The first of a series of previews leading up to the big game in under two weeks time.
One of the big talking points after Chelsea's farcical 4-4 draw with Liverpool was an incident which transported us two weeks into the future, looking at a Chelsea side facing the most in form player in football without their regular left-back. Ashley Cole received his third [?] yellow card, and so the Blues are left with two weeks of mulling over why they sold their only legitimate cover in that position, and more pressingly, just what the heck to do now.
Messi in the Camp Nou is a frightening prospect for the best of defenders, not to mention an out-of-position Ivanovic, and yet it seems that this is the dual we will have on our hands. My question is this:
Will it actually work in Chelsea's favour to have a right-footed player playing a left back since he will be facing a left-footed player playing right wing?
I won't lie. I know little about defending so I could be way off here, but it seems to me that with Messi usually tucking in onto his preferred left foot, it could be advantage to say, Ivanovic, that Messi will also be moving into the area where he too is most comfortable. Of course said Chelsea defender is largely unproven, so even if being right-footed is an advantage he may just be too rubbish to make use of it, but still, I shall be intrigued to see how this match-up plays out.
The one thing that should not happen is that Hiddink plays Essien out there. I'm sure that's not in his thought process at all, but if for some reason it is then somebody needs to show him a tape of the fist half of last year's CL final. Other candidates for the job from hell are Carvalho (simply because he's a defender), Alex (for not disimilar reasons), Bosingwa (if he's fit) and Mancienne (but they wouldn't do that to him, would they?). As a rather lame Irish guy once said, "those aren't great options, are they?" Full-back is quite a "technical" position, if you believe the analysis of Eamonn Dunphy, and I can't think of any reason why you should. Still, he can't always be wrong, can he?
Whoever plays at left back will have one very difficult task on their hands (you heard it here first). However, whether it is an advantage or not to be a right-footed player facing a left footed player will be utterly irrelevent if that poor soul is left on his own. One against one Messi cannot be stopped. In a game of 90 minutes you are guaranteed to be chasing Messi's shadow at least once, if not several times, and when this happens goals are not far away. If the stand in left back is to do a job on Messi he will not have done it alone. Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda, and John Terry will have to swarm around the Argentine like bees around honey, and lets face it, they are going to have to give him a few kicks to the ankle for good measure too. Real Madrid spent a large portion of their pre-match prep for El Classico coming up with a schedule for whose turn it is to kick Messi. Chelsea must do likewise, or hope that Messi has an off-day.
If I know Hiddink like I think I do (I don't really know him at all, but for arguments sake lets pretend I do), he will try to make this blog post as irrelevent as possible, though I think I'm doing a pretty good job that myself. I image he will try as hard as possible to make this game not about Messi v Nominal left back. How might he achieve this? Find out in a later installment of this groundbreaking series.
One of the big talking points after Chelsea's farcical 4-4 draw with Liverpool was an incident which transported us two weeks into the future, looking at a Chelsea side facing the most in form player in football without their regular left-back. Ashley Cole received his third [?] yellow card, and so the Blues are left with two weeks of mulling over why they sold their only legitimate cover in that position, and more pressingly, just what the heck to do now.
Messi in the Camp Nou is a frightening prospect for the best of defenders, not to mention an out-of-position Ivanovic, and yet it seems that this is the dual we will have on our hands. My question is this:
Will it actually work in Chelsea's favour to have a right-footed player playing a left back since he will be facing a left-footed player playing right wing?
I won't lie. I know little about defending so I could be way off here, but it seems to me that with Messi usually tucking in onto his preferred left foot, it could be advantage to say, Ivanovic, that Messi will also be moving into the area where he too is most comfortable. Of course said Chelsea defender is largely unproven, so even if being right-footed is an advantage he may just be too rubbish to make use of it, but still, I shall be intrigued to see how this match-up plays out.
The one thing that should not happen is that Hiddink plays Essien out there. I'm sure that's not in his thought process at all, but if for some reason it is then somebody needs to show him a tape of the fist half of last year's CL final. Other candidates for the job from hell are Carvalho (simply because he's a defender), Alex (for not disimilar reasons), Bosingwa (if he's fit) and Mancienne (but they wouldn't do that to him, would they?). As a rather lame Irish guy once said, "those aren't great options, are they?" Full-back is quite a "technical" position, if you believe the analysis of Eamonn Dunphy, and I can't think of any reason why you should. Still, he can't always be wrong, can he?
Whoever plays at left back will have one very difficult task on their hands (you heard it here first). However, whether it is an advantage or not to be a right-footed player facing a left footed player will be utterly irrelevent if that poor soul is left on his own. One against one Messi cannot be stopped. In a game of 90 minutes you are guaranteed to be chasing Messi's shadow at least once, if not several times, and when this happens goals are not far away. If the stand in left back is to do a job on Messi he will not have done it alone. Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda, and John Terry will have to swarm around the Argentine like bees around honey, and lets face it, they are going to have to give him a few kicks to the ankle for good measure too. Real Madrid spent a large portion of their pre-match prep for El Classico coming up with a schedule for whose turn it is to kick Messi. Chelsea must do likewise, or hope that Messi has an off-day.
If I know Hiddink like I think I do (I don't really know him at all, but for arguments sake lets pretend I do), he will try to make this blog post as irrelevent as possible, though I think I'm doing a pretty good job that myself. I image he will try as hard as possible to make this game not about Messi v Nominal left back. How might he achieve this? Find out in a later installment of this groundbreaking series.
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