by ConnO'var » Sun Nov 07, 2010 1:44 pm
This has a potential to be a nightmare for us.
Drogba is a handful and none of our defenders are quick or strong enough to handle both him and Anelka.
I would zonal mark in open play and man mark at set pieces and get Soto to man mark Drogba in dead ball situations...... he's the only one we have that can match the Chelsea man's aerial prowess. And I would play with a back 5 with 3 centre backs and 2 wingbacks. The 3 boys in the centre should be better equipped to deal with them 2 monsters and our wide backs should be able to contain the Chelsea wide men knowing full well that we have a spare centre back in case Johnson screws up. Should also give us a bit more width to keep the ball away from Chelsea's midfield trio. Essien is probably going to have Stevie in his back pocket if Stevie plays behind Nando.... make no mistake, Essien is IMO, the best defensive midfielder in the world bar none. It would be pointless to waste Stevie up front as he's going to get isolated and Nando along with him. This game is where we need Stevie as a box to box midfielder to drive the team from deeper with coverage from both Lucas and Mereiles. Too bad Joe Cole is injured as he would be great in the hole.... but he's not, so..... Nando and either Kuyt or Babel upfront.
Kuyt would harry them from the front giving them less time to build up from the back. Other option is Babel whose pace would give the Chelsea centrebacks nightmares..... provided he could be ar$ed.
For me, this is how I would set-up to deal with Chelsea.
Reina
Carra Soto Skrtel
Johnson Aurelio
Mereiles Gerrard Lucas
Nando Kuyt/Babel
I know 5-3-2 is archaic and hard to get to work well but with the personnel we have, I think it's our best option.
Thoughts?
