One the one hand, it’s great that Chelsea have climbed back as far as they have – on the other, that was a scarily poor performance. Chelsea didn’t lose the title yesterday, they lost it back in the autumn. We are very much in transition.

– I hope Ancelotti stays, even though I think he is culpable for some of what has gone wrong. I just don’t see yet more upheaval as being beneficial in the long run.
– We need to sell Drogba, not because of any inherent fault or weakness in him, but because we now have Torres and lots of other players who can play in a similar fashion (eg Sturridge, even Anelka) – in other words, we can make the team independent of any single player, however good they are. That seems to be ManU’s distinctive strength – and certainly what has enabled them to claim the title this year.
– We need someone to generate spark in the final third (doesn’t every team?). So as my final thought, why don’t we ring up our old boss and say ‘would you accept Drogba plus a large wodge of cash for Kaka?’

Dear Santa,

I know that Chelsea are not necessarily numbered amongst the ‘good boys’ but in case you’re able to drop some presents down their chimney, I thought I’d send you this list anyway.

1. Carlo Ancelotti stays in post. We really don’t need any more messiness at the club. I realise it’s a bit of a forlorn hope, but it’s #1 on this list for a reason.

2. An established English centre-back in their mid twenties. We have a bit of a hole in our team structure, and one of these would certainly fill it (Gary Cahill for preference).

3. An established striker in their early/mid twenties. Drogba is great, Anelka is marvellous, but they’re both the wrong side of 30 and we need someone in between them and the Sturridges of this world. That’s why it would have been great to have claimed Rooney – however unrealistic – it showed up the gap.

Not much then 🙂 Thanks for reading,

A Chelski fan

Just thinking out loud here…

– last season, MU were carried by a great performance by Rooney, which compensated for their loss of their previously best player, Ronaldo;
– MU are already suffering from significant injuries, especially Hargreaves and Valencia;
– there is nobody waiting in the wings to replace Rooney;
– the rest of the team is looking decidedly ropey – as they did last year, but that was hidden behind Rooney’s genius.

Of course, the last six months hasn’t seen Rooney playing as he did, but why was that? Rushed back too soon after his injury?

So – despite having probably the greatest football manager ever, MU are looking distinctly vulnerable for at least this season – fourth place is by no means unthinkable.

Now add that to the precarious financial situation, whereby success on the field is essential to keep paying down the Glazers’ debt, and suddenly what was a virtuous spiral starts to look ominously like a vicious one.

Of course, this is sheer speculation 🙂

As for where Rooney is going to go, I’m not convinced about Spain. Real Madrid have overspent on forwards, and I can’t see Rooney wanting to play second fiddle to Ronaldo again. As for Barca, that would surely be a better fit – but they too have just splashed out on a new striker, and they are cash-strapped. I have a sneaking feeling that he is going to go to Chelsea – he is, after all, six or seven years younger than Drogba, and one of the few people on earth who could conceivably do as good a job…

(Of course 2 – he and Lord Ferg might just kiss and make up, but I think not. Now that it has gone public, I can’t see SAF backing down).

Interesting times.

It’s a mugs game, but after last year’s reasonable success, I’ll stick my neck out again – although I’d emphasise that I’m much less confident of the predictions this year! Numbers in brackets are to notes at the end.

1. Chelsea (1)
2. ManU (2)
3. Man City (3)
4. Arsenal (4)
5. Liverpool (5)
6. Spurs
7. Everton
8. Villa (6)
9. Birmingham
10. Sunderland
11. Stoke
12. Fulham
13. Blackburn (7)
14. WHam
15. Wolves
16. Newcastle
17. Bolton
18. WBA (8)
19. Wigan
20. Blackpool (9)

(1) For the simple reason that I think Chelsea are significantly stronger than last year, injuries to Essien permitting.
(2) At some point the wheels on ManU will come off, but I’ve been tempted to write them off on many occasions before, and SAF keeps on doing the business. He’ll do it again this year. I think SAF is, quite possibly, the greatest football manager ever.
(3) They’ll take time to settle, but I think this year they will become a bit of a flat-track bully who will come unstuck against the top two. Next year may be different…
(4) If Arsenal sign a decent goalkeeper they will do better.
(5) Roy will get them organised, and I think he will get the best out of Joe Cole (what a muppet!)
(6) Don’t see much between these next three, notwithstanding MO’N leaving, but if Spurs get a better striker on board then they will make a better go at staying in the top four.
(7) Similarly, not much between these next five, too good to go down, not good enough to go up (and I don’t think Mark Hughes – who I think is good – will be able to better Roy’s achievements at Fulham. It’ll all be good experience for him though.)
(8) Relegation contenders – I’d far rather Bolton go down than WBA but sadly they’re more likely to be higher up.
(9) The bottom two. I expect Martinez to be sacked before Christmas, and I don’t expect that to help.

There needs to be a step change from the past, but not a clean slate. We need to keep the best technical players, and those with a bit of wisdom. My twenty three suggestions:

GKs: Hart, Green, Robinson
No point keeping James, and I would explicitly make Hart the number one and give him an extended run in the side (even if he dropped clangers). Green (to rebuild confidence) and Robinson (experience) as cover.

Fullbacks:
Ashley Cole – best player in the world in his position.
Glen Johnson – yes, he needs to work on his defending, but the potential is there and he won’t become accustomed to performing at international level without the exposure

Centrebacks:
This is tough. I’d be very tempted to leave Terry out, along with Ferdinand, King and Carragher – time to clear the decks a bit. Sadly, I can’t see anyone else able to replace him.
Terry, Dawson, Micah Richards (also covers RB), Ryan Shawcross.

Defensive midfielders:
Owen Hargreaves, Lee Cattermole, Jack Rodwell, Barry.

Attacking midfielders:
Joe Cole (best technical player in the squad), Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard (I’d make him captain – a highly intelligent player willing to work for the team as a whole), Aaron Lennon, Ashley Young, Milner (also covers LB).

Strikers:
Rooney, Crouch, Gerrard, Defoe.

I predicted 3-1 to Germany, so it turns out I was a little bit optimistic. Not very enjoyable to be proved right.

England actually played reasonably well – disregard much of the instant analysis – they had the great majority of possession for the first 2/3rds of the match and were controlling the flow of the game. Big problem was not being able to resist the fast counter-attack, and that was a problem of defensive organisation. We really missed Rio. Biggest problem, however, was not being able to convert possession into goals. Our best players were not playing in their best positions, and we didn’t have a settled side that could become a ‘team’ – and just when we most needed to score, we bring on Heskey. Sorry Fabio, but you’ve lost at least this fan’s confidence.

Still, at least I can now watch some cracking football matches. I’m particularly looking forward to Netherlands vs Brazil.

The scoreline wasn’t great, but the performance, especially in the first half, was. Our goal was well earnt and we should have had several more. Which remains the problem. If we play the same team and formation against Germany I expect us to lose, possibly quite badly.

Some positives:
– Impressed with Milner, who visibly grew through the game, after an appalling first ten minutes
– Gerrard, for once, exercised a proper discipline on the left, which allowed Ashley Cole to play properly, which helped the team greatly
– Rooney showed flashes of what he is capable of
– Joe Cole had a run out – as a replacement for Rooney. Perhaps that is how Capello sees him, as a split striker rather than winger. Interesting.

One last thought – I’ve been impressed at how Capello has handled the Terry situation, and he got a great performance from Terry as a result.

Firstly: full credit to Algeria for closing us down very athletically, denying us space and making us look stupid. That said…

If you are facing a hard wall, you need your best drill. If you have a diamond-tipped drill, why use a drill-bit best employed on wood? Most especially, when things are going wrong, why do you shift your diamond tip out on the left wing?

The team seem to have lost belief – either in themselves or in the coach – and I would put it down to using the wrong formation. Capello is, I think, starting to realise his lack of experience at this level, most especially (and I laughed heavily) when he said that the team didn’t reflect what he saw on the training pitch. Well, duh! He needs to put the players in their best positions, where they feel most comfortable, and he needs to bring on Joe Cole, a proven performer at this level who also has a lot to play for (like a move to Man Utd) – and who also isn’t exhausted by the over-long Premiership season.

Unless Capello shifts to the formation I recommended (!) then we will not score against Slovenia – and then we’ll be on our way home, and deservedly so. Grrrrr….

I’m starting to really lose faith with Capello. The best thing about his coaching is that he learns from mistakes – hence the frequently inspired changes for the better in England’s second half performances – but I’m worried that he is going to stick with the formation that served him well in qualification, and which isn’t going to be up to it at the more elite level of the knock-out rounds in the world cup. NB this is true even if Capello sticks with the formation for the next two games and we get resounding victories.

Let me expand further: it’s all about Heskey. Now, I happen to admire Heskey and I have absolutely no qualms about him being in the squad. I would use him, however, as a back-up for Rooney. This is not simply because his scoring record is so appalling, but because of the impact on the rest of the team.

When Capello started out in the qualifying campaign, Rooney was used as the split-striker (an enganche, a beautiful word I discovered recently), and it made perfect sense to have him playing off Heskey. Against the standard of opposition in our qualifying group, it worked well. However, in this last season, Rooney has made the lead striker role his own, to great effect. Much the most frustrating thing for me on Saturday night (other than watching it on ITV HD and therefore missing the England goal!) was seeing Rooney occupied in deep midfield, when the gaps between the US central defence were crying out for his industry and goal-scoring. Rooney needs to play as our lead striker – our best player in his best position.

Sticking with Heskey as the lead striker means that there is a severe knock-on effect for our ability to score goals all through the side, which goes beyond Rooney. It means that Gerrard is also not played in the position he plays for Liverpool (behind Torres) and he is less of a threat. It also meant, on Saturday night, that Gerrard and Lampard shared the midfield and, although they did better in that game than they have achieved before, it also means that Lampard isn’t able to play his natural game, as he needs to have half an eye on staying back if Gerrard goes forward etc.

Put simply, Capello needs to drop Heskey and push some of our best goal-scorers into more effective positions (not least because we need to outscore the US if we are to top the group and avoid Germany in the next round).

I don’t expect to see it change though.
All this and I haven’t said anything about the debacle of choosing Milner on the left and never bringing on Joe Cole. Barmy.