CareFreeChronic

While watching the replays of the Valencia game, the way Ramires scored that goal reminded me of something utterly unrelated to football: the scene of a cheetah catching a prey in one of those National Geograhpic programs. Maybe it was the raw physical force in his run or it was the fierceness with which he pounced on the mistake by the helpless Ruiz; or both. But I can't get that picture of a ruthless cheetah with a prey in its jaw. Thus, an idea for a blog post was born. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/12/ramires-vs-valencia-cheetah-meets-its.html Cheers!

There were a lot of good performances put in by the Chelsea players in the victory over Valencia (eg. Drogba and Mata). But I here I look at Romeu's contribution to the two goals by Drogba. Simply put, Romeu wins the ball and start the counter attack for Chelsea in both goals. Here is a close look at the two goals. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/12/romeu-vs-valencia-win-balls-start.html Cheers!

An exciting game with plenty of chances for both teams. Newcastle were the brighter side at the start of each half but Chelsea dominated the first and the Magpies the second. Though Chelsea's attack from the right was too hot to handle for the home side, the score line stayed low thanks to some unbelievable stops from Tim Krul, including a penalty save. At the end, Chelsea were the deserved winners on the ground that they created more goal-scoring opportunities. Here are five points to ponder from this game. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/12/five-points-to-ponder-newcastle-0-3.html Cheers!

Some say that Drogba had an "anonymous" performance against Wolves. I disagree. He was crucial to Chelsea's pressing defensively. Also, his off the ball movements created space for other players to exploit. Here is a close look at his attacking performance against Wolves. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/drogba-vs-wolves-anonymous-performance.html Cheers!

Five points to ponder from the 3-0 win against Wolves: 1. Formation and Movements 2. Pressing Done Right 3. Keeper's Role in High Defensive Line 4. Wing Men Take Center Stage 5. Drogba's Contributions http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/five-points-to-ponder-chelsea-3-0.html Cheers!

How Wolves have played in recent games and their tactics. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/chelsea-opposition-scout-report-wolves.html Cheers!

I see. I think our disagreement hinges on the point of focus. You focus on the initial positioning when the ball played out. But I focus on the instance before Johnson cuts on to his left, which Cole should never have allow to happen, especially since most teams now use "inverted wingers" cutting onto the center to shoot (eg. Robben). We will just have to agree to disagree. To me, Cole's mistake is significantly bigger than any wrong doing Malouda committed. Cheers!

First, don't ever apologize for a long comment. Second, I disagree that the pass to Mikel was a feasible option. I think it is. Cech passed it with an intention that Mikel will take one touch and move on but that's not what happened. Cech has made this kind of pass in the past and it didn't cause any trouble. But as I said, the quality could be a lot better. Cheers!

For me, he did tracked back properly.

A closer look at the two costly mistakes by Mikel and Cole against Liverpool. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/pointing-fingers-mikel-and-cole-blunder.html?showComment=1321981928568#c2483105891855560084 Cheers!

I've had many sleepless nights over it....

Looking four tactical aspects from the disappointing loss. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/four-points-to-ponder-chelsea-1-2.html Cheers!

You could be right about 4-51. They did use that formation against Manchester United (http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/10/15/liverpool-1-1-manchester-united/). But Dalglish has used the same starting XI and the same line up (4-4-2) for the last two games. I'm only going off of that. Cheers.

Liverpool are defensively sound but are finding it hard to score goals. This game could be a tactical showdown between 4-4-2 and 4-3-3, with an intriguing battle for dominance in the midfield. Chelsea will need to be patient in breaking down Liverpool's defense while being aware of the threat the Reds pose from their left flank. Here's my scout report. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/chelsea-opposition-scout-report_17.html Cheers!

Well put. I agree with you.

Taking a deeper look at the defensive statistics of Ivanovic and Bosingwa on the right side of Chelsea defense against Arsenal and Blackburn. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/ivanovic-vs-bosingwa-pilot-study.html Cheers!

McEachran started in the hole behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1 England U21 setup. His position asks Josh to be smart with his movement and be ready to finish chances, but it under-utilizes his passing ability and creativity. Here's a look at how he did in two of England's goal-scoring opportunities. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/mceachrans-positioning-and-movement-for.html Cheers!

No, I didn't swap names. And I was surprised too. Especially Bosingwa's interception numbers are staggering. Plus, a lot of these interception happens in opposition's half which I think is the result of pressing. But, on the other hand, if he mistimed an interception or tackle, the back is exposed. I think we also have to look at Cole's defensive performances closely. The stats that is not included in the chart is Ground Tackle Loss - which for Cole is 4 and for Bosingwa 0.

Well, the title is pretty self-explanatory. This post is complete with 3 tables, 7 charts (including a pie chart and a doughnut chart) and more... http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/raw-numbers-october-in-review.html Cheers!

This is just a fun post... Juan Mata: The Bright Star on Top of Blackburn's Nine-Men Christmas Tree. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/juan-mata-bright-star-on-christmas-tree.html - Cheers!

Chelsea finally got a clean sheet against Blackburn (for only the second time in the league this season). But our defense looked far from solid. Sure, there were phases during the game in which we looked good defensively, but there were still some errors too. In this post, I looked particularly at the Blackburn's chance which ended with a broken nose for Petr Cech. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/triangle-of-errors-against-blackburn.html Cheers!

Chelsea beat Blackburn with a Frank Lampard header goal, assisted by Branislav Ivanovic who crossed the ball from the right. Both should be applauded for the goal but it was John Obi Mikel's vertical pass from midfield that set Ivanovic free on the right flank. A player who is known for his horizontal passes comes up with a vertical ball that started the attack. We will look at how this particular instance happened and what it means in the bigger picture as far as what Villas-Boas wants from his defensive midfielder. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/mikel-vs-blackburn-vertical-passes-from.html Cheers!

Here's my opposition scout report on Blackburn. What we can expect from them and what we need to do to get the win. Tactics, formations and analyses. http://carefreechronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/chelsea-opposition-scout-report.html

Amen!

I don't think so. It is his signature tactic. It would be like Mourinho ditching 4-3-3. I'm not saying that's the right/wrong thing to do but I don't think he will abandon his philosophy.