Carlo talks tactics

[Albertinho 0]

Carlo Ancelotti has been discussing the team's cavalier style of football, and how it compares to sides he has coached in the past.

The goal-mad season of 2009/10 has continued into 2010/11 with 21 strikes already registered in just five games, and you have to go back to Boxing Day since we last failed to score in a domestic game.

For Ancelotti, this was not always the case, despite playing in and coaching memorable Milan sides.

Regarding his playing career, which saw him lift consecutive European Cups with the San Siro club, he said: 'That team didn't score a lot of goals because it was a team with a precise identity defensively, a lot of offside and a lot of pressure, but we didn't score a lot.'

Reminded they had once scored eight in one game, he claimed it may well have been down to his admission from the team at half-time.

'I remember we scored eight at Foggia, I remember very well because I played just the first half, and we were losing 2-1! Capello took me out and we won 8-2!' he laughed.

'The Italian team doesn't want to concede goals, it is a different mentality. When you score here you have more space to attack and counter-attack, the small team if they are losing want to come back in the match, so we can use more counter-attack, not because here there are weaknesses compared to Italy.

'The team in the bottom of the table here will play against a team at the bottom in Italy, and the English team win.'

Since his arrival in England just over a year ago, he has turned the Blues into the great entertainers, and for once the neutrals are purring over our play.

'I changed the kind of play; we use more possession and attacking play,' he explained. 'In the past Chelsea played in a different way. I think the players enjoy this kind of football, they are all involved and for this reason can show their ability. It is the key.

'All the players, not just the strikers, can score. We have a lot of talent and for this reason we can score a lot of goals.'

After a dalliance with 4-4-2 last season, the Italian seems to have settled on 4-3-3 as his system of choice, but he had no pre-conceived ideas upon his appointment.

'I was not sure, I wanted to look at the skills of my players and put in the right shape for these players,' Ancelotti said. 'Before when I started to train I had a precise identity to put in my teams and didn't look to the characteristics of my players.

'I wanted to play 4-4-2 always for the first two years. At Juventus I changed, I had Zidane and didn't want to put him on the right or the left, he wanted to stay in the middle of the pitch and for this reason I changed my idea.

'From that time I wanted to look at my players and pick the right shape for them. There is not a winning shape, you can play 4-4-2, 4-3-1-2, there is not a winning one.'

Ancelotti expects his long-term injured right-back Jose Bosingwa to play in a training ground reserve match against Fulham next Wednesday.

FROM: www.chelseafc.com

[Kostas 1,468]

I was concerned about him being too stubborn and trying to force his trademark diamond on us again this summer.I'm happy that he proved me wrong and has shown how open-minded he is.

He's not the tactician Mourinho was but until now he has managed to get the best out of some of our players and got us playing some exciting football.All in all he has exceeded most expectations.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Ancelotti will play to the strengths of the players he has - in all fairness, the squad we have and the type of players we have should have worked well in a 4-1-2-1-2. However I think Carlo's realised you don't need to fix what isn't broken and that a 4-3-3 works well with our players as we used it under Mourinho, Grant, Scolari AND Hiddink.