by insulting madrid, underpaying the transfer fee and not realizing the danger of Manchester 'Abdul Fayed UAE' City we would lose a potential creative player and would have to rely on Frank Lampard for practically everything as Joe Cole would get injured and Drogba would once again be uncontrollable. And although there was a major improvement in Ashley Cole's game, our defense struggled at set-pieces (something we were invincible at before) and our beloved Bridge would face the onslaught of defeat at least three times, each blow stronger then the last. It all culminated in a 3-0 loss to Manchester United, perhaps our worst loss as our team was uninspired (once again) and totally unwilling to fight. Our only player at the time who would try to pull everyone together would be Lampard, and despite his amazing abilities, could not salvage us from a poor string of domestic results. And so Roman would sack Big Phil (which to me was a bit excessive as i figured he would be a better coach after a year, and would rebuild the team entirely making them younger and less grouchy). Big Phil's reign was seen as promising but tactically retarded (it's not PC but its the only way to put it) as the chelsea team with the samba style would repeat the same attack plan and would try to engage the long-ball attack that was so promising under mourinho. As big phil could not step outside of mourinho's shadow, our chelsea team would need to be rescued by the best living manager in the world. The enigmatic Guus Hiddink. Hiddink would of course fix everything and would even put us in contention for all remaining competitions even getting us to win the F.A cup in the limited time he had with the team. Under Hiddink, Drogba would be back to his best, Malouda would become a winger marvel, our team would once again be able to defend everything (look at the barca game at camp nou, that was a defense masterclass) Essien would come back and would be inspired to score a ridiculous number of holy-shit goals, Cech would improve (albeit only slightly) and Lampard would get better (despite already being the best player for chelsea) We would go on to knock out Liverpool in the champions league which at that point was at the peak of their abilities, and despite holding barca to a draw and being congratulated on the sidelines by their own coach, chelsea would lose the draw against barca in the champions league on away goals. Then drogba lost it, and that concluded the remaining big portions of the season. Chelsea would win the FA cup, and everyone would still commend hiddink on fixing practically everything, especially as he was juggling both the Russia team and Chelsea.

and now here we are. Most fans would know Chelsea's current status right now. We have Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, and a strong team under pressure due to the transfer blockade put on us by fifa. Just as well, it should give our team a chance to develop players.  But as time has so drastically changed (shit talks money walks) it makes one wonder if Manchester City will be in the same position as us today 3 years from now... However one thing is for certain, Ancelotti is one of the best managers in the world (sound familiar?) and has proven his ability with AC Milan and their senior citizens in the champions league two years ago. There is definitely a high probability that the champions league will come to chelsea (or at least the finals) and that although he is ranked less then Hiddink, I would rank him at par with Mourinho. As a tactically sound manager, as well as a man capable of dealing with grumbling veterans. And if you think about it, if he messes up, Hiddink comes back and we enter a new era of ridiculous victory. so I guess it's win-win with chelsea. And the only person who takes the hit is Roman and his wallet. Let's just hope that Ancelotti can give us what we want, because i actually like him the most out of all the managers we've had since (clearly not over hiddink though, hiddink is in the god-like tier, i mean among mortals)