“My aim is to play (for Chelsea) and to be a legend over there in the future, but the time is going so really I need to keep playing. Hopefully in the next few years become one of the key elements at the Bridge.” – Romelu Lukaku (Sky Sports)
Lukaku rues Chelsea debut season
“I couldn’t see myself staying at Chelsea, I sacrificed a year of my career with them and didn’t want to put up with it anymore. I decided in March I wanted to go out on loan, and told my agent to find me a club. On the first day of pre-season I told the manager I wanted to leave. Roberto Di Matteo told me I ought to think about Chelsea as there weren’t going to be many other strikers this season, but this is the time for me to think about myself. I got sick of watching the others from the bench. I just played 12 games and when I was playing well, they would take me off. I lost my hunger for the game over the past year. I won’t beat about the bush – my season at Chelsea went very badly. I wasted my time. Last season I was in the reserves alongside a young lad who’d barely turned 15 and I asked myself what I was doing there.” – Romelu Lukaku (Sky Sports)
Lukaku rejects title link
“When Kalou put the (FA) Cup on my lap in the bus I asked him to take it away immediately. I didn’t want to touch it because, just as with the Champions League, I had no part in it at all. I don’t like people talking to me about the Champions League. It wasn’t me, but my team that won it.” – Romelu Lukaku (De Standaard)
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.
Chelsea – Swansea stats recap
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Chelsea played Swansea yesterday and it was far from a convincing performance, especially in the first half…
Chelsea’s first half against Swansea: 10 shots (3 on target), 86% (160/187) passing, 43.9% possession, 3 successful crosses.
Chelsea have completed only 160 passes in the first half compared to Swansea’s 208.
The side looked flat and lacked any sort of a creative spark – to be quite honest Chelsea were totally outplayed by Swansea. The second half was better, especially when Florent Malouda was subbed out for Romelu Lukaku. I’m saying this not because Lukaku made an impact, but because Malouda simply didn’t…
Malouda today against Swansea: 0 shots, 84% (38/45) passing, 1 chance created, 1 successful cross (7 attempted), 1 tackle, 1 interception.
I’m not one to question the manager’s every decision, but AVB playing Malouda in the middle isn’t working. Chelsea have “scored” just 2 goals in their last 3 matches – a penalty and an own goal. It’s not all Malouda’s fault but in my opinion it’s no coincidence. When Malouda went off, Juan Mata was able to get more involved in the game…
Mata today against Swansea: 2 shots, 88% (42/48) passing, 4 chances created, 4 successful crosses (out of 14).
Chelsea were lucky to get a goal gifted to them at the end of the game to get a vital point from a Swansea team which has impressed this year. I will take 4 out of 6 points from Swansea this season given their current form. Final team stats…
Chelsea today against Swansea: 19 shots (4 on goal), 84% (412/490) passing, 53.7% possession, 10 completed crosses (FOURTY THREE attempted).
Comparing these stats to the first half really emphasizes the difference between the two halves…
Lukaku future on loan?
“If my situation at Chelsea does not evolve between now and the end of the season, it may be better to be loaned out for a season.” – Romelu Lukaku (ESPN)