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Posts Tagged ‘carlo’

Chelsea were so physically and mentally strong in their 3-0 win at Arsenal, it must have been like playing a team of robots for Arsene Wenger's side. I was very impressed with Carlo Ancelotti's side, who executed their game to perfection, and accompanied the organisation you expect from them with some genuine flair. Small wonder they are now odds-on favourites for the title. Ancelotti has done a superb job in the sense that he has been content to take a back seat. We are used to Chelsea managers with big personalities trying to stamp their authority on the club, but Ancelotti has been happy to let an experienced side get on with the job in hand. He has made a few tweaks to the tactics to give the attacking players a bit more freedom, and crucially he has a happy and in-form Didier Drogba. He has said he will not make reinforcements in January and even though they have a transfer ban hanging over them I think that makes sense.

Why disrupt a harmonious squad when things are going smoothly? Sometimes over-management is the biggest threat to top teams, but Ancelotti has put his ego to one side and is reaping the rewards. I don't see January's African Cup of Nations as a big problem. They will be missing the likes of Drogba, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou for three or four games, but the fixture list has been fairly kind to them and they have shown – for example in the 4-0 mauling of Wolves – that they have ample squad depth. Arsenal fans would have walked away from the game disappointed that their team were unable to compete on an even footing, and the cups now represent their best chance of silverware, as long as they don't meet Chelsea along the way! They were not physically up to the task, but seeing the way the modern game has gone I don't blame Arsene Wenger for moving away from big physical players like Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell. Marouane Fellaini of Everton is a similar player to Vieira in that he is a big, leggy, physical box-to-box midfielder, yet it seems every time he makes a tackle he gets booked. They just lacked a bit of precision in their attacking play. Eduardo came in for the injured Robin van Persie but his touch was ragged and he just took a split-second too long on the ball. Chelsea don't need a second invitation to get a block in, and that's what they did time and again. Theo Walcott looked lively coming off the bench, but again his delivery was inaccurate. When you look at the way Aaron Lennon has improved his crossing this season, you can see Walcott has a long way to go. So Chelsea are the team to beat, and once again it looks like being a battle between them and Manchester United. I think Alex Ferguson will have to bring in one or two new faces in January, because at the moment the attacking phase of their play is just not clicking like it should. The 4-1 scoreline against Portsmouth flattered them, and it is increasingly obvious that if Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs are not on song, then there is no Plan B. It is hard to bring in a player who can make an immediate impact, but Fergie managed it with Henrik Larsson in 2008 and he will hope to pull off another masterstroke this winter. As for Portsmouth, you felt that Paul Hart had a knife sticking out of his back from the moment Avram Grant came in as director of football. Pompey are not a bad side, and I think there are at least three worse teams in the division. Hart has guided the team through a near-impossible situation, yet it is Grant who will take all the plaudits if they stay up