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Team sheets
Chelsea
Cech, Bosingwa, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Romeu, Meireles, Ramires, Torres, Mata. Bench: Bench: Turnbull, Essien, Malouda, Lukaku, Sturridge, Hutchinson, Bertrand.

Sunderland
Mignolet, Bardsley, Kilgallon, O’Shea, Richardson, Larsson, Cattermole, Vaughan, McClean, Sessegnon, Bendtner. Bench: Westwood, Turner, Gardner, Wickham, Ji, Meyler, Elmohamady.

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The Spaniard again failed to find the score sheet, but provided the necessary creativity that resulted in a late torrent of goals and a largely flattering 4-0 victory over visiting Portsmouth in the third round of the FA Cup. We weren’t anywhere near our best, but we’ll take it.

Talisman

Unless you were at Stamford Bridge this afternoon, you probably haven’t had chance to see the match. It was nowhere to be found on the tele or interweb. What we were left with was either the ridiculous commentary provided by Chelsea TV or the ridiculous radio commentary provided by the BBC. I managed to hang on for the opening 45 minutes before packing it up and heading back to sleep. Yes, I found the work done by the BBC to be of that poor a quality. Egregious stuff.

So, with that being said, this isn’t going to be the most complete or analytical of match reports. In honesty, the same could probably be said had I seen the game. The first half came off as an insipid affair, largely devoid of scoring chances for both sides. Dave Kitson apparently had a glorious opportunity inside the first minute – thanks to some more concrete defending/communication by our central defensive pairing – but spurned his shot inches wide. Aaron Mokoena and David Norris also carved out openings in front of goal, though neither made Petr Cech really work that hard.

Chelsea, meanwhile, were monopolizing possession without doing much in the attacking third. I believe we’ve seen this romantic comedy before. I do recall Torres popping up to meet a Florent Malouda cross around 15 minutes only to see his header palmed away by the Portsmouth goalkeeper Stephen Henderson. There was a also a scant penalty shout, with Torres and Pompey’s Jason Pearce involved, that was waved way.

That was pretty much it for the first half. Monotonous.

At this point, I take it that many of you, like me, were even more bemused by the team selection. Andre Villas-Boas’ decision to deploy probably the strongest starting XI he could at the moment was met with a look of confusion from me prior to the match and, with Frank Lampard and company failing to make a dent against a disciplined but grossly average Portsmouth defense, that look had grown into one of not disdain but a bit of anger.

Expecting changes to be made at the interval was far too much to ask, however. There were none. Florent Malouda continued despite continuing his recent trajectory of being shit (aside from setting up Torres’ header that is). Like Jacobim Mugatu, I was now fiery hot with anger. But, hell, what do I know?

Not three minutes into the second half, Malouda popped up with some sublime individual work down the left of the penalty area. It really was excellent (I checked it out on YouTube), like watching the Frenchman during the second half of the 2009 season. He slalomed his way to the byline, past a couple of statues, before pulling back for Juan Mata to deposit expertly at the near post. 1-0, trick.

You’d think that, at this point, we were about to tear off a foot in Portsmouth’s ass. Not so much. We started to sit back a bit, and we’re nearly caught with a sucker punch. David Luiz, who by all accounts was otherwise excellent, was caught doing his samba thing in our own third. Kitson proceeded to rob Bob – of the ball, not his manhood – and find Marko Futacs. Cech stepped up to save initially from Futacs before John Terry flew into the picture and chested Joel Ward’s goal-bound rebound off the line. Norris followed that up, but Cech was in position to finally quell the fucking roller-coaster scenario.

Pompey was on the ascendancy. Fortunately for us, they began to tire and we took full advantage with a three-goal burst over the final five minutes. Ramires popped up with two, both assisted by Torres. The second was a real peach, with the Brazilian chipping the ball over the keeper after being played in by Nando. A return to the Spaniard was probably on, but I’m not going to fault Ramires for going on his own. Frank Lampard capped the game’s bizarre end with what might have been the final kick of the ball. He picked up the ball on the left side of the box and slid a shot inside the near post under/just beyond Henderson.

And that was that. The scoreline was certainly flattering; Portsmouth were worthy of defeat, but they didn’t deserve what they received. What does it all mean in the grand AVB scheme? Well, we’re going need to improve pretty drastically if we want to make it three wins out of three against a Sunderland side seemingly reborn under Martin O’Neill. That’s six days away, though, leaving plenty of time to regroup. For now, let’s enjoy the win. Carefree, bitches.

Halle-fucking-lujah.

Relief

You just knew it was coming. Not the winner, of course, but Stephen Ward’s leveler with six minutes to play Monday night. In terms of how things have been going recently for the CFC, this was right in the damn wheelhouse. Some more poor finishing, a dash of disjointed play and the overall feeling of a team that doesn’t know who it is. All of that – and more – was on display at Molineux

So Ward scored, thanks to some high-class marking from Jose Bosingwa. Well done, sir. Andre Villas-Boas was on the verge of thrashing a set of water bottles near the touchline into oblivion; me, I was just sitting. Silent. Unfortunately resigned to this sort of thing these days.

Villas-Boas, in that moment, must have felt like Wayne Campbell.

I’m being shit on, that’s all, shit on, and you know what really pisses me off?

Hauling off our only creative outlet, Juan Mata, in favor of Josh McEachran just seconds before Ward’s goal? Wait a tick, Josh is fucking alive?! Anyway, it must have seemed like the world was contriving to destroy him before he had even had a chance to make a few omelettes. Fortunately, the players weren’t resigned to such a fate. They responded with some of that trademark Chelsea resilience that has been missing for most of the season.

With Mata out of the picture, Torres took on the mantle of lead creator. Nando picked up possession a few yards outside the penalty area, swiveled and then threaded a lovely reverse ball into the path of Ashley Cole, who had made good headway down the inside-left channel. Cole had a touch before firing a driven cross into the six for Lampard to volley home.

Did I just see what I think I saw? This is, after all, the same Ashley Cole that has become king of checking his runs and playing passes away from goal rather than toward it this season. And Lampard with a vintage burst into the box? Torres playing killer through balls? Wake me up.

Turns out I was indeed awake and that, once Cech tipped Kevin Doyle’s close-range header over the crossbar, we had actually won a match. We certainly don’t like to make it easy, but I’ll take whatever I can get right now. Add in Arsenal’s capitulation at Craven Cottage later in the day, which allowed us to move back into the top four, and this shaped up to be a pretty decent Monday in the end.

Now for a few random notes:

• Torres is going to score a hatful soon. I said it on Twitter, I say it again here. And, yes, I do believe it. The Spaniard has looked promising in recent performances, both from the start and in substitute appearances. Today he really put in an industrious shift. I was really impressed with the way he continued to work despite receiving little to none of the service he normally thrives on. Well, since he’s received precisely none of that since joining the club, I guess he’s getting used to having to go make chances for himself and others. The emphasis was on others Monday, with Torres consistently linking up with his teammates in and around the attacking third. Mata did his best to set up his fellow countryman in proper positions, though Torres, as has been the case for months, could never quite find the opening required. Still, I liked what I saw and I expect, with Didier Drogba now out of the picture for at least a month, for Torres to excel.

• We should not allow this result to paper over the plethora of cracks in this side. We are still not very good at the moment. There were signs of improvement on Monday, but overall we did just enough to escape with the points. The opening 20 minutes of the match were encouraging, though the first half quickly de-evolved into something straight out of Quest for Fire. How many bookings were there? Bunch of savages in this town – including Super Frank and Cashley. As for the second half, it was better in an overall sense but there were still plenty of holes to be found. Wolves had their chances, particularly from set pieces which we’ll get to next. So, while it’s great that we manage to get a win, we still have a long way to go.

• Set pieces. Have awful are we from these, at both ends? We shall focus on our defensive frailties at this time considering we nearly conceded on a number of occasions. The most glaring example was that of Roger Johnson heading a free kick against the outside of the near post during the first half. He wasn’t alone in this regard in the opening 45 minutes, either, with both Ward and David Edwards carving out quality chances from dead balls. Not having Drogba in the mix hurts, but that alone isn’t enough to condone this kind of amateur defending. Bosingwa gives us nothing in this aspect, while Torres is neither a top-tier header of the ball nor is he exactly the most physical of presences. We need to sort this asap. Getting Branislav Ivanovic back will be a boost while Gary Cahill, if he does join, will give us some juice as well. Either way, we need to get back to the basics of for no other reason that so I can sleep better at night.

• Ramires is a viable, but not preferred, option wide right. My standard formation in FIFA 11 when using the Chels was a 4-2-3-1. Drogba spearheaded, with Anelka behind him and Zhirkov and Ramires flanking. The thinking was that the Brazilian could use his boundless energy to harass high up the pitch in the hopes of causing havoc and thus mistakes. It worked. Today wasn’t so much about pressure as proving just how versatile Ramires is. He was involved from the off, finding himself in a handful of promising positions during the first half. He could’ve scored, perhaps twice, if his finishing was even a fraction better than it is. Nevertheless, he was involved, provided an outlet and was still able to track all over the pitch when needed. His goal was well-taken as well. I’m thinking he should just fling it from now on rather than thinking about placement. He’s clearly better when solely reacting in those kind of situations.

• A quick note on the bizarre goal celebration that included the coaching staff. Yes, it felt forced. Yes, I wasn’t enamored with it. But you know what I did like? Bob hauling most of the guys over with him. He seemed to be really pushing for everyone to head over to the touchline to celebrate with the coaches. That was nice to see, and shows some leadership from a guy that hasn’t really been at his best this season. Maybe he’s ready to get down to business, along with the others. Still, that celebration could have been scrapped and it wouldn’t have bothered me at all. I’m not complaining, though. They can do whatever they want provided we win.

Now we have some time off. There’s 12 days of rest for some before our next league fixture, at home to rejuvenated Sunderland. In between, we have an FA Cup third round tie against Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge (Jan. 8). That, however, should be a good time to get a few of these young’ns some pitch time. Cool. That’s all I got for now. Let us know what you thought of the performance in the comments section. Carefree, bitches.

Will Bob be in the mix?

Chelsea begin this oh so very festive period by hosting Fulham at the Bridge. This represents the first of three games over eight days, a favorable span – which includes Aston Villa (h) and Wolves (a) – that could go far in spreading some holiday cheer around the place.

Schizophrenic Fulham are fresh from being thoroughly snuffed by Manchester United, a day prior to our encouraging 1-1 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Recent form isn’t the greatest barometer here, but we should nevertheless fancy our chances of collecting all three points.

Who: Fulham (est. 1879)
What: Barclays Premier League, Round 18
When: 26 December, 1pm local time (8am EDT)
Where: Stamford Bridge (42,449)
How: Fox Soccer Channel (DirecTV 619, Dish Network 149)

Why: Our next six league games would be considered, by most accounts, very winnable. It seems pivotal then that we open this stretch on a positive note. A win against Fulham, a traditional London rival, not only would be extremely satisfying but also a marker for this key run of matches.

Them
Fulham are weird. Since Nov. 26, the Cottagers have drawn with Arsenal, defeated Liverpool, lost to Swansea, beat Bolton and been thrashed by United. A roller-coast club no doubt.

That being said, they do possess some quality players. Clint Dempsey is the best the Yanks have on offer at the moment. Plus, you know, he’s a bruiser – ask fellow bruiser Phil Jones. Moussa Dembele, though about as quick as a G-Wiz, is a crafty son of a bitch with a ball at his feet. Bryan Ruiz is class.

They are incredibly solid. Yet that’s all you can really say about them. Nothing really stands about this current inclination of Fulham. Not that being solid is an especially bad thing, but it’s not exactly going to push you forward (i.e. European qualification), either.

Us
Spurs was pretty fun, eh? Sure, I would’ve preferred a win but the way in which the team responded to that horrid opening 15 minutes made for sensational viewing. Now, if we could only eradicate these zombified starts to matches we seem to enjoy.

The boys should be buoyed by that performance nevertheless. Ramires unfortunately will miss the match due to suspension because of yellow card accumulation. Beat street. The status of David Luiz remains unclear as the Brazilian defender is still recovering from a slight knee injury. One would hope that he’ll be available to start with Branislav Ivanovic unlikely to be fit after leaving Thursday’s match with an apparent hamstring problem. I don’t think any of us want to Jose Bosingwa in the center of defense again, even if he carved an inspirational figure alongside John Terry on Thursday.

The absence of Ramires probably means we’ll be enduring another afternoon dissecting the ineffective axis known as Frank Meireles. Perhaps these two can find a way to coexist. Please. Up front, Didier Drogba has been all the rage but this game seems to be reaching out for the one they call Nando. Fernando Torres has been alienated in recent weeks, cast aside with a firm facial from Andre Villas-Boas. Nevertheless, we’re going to need the Spaniard to start doing some work – as he did at the start of the season – as soon as possible.  This is the time to get him out from the off, and see if he can rekindle the magic. Baby Nando in a manger, son. Or, you know, sell him in January.

Projected XI:

That’s all I got. See you guys back around these parts for our Boxing Day Rant Box. Until then, happy holidays. Carefree, bitches.

Hey, it’s Franco

On paper, away to Wigan doesn’t appear to be too much trouble. The Latics are buried at the bottom of the Premier League table, aren’t scoring goals (joint bottom with 14) and have generally been rather porous in defense. They’ve won only once at home thus far this season.

And that’s not the half of it. Chelsea have won six of their seven away meetings at the DW, though we carded an embarrassing defeat in the historic Double season. Our past three meetings with Wigan have been rather enjoyable, though; we’ve scored 15 goals without reply over that span.

So a frolic, right? Maybe, maybe not.

Who: Wigan Athletic (est. 1932)
What: Barclays Premier League, Round 16
When: 17 December (12:30pm EDT)
Where: DW Stadium (25,138)
How: Fox Soccer Channel (DirecTV 619, Dish Network 149)

Why: Because we need to keep this toasty run we are currently on going. We’re in a good moment (no Carlo) right now, and I’d rather not muck it up right before visiting Spurs.

Them
What to say about Wigan.

They have decent pace in Hugo Rodallega and Victor Moses. Then again, neither has done much of anything this season. Rodallega, I think, hasn’t scored. Young Franco, originally of our pricey youth academy, has four goals this term. That wasn’t exactly expected, but, hey, good for him.

What else, though? The rest of Wigan, bar the extremely likable Roberto Martinez, is vanilla bland. The defense is rather atrocious, meaning Ali Al-Habsi has had to come up with absurd save after absurd save – to go with some hilarious gaffes. The midfield, well, I don’t really know what to say because none of those guys stand out whatsoever. No disrespect, but Jordi Gomez isn’t the kind of guys that’s going to cause us a whole lot of problems.

But you never know. We’ve labored at the DW before and there’s no reason that couldn’t happen again. Here’s to hoping this so-called trap game does not result in some serious disappointment.

Us
It would seem like this fixture would represent a chance for rotation. With just five days between this match and our trip to Tottenham, rotation would seem necessary as well.

Fernando Torres, of course, would be the name on many a supporter’s lips. He deserves a start here. Perhaps a couple of goals – maybe six – will quiet the talking heads. Probably not.

It would also be nice to see the likes of Josh McEachran and Ryan Bertrand in the mix, however unlikely that is. At least David Luiz will be back in the center of defense. Perhaps John Obi Mikel will emerge from the depths after being dislodged by the excellent Oriol Romeu.

That’s the thing. With basically a full squad to chose from (minus Michael Essien obviously), Andre Villas-Boas has his veritable pick of the little. This could go any way. Unpredictability.

Projected XI:

Whatever personnel takes the field on Saturday, a win is expected. We need to take this seriously, run out early doors and take care of business. A couple of goals inside 20 minutes would be heavenly. But, you know, I’ll settle for a cagey 1-0 if it comes to that. Points, bro – we need them.

See you guys back here tomorrow. Carefree, bitches.

Bench? Please.

Yeah, that was fucking awesome. Anyone else in need of a new set of vocal chords after that final 30 or so minutes? I sound like Emma Stone right now, and that’s not sweet. Not at all.

I’ll let Henry Winter tell it:

This was Madness was all right. This was Premier League football at its dramatic best, a game teeming with movement, incident, enterprise and the obligatory refereeing controversy. There was even noises afterwards: tempers in the tunnel capturing the tempest outside.

Madness?

Anyway. Where to start?

Maybe we should talk a bit about those opening 20 minutes. You know, the span in which we were swept off the park by a Manchester City side that could’ve been two or three goals to the good by the end of it. What on earth was going on? Well, for one, the high line exposed our chronic lack of pace at the back once again. Andre Villas-Boas himself addressed the approach afterward.

In the beginning of the game we were trying to find the best position for the block. We set out today on a medium block. They were feeling too much attraction to press their short build-up, and in the first ten minutes we suffered a lot. I think we adjusted that, I think the players felt they had to adjust, so they lowered the lines a little bit, felt comfortable with it, and then they gained the confidence.

Thankfully, as AVB said, we adjusted quickly. As it stood at the time, though, we were being overrun by City’s excellent high pressure. Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli did a great job of swarming the ball early, taking turns putting our fragile defense on the backfoot. It didn’t help that we could hardly get on the ball as their midfield was pressing incredibly high up as well. They were simply playing with more confidence and zeal than we were – before and after the opening goal after just two minutes through Balotelli and at the expense of a sleepwalking Branislav Ivanovic.

Needless to say, we needed a spark. Badly. It finally came midway through the first half, in the form of tactical adjustments from both teams. AVB, as he stated, was happy to see his players drop a bit deeper in defense. City, meanwhile, also began to drop their pressure levels. Perhaps fatigue (or conserving energy) played a role in the decision, but I think our steady improvement after such an egregious start also was a factor. Whatever the reason, the move allowed us to finally settle into some sort of passing rhythm, and it didn’t take long for us to make a significant positive contribution to the match.

England’s Brave John Terry, now with time to pick a pass, boomed a killer one out to Daniel Sturridge down the right channel.  Sturridge, clearly keen to make an impression against his former employer, left Gael Clichy for dead once in the penalty area before sliding a lovely ball across the six-yard box. Raul Meireles, whose inclusion over Frank Lampard once again caused a stir, did his best Super Frank on this occasion by arriving late and slotting into an open net from close range.

I know that you, like me, couldn’t believe what you saw. No, I’m not talking about the goal; I’m talking about the pass from Danny. The kid opts to pass rather than shoot from an absurd angle and look what happens. Who would’ve thought, right?

At this point, the game was, as the pundits would say, finely poised. Though Chelsea had ripped the momentum from City, chances were hardly plentiful. After all, we scored with our first shot on target. Still, there was worry in the visitors’ play. There were nudges here, kicks there – it was all rather naughty so close to Christmas. Yaya Toure, in particular, was making a Grinch of himself by picking on wee Juan Mata. How the Ivorian wasn’t booked, much less not sent off, is beyond me.

So we entered the interval level at 1 and with the momentum. Could we maintain it?

The short answer is: Yes. The long answer is: Fuck yes.

We opened the second half with a nice push rather than a conservative thud, while City were becoming more and more prone to hacking us down rather than playing actual football. Clichy was booked just six minutes into the half for slicing down Sturridge after once again being embarrassed by the boy. It proved to be a sign of things to come for the former Arsenal fullback. He’s rather rubbish isn’t he?

Ramires’ influence was growing, as was Oriol Romeu’s. Romeu was rather tardy in the first half by my account, but slowly worked his way into the match and by the end was calling the shots from his deep-lying role. Nice to see him adjusting his game while dealing with some adversity. Even so, it was Ramires who played a defining role in completing this maddening comeback.

His box-to-box runs are irresistible, as City well know from last season’s 2-0 loss at the Bridge. They must have forgot, however, because he was running wild during Monday’s second half. Of particular note was his sudden burst on 58 minutes, chasing a lovely first-time layoff from Didier Drogba, that coaxed Clichy into a tackle he never had any chance of winning. Walk on, sir.

With Clichy off, the game was there for the taking. The Bridge was on its head – you could tell from the broadcast just how amazing the atmosphere was – and we were in position to hand City their first domestic defeat of the season. Push like crazy for a winner then? Wrong.

Villas-Boas decided to keep it somewhat conservative, to the chagrin of some, opting for cautious adventure rather than a hapless offensive. It was the right call, even if I was perplexed by the decision as the minutes begin to disappear. AVB was wary of City’s threat on the counter, as he should have been. At the other end, we worked the ball around, we reversed, we played the channels and we kept our width. While City were collapsing into a narrow formation that included three holding types in midfield, we were putting together sustained moves that featured a lot of crossing from our fullbacks. A lot of aimless crossing actually.

It didn’t look like this approach was going to work, but in the end, thankfully it did. The buildup that led to the penalty lasted 48 seconds (by my probably broken clock) and contained 15 passes. It ended with Sturridge – who was forced toward the inside-right edge of the penalty area with Jose Bosingwa occupying the flank – collecting a pass from Lampard on the right of the box, cutting inside Pablo Zabaleta and then attempting to curl a shot toward the back post. The ball never made it past Joleon Lescott, however, who lifted both arms above his head and batted the shot down. This ain’t volleyball son.

Easy call for referee Mark Clattenburg.

Mata was supposed to take the penalty per Villas-Boas, what with Lampard missing one against Newcastle. Super Frank wasn’t having that, though. He immediately grabbed the ball and stepped to the spot. The result was undeniable, a howitzer of a strike straight down the pipe that likely would have traveled through Joe Hart had he been in position to make the save. Need a dramatization of what they might have looked like? Peep this and fast forward to 1:14.

It was epic.

There were 10 or so minutes left, however, so we still needed to set up shop and make sure we got the hell out of there with the points. Roberto Mancini introduced Edin Dzeko as a last throw of the dice, but all City could muster in the final stages was a tame effort from Balotelli that Petr Cech gobbled up with much comfort.  The last few minutes wasted away as Drogba put on a show near the right corner flag. He held off Zabaleta and Gareth Barry on a number of occasions. Strong man win, they say. I think they say that.

What a game. What an effort.

Just how scrumptious was that performance? Well, I’m still giddy. Yes, giddy.

That’s all I have for you guys at the moment. Be sure to leave some of your thoughts on today’s win in the comments section below. Let’s have some debate, people. Carefree, bitches.

Do you see what I see?

Good question. City, well-deserved Premier League leaders, are entering this game a few shorts days after their ouster from the CL. They’ll no doubt be in a pissy mood following such a letdown; sweeping us aside would be a much-welcome elixir one would think.

That would seem to allude to an especially aggressive City invading Stamford Bridge. They, like Barcelona, enjoy pressuring the football from high up the pitch. It’s an effective approach. In riposte, we need to allow the opposition some possession, as we have in recent, successful outings. It’s a dangerous strategy, I admit – what with City carrying a myriad of elite attacking options – but a necessary gamble if we are to keep with our approach.

A combination of defending with a deeper line and looking to counter at speed – two things we’ve done extremely well in our past two wins – should cause ask City some serious questions if employed correctly. We have the tools to do so, it’s just a matter of staying compact at the back and limiting the individual mistakes, as we’ve been able to do over the past few weeks of competition.

We are somewhat limited in the personnel from which we can select, with David Luiz suspended for yellow card accumulation. Many, most non-Chelsea supporters, are heralding this as a positive. It’s not. Bob has been excellent in the past two games, forming a fluid, impervious central defensive partnership alongside England’s Brave John Terry. It’s not really a coincidence that Terry’s form has significantly improved since the defensive line was pushed back is it? Nevertheless, Bob is out and we’ll have to move forward. With troublemaker Alex banished to the corner, we’re left with Branislav Ivanovic to slot into the middle. Not a bad option at all.

That means Jose Bosingwa will need to come back into the side on the right, even if he isn’t fully fit, while Ashley Cole will continue on the left side of the back four. Here’s to hoping Bosingwa is up to the defensive challenge ahead. He’ll need to be.

In my mind, our midfield probably should remain untouched from Valencia. It’s been imperious recently, and I don’t see a reason to mess with it. Oriol Romeu and Ramires are must-starts, while Raul Meireles could make way for Frank Lampard. Whomever it is that starts on the left of the midfield needs to be ready to put in a shift against the powerhouse that is Yaya Toure. That man is a monster on both sides of the pitch.

Up front, it’s about as easy a call as Villas-Boas will make all season. The trident of Daniel Sturridge, Juan Mata and Didier Drogba should already been penciled in on the team sheet. In permanent ink. Sturridge, in particular, could be our key, as his advancing runs down the inside-right channel against City’s vulnerable left fullback (either Gael Clichy or Aleksandar Kolarov) will be a major determining factor in our attacking success.

There’s also the question as to whether Drogba can give us a second massive effort in quick succession at his advanced age. I vote yes.

Projected XI:

That’s what I think. How do you guys think AVB will line us up on Monday?

A pulsating showcase, carefully imagined by Andre Villas-Boas and anchored by the irresistible Didier Drogba, sees our beloved Chelsea into the knockout stages of the Champions League once again. As group winners, too, no less. This, my friends, was a night to cherish.

Happiness is a warm brace

What to say, what to say.

Has the era of Andre Villas-Boas finally arrived? It’s naive to suggest that one result could be the tipping point for a club that has been as erratic as it has been good this season, but tonight’s resounding – and assured – display, on top of the gradual improvement witnessed in recent weeks, provided many of the hallmarks from which the elite are fashioned.

Again, not to overreact, but it feels like a positive seismic shift is taking place at the club. Some patience and a little collective positivity can go far.

Tonight, there was, first and foremost, passion. Passion from front to back. It started with the indomitable Ivorian who scored twice and created another. His workrate was second to none. His physical presence was unmatched. It was as if the Drogba model on display Wednesday night had been placed in cryogenic storage near the end of 2006-07 (think John Spartan in Demolition Man) and was thawed out for this special occasion. In case of emergency, break glass.

Whatever has gotten into our volatile big man – Villas-Boas’ consistent playing of the striker over the past few weeks despite some trenchant murmurs is paying off, eh – here’s to hoping he has enough left in the tank to continue pillaging through the Africa Cup of Nations and into May.

Needless to say, Drogba wasn’t alone tonight. Everyone chipped in with a contribution.

Juan Mata was, again, splendid. Why his former teammates had the good, albeit fatuous, grace to allow him space and time on the ball is beyond me. Whatever the reason, we are glad they did. The Spanish wizard was constantly involved, setting up the opener with a deft little touch to Drogba who shimmied inside and then back out, using the space created to whip a left-footed shot past Diego Alves at his far post inside three minutes.

It was more than we had hoped for, but we were happy to have it.

Daniel Sturridge was not as effective as he proved to be against Newcastle on the weekend, but nevertheless put in a sturdy shift. Selflessness right now is not one of his stronger attributes, but his ability to get into dangerous positions is. His workrate was also particularly impressive, with the young England prospect tracking back well when Chelsea were not in possession.

This was a pivotal piece of our approach tonight, with Villas-Boas reverting to almost a 4-5-1 when we did not have the ball. Mata also tracked back well, even if his defending was as you would expect: hit or miss. We spent large portions of the match defending deeply – the high line not to be found on this day – but we were overall very comfortable and composed when doing so. John Terry and David Luiz looked incredible poised, and gelled like we haven’t seen this season. Branislav Ivanovic was inspired up and down the right side. Ashley Cole wasn’t eye-catching, but did his job without hassle. It was improvement.

What was also interesting was to see us allow Valencia so much of the ball. I mean, we finished with just 31 percent of the possession. That’s kind of insane. Much of that could be attributed to the early goal, I guess, but it’s also a sign that Villas-Boas is willing to be more tactically adaptable than many of us might have thought. It was basically a case of: Let Valencia do what they do best and we’ll just wait for openings on the counter attack. And, you know, it worked incredibly well. We were unplayable at times on the counter, and probably should’ve added a couple more goals had Sturridge not done a Sturridge and actually squared the ball for unmarked teammates. He’ll get there, though.

Oriol Romeu was in and out of the match at times, though overall it was another promising display from the young Spaniard. His distribution could have been much better, but at this point it matters little. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our surge in form coincides with his introduction into the first team. Raul Meireles, for me, didn’t do as much as I expected. His play was a little jagged and his passing was erratic. However, I was pleased with what we got out of him on both sides of the pitch for the most part. The dropping of Frank Lampard to the bench, a decision met with polarizing opinion prior to the match, was justified in my mind.

Ramires, meanwhile, was at his barnstorming best. His goal, our second, was as pure a demonstration of his game as you’ll find. The Brazilian was clearly beaten to the pass from Drogba, but soldiered on at his own lung-busting pace and used his industry to outwork the defender for the ball. The rest was simple. He really is a wonderful player to watch.

As for Valencia, I was expecting more. Whether you chalk it down to our excellence or a lack of tactical nous from them, they just didn’t find their legs today. Roberto Soldado was anonymous. For a team that had won seven of eight, and had pushed Real Madrid to the limit, I was expecting much more than I saw. Not that I’m complaining.

Overall then? I’m giddy. It was just what was required. To win the group on top of everything is just the icing on the proverbial cake. This is a marvelous start to December, and we enter our league match with Manchester City on Monday with some real momentum. I’m not saying we’re going to win – they have been bloody fantastic thus far, no question – but I see no reason why we can’t.

A revitalized Drogs. A defense flush with newfound confidence. And a coach with an eye for the future. Things are looking up, friends. Keep the faith. Carefree, bitches.

Old Man Winter

Um, yeah. I really don’t know what to say about that. If you have any suggestions for how we should proceed with our match recap, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Anyway. It’s a win, and I’ll take them however they come. At times we were a shambles, other times we were irresistible. In the end, it was probably just about a deserved result. Sure, Bob – who somehow managed to recover from his first-half shocker – could’ve been issued a red card for his positioning nightmare early on, but even with that being said, I still think we shaved it on the run of play. And, you know, I think Demba Ba might have been offside in the lead-up to that incident. Whatever, it doesn’t matter either way.

I must also add that that final scoreline is harsh on Newcastle. Another fine showing from the Toon, particularly Tim Krul who must’ve denied Danny Sturridge on 46 separate occasions. As someone said on my liveblog, the Dutchman has certainly earned a pay hike based on his incredible form thus far this season. Ryan Taylor, meanwhile, was probably poorer than Bob – and that’s saying something. How many times did Studge roast him? I lost count at 15.

Moving on to more positive aspects. It’s a win. Yes, I said that already. Say it with me. It feels mighty good doesn’t it? This could be the kind of result that serves as our much-needed kick start. It couldn’t have come at a better time, either, what with our crunch Champions League group tie with Valencia arriving in three days. It really is a massive boost.

That’s it for now. We’ll be back with a full review later on. Until then, have a vote in our man of the match poll (plenty of deserving lads in there) and leave us a comment on the match. Carefree bitches.

Off topic: Remember when these two were marauding down the flanks for us a few seasons ago? Awesome days.

Team news and the like from 7:30am EST.

Team sheets
Newcastle
Krul, Simpson, S. Taylor, Coloccini, R. Taylor, Lovenkrands, Guthrie, Cabaye, Obertan, Ben Arfa, Ba. Bench: Harper, Santon, Perch, Gosling, Best, Shola Ameobi, Sammy Ameobi.

Chelsea
Cech, Bane, EBJT, Bob, Cole, Ramires, Romeu, Lamps, Sturridge, Mata, Drogba. Bench: Turnbull, Torres, Malouda, Meireles, Bosingwa, Kalou, Bertrand.

Liveblog: Follow along with Jack @ The Score.

Streaming:
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Happy days

I guess if you had thrown in a goal or three from the mercurial Fernando Torres then, yes, it could have been better. But, really, that’s just being greedy. After what we’ve gone through over the past two weeks, we should be more than pleased with what we received today.

A slick passing performance. An early goal, followed by two more before the end of the opening 45 minutes. A frolic on Fulham Road after the break. Brief respite for Andre Villas-Boas. Great stuff.

Crisis over then? Not so fast. But at least we’ve stopped the ship from capsizing. There is obviously much more to improve on in the coming weeks, starting in the League Cup in just three days.

That’s a discussion for another day, however. For now, have a vote and a comment on today’s performance. Devin will be back later with a full recap of the proceedings. Carefree bitches.

Team news and the like from 10:45pm EDT.

Team sheets
Blackburn Rovers
Robinson, Lowe, Samba, Givet, Olsson, Rochina, Nzonzi, Pedersen, Hoilett, Formica, Yakubu. Subtitutes: Bunn, Dunn, Petrovic, Blackman, Goodwillie, Vukcevic, Hanley.

Chelsea
Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Lampard, Mata, Sturridge, Malouda. Substitutes: Turnbull, Romeu, Torres, Meireles, Bosingwa, Lukaku, Kalou.

Streaming:
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boats n hoes

Remember? None of us are likely to forget this fifth of November if Chelsea somehow fail to win for a third successive game. A loss – our third straight in the league – and, well, Andre Villas-Boas will be remembering the good ol’ days back in Portugal. You know, those sun-drenched days of stroking the flowing locks of Falcao and power cleaning with Hulk.

Hell, a defeat to the tactical mastermind that is Steve Kean, and AVB might be on his way back to the Pennisula on a rotted-out cargo plane (I hope not).

Who: Blackburn Rovers FC (est. 1875)
What: Barclays Premier League, Round 11
When: 5 November, 4pm local time (11am EDT)
Where: Ewood Park
How: Fox Soccer Channel (31,367)

Why: Many are calling this a must-win game for Villas-Boas. I’m not going to take it that far. I refuse to believe his status as Chelsea manager is under threat at this point. That would be, well, ludicrous. However, this match is massively important going forward. The response AVB was seeking after the Arsenal debacle didn’t arrive. That, my friends, is probably the most worrying thing to take away from the forgettable affair in Belgium in midweek. Where was the urgency? Where was the desire to respond to the criticism? Another tepid performance and it all starts to look eerily like the same sloth that cost Carlo Ancelotti his job. Villas-Boas no doubt recognizes the significance of Saturday’s match. Will the players, though?

Them
Blackburn have lost three of their past five matches, drawing the other two. Shit form to be sure. However, they haven’t been as bad as their record suggests. How can any team mired in the relegation zone (currently 18th) not be shit you ask? Well, I’m not saying they aren’t shit. What I’m saying is that there aren’t really shit.

Rovers’ three recent defeats were all to in-form sides: Newcastle, Manchester City, Tottenham. Away from Loftus Road, they outplayed both Queens Parks Rangers (who defeated us, mind you) and Norwich City only to have to settle for a share of the points. Yeah, Steve Kean sucks but apparently he’s not as bad as his appearance would lead on. I can’t be the only one that looks at Steve, and thinks “man, I can’t believe Chris Samba hasn’t punched this guy in the face yet?”. I can’t be, right?

Moving on. Steve does have some talent at his disposal, namely David Hoilett. The 21-year-old Canadian has blinding pace and some good trickery to go boot. I would be shocked if he didn’t end up at a top-six side next season. There’s also Morten Gamst, who always is a threat from set pieces, and Mauro Formica. For us to have success, it’s quite apparent that we must be able to deal with their pacey threat down the left channel. Then we have the Yak. Feed the Yak and he’ll score. Or eat. Defensively, Samba is a man more suited for the Thunderdome than football. Paul Robinson, meanwhile, is a quality shot-stopper in goal.

Basically, this isn’t going to be easy. And if it is, we’re doing something right.

Us
Does it matter?

I don’t think it does. We have the personnel to defeat Blackburn. We have more than enough talent to defeat Blackburn. The question is whether or not this team, this group of men, wants to shed this aura of fragility and make a fucking statement.

It’s all pretty straightforward. We need improvement. Epic improvement. We need focus (you listening, Bob?). We need resilience. We need calm.

In short, we need a damn win. Carefree.

Projected XI:

What the hell.

Winless in three! A wretched second half in Belgium follows our absolutel capitulation after halftime against Arsenal. Cue the crisis talk, my friends.

A decent enough first half – ravaged with wastefulness – gives way to a phoned-in final 45 minutes that cost us the points in Belgium. Fair play to Genk, who, contrary to their hiding at Stamford Bridge, a had a right go of it at home. Kevin De Bruyne looked the part of a proper Chelsea target, while the rest of the side showed near fear against a Chelsea team clearly short on confidence.

Fernando Torres faded badly after the break, and is likely to catch his share of stick from the world’s utmost journalists. Fuck ‘em. The man created five scoring chances on the evening, including an eye-catching assist for our lone goal (via Ramires). Still, it was a poor night all around. Again.

Andre Villas-Boas has some serious climbing to do in the coming weeks. Here’s to hoping for a more fluid, aggressive and complete display against Blackburn on the weekend. Until then, have a vote in our man of the match poll and then, you know, leave a word or two in the comments about what you thought of the match. Who caught your eye? Who didn’t? (Flo Malouda)

Sidenote: What’s with Bob taking penalties?

Carefree.

Teams
Racing Genk
Köteles, Vanden Borre, Ngongca, Nadson, Hyland, Tőzsér, De Bruyne, Camus, Vossen, Buffel, Nwanganga. Substitutes: Sandomierski, Sarr, Durwael, Ofori-Appiah, Ndabashinze, Limbombe, Barda.

Chelsea
Cech (c), Bosingwa, Bane, Luiz, Cole, Romeu, Ramires, Meireles, Malouda, Anelka, Torres. Substitutes: Turnbull, EBJT, Super Frank, McEachran, Mata, Kalou, Sturridge.

Streaming:
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A meeting of the minds

Teams
Chelsea
Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic , Terry, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Lampard, Sturridge, Torres, Mata. Substitutes: Blackman, Bertrand, Luiz, Romeu, Meireles, Malouda, Lukaku.

Arsenal
Szczesny, Djourou, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Santos, Ramsey, Song, Arteta, Walcott, Van Persie, Gervinho. Substitutes: Fabianski, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Frimprong, Park, Rosicky, Arshavin.

Streaming:
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FirstRow Sports
Sport Lemon

Liveblog: Follow along with Jack @ The Score