Terry and Lampard Hospital Letter
Lampard Discusses Chelsea Future
“Whatever happens I’ve had a great time with Chelsea – maybe things don’t last forever. Although I want it to last forever, you have to be big enough to know what the situation is. I’m not the kind of player to just see out my time and sit on the bench. I want to be involved.” – Frank Lampard (FourFourTwo)
Drogba and Lampard Munich Punishers
Didier Drogba has scored 2 goals in 2 games against Bayern Munich. Frank Lampard has 3 goals in as many games against the German club.
Lampard hails current Chelsea legend
“I’m desperate for (Drogba) to stay (at Chelsea). He is a magnificent player. He’s a machine. His body is a machine, when you look at him stripped down. He’s lost no pace, he’s lost none of his finishing instinct. As a man, I love Didier and whatever he decides to do, whether he stays or whatever, he has been a hero for this club and will go down as a legend. It’s been a pleasure to play with him and it would be a pleasure to carry on playing with him because he gives defenders such a hard time. He is not just that big man. He scores goals that matter and that’s priceless.” – Frank Lampard (Sky Sports)
Lampard admits inadequate squad
“The fixtures and where we are in the table doesn’t lie, we’re not as good as we used to be. It’s something we must all put right.” – Frank Lampard (Chelsea TV)
The Demise of Andre Villas-Boas
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Andre Villas-Boas was sacked earlier today, the 5th manager to leave the club since Jose Mourinho was axed on September 19th, 2007 (not including Ray Wilkins who managed 1 game). Of these managers, AVB had the worst winning percentage…
…and it wasn’t even close. A full 10% separated AVB from the last Chelsea manager who didn’t make it a full season, Phil Scolari. (stats courtesy of thechels.co.uk)
Another shocking stat is the goal difference per game of Chelsea under AVB – a meager 0.63 which is less than half of the difference under Ancelotti and 75% less than the next worse Chelsea manager (Hiddink – 1.09). The stats are clear even though some may disagree with the decision – AVB did not have Chelsea playing anywhere close to the same level as his predecessors.
So how exactly did the demise of AVB happen? Let’s recap his time at the club…
June 22, 2011 – Chelsea pay Porto £13.3m in compensation to land AVB, fans rejoice. Some are hopeful he can have a 20 year run at the club – he didn’t last 20 months or even half of that.
August 2011 – AVB, unlike some managers before him, attempts to plan for the long-term future of Chelsea by signing the likes of Juan Mata, Oriol Romeu, and Romelu Lukaku – the first 2 have been solid first-team players, the latter still only 18 with the physique and upside to be one of the best strikers in the world.
September 2011 – After going undefeated in the first 5 matches under AVB, Chelsea lost 3-1 to United on September 18th. It was their only loss of the month.
October 2011 – Chelsea lose only once in the month of October (against QPR with 9 men) until October 29th, when they lose to Arsenal 5-3.
November 2011 – Anelka starts his last “real” game for Chelsea in a 1-1 draw against Genk on November 1st, Alex on November 5th against Blackburn. This is where I think AVB really started to lose the locker room after he froze out two players who were not only key members of the club’s success in the past but also highly respected by senior players. Chelsea won only 39% (9 wins, 7 draws, 7 losses) of their matches after the win against Blackburn, down from 59% (10 wins, 4 draws, 3 losses) before this date.
December 2011 – After a 2-0 defeat on November 29th to Liverpool, Chelsea replace Fernando Torres with Didier Drogba who rejuvenates Chelsea, guiding them to convincing wins against Newcastle (3-0), Valencia (3-0), and Manchester City (2-1). Drogba scored 3 goals combined in these matches. After a shock draw to Wigan and a respectable draw to Spurs, Drogba left for the Africa Cup of Nations and Chelsea lost all momentum, losing 3-1 against Aston Villa at the end of the month.
5 must know facts for the United – Chelsea match
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The United – Chelsea match is on Sunday and thanks to both powerhouses having off seasons (and off the field issues) it’s become one of the most anticipated fixtures of the season as it could decide the fate of both teams. Here are 5 must know facts about the match you can use while watching with friends and family!
1. Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 9 Premier League home games against Manchester United, winning 6 and drawing 3.
This should give Chelsea fans confidence knowing that a result at home against United is not only possible but but based on previous history quite likely. United did win their last match at Stamford Bridge though with a 1-0 victory in the Champions League quarterfinal on April 6th 2011.
2. Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in only 25% (5 out of 20) of the matches Jose Bosingwa has played in.
This is far lower than the clean sheet percentage for Chelsea throughout the entire season (32% – 11 out of 34 matches) and supports the notion he is a defensive liability. With Bosingwa set to possibly feature at left back in place of Ashley Cole he could be in for a long day against an in-form Antonio Valencia (3 goals and 9 assist in his last 11 matches).
3. Chelsea have failed to score a goal in live action in 347 minutes.
The last goal was from Frank Lampard against Sunderland, who is questionable to feature in the match. Chelsea have scored 2 goals during this timespan, but one was a penalty and the other deemed an own goal. Especially if Bosingwa plays, Chelsea will need to find the back of the net somehow.
4. Manchester United have been knocked out of the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup by the end of January for the first time in their history.
This certainly has been a strange season for Manchester United in that the Europa League will be their only other competition as the end of the season approaches. This means in previous years when squad rotation and depth was critical for United to succeed both on a domestic and continental level now they can field their best players for the majority of the Premier League season.
5. Chelsea’s record against Manchester clubs when Howard Webb is the official: 0 wins, 2 draws, 4 losses.
Yes, Howard Webb will be the official of the match on Sunday and his Manchester bias is quite clear. The fact Chelsea with all their success in the past have not won a single match against a Manchester side when Webb is the official is very surprising and certainly will worry Chelsea fans regarding the way he calls the game.
I’m obviously hoping for a Chelsea win but given the form of the two clubs and players available United has the upper hand on paper. With this said, the match is at Stamford Bridge and although it’s not the fortress it once was you know the home fans will be fired up for this match.
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Lampard is still vital
Despite starting only 20 matches this season in the Premier League and Champions League combined, Frank Lampard has been involved in 29.4% of Chelsea’s goals in these competitions (10 goals, 5 assists).
AVB on QPR injury status
“Lampard trained with the team today and we are looking at Swansea for him, Mikel is still out, and Ivanovic is fully recovered.” – AVB (Pre-match presser before QPR)
Chelsea – Norwich Stats Recap
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Many Chelsea fans thought the 0-0 draw against Norwich today was not a great result – while it certainly wasn’t ideal, Norwich has been playing well lately…
Norwich has lost only 1 of their last 9 matches and are 9th in the Premier League. A draw away isn’t as terrible as some fans may think.
The result today spoke more of the effort by Norwich, who played well defensively, and also Chelsea’s continued and consistent lack of finishing off scoring chances…
Norwich get their 1st clean sheet of the season against Chelsea, who have scored only 3 goals in their last 3 PL matches. Not enough goals.
Spurs and Arsenal beat Norwich at their place, Chelsea draw. Today was arguably the best result for Norwich all season.
Chelsea today against Norwich: 20 shots (6 on target), 85% (467/551) passing, 4 successful crosses (out of 39 attempts, yikes), 15 tackles.
This is a match teams “equal” to Chelsea are winning and clearly a team Chelsea should be putting goals in against, yet Chelsea had only 6 shots on target.
However outside of Juan Mata who has been fantastic this season and Frank Lampard (who went off injured in the first half), the rest of the Chelsea attacked continues its up-and-down season…
Mata today against Norwich: 5 shots (led the team), 81% (51/63) passing, 3 chances created, 3 successful crosses (10 attempted), 2 take-ons.
Outside of Mata, Chelsea completed only 1 of TWENTY NINE crosses today. Speaks volumes about the long passing and lack of aggressiveness.
1 for 29 on crosses – it’s simply not good enough. Leading the charge was Jose Bosingwa who continues to not only receive criticism for his defensive work rate but also his offensive contribution…
Bosingwa today against Norwich: 1 shot, 78% (42/54) passing, 2 chances created, 3 take-ons, 0 completed crosses (8 attempted), 4 tackles.
0 for 8 on crosses is not helping his cause. A great comment on Twitter pointed out what I’ve been saying for awhile now, it’s as if teams almost want Bosingwa to have the ball because of his poor decision making and defensive work rate.