Chelsea vs Stoke City Match Analysis

Chelsea Starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole; Ramires, Mikel; Mata, Oscar, Hazard; Torres

Formation: 4-2-3-1

First Half:

Formation is one people have been looking forward to with Ramires back central and Oscar in that starting midfield 3 with Hazard and Mata

10 Min

20 min

Chelsea playing with 67% possession and 6 shots (to Stoke's 3)

30 min

Possession has proven to still not be a problem (65%)

Ramires doing a fine job at holding midfielder (74% passing accuracy, 3 tackles)

Luiz being adventurous and making his way to the other penalty box which shows the dominance in possession right now

40 min

Final ball still a problem

Looks like all the defenders want a piece of the attacking action

HALF TIME: CFC 0-0 Stoke

• People on Twitter likening Chelsea to Arsenal
• 10 shots to Stoke's 5
• 65% possession
• Fox Halftime Report says faster passing in the final third and Chelsea have it

Second Half:

50 min: Oscar Yellow card; diving

Cahill and Luiz outside Stoke's box

60 min

62 Min: Moses IN Hazard OUT

Owen on for Stoke as Stoke aim to increase the attack

Great connections between Moses, Torres Mata

Moses has opened up the game as predicted

70 Min: Oscar with 90% passing and 4 shots is having a very active match

80 Min

81 Min: Lampard ON Mikel OFF

85 Min: GOAL Ashley Cole; Lifted over keeper off a Mata flick

CFC 1-0 Stoke

88 Min: Terry ON Mata OFF

93 Min: Luiz yellow card

FULL TIME: CFC 1-0 Stoke

• Possession: CFC 60% Stoke 40%
• Shots: CFC 16 Stoke 10

Positives

• Oscar starts and keeps much of his same form from the Juventus match even if he didn't score
• Moses showed abilities again and adds to width
• Clean sheet

Negatives

• Would like more goals from Torres or people to make runs past him for goals

MOTM: Ashley Cole

• 94% passing accuracy
• 1 goal
• 3 shots
• 2 tackles
• Late game saving goal put Cole at MOTM today

Chelsea vs Newcastle Match Analysis

Chelsea Starting XI: Cech (c); Ivan, Cahill, D Luiz, Cole; Mik, Meir; Mata, Hazard, Bert; Torres.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

First Half:

Commentator “thing about Chelsea is they only put one person in the box when Lampd's not playing”

Good play between Bertrand and Mata

Bertrand trying the early ball but Torres outnumbered

Chelsea is dominating possession

Newcastle dangerous in the counter attack but haven't had the chance

10 Min

Cahill-Luiz pair looks solid so far

Hazard has been working his usual magic centrally, Mata alright on the wing

18 min: Torres with lay-off to Bertrand nearly a goal

20 min

Player tracking

21 min: Torres wins a PK

22 min: GOAL Hazard; scores

CFC 1-0 Newcastle

Hazard's first goal for Chelsea

Commentator says Hazard is the first player who isn't Drogba or Lampard to score a PK (outside of a shout-out) since Ballack in 2008

30 min

Torres not showing the drive to beat the last defender; Seems more content to lay it off

38 min: Chelsea with 60% possession so far; 88% passing to Newcastle's 83%

40 min

4 added minutes

45+3 min: GOAL Torres from out of box to the top right; Hazard assist

CFC 2-0 Newcastle

HALF TIME:

• Hazard is best man on the pitch again with 96% passing, 1 shot, 1 assist
• Torres counters his yellow with an extra time goal
• Hazard-Torres our best 10-9 partnership at the moment
• Chelsea beginning to form a trend of good passing, less pressure on the defense
• Mikel with 100% on aerials won, 100% pass accuracy which means what is sometimes a weak DM area is somewhat secure
• Interesting point floating around Twitter: Torres fouled, Hazard scores PK then Hazard assists and Torres scores

Second Half:

Chelsea are winning the midfield battle; more passing, more aerials won

50 min

52 min: Ben Arfa gets his first shot off but not even on target; one of only 3 shots Newcastle has had

Complacency beginning to show as per usual; possession is more equal

60 min

Cheeky attempted pass by Torres as his confidence is looking to return

67 min: Ramires IN Mata OUT

70 min

Much calmer second half

80 min: Bertrand having a go from outside and winning a corner

88 min: Lampard ON Meireles OFF

89 min: Luiz head collides with Ba

90 min

4 min added when play continues

Game is being closed out. No ambition left for Newcastle

FULL TIME: CFC 2-0 Newcastle

Positives

• Hazard looks the best behind Torres in this formation
• Solid Mikel performance meant top of the box wasn't as vulnberable
• Luiz-Cahill pairing was also pretty solid; Cahill particularly put in a very good performance
• Clean sheet against a team that generally scores on a lot of teams

Negatives

• No real shining negatives this match

MOTM: Fernando Torres

• Stats:
  • 67% Pass Accuracy
  • 70% Aerials Won
  • 45 Touches
  • 1 shot (1 goal)
  • 2 Dribbles Won
• Hazard could just as easily gotten this too (Barclay's MOTM). Maybe he actually should be. No actually Hazard should be but I wanted to give some credit to Torres. In my opinion, this could be marked as the start of the Torres revival. He still needs to try and beat the last defender more than he does but his assertiveness led to a penalty and a goal. Great movement.
  
  
  

Hazard Watch (Actual MOTM)

• Barclay's MOTM
• Stats (this match)
  • 89% Pass Accuracy
  • 67 touches
  • 4 shots (1 goal)
  • 2 Dribbles Won
• Stats (season)
  • 3 Apps
  • 1 Goal
  • 4 Assists

Citi 97.3 fm Analysis

Hey readers,

So yesterday was an interesting night. Through the wonders of Twitter I had gotten in contact with a host on a private radio show in Ghana called Citi 97.3 fm . Yesterday, I was on the show (through Google+) doing halftime and post match analysis. This was a wonderful opportunity to start getting application from watching matches. You can go ahead and check them out. The post match turned out better on my part because I was more organized in my thoughts. Hopefully, over time, my analysis can be more precise and I get more opportunities to apply it. Stay tuned for more posts. Great to see people checking out my posts more.

Cheers,
Daniel

Chelsea vs Reading Match Analysis

Chelsea Starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic Cahill JT(c) Cole ;Mikel Lamps; Ramires Hazard Mata; Torres

Formation: 4-2-3-1

First Half:

Connection between the mids starting well

Ramires doesn't lift head for easy pass

A lot of Chelsea pressure

Torres with a lot of skill in his set up but still looking for a goal

17 Min: Hazard draws the penalty; Lazy and reckless tackle

18 Min: GOAL Lampard; Power PK

CFC 1-0 Reading

Midfield 3 having too much fun

Reading forwards haven't had much to do

25 Min: GOAL Reading

• 1-2 on the right wing that burns Cole
• POGBRENYAK header beats Cahill

CFC 1-1 Reading

29 Min: GOAL Reading

• Free kick bounces off Cech and in
• Guthrie

CFC 1-2 Reading

Our right back is being exploited

Left too sometimes when Cole is too far up

Battle: Harte vs Hazard

McCleary has been trouble on right wing (especially the 1-2)

Game has had it's back and forth moments

HALFTIME

Second Half:

57 Min: Oscar ON Ramires OFF

57 Min: Reading Yellow; Foul on Mata

64 Min: Reading Yellow

Chelsea needs dimension

68 Min: Sturridge ON Mikel OFF

69 Min: GOAL Cahill from long

CFC 2-2 Reading

81 Min: GOAL Torres; Controversial offside tap-in from Cole to Torres

CFC 3-2 Reading

85 Min: Meireles ON Mata OFF

Many fouls for Oscar right now

95 Min: GOAL Ivanovic (assist Hazard)

• Reading corner (Keeper up too)
• Torres starts counter
• Hazard runs it down field
• side pass to Ivanovic for the easy goal

CFC 4-2 Reading

FULL TIME: CFC 4-2 Reading

Positives

• TOP OF THE TABLE
• Hazard was a show again; 3 assists in two matches (not counting the two plays that led to penalties)
• Torres goal (even if controversial)

Negatives

• Wing backs are vulnerable (right back in particular); I am worried about more talented wingers against us
• Until Sturridge came on, no-one wanted to go wide which led to lack of dimension in play

MOTM: Eden Hazard

• 1 Assist
• 5 Shots
• 94% Pas Accuracy
• 2 Dribbles Won
• 1 Dribble Leading to Penalty
• 97 Touches

The Chelsea Academy Dance-Off

In case any of you have missed it circulating Twitter and Tumblr, here is the video of the Chelsea Acadmy players entertaining the senior players:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7h6QKBmLxQ&feature=player_embedded

Enjoy,
Daniel

Blues In Prague

This is just a quick update and I will tweet about this but if you happen to live in or around Prague or know someone who does and is a Chelsea fan then like this page:

http://www.facebook.com/ChelseaFCPragueBlues

It was started by my friend Jorge who I met funny enough in the Allianz Arena while he was sporting the "Champions of Europe 12" shirt. Great guy who is enthusiastic about the club so give the page a like.

Daniel

Wigan vs Chelsea Match Analysis

This is a bit of insight into how I track the matched. I look more at the trends and way people are playing rather than the pure numbers. There are other places to find statistics. Enjoy:

Chelsea Starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Lampard, Mikel; Hazard, Mata, Bertrand; Torres

Formation: 4-2-3-1

First Half:

2 min: Ivanovic GOAL

CFC 1-0 Wigan

Build up to goal was smooth

Nice turn in center of field by Hazard for the goal

5 min: PENALTY on Hazard

Lampard to take penalty

7 Min: Lampard GOAL (PK)

CFC 2-0 Wigan

Ivanovic still kind of slow on the wing defensively

More often than not, Luiz drops right to cover Di Santo

Mikel looking strong in DM

Formation being held well

Defensive headers have been very good

Mata playing deep up and down the right wing

Bertrand his been invisible; Playing more as a second LB than a LW

Dip in quality since the PK

A lot of fouls on Mata and Hazard in the middl eof the park

Many of them from behind

33 Min: Possession: CFC 55% Wigan 45%

34 Min: Luiz yellow card for challenge on Wigan player

“Torres needs to wake up” as people are saying

HALF TIME: Wigan 0-2 CFC

Second Half:

Luiz starts reckless again

Terry slowly getting injured over course of match

Mikel has been very composed

Chelsea in charge and controlled

64 Min: Oscar ON Hazard OFF

A lot of good switching of field in build up

Casual play led to a turn over a few times

83 Min: Meireles ON Mata OFF

Calm closing by Chlesea

FULL TIME: Wigan 0-2 CFC

Positives:

• Mikel solid on top of the back 4; Not so many shots from top of the box
• Hazard with a wonderful debut
• Oscar showed pace and good touch when he came in

Negatives:

• Looks like Mata may need more rest because he didn't look 100%
• Torres was invisible still
• Still need a right back with pace; Ivanovic will be a liability against faster, quality wingers
• Tightness in general in the back is not as complete as it should be; Could get sorted out when right back is sorted out and we have less crosses coming in against us

MOTM: Eden Hazard

• 1 assist (Ivanovic goal 2')
• 1 chance created
• 5 take-ons
• 1 penalty won (Scored by Lampard 6')
• Fouled 4 times
• 74% Pass Completion (23 Passes)

The Chelsea Attack Option

With the recent signing of Robin Van Persie to Manchester United, I've been starting to see and hear a lot of talk about striker pairings in the EPL. While right now I think Aguero-Tevez is the only true very good and realistic pairing, people have been analyzing the prospect of Rooney-RVP and maybe Giroud-Podolski. This has inevitably led to questions about what Chelsea have in mind. As much as people are confident Torres can bring goals, they are also sizing up our goal threats with the other top teams and thinking 'Is this all we've got?' Now as you all know, we are still linked to Hulk and Cavani, and Victor Moses looks like he should be headed over any day now. They real question is do we actually need a striker duo or just a back-up/interchangeable player?

I believe Di Matteo will think a lot about this question because the biggest thing about two strikers is that he would have to restructure the system. Chelsea for the last several years has relied heavily on midfielders and defenders to sneak in goal and rack up the tally. The defense has also always been solid enough that this was all that was necessary. With the slightly less air-tight defense and a much less defensive team in general, will this be the time that Chelsea attack as a system is taken more seriously than the pass-to-Drogba and take-set-pieces of yesteryear? Right now the midfield is bubbling with creativity but this needs to translate to goals. I think it's been tough because the actual team is only getting together now and it will depend on how this network of Oscar, Hazard, and Mata plays off each other and the striker. Thankfully, transfer season closes in two weeks and we will hopefully have this sorted by then but trusting CFC I'm sure there will be transfer day drama.

(Post also on The Chelsea Blog)

Good News Regarding My Chelsea Posts

Hey faithful readers,

Just posting to let you know that now I will be contributing to a Chelsea blog:

http://thechelseablog.org/

in place of my Chelsea posts on this one. There are some good posters at that level but it will be a fun opportunity to reach more people. I will still post about football in general and about travels and all the other usual but my Chelsea specific posts will more often than not end up there if they are taken. I will have the link at the top of my page to the blog. You should start to see a few things from me on there relatively soon (a few of my old posts included). I will notify you all when that is the case.

Stay tuned,
Daniel

What I Got From Chelsea F.C. vs Seattle Sounders

Yesterday, I did not expect I would actually be awake for Chelsea's first preseason match since it was at 3:30 a.m. Munich time. Surely enough, I did stay awake and it was worth it primarily for the first 45 min at least. The starting line-up saw the likes of Josh McEachran (a fan fave that really hasn't had a lot of opportunities) and Romelu Lukaku (a big purchase that didn't really see any first team action last season) playing along side new boys Eden Hazard and Marko Marin. I will not recap the match because you can find that basically everywhere else. I will, however, say why this showing excited me a lot about the new Chelsea.

I will not say too much about defense. It was shabby but during the season the Chelsea defense causes few serious problems. The first goal just cam from McEachran passing directly to the attacker. The game really wasn't about defense because with Terry, Cahill, Cole in the mix we are pretty secure. Chalobah and Hutchinson put in good shifts and I will be happy to see more from them in the future.

The midfield was where the magic happened. This is the first match these guys have played together (and for some in a Chelsea shirt) and for the short amount of time they've had together, Marin and Hazard played off of each other very naturally. Hazard was likened to Joe Cole for how sturdy his is through his cutting runs in midfield. There was a lot of hype about Hazard and he has already gotten a few good awards to his name but seeing him at Chelsea was entertaining. That is the biggest difference right now is that between the cutting runs through the park by Hazard and Marin's Robben-esque cuts and runs into the box, we will most likely be spending a lot of time in the opponents third. Adding Mata to these two would make a small but very dangerous three in that 4-2-3-1 and would be a dream for any striker worth his salt. If Torres does not find his way to the top of the score list this season he is not meant for this team. Josh was magnificent in the beginning getting in and stealing the ball to set up the first goal. It's a shame his confidence took a hit when he let up that bad pass but he has a bright future as many would say. Kevin de Bruyne showed a lot of raw promise but needs some polishing, especially on his shots. He will probably go on loan for a season or two but I expect good things from him.

The players like Essien, Mikel, and Lampard will be crucial in this midfield for size, tackle, and playmaking ability. You could tell they feel more expressive just by being in the mix with these young players. Lukaku played very well off of these two, netting his two goals. He in my opinion just needs play time plain and simple. He will be a fast and physical player with a pretty good shot. He just needs to play and make it natural.

For these reasons, I believe Chelsea will have a great run in taking back the Premier League and defending the Champion's League and even if it doesn't all happen this year, we will finally play the beautiful football Roman has been searching for.

KTBFFH,
Daniel

A Terry-ble Look At Race Relations

As most of you probably know, current Chelsea and sometimes England captain John Terry was found not guilty on racial abuse allegations towards QPR defender Anton Ferdinand (brother of Terry's England teammate, Rio Ferdinand). The reason I choose to post about this is because while I obviously dislike racism, I think it's somewhat hypocritical the way this case came about and how this represents a shift to a society where things are possibly to politically correct and "racism" can be used as an easy way of incriminating someone you don't like to begin with.

Let's begin with what I consider a racist. A racist to me is someone with racial motives for negatively discriminating or showing aggression towards another individual or group of people. All of us harbor a very slight amount possibly from lack of exposure to a race or a few bad instances. Just in the same way that people make mistakes and people make bad decisions time to time but are not considered that mistake, racism should be seen the same way. A non-racist individual can use a racist term and not be considered one if they have many interactions with said race and "racist behavior" is usually not a problem. Even if Terry had been found guilty, I wouldn't consider Terry a racist because he has a much longer history of good relations with black players, especially the ones on his team. He could very well just dislike Anton.

This brings me to another point, the only thing that even brought race into the phrase "black f***ing c**t" is the word black. It should be obvious to people that the real insult was every other part of the sentence. Identifying race doesn't make someone racist. This phrase if said is just offensive and should be treated as such. This is all on the basis that he actually said this as an insult since apparently he said those specific words because he was denying calling Anton this and the camera's just picked it up out of context.

This again brings me to yet another point. Anton had to be told he was "racially abused." Then after the charges are pressed, everyone considers Terry guilty because of previous reasons to dislike him that have nothing to do with his racial relations. Fabio Capello lost his job for trying to defend the captain under the legal perspective of "innocent until proven guilty." Now the verdict is out, so many people (many of them supposedly credible on the sport) are saying this is a bad day for football and it has set the sport back decades. They are basing this again on something that was brought to court and not proven guilty. I think the more embarrassing part of this is that a man faced with such a serious charge can not be found not guilty without still being guilty to the public. What was the point of the trial then? Should we just allow everyone who is charger with racial allegations to just be found guilty because it dealt with race regardless of truth or proof? That would raise the conflicts between races because it would be an easy out for black players. Terry went through everything as he legally should and won.

To summarize, the worst thing football can do is keep this ordeal going longer. I do not defend racists but they need to actually be a proven racist before I question my support. So in this case, I support John Terry, club and country.

Daniel

The State of Chelsea F.C.

Now I have been a Chelsea fan for a few years (just past the beginning of Mourinho era) and what initially drew me to Chelsea was the die hard defending and great long range shooting legendary mids. Drogba grew on me but it had never really been about the strikers. The last couple years have been an awkward time of transition for the club. The revolving door of managers, young players stalling in reserves or going on loan, random new transfers not fitting to any strategy. This will be the most exciting season in a couple years and couple be a start of the RDM era. There is a lot riding on this season.

First off is now that Roberto Di Matteo is not in the pressure cooker of saving the club, it will be interesting to see his policy on things like rotating new players and if (with his great man management skills) he can make what old guard players are left feel wanted even if they may need less play time. What is making this easier is that a lot of the fring old guard are dropping out so it really becomes play Cole a lot and rotate Bertrand, play Terry a lot with Luiz and Cahill learning from him, rotate Lampard but put him in big matches at least.

I am excited for Mata to finally not have to be almost solely responsible for the pace on offense (granted Ramires has been wonderful too). Hazard-Torres-Mata have the ability to work a lot like Gomez-Schweinesteiger-Ozil. A lot of pace and creativity in midfield to a striker who makes good runs and is eager to work with the ball.

This will be the biggest year in Torres' recent career. He will have a tirade of opportunities now with the assist kings he has in behind him. If he survives this season (no serious injury or transfer) Torres must hit 15-17 goals this season. There will be no excuse. Unless he turns those to assists and allows Mata or Hazard to have at it. It will be interesting to see this.

I will be happy to at least for a while not be considered a fan of the club that "killed football" but to play the attractive football that Roman has been craving.

These are the main reasons I can't wait for next season.

KTBFFH,
Daniel