Having Our Best Performances Without Didi

[kakuta44 16]

we have hammered only two teams with seven goals that was today against astonvilla and in January against sunderland but what was not expected is to have our finest performances without our star-man DD .....

everyone knows who is DD the goal machine the man that terrorize any defence all over the world i bet a lot of defenders and keepers had sleepless nights because of DD .....

so for me i find it very weird to be at our best without a player who is supposed to be our best .....

was that a coincidence ....?????

no one can argue that DD is by far a lot better than nicolas anelka no one can deny that drogba specially this season has won games all by himself like arsenal hull and wolves .... he is our biggest threat and he has a great influence but that's his positives ...

but does drogba has a bad influence as well ... i don't know about that one ... yes sometimes he just fall into the ground and sometimes he gives the ball away and he is not the best team player not like rooney or torres a player that you can play a lot of one touch passes with him .....

although when he is not playing we happen to have a lot more pace and the ball tends to move more quickly and more randomly allover the pitch ... i mean that our balls doesnt always go to one direction ... DD's direction

for all i know drogba is one of the best and most feared strikers all over the world but i think a lot of people noticed that Chelsea had thier best performance without thier best man ....

but i cant find an explanation ... is it because of him or is it because other players depend on him a lot when he is on the pitch ... or is it a coincidence .....???????????????????????????

Edited March 27, 2010 by kakuta44

[zolayes 14,489]

we have hammered only two teams with seven goals that was today against astonvilla and in January against sunderland but what was not expected is to have our finest performances without our star-man DD .....

everyone knows who is DD the goal machine the man that terrorize any defence all over the world i bet a lot of defenders and keepers had sleepless nights because of DD .....

so for me i find it very weird to be at our best without a player who is supposed to be our best .....

was that a coincidence ....?????

no one can argue that DD is by far a lot better than nicolas anelka no one can deny that drogba specially this season has won games all by himself like arsenal hull and wolves .... he is our biggest threat and he has a great influence but that's his positives ...

but does drogba has a bad influence as well ... i don't know about that one ... yes sometimes he just fall into the ground and sometimes he gives the ball away and he is not the best team player not like rooney or torres a player that you can play a lot of one touch passes with him .....

although when he is not playing we happen to have a lot more pace and the ball tends to move more quickly and more randomly allover the pitch ... i mean that our balls doesnt always go to one direction ... DD's direction

for all i know drogba is one of the best and most feared strikers all over the world but i think a lot of people noticed that Chelsea had thier best performance without thier best man ....

but i cant find an explanation ... is it because of him or is it because other players depend on him a lot when he is on the pitch ... or is it a coincidence .....???????????????????????????

perhaps more telling was nics form when drog was away in jan... he led the line brilliantly then ..

yet at times they have played well together but not in a forward 3 ..

[sLOVEnian Blue 74]

I think our game runs faster without Drogba, but I just can't imagine Chelsea without Drogba for whole season. He is our best striker and he decides games in Champions League, FA Cup finals, derbys so I think he is very important for us. It's also nice to see we have different versions of playing ... playing fast with lots of running with Anelka up front and a little slower and more physical with Drogba in our attack.

[Rambo 1,729]

It's because Villa didn't even show up today.

[James 5,324]

We play better when one of Drogba or Anelka is on the pitch, when they both play Anelka ends up playing out wide and looks disinterested.

[Kostas 1,468]

Besides that attitude thing I think it's because our players rely too much on him and expect him to bail us out every single time.

When he's not on the pitch they know that they are the ones who must create goals so we end up scoring 7..

[NattyBlue 44]

It's down to Anelka being out wide and drifting when he's put out there, he's not a winger and it doesn't work

It was ok under Hiddink, worked great because he stayed out wide but Carlo doesn't instruct him to STAY wide I don't think.

We looked great vs pompey too and Drogba was up front in that game.

1 striker, 2 wingers - fast play

2 strikers - 1 winger - feb - march.

[kakuta44 16]

Besides that attitude thing I think it's because our players rely too much on him and expect him to bail us out every single time.

When he's not on the pitch they know that they are the ones who must create goals so we end up scoring 7..

agreed ..... the main reason is their reliance on DD but i think his attitude doesn't help ..... neither the way he some times slows the play and tries to score rather than passing the ball ......

may be drogba is Chelsea's version of zlatan ibrahimovic ...... may be they are both a great strikers but inter is better without ibra .... and i think Chelsea is better without drogba but in that case i would rather have someone like torres instead of anelka ........

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I think Anelka might be suited to playing as one of the three midfielders. I know it sounds radical, but think of him as the player he is. He loves the ball at his feet; running at defenders. He is at his best when he is involved with the play, and that means he needs good service. Playing as an attacking midfielder, á la Lampard, would suit him in my opinion at least. Its the only way I can think of that we can keep Anelka in the team whilst playing a 4-3-3. When he's out wide, he can have one good game but be awful the next.

[Badboy 1,526]

I think Anelka might be suited to playing as one of the three midfielders. I know it sounds radical, but think of him as the player he is. He loves the ball at his feet; running at defenders. He is at his best when he is involved with the play, and that means he needs good service. Playing as an attacking midfielder, á la Lampard, would suit him in my opinion at least. Its the only way I can think of that we can keep Anelka in the team whilst playing a 4-3-3. When he's out wide, he can have one good game but be awful the next.

Anelka as a striker would not even know what spaces to cover in midfield. Anelka is different to drogba in the way he wants to use his pace to run into open space. I think we should play a straight forward 4-4-2 and just play the best players we have. I think when everyone is fit we should try a 4-4-2 like united, cech a.cole bosingwa terry carvalho malouda lampard essien joe cole drogba anelka. With this formation we will have wingers crossing the ball in and creative midfielders putting anelka through on goal.

[YankinBlue42 72]

I definitely believe that when Drogba is off the field, the other players do step up and contribute more knowing that their star player isn't there to bail them out. It's up to Ancelotti. He needs to get the team to play at that level when Drogba is out there while also convincing Drogba to buy into a more team-oriented offensive approach.

[EskWeston 696]

We play better when one of Drogba or Anelka is on the pitch, when they both play Anelka ends up playing out wide and looks disinterested.

I agree with that. We also played much better against Pompey with just Drogba, so for me we have to play 1 or the other for the rest of the season.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

If its one or the other, its 30 goal Didier Drogba for me.

[Blueboy 14]

If its one or the other, its 30 goal Didier Drogba for me.

I'm also tempted to say we should pick 'we score 7 goals a game'-Anelka .

Drogba is the most consistent, and by far most efficient!

[kakuta44 16]

so who do we choose for saturday drogba or anelka .....????

i will have to go with drogba ...... and btw starting both IS NOT AN OPTION

[Jon 18]

Coincidence? Absolutely. Drogs, when he stays up, is borderline unplayable. I'd say the thing to take note of is that Chelsea isn't all out dependent on Drogba but like Liverpool & Torres, or United & Rooney.

[EskWeston 696]

For me it is obvious that 4-3-3 is the way for us to go, and for that to work we need either Deco or J.Cole behind the forward and 2 wingers out of Malouda, J.Cole and Kalou with either Drogba or Anelka upfront alone. Playing Ballack or Lampard in behind the forward won't work and neither will playing Anelka out wide.

For the Manc game it just HAS to be Drogba, you can't drop him for this massive game. Yes we got 2 big wins without Drogba but it is the "formation" and playing the most suitable players that worked rather than a simple choice of not playing Drogba..

[Kujamowicz 16]

We play better when one of Drogba or Anelka is on the pitch, when they both play Anelka ends up playing out wide and looks disinterested.

Yes, I totally agree with you. Anelka when not playing as single striker starts seeking for playing along, to make up a play before the penalty box and in the sides. He looks like "That's not my role but I do this" then!

It is good that Ancellotti gave Didier some rest. That only shows that we're not "One-Man-Attack" team Drogba is important part of Chelsea and does REALLY MUCH for the team.

so who do we choose for saturday drogba or anelka .....????

i will have to go with drogba ...... and btw starting both IS NOT AN OPTION

Drogba. Massive, experienced- to crush United's defence block

[Joe Cool 388]

Anelka as a striker would not even know what spaces to cover in midfield. Anelka is different to drogba in the way he wants to use his pace to run into open space. I think we should play a straight forward 4-4-2 and just play the best players we have. I think when everyone is fit we should try a 4-4-2 like united, cech a.cole bosingwa terry carvalho malouda lampard essien joe cole drogba anelka. With this formation we will have wingers crossing the ball in and creative midfielders putting anelka through on goal.

It's a bit open to be honest, I think we would be better off sticking with our 4-3-3, just with Drogba up front and Cole and Malouda on the wings, with Lampard Essien and Mikel in midfield.

[NattyBlue 44]

Is it also time to accept that Essien is always going to get injured maybe?