Congratulations to Man United, the better team won over the 2 legs.. (*one slow clap*
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Lemme stop in to say a few things..
TorresWhile i didn't ask for it in the first place, contrary to most I still think Torres was an excellent buy; not for the present, but for the medium - long term future of the club. Before he arrived, there was a lack of options in the forward line with Drogba and Anelka off form and Kalou and Sturridge not stepping up when given opportunities. His signing brought a much needed competition for places.
Furthermore, the man is a proven EPL quality striker. You can buy Zlatan, Messi or Eto'o and still not have the guarantee that they can deliver given the nature of the EPL. With Torres, you get a striker who, when fully fit and on form, gives you that guarantee. He is also only 26 which means his best years are ahead of him.
The man is clearly not fully fit and clearly not in form and I never expected his signing to reap instant rewards as most January buys need time to mesh into the squad (Evra and Vidic can attest). What was wrong was to throw him in immediately and put him under pressure for instant returns instead of bedding the man in over the course of a few games. Right now Torres need rest, a beach and a preseason, then watch him come vack firing on all cylinders next year.
*Hadda admit though I did real laugh at the joke about Torres breaking David Blain's record for doing nothing in a box, and the one about him costing a whole lot more than the Fulham Michael Jackson statue.AncelottiHe got it spectacularly wrong across 2 legs and this is just a culmination of questionable decision making over personnel throughout the course of the entire season. It was wrong to sub Drogba in the 1st leg when he was the only man causing level worries in the Man Utd back line. It was criminally wrong to keep the most potent, powerful weapon in the Chelsea front line on the bench for the 2nd leg to start a player woefully out of form. Notwithstanding he may have a mandate to start Torres (more on this later), Drogba should be the first name on the team sheet. Run a simple stat on Chelsea Shots on Target with and without Drogba in the lineup and it should have been the simplest of decisions.
I in two minds on whether I think its time for him to go. On the one hand I feeling lil sorry for him, and tempted like many to absolve him from responsibility and place the blame squarely at Roman's feet. While this is not without merit, strictly focusing his managerial decision making his tactics have not been at the level I expect. I'll sum it up with these questions I have:
- How many times has Ancelotti made a tactical switch to change the course of a game when Chelsea's back have been against the wall.
- Why was he so easily outcoached by Mourinho in last year's CL QF?
- How many counter-attacking/breakaway goals have Chelsea scored this season.
- What has he done to correct the obvious flaw of a lack of speed and urgency in Chelsea's build up play.
- Whats with the slackness brooding in the side and in training that some players have alluded too.
- Why are his subs so baffling? Off the top of my head I remember Sturridge/McEachran when losing to Man City last November, subbing off Mikel instead of Ramires against Arsenal, subbing off Drogba at the most inopportune times. A persistent faith in Anelka and Kalou among other scratch-yuh-head decisions.
- Which players have improved during Ancelotti's tenure? Kalou should be a 10-15 goal per season striker but he is regressing badly. Sturridge and Kakuta were going nowhere before their loan spells. These 3 players should have been the ones to pick up the slack and carry the team through the injury/form issues yet dem men going nowhere and the coach has to take some responsibility for that.
PersonnelPlayers have been carrying a number of issues throughout the season and it was all too evident yesterday. Drogba was dealing with malaria. Lampard is not fully recovered, he looks cumbersome and also timid to shoot. The ball rolled across yesterday would have been slammed in last season, same with the one he had cleared off the line in the first leg. Essien has not been right for a long time and Torres is not fully fit.
I seriously think its time for Anelka to move on now, he continuously disappoints in the biggest fixtures and slows up the play too much. And Malouda like he want to lose his brownie points too with the way his game has fallen off since the start of the year.
AbramovichIt too obvious that he dictated that the team is Torres and any 10.
Not sure what it will take for this man to realize that he has to sit back and leave the football decision making to the people who know about football. I don't know what was behind the Wilkins firing but unless it was some kinda mudda talk pass, there is no way to justify that or ignore the fact that it had a devastating impact on the course of the season.
Also, the Torres signing while not so much as bad as the Ballack/Shevchenko signings, lacked a proper plan forward on how to integrate him into the team and put Ancelotti in a tough situation.
Hands down, Abramovich is one of the principle reasons for the failures of the team this season.
The way forward...As much as I am against this, I suspect in the off-season that the club will sell Drogba, buy wingers and a creative mid and build the team around Torres. I don't see a way that these two can work together going forward, and as much as I don't want to see Drogba go I know there is no turning back now. Even if he left on his own volition I wouldnt blame him the way he was treated in the last few months.
That said the defense is set. The Luiz signing was an excellent piece of business because it gives cover in central defence (Terry/Alex/Luiz/Ivan), it gives a succession plan for an ageing Terry and it gives cover at right back (Ivan/Luiz).
I'd like to see Sturridge come back and get alot more opportunities, also Kakuta as an option on the left.
I'd like to see a couple wingers come in to provide much needed width and a creative mid to succeed Lampard long term (Lucas Piazon may be just that based on what I saw for Brazil). Other than that, I think Anelka, Kalou, Ferreira and Bosingwa need to buss it.
Daiz it dey for me ah gone again.. lastly to the resident Man U fans just remember... today you might be the dog, but tomorrow ah guarantee yuh go be de forkin hydrant. Barcelona bussing allyuh ass anyhow if Schalke don't do it first.
Laters...
