VS
New Castle United vs. Chelsea - St. James Park on 2nd November
2013 @ 6:15 PM IST
(ESPN & ESPN HD for India)
It was before my all-important marriage day, when I had last
missed an EPL Chelsea Match. A match which Chelsea lost 3-2 . This very match was
played at St. James Park. All the hard work and momentum which Chelsea
gained, during Benitez era, was lost with this match. Exactly after 9 months, same place, same team & this is precisely what Chelsea want to to focus- Win & Maintain
Momentum.
Lot of talks about Chelsea winning the EPL, has begun to surface after our win against Manchester City. And many of us Chelsea fans have
also begun to think so. But ,the likes of New Castle can always surprise us.
But the best thing we have is Jose Mourinho. I
think he would help the players guard against this complacency and add to the
fact that he has never won @ St. James Park, one can believe that, this would
be one hard billing for New Castle United.
JOSE'S RECORD AT ST JAMES' PARK: 0.7pts/game, 0.3gls/game, Win ratio: 0
per cent(Source : Daily Mail)
Let’s take a stock of how things are stacking up for Chelsea, Post
Manchester City match. Would also give my perspective about the
players as well.
Striker-
Beast Torres is
back!!!! He has shown us a full picture of what he is capable of and all the
doubts regarding his ability has been well & truly put to rest. Now football pundits
all over the world, would ideally, want to report on his consistency. I think
words from the coach that he is one of the most hardworking guys in the team
can ensure that he finds consistency and goals more often. The difference, I find in current Torres is that he getting physically better , tries to force through the defenders, cuts them and continues his runs rather
than stopping and falling down, a frequent scene last year. Expect him to
further up his ante in the coming games.
Chances of Jose giving a game to BA in the starting lineup- Not quite
sure. Probably as a SUB against his older club
Attacking Midfielders-
1) I am super impressed with Willian on his work rate. He is
truly a Jose Type player working hard equally in both Defense and Attack. Many
a times I saw him protecting the ball near the D in the match against Arsenal.
I think Willian is kind of becoming Ramirez V2 in his work rate. End 2 End
worker.
2) I was not particularly impressed with Oscar’s performance
against, Man city last Sunday. Probably because Fernandinho overshadowed him
and because of the physical prowess of the Man city CDM, he was not able to
make his charismatic moves. Still played better than Hazard. I think being a
Favorite of Jose, he would start the match.
3) Probably because I am a huge fan of Mata, I would want
him to start each & every match. Because whenever he is in, Chelsea seems to play a very
creative game. Technically when the opposition plays attacking
football he seems to be at his very best. (Even Oscar is not that fun to watch).
He has also showed Jose in the last match why he cannot be discarded at
all.
(In case if mata doesn’t play, Schurrle might- I am just learning
Schurrle. He has the pace, but I cannot find the creativity which would
complete him as a player. He works well defensively too).
Defensive Midfield
Ramirez- For him, I can give
endless writing on his work ethic. Simply Superb and he has actually flourished
under Mourinho. One aspect which I felt he can work better is his
tackling. Probably he can take few cues from the next player in the list-
John Obi Mikel- If this pair comes
together; expect our midfield to be at its best in terms of stability. Mikel
with his great defensive abilities gives that touch assurance to our mid field
to combat counter attacking teams and against New Castle, I think he would
definitely play. Need to be bit creative though. Take it from Ramirez- Classic example of mutual learning :-)
Defense
Ashley Cole- Reliable as ever,
however in this season I felt he has lacked pace. Because last season, I have
seen him making endless end to end runs along with Hazard, and this time probably since
the tactics have changed he might have adjusted as well.
Jerry & Luiz- Expecting Terry and
Luiz to start again. Because of his consistent performances, people want JT to
play for England side (how quickly things can change). However I don’t see this happening and would be more than happy Captaining the Royal Blues. With
Luiz, I was always interested in knowing how Jose responded, after his blunder
with Cardiff. Gary Cahill has played Back to back games, and i expect Luiz to start.
Ivanovich/ Dave- However I also have
a feeling Jose would also test a formation with, Ivanovich in place of Luiz and
Cesar Azpilicueta operating at the right back. Would be interested to see how
this pays off. (What you think guys)
New Castle United
As far as New Castle is concerned, I don’t have much knowledge on their
modus operandi. However from the matches where I have seen , 2 standout players are
1)Yohan cabaye
2) Loic Remy
These guys have got awesome potential. However the lack of support from
the other players, contribute to their incompleteness and that's why this team is inconsistent.
My Prediction: Chelsea Win 3-1 or
4-2 (I prefer a 4-2 win because I would always want Chelsea to score more and
more goals. Not conceding thought :))
.
Cheers guys!!!! Have a good Footballing Weekend…Hoping to see Chelsea at
the top this weekend…
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