First, full disclosure: I am a Chelsea supporter and have Mata and Sturridge on my fantasy team. Now my blast at the Chelsea skipper:
AVB ‘s player management today against Wigan was awful. Granted Ramires was injured and hopefully would have been in the starting XI in place of Meireles; however, AVB’s last two substitutions were mystifying. With the score 0-0 at the half, I can understand bringing on Kalou and the need for an attacking mindset. While Romeu is a solid addition to the Blues, he was consistently being beaten in midfield and Wigan’s style of play meant Chelsea did not need a holding midfielder.
My gripe with AVB came after Sturridge scored to give Chelsea a one-nil lead just before the hour mark. Six minutes later AVB brought in a stiff in the form of Mikel for Mata. What was he thinking? Chelsea needed Mata’s field leadership and also the opportunity to seal the victory with a second goal.
Then in the 80th minute, AVB took out Sturridge and replaced him with Malouda, a player whose role and productivity are beyond muddled. Sturridge looked fit and was dropping back defensively when needed. He also had the potential in his boot for the second goal.
AVB’s moves went sour in the 87th minute when Chelsea’s defense turned squishy. Bosingwa was beaten like a rented mule and then Cech did his best impersonation of Huerelho Gomes, spilling a limp toe tap by Rodallega and watching helplessly as Gomez (with a Z) slotted the ball in the open onion bag for the equalizer.
Stoppage time only gave fantasy managers who own Mata and Sturridge four minutes to grumble about the moves of AVB.
In Sir John’s opinion, the jury is still out on AVB.
Comments
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Posted by Mike on 12/18/2011
I think he doesn't trust his team yet, and does not have faith they will play out the rest of the game the way he wants, so I think he reverts back to a style that is seemingly less risky when he really needs the points.
It's also funny, every new Chelsea coach comes in and loves Bosingwa because he's so good going forward, but then they end up having to bench him because he's such a liability on defense (like Glen Johnson).
I have thought for a while Chelsea should get rid Malouda and only because it seemed the team only played well if he was in the mood and struggled heavily when he wasn't. It's 1 player, but it just seems he has some Jedi hold on the rest of the team somehow. When he's good Chelsea wins a lot and won the title as well. Just something I've noticed for the past few years
Comment:
Excellent observations. Thanks for adding to the discussion.
Sir John
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Posted by Jaipoh on 12/18/2011
It has absolutely nothing to do with trust of the team or lack of trust. The simple fact is that he's in over his head. He has not got a clue. He tries to make cute substitutions to seem like a grand wizard, a maestro a genius but he's obviously anything but. The jury is already out on this clown. Chelsea will be "TROPHYLESS" for the three years running,the duration of this milk breath novice. I will wager anyone willing to bet!!!
Comment:
I love the "milk breath" description. AVB is the only manager to use three subs in every game so far.
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Posted by Anonymous on 12/18/2011
Never play Raul and Lamps together. They never win win together and Ramires is also vital.
Comment:
It took awhile for me to appreciate Ramires and also for him to adapt to the EPL. He was knocked around when he first started; however, now he is very good in bringing speed to the attack and has better scoring potential than Meireles.
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Posted by mwc on 12/23/2011
New fan to EPL and love Fox Soccer (sorry about that ESPN) and decided on Chelsea as my team because of the similarity between them and Dallas Cowboys. Abramovich and Jerry Jones should join forces and rule the sports world ... LOL ... my son also had a recent college summer class in London, so Chelsea seemed like the best fit for me.
Anyways, I thought that Boswinga did a pretty good job in the game against Tottenham.
Should be interesting if AVB adds Cahill to defense???
Comment:
Hello Mark,
Great to get your input and welcome to the fantastic world of fantasy soccer.
Fox Soccer Channel does a good job with the Premier League (except when the mumbling, nasal drip Martin Tyler is behind the mic), but ESPN has the best telecasts with outstanding pre-game features and the best announcer in Ian Darke.
Yes, Bosingwa had a strong game against Spurs. Terry was nails on defense and while I never like to see any player injured, when Mikel went down and was replaced by Romeu, Chelsea was a better team. He should start as a holding midfielder every game.
Ivanovitch's injury will cause problems. It was interesting to hear Ian Darke say that AVB has exiled Alex to the point where he can't even park his car in the first team spaces at Stamford Bridge.
As for Cahill, my opinion is that he is one of the most over-rated defenders in the Premier League. Granted Bolton is a dog-meat team, but Cahill is not going to add all that much to the Blues except more payroll.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Boxing Day has five (COUNT THEM!) games on TV, three of them live.
Thank God Lady Patti is an understanding wife.
Sir John
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Posted by Delores on 01/18/2012
Whoa, this just got a whole lot easier.
Posted by Xadrian on 01/20/2012
Which came first, the problem or the solution? Luckily it doesn't matter.
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John Culea is an American living in San Diego who became hooked on football while serving in the Navy for two years in London. A former TV news Emmy award-winning anchor/reporter, John manages the Premier Fantasy league MCMUARTN and goes by the Fantasy honorary title of "Sir John". John is a devoted Chelsea supporter and offers candid, often off-beat commentaries on the Premier League from an American perspective. He invites open discussion on his blog and can be contacted at 
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