Do we really need Radamel Falcao?

The sport sites are buzzing with news that Atletico Madrid striker, Radamel Falcao will be signed up by Chelsea in the January transfer window. While the Colombian is a real potent force in front of the goal, something that Chelsea saw in the Super Cup loss,one wonders whether we really need Falcao at the club. There is no doubt that Falcao is a really good striker but the question is whether he will be beneficial to us?

Falcao - Do we need him?

Chelsea are playing exciting football while scoring a lot of goals in the process. With Torres slowly but surely thriving in the main striker's role, the arrival of Falcao will spoil the current set up. With RDM preferring the 4-2-3-1 formation, there is simply no place for two strikers on the pitch. With the likes of Mata,Hazard,Oscar,Marin and Moses behind the lone striker, changing the formation to one that fits in 2 strikers will again spoil the balance. Can we go for a 4-2-2? Well its possible, only that it will mean that the we might not get the best out of our midfield trio. Another possibility is to have just one defensive midfielder, with the attacking midfield trio behind Torres and Falcao, but this will mean our defense will get exposed more often than not and with the likes of Hazard and co needing to track back and support the defense every now and then. This will again limit their threat going forward. So it does look like the only formation we can use to get the best out of our attacking midfielders is the 4-2-3-1 formation.Which again means that only one of either Torres or Falcao can play and after spending 50 million on Torres and finally getting back the value from him, it wouldn't be a wise decision.

Torres isn't the only reason I think that we shouldn't sign Falcao. What happens of our young strikers? The likes of Islam Feruz,Piazon and Lukaku needs game time and if Falcao arrives, it will send them again down the pecking order. Sturridge is presumably on the way out in January and this will leave Torres as the lone striker in the team. The easy decision for the Chelsea hierarchy would be to sign another striker like Falcao. But the wiser decision would be to bring Lukaku back from his loan spell at West Brom. While the Belgian impressed at West Brom,already scoring 2 goals, he isn't getting enough playing time there and it would be better for him to return to Chelsea and with only Torres as the striker, he will surely get his chances at his parent club. The Belgian has the pace and power to easily fit into the current setup and should Torres get injured, we will have an adequate replacement in Lukaku. 

Lukaku has impressed at West Brom

The academy graduates Islam Feruz and Lucas Piazon are two exciting prospects for Chelsea and if the Barcelona style is what Chelsea wishes for, giving the youngsters a chance is also really important.Lukaku,Feruz and Piazon may well want to leave Chelsea if another striker is signed.

All this brings me into one conclusion. We don't really need to sign Falcao. He is brilliant and there may be times when we would feel that he should have been signed but for a team that is not at all struggling in front of the goal at present and with exciting young talents at their disposal, the wise decision would be a "NO".

Do should your opinions by commenting on the article.

Tottenham vs Chelsea Preview

Competition : Barclays Premier League
Opponent : Tottenham
Venue : White Hart Lane, London
Form(Last 5 matches.Latest first)
Chelsea: WWWWW
Tottenham:WDWWW



After the international break is over, a visit to White Hart Lane marks the beginning of a tough group of matches for Chelsea. Following Tottenham is an away game against Shakthar Donetsk, 2 home games against Man United followed by Swansea away,Shakthar at home and then Liverpool at home. It continues to a trip to West Brom followed by an away game against Juventus followed by a visit from Manchester City to the Bridge. All these between the 20th of this month till the 24th of November. There is no doubt that this period of the season will almost prove the credentials of Chelsea to the EPL and Champions league crowns yet again and marks the most important phase of the season. And that's why a win in the game against a high flying Tottenham is so important.

Under former Chelsea boss Andre Vilas Boas, Tottenham are also hit a purple patch and have hit form with the likes of Mousa Dembele , Defoe and Gareth Bale shining. The away win against Man United ( a first in the EPL era for Spurs) should surely be seen as a great achievement and Tottenham at home should pose the greatest threat to our unbeaten start to the premier league campaign. I still think that Andre Vilas Boas wasn't given much time at Chelsea and his theories struggled with the ageing squad at his disposal. The change of fortunes was led by a man Vilas Boas chose as his assistant and with the huge spending in the summer, Chelsea are without doubt a very different team than the one Vilas Boas had to manage. With Tottenham also playing exciting football, the tactics of Vilas Boas and Di Matteo will have a great influence on the game as the style of the players involved are going to be almost the same. There is no doubt that to get a positive result, Chelsea should take the attack to the opposition like the game against Arsenal and controlling the central midfield area will be really important. Dembele has proved to be a wonderful signing for Spurs and getting past him will be a real challenge for our attacking midfield trio.

The managers will be hoping that none of the players pick up any injuries in the internationals and will hope to pick the XI from a fully fit squad. With the importance of the match very evident, RDM will not tinker with the side's formation.

Cech

         Luiz                      Cahill

Ivanovic                                                                  Cole

Ramires                Mikel

Mata                            Oscar                     Hazard

     Torres

With Terry probably being suspended for the game, Luiz and Cahill will start at the center back positions with Ivanovic and Cole at the right and left sides respectively. Stopping the runs of the pacy Gareth Bale will be off top most priority and for Chelsea to have a good game, it has to be a good performance from Ivanovic. Ramires should start at the right of the central midfield pairing since he has the energy to stop any runs from Bale. The other flank also has the influential Aaron Lennon for Spurs and Cole will have to be guarded against the runs from his England colleague.

Thankfully we have the pace to give the Spurs defenders a headache with the attacking trio of Oscar,Mata and Hazard along with Ramires. With Mata in supreme form at the moment and Oscar and Hazard also establishing themselves very quickly in the league, the trio behind Torres will give a tough time for the Spurs defenders. It becomes really critical that the chances are put away and hence Torres has to have a good day on the pitch. This should be a really exciting game to watch- end to end stuff with a small mistake or two proving to be the difference at the end.I am going for an exciting 2-2 draw.

Men to watch out for :

Dembele : The former Fulham man has been hugely impressive for Tottenham in the central midfield role alongside Sandro

Bale: The influential Welsh will again be a man to watch and Ivanovic has to be at his best.

Ramires : The Brazilian has the energy to stop the likes of Bale and his passes and tackles in the central midfield area will control Chelsea's momentum.

Mata : The Spaniard has been Chelsea's most inventive players off late and his rapport with Oscar and Hazard has developed well within a short span of time. The holy trinity should give the Spurs defenders plenty to think about.

Chelsea vs Norwich City - Vintage Performance

It was vintage Chelsea at the Bridge today as they crushed a hapless Norwich side 4-1 and the scoreline would have been much more some really good chances weren't missed and it the penalties were awarded. 2 clear penalties were not given, both involving Eden Hazard. That is now 3 clear penalties that referees have not given when Hazard was involved, perhaps something of a concern especially with the big matches coming.

This was perhaps the first match where the holy trinity of Hazard, Mata and Oscar really gelled together and it made life really difficult for the struggling Norwich side. Even though they opened the scoring with Holt volleying home, Chelsea came back strongly and were 3-1 up by half time with Torres,Lampard and Hazard scoring. The second half also saw a great deal of attacking flair from Chelsea but it needed our goal scoring defender Ivanovic to add to the tally.

RDM will be really pleased with the result and especially the performance. It just proves once again that Chelsea can play with flair and this was the best example of it. Torres will be a tad disappointed that he couldn't score more than one as he had the chances. Mata is in red hot form now, and with Oscar and Hazard also combining well with the Spaniard, things are looking good for the blues. The weeks after the international break will see us facing some difficult games against Tottenham(away), Shakthar(away) and Manchester United (twice home-League and League cup), but with the team gelling as a unit, Chelsea go into these matches with real confidence.

Chelsea    4    Norwich  1

                            Holt 10'

Torres  13'

Lampard 20'

Hazard  30'

Ivanovic 75

 

Chelsea vs Norwich City Preview

Competition : Premier League
Venue : Stamford Bridge
Opponent : Norwich City
Form(Last Five Matches.Latest First)
Chelsea : WWWWD
Norwich City :LWLDD


Chelsea continue their EPL campaign on Saturday when Norwich City visits us at Stamford Bridge and even though we are at the top of the table after 6 games, this is a must win game. With tough away games to Tottenham and then Shaktar Donetsk(in the Champions League) coming after the international break, followed by 2 back to back home games against Manchester United, this is a game we cannot afford any thing less than 3 points.

Things are looking good for Chelsea in a campaign so far both in the Champions League and the EPL and with Norwich struggling in the league, RDM and his boys will expect to romp home in the fixture. But you can never take any game easily as we saw from the Champions League encounter against FC Norjaelland, who nearly punished us for the lackluster performance. With so many options available in the midfield, RDM is doing well to rotate the players around, but still there are some who haven't got the opportunity. Marin and Azpilicueta badly needs game time and I think RDM should try them in the Norwich game. Here is my pick for the game

Cech

Terry                       Luiz

Azpilicueta                                                              Cole

Ramires                     Mikel

Hazard                                  Mata                                    Marin

Torres

Marin is fit again but has found it tough even to get onto the bench but having impressed with his pace and trickery in the pre season, he is due his chance and it is worth trying him. Hazard hasn't added to his tally of assists after the initial four but has always looked lively and dangerous. Mata has been our best player for the past few matches with him contributing goals and providing assists. He is in a rich vein of form and it would be foolish not to take advantage of it. With Sturridge still out with injury, Torres will again start. He missed a couple of good chances against FC Nordjaelland and will hope to add to his tally against a defense that leaked 5 against Liverpool. Ramires has played in the central midfield position in the last 2 matches and has impressed. So it would be better to keep him in the XI again. Ivanovic is another player who will need some rest and Azpilicueta also need some game time in the league. Might come on as a substitute if Chelsea is leading by a 2 goal margin but certainly hope the young Spaniard gets an importunity. 

Norwich will be hell bent on improving from last week's horror show against Liverpool but Chelsea should prevail in this game by at least a 2 goal margin. 

Chelsea prevail 4-0 but an unconvincing performance

The 4-0 scoreline would normally mean a match that we dominated but the match was far more closer than the final score line suggested. A flurry of late goals meant that the scoreline had a gloss to it but the performance of the team in the match against Champions league newbies FC Nordsjaelland was far from convincing.

RDM started a really attack minded team against the Danish champions with Lampard and Ramires in central midfield and Oscar,Moses and Mata behind Torres. That meant that there were as many as 6 goal scoring midfielders in the Chelsea ranks. Terry was rested which meant that Cahill and Luiz started at the center back positions with Cole and Ivanovic on either flanks. The first half saw the Danish champions giving the European champions a real fight and it was really an even match until Mata scored following build up play from Torres and Lampard.Until the 79th minute, the Danes threatened many times at the Chelsea goal with Cech called into action more than a couple of times. They even hit the post and were the dominant team in many parts of the games. At 79th minute the flurry of goals started with David Luiz converting a lethal free kick followed up on the 82nd minute by Mata's second. Ramires' tap in from Oscar's pass on the 88th minute gave the scoreline a gloss but it wasn't a fair reflection of the actual contest.

The Danes can feel proud of having given a really good fight to the European champions. RDM and Chelsea would know that they will need to improve, especially with tough encounters coming up against the likes of Tottenham,Man United and Shaktar. With Shaktar drawing against Juventus in the other Group E encounter, Chelsea are top of the pile in the standings but they will know that they really didn't perform that well. 

How are Chelsea's on-loan youngsters faring - Part2

I had accessed how some of our on-loan youngsters are faring in Part 1 of this article, namely in the Dutch Eredivisie. Here is the second part of the article where we can take a look at some more on-loan players.

Milan Lalkovic

Club: Vitória Guimarães (Portuguese Liga)
Playing Position : Striker
Nationality : Slovakia
Age : 19
Apperances : 5 (All as substitutes)

Milan Lalkovic joined Chelsea in 2006 after a successful trial period at the tender age of 14 and has been part of the FA Youth cup winning team of 2009-10.Before being part of the Vitória Guimarães team this year, he has had loan spells at Doncaster Rovers and ADO Den Haag. The Slovak is a pacy and tricky striker who can also play wide as a winger or as an attacking midfielder. Seeing the huge influx of creative talent at Chelsea now, it does seem that Lalkovic will have better chances as a striker in the Chelsea set up. Lalkovic made his Portuguese league debut in the first match of the season against Portuguese giants Sporting in a 0-0 draw as a 87th minute substitute. In the second match against Porto, he was given more time to impress as he came on as a 63rd minute substitute but Vitória Guimarães went down 4-0 to a very impressive Porto side.After 5 rounds of the Portuguese league, Lalkovic has been a used substitute in all 5 matches and has been getting some much needed minutes on the pitch. Vitória Guimarães are struggling at 14th in the league, but Lalkovic is really getting some good minutes on the pitch. Lalkovic has company at Vitória Guimarães with Croatian goalkeeper Matej Delac also joining the Portuguese side on loan on a year long deal from Chelsea.Delac is yet to make a league appearance for his new club.

Thorgan Hazard
Club : SV Zulte Waregem (Belgium)
Nationality : Belgium
Playing Position : Attacking Midfielder
Age:19
Apperances : 3

The younger Hazard, Thorgan joined his brother Eden at Chelsea at the start of the season from French second division side FC Lens. His brother values him as a more technically gifted palyer than himself and if Thorgan can rise up like Eden did, we could soon have the Hazards lining up for Chelsea in the very near future. He was loaned out to SV Zulte Waregem just before the end of the transfer deadline. He made his debut for SV Zulte Waregem starting in a 1-0 victory and has started in all 3 games since his debut,completing all 90 minutes in all of them. The Belgian has certainly broken into the first team and we should be seeing some impressive performances from the younger Hazard and may very soon join his brother at Chelsea.


Kevin De Bruyne
Club : Werder Bremen (Germany)
Playing Position: Left Winger
Nationality: Belgium
Age :21

The Belgian winger's signing from Racing Genk in January 2012 started the Chelsea revolution of signing attack minded pacy wingers and attacking midfielders. Marin,Hazard,Oscar and Moses followed which meant that the pacy and skillful Belgian had to play else where to have regular football. De Bruyne was loaned out to Werder Bremen at the start of the season and he has already alerted his parent club of the enormous potential that he is. At Bremen, De Bruyne has also been employed as a false 9. He has started in every of Bremen's matches so far and has scored 2 goals and provided an assist in 6 matches.
Goals : 2 Assist :1

Jeffery Bruma
Club : Hamburg (Germany)
Playing Position : Center Back
Age:20
Nationality : Netherlands

The Dutch center back is in his second season at Hamburg having extended the loan deal that   began at the start of the 2011/12 season and has been a regular in the team ever since. Bruma kept his place in the starting XI at the start of the season but is currently injured and missed the last 3 matches.

How are Chelsea's on-loan youngsters faring- Part1

There are a number of our young prospects who are plying their trade away from Chelsea. We know about Lukaku and McEachran's loans to West Brom and Middlesborough but there a lot more little known players who are really doing well. Here is a look at our on-loan players who play in the Dutch Eredivisie in Part 1 of this article.

Facts and Figures as on October 2,2012

Kenneth Omeruo:

Club - ADO Den Haag

Nationality - Nigeria

Playing Position: Center Back

Age : 18

Appearances  - 7 (Started in all 7)

Kenneth Omeruo may not be well known like other other on-loan players but his loan spell at Dutch side ADO Den Haag is proving to be a really good one. The Nigerian was signed from Belgian side Standard Liege in 2012 and has was loaned out to ADO Den Haag immediately on an 18 month deal that will keep him at the club till the end of the 2012-13 season.

Omeruo started the first match in the new season at the center back position for ADO against Vitesse ,who has as many as 3 Chelsea players in their ranks - Kakuta, Van Aanholt and Tomas Kalas. The 18 year old had sealed his place in the starting line up for ADO Den Haag and has started in all 7 of the league matches this season. Omeruo's ADO Den Haag currently lie 7th in the table.

Tomas Kalas

Club - Vitesse

Nationality - Czech Republic

Playing Position: Center Back/ Right Back

Age : 19

Appearances  - 7 (Started in all 7)

Tomas Kalas has become an integral part of the Vitesse XI and has started in all 7 games so far this season. Kalas is in his second season at the club having joined them in August 2011. The loan was extended to the end of this season. Kalas made 29 appearances last season while cementing his place in the Vitesse XI. This season also Kalas' position in the team is not threatened and also scored against FC Groningen in a 3-0 away victory. Tomas Kalas is definitely proving to be one for the future and he has been awarded with a Chelsea contract till 2017. This lad will soon be competing for a spot in the Chelsea XI.

Patrick Van Aanholt

Club - Vitesse

Nationality - Netherlands

Playing Position: Left Back

Age : 22

Appearances  - 6 (Started in 6)

Van Aanholt made his Chelsea debut in 2009 as a substitute against Portsmouth and again made a substitute appearance against Aston Villa. After a string of loan spells at Coventry,Newcastle, Leister and Wigan, Van Aanholt returned to his homeland with Vitesse in January 2012. The loan deal was extended to the end of this season and Van Aanholt has made good progress in the season so far with 6 starts. Like Kalas, Van Aanholt is also cementing his place in the Vitesse starting line up and is gaining some much needed experience. Based on his performances, Ryan Bertrand may well have really good competition from van Aanholt to the left back position when Ashley Cole leaves. Vitesse currenly lie 2nd in the table.

Amin Affane

Club - Roda JC

Nationality - Sweden

Playing Position: Left Winger/ Central midfielder

Age : 18

Appearances  - 4  

Amin Affane is another player who is making good progress at Roda JC. The Swedish attacker signed a loan deal on August 31st and since has played in all 4 of Roda JC's matches. He came on as a substitute in his first match against Willem II and impressed with an assist and a Man of the Match award. Amin started the next two matches and scored his first goal for the club coming on as a substitute.

Goals - 1 

Kakuta also joined van Aanholt and Kalas at Vitesse at the end of the transfer window and is yet to make an appearance. More on him and the others as the season progresses. Watch this space.