Demba Ba debuts in style as Blues thrash Southampton

New signing Demba Ba was immediately put into the starting XI by Rafa Benitez as Chelsea began their FA cup defense with a convincing 5-1 victory over Southampton at St.Mary's. Two goals on debut from the Senegalese striker and  goals from Moses,Ivanovic and a Lampard penalty followed Southampton's opener.

While Demba Ba's first goal was a simple tap in from Mata's effort, the second goal showed the real striker's instinct in Ba as his delightfully ran in to a through ball from Hazard and passed it past the Southampton keeper. Lampard won a penalty late in the game and chose to take the penalty himself,denying what would have been a debut hat-trick for the Blues most recent signing. Based on his debut, we can very well say that Ba will get more opportunities for a lot more goals with the likes of Hazard,Mata,Moses,Marin and Oscar behind him. He just needs to keep applying the finishing touches to the passes and he may well go on to become one of Chelsea's best signings. It would be interesting to see how Rafa manages both Torres and Ba. Based on this game, Ba has surely earned his right to start the next game, but Rafa will need to start the Spaniard up front against the Swans in the mid week Capital One semi final as Ba is cup tied. The same problem will arise when the  Europa League starts as Ba played for Newcastle in the earlier stages of the tournament. So basically Ba will be available only for the PL games and the FA cup,but if Torres's inconsistency continues, Ba will surely surge ahead of him as the club's main striker.Playing both of them together will also be another option that Rafa might need to consider.With Torres finding the back of the net much more and Ba a proven goal scorer,the selection dilemma is obvious ,but a nice problem to have for the manager.

Demba Ba signs for the Blues

Demba Ba had been a target of several clubs and it was always going to be difficult for Newcastle to hold on to the Senegalese striker once his 7 million buy-out clause was made public. With Daniel Sturridge moving to Liverpool for 12 million ,it left Chelsea with only Torres upfront and the need for reinforcements was even greater.Thankfully, Chelsea moved in quickly and snapped Demba Ba who has signed a 3 and half year deal at the Blues.

Joint 2nd top scorer in the Premier league this season, Demba Ba has proved his credentials in front of the goal and in the premier league and that's why his signing would well prove to be a very good one. Torres' up and down form is slowly testing the patience of the supporters and Ba's arrival will be a welcome boost to the team. Also, Torres has started almost every game, and it is important that he gets some rest.A proven goal scorer with familiarity with the English game was the need of the hour and Demba Ba fits the bill.

Demba may very well get some playing time or even start in the FA cup fixture at St. Mary's against Southampton and with the Capital One fixture against Swansea also coming soon,the timing of the signing is almost perfect. The embarrassing defeat against QPR at home in the weekend again proved the need of a poacher in front of the goal and Ba'a arrival might well prove the difference between success and failure in the coming months.

Hopefully Ba gets playing time in the same way Torres got. With the attacking midfield that the Blues possess , Ba will have even more chances to score than in his Newcastle days, so expect to improve a lot on his current PL goals tally. Hopefully Rafa will be unbiased in his selection of the striker.

Can't wait for Demba in action for the Blues. 

Is Rafa turning it around?

Rafa Benitez's arrival at the Bridge wasn't really a popular ones for the fans and frosty receptions welcomed him on match days.It didn't help that Chelsea failed to win in the first three matches in charge and the failure to win the Club World Cup again didn't help his reputation. Benitez himself told the media that he needs wins to please the fans. But since arriving back from the Club World Cup, we have been seeing a revival for the Blues and especially in Torres. After placing 5 in the net against Leeds in the Capital One cup, Chelsea's best performance in the season came against Aston Villa, where the Blues romped home 8-0, with 7 different scorers. A 1-0 victory over Norwich followed, but then Norwich beat United and Arsenal this season and are no pushovers.With one game in hand, Chelsea are now 4 points behind City and 11 points behind leaders United, whose never say die attitude again brought them back from the jaws of defeat against Newcastle. 11 points is a big gap to overhaul, but its only reached the half way stage in the premier league. Even last season,City had a lead of 10 points at the half way stage, only to lose the lead going into the final weeks and then regaining it by the end.So Chelsea's pursuit of the premier league isn't exactly over though its going to be really tough. The current form looks good and if we can get a victory against Everton on Sunday, it will be a massive boost to the credentials. Everton hasn't been a happy hunting place for the Blues recently as the last 3 visits have presented defeats. With Everton also in good form, this could really be a match that could lift the Londoners if a win can be achieved.

Rafa's arrival was also meant to revive Torres and if stats are to be taken into consideration, Rafa has managed to get Torres scoring as he has scored 7 in his last 6 outings.Only van Persei with 16 goals in all competitions has more goals than Torres if you consider the players from the Premier League. Even now, its early to say Torres is back as he needs to prove this against better sides and Everton will be an opportunity for this.

Rafa's master stroke so far has been the deployment of David Luiz in the midfield role.He first deployed the Brazilian in the position in the Club World Cup and Luiz has thrived in the role, whether it is winning tackles or in passing the ball quickly to the attacking trio and Torres. Luiz in the pivot role is something the fans had been crying out for long and Rafa's decision could have actually found the best position for the Brazilian, whose is without question a wonderful talent.

Rafa has also managed to use the squad better as the likes of Marin and Piazon have finally made their debuts for Chelsea.Even academy player Nathan Ake played the final few minutes against Norwich.The first team hasn't really changed much from the earlier regime, only that more players are being used.

So Rafa's Chelsea is winning,Torres is scoring and deployment of Luiz in the DM position was a master stroke.Its still early to say that Rafa has turned it around and will be a good bet to take the position on a permanent basis, but the signs are looking good. The lack of depth in the striker's role is something that needs to be sorted out in the January transfer window. Falcao may not arrive after all, but the likes of Andre Schrulle, Negredo and Demba Ba are some of the names that have been rumored as potential targets by the Blues. Personally, I would prefer Demba Ba, as the Senegalese has a proven record in the premier league and will be available if Chelsea trigger his release clause of 7.5 million,not exactly an amount that Roman would even think twice over. With Sturridge seemingly on his way to Liverpool, its important that Chelsea add a proven goal scorer in January.Who knows, if United or City drop points and Chelsea continue its revival, the premier league might not be an impossible objective and with the Capital One Cup,FA and the Europa League, the season could yet prove to be a great one, like last season.

Chelsea 3 Monterrey 1 - Blues through to Club World Cup finals

Chelsea are through to the finals of the Club World Cup after they overcame North & Central American champions Monterrey in the semi finals. Goals from Mata and Torres followed by an own goal gave the Blues a 3-0 lead before the Mexicans pulled one back in injury time.
Chelsea will meet Brazilian side Corinthians in the finals on Sunday.

Torres' revival under Rafa Benitez continues as the Spaniard has now scored 5 goals in his last three matches, without doubt his best spell at the club so far. The goals have however come against easy opposition like Nordjaelland,Sutherland and now Monterrey. The confidence is surely building up, but unless he performs against better opposition, it wouldn't be possible to say that 'he is back'.

Rafa Benitez also experimented with David Luiz as the defensive midfielder alongside Mikel. With Romeu injured and Mikel suspended for 2 more matches in the league, the options in the center of the midfield are very limited with only Ramires and Lampard available to play in the position.With Lampard just coming back from injury, we could see Luiz or Oscar playing in the role alongside Ramires in the next couple of weeks. With Ramires also suspended for the game against Leeds, Lampard remains the only CM available for us against Leeds.so definitely Luiz or Oscar will fill the other spot.It was anyway a good move by Rafa to experiment Luiz in the role,especially with the shortage of options at present.

Monterrey wasn't really expected to give a tough fight to the Blues, but the Brazilian team Corinthians will be no push overs and on Sunday, we could visit a much tougher game.

Blues back to winning ways in the League

Yesterday saw the first premier league win for Rafa Benitez as Chelsea boss. After tasting success against FC Nordjaelland in the Champions League, the first premier league win came after Rafa started with 2 draws and a loss. The exit from the Champions league is a huge disappointment and Chelsea now has become the first champions to not make it into the knock out stage. The draw at home against Juventus, in the first match of the campaign certainly hurt us.

The EPL match against Sunderland saw us returning back to winning games and if Rafa has been brought into to find the lost goal scoring boots of Fernando Torres, it certainly seems to be working. 2 goals against Norjaelland was followed by 2 goals against Sunderland, of which one was a penalty. That Torres wanted to take the penalty shows that the confidence is certainly returning. 4 goals in 2 games is without doubt the best performance from Torres till date in the Blue shirt, but I wouldn't go on and say that he is back. FC Nordjaelland and Sunderland are not really tough opposition and unless Torres finds the back of the net regularly in big matches, the 50 million price tag will still seem like money poorly spent.

Now lets say Torres keeps on scoring during the Rafa Benitez regime. Where does that leave Roman Abramovich in the pursuit of Pep Guardiola? While Benitez might be able to lift the side back to winning ways, Chelsea are never going to play the tika-taka style with Benitez at the helm. Even yesterday, Chelsea were comfortably leading 3-0 when Bertrand came in for Moses. Now that was a very negative move. With the side playing well, it would have been better to go for more goals rather than resorting to the negative ploy of playing a defensive minded Bertrand. Not that it made a difference though as Bertrand played yet another game which showed that he is no where near Cole. If reports are to be believed, Cole will be allowed to go in January or at the end of the season and I certainly don't think that Bertrand is an able replacement. Yes he is a good enough left back,but certainly not in the category of a Cole or Baines.Trying out Patrick van Aanholt wouldn't be a bad option either. The problem with Di Matteo was that he didn't rotate the squad enough and at the end of his regime, Chelsea had used only 19 players in the EPL, the lowest in the league. Rafa Benitez was saying about the importance of rotation, and using Bertrand in place of Moses might have been a case of player rotation, but again why not play Marin? Ok this is not my first post saying that Chelsea haven't used Marin properly, but I certainly feel that he hasn't done much wrong in the warm up matches or in the few minutes he has got on the pitch. Eden Hazard has been playing in almost all the matches and it is high time that he gets a rest. The Belgian will face a burnout if started in every match, and with Marin's natural position being left back, starting Marin in place of Hazard wouldn't be a bad idea. All the substitution proved was that Rafa is not the way forward for Chelsea if Roman wants us to play the Barcelona way. If Dailymail is to be believed, Guardiola may not even join Chelsea with Jurgen Klopp being lined up as an alternative.

Soon after the match, the Blues traveled to Japan for the Club World Cup, where the Blues will play on the 13th in the semi finals and on 16th in the finals if they qualify. 

Lukaku should be back at Chelsea in January

West Brom currently sit above Chelsea in the EPL table with an impressive forward line to choose from.While first choice striker Shane Long has been brilliant, Romelu Lukaku has proved that he is a more than able to succeed in the premier league with 4 goals and an assist. The stats are really impressive considering that the young Belgian has started from the bench most of the times. While his parent club Chelsea are struggling with their strikers Torres and Sturridge have disappointed. The decision to loan out Lukaku is proving to be an unwise one already. Abramovich might want Torres to succeed, but his performances in front of the goal is really testing the patience of supporters who have always stood by him. While there is a slim chance that Rafa might be able to get back some of the form in Torres, there is every chance that he will not be as lethal as in his Liverpool days. Also, with Sturridge wanting out in January, the clause to get Lukaku back in January should be used by the Blues. The other option is to bring Falcao to Chelsea, but that would again mean spending a load of money. But when we have a youngster doing so well for another club in the premier league, why bring Falcao in? Even if Falcao is in, that would mean more or less that Torres will move in the opposite direction, leaving us again with a single striker. Lukaku has gained valuable experience playing for the Baggies and has proved his worth. Even with a main striker,Torres or Falcao in the squad, there has to be someone who can make an impact from the bench, like Hernandez does for Man United or super sub Dzeko does it for Man City. It all depends on how the manager succeeds in giving playing time to the fringe players,something that RDM didn't do very well. Chelsea have used only 19 players in the EPL till date, which is the lowest in the league. If Man United and City who both have 4 strikers to choose from can rotate their players, why can't Chelsea do the same thing. It brings out the best in the players starting,since they won't be taking their places for granted. Also, it would give some rest to the players. Torres began impressively this season, but has started in almost every game, which would have obviously tired the Spaniard. Isn't that enough reasons to suggest that Lukaku should be back at Chelsea in January?

Lukaku's stats so far at West Brom

Starts : 3*
Substitute appearances : 8*
Goals: 4
Assists : 1

* Lukaku wasn't eligible to play against Chelsea. 11 appearances off a possible 12 for the Baggies

** 3 of his 4 goals have come in winning causes
** Torres has the same number of goals and he has started in all matches

Frosty reception for Rafa as Chelsea and Manchester City play out a draw

The Rafa Benitez era at the Bridge began with the new manager being booed by large sections of the home crowd and support pouring in for Robbie Di Matteo. Rafa has been an unpopular figure for the Stamford Bridge faithful ever since his Liverpool days and for almost the first half, the crowd never got behind the team.All the action was restricted to the crowd as on the pitch,Chelsea and Manchester City were far from impressive as a tame draw was played out. There weren't any clear cut chances for both teams and if Rafa is to win over the fans,he will need the team to win a few matches convincingly. This one did little good to enhance his reputation with the crowd.

Torres was back in the side with the trio of Hazard,Mata and Oscar behind him. Ivanovic was preferred over Cahill at center back with Luiz along side him.The same 4-2-3-1 system was employed but the creative spark which has gone missing for the past few games was again missing as no clear cut chances were created. The result leaves Chelsea in 4th position behind West Brom and City in 2nd position.

Manager Watch:

It would have been really tough for Rafa to hear the chants of 'Rafa Out' in his very first game in charge, but it wasn't unexpected. When you replace a fan favorite with someone who the fans don't want at all, it would have been a surprise if a good reception was given to Rafa. No changes to the system nor the personnel were made by the new manager as the same 4-2-3-1 formation was employed.But the free flowing football was missing,meaning that more emphasis was laid on the defensive side of the game.But with the fans against him, the only way to turn around things is to get wins and I felt that enough wasn't done to win the game.It was City who looked like scoring for most parts of the game.

Substitutions: Benitez made two substitutions in the game. Moses coming in for Hazard and then Romeu for Mikel. While the first one made sense to put fresh legs on the pitch,the second substitution just confirmed the fact that Benitez was happy with a point. It simply didn't make sense for me that Romeu came in for Mikel. If Chelsea were looking to win the game, then another attacker should have been on the pitch. Again the unlucky Marin was to miss out. A 4-1-4-1 formation would have given more of an opportunity to score,with Marin,Oscar,Mata and Moses behind Torres, or even push one of the mid fielders to partner Torres upfront with a 4-1-3-2 formation. Di Matteo was also a bit reluctant to change the formations and watching the first game with Benitez in charge, I fear the same is going to be repeated.

Not a good outing for the new manager in terms of the reception and the substitutions made but a positive from the match would be the clean sheet especially against City who has arguably the best forward line in the premier league.