5. Fernando Torres will struggle at Chelsea unless changes are made to the way the team plays. On Sunday, we watched as he and Drogba both laboured in a new formation; neither looked like the players we’ve watched over the years and Nicolas Anelka looked like he didn’t know where he was supposed to be. Sure, it’s early on in Torres’s Chelsea career and one of the reasons he gave for leaving was the amount of pressure on him to score goals, given that we hadn’t been bringing in adequate ‘help’ for him. Well, frankly, Torres can play no other way: he needs to be the main man; it’s the way he’s played his entire career and what he does best. Unfortunately for Chelsea, so does Drogba. One of them will need to become very accustomed to the bench, as – and you can quote me on this – they will not, and cannot play together.
4. Three at the back seems to be the way forward, and I’m glad it’s finally being utilised. I’ve long said (and I believe I may have written about it earlier in the season) that while we are lacking in the defensive full-back area, we are not lacking in attacking full-backs. Getting forward is the strength of both Glen Johnson and Fabio Aurelio, and while he may ‘officially’ be a centre-back, it seems to be Martin Kelly’s strength too. We are also not lacking in decent centre-halves either, so surely it makes sense to play three at the back and let the full-backs do what they’re good at? Good on you for that one Kenny. Or was it Steve Clarke’s bright idea?
3. Speaking of whom: Steve Clarke appears to have slipped in practically unnoticed but his contribution shouldn’t be. Sure, Kenny has completely galvanized the entire club, simply by his presence but Steve Clarke’s expertise has been looked to and with great effect in the past few games. Remember that defensive solidity Chelsea had under Mourinho? Anybody seeing eerie similarities with the way Liverpool beat Chelsea yesterday? Whether the slight tactical changes we’re seeing from game-to-game are Steve’s or Kenny’s, we will probably never know but I would certainly say that Clarke has been one of the signing’s of the January transfer window.
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Steven Not good for Set Pieces?I have never seen somebody whipping corners with such pace and accuracy..Even the stock game he whipped in superb curler which kyrigks headed on target..He always seems to find kyrigks and others with his corners or free kicks…On terms of midfield abilities he lacks some decipline because of his agrresiveness or willingness to finish of the game..I competely agree with that point>.Signig adam would have freed him up to play his usual destructive free role…
You are joking even Suso in the academy can take a corner better than Steven. He more often than not hits the first defender. He should always be station on the edge of the 18 yard box to wipe in any balls coming out of the box.
Well said Liz – exactly what I thought
You could have used one of those 5 spots to say we have learned that Lucas is without doubt a quality player and, arguably, has been Chelsea,s biggest obstacle in both games so far this season. Another outstanding performance from him yesterday and he is beginning to look like the stopper we,ve needed since mascherano left
I for one didn’t need to learn that Lucas is a quality player. I (and some of the writers on here) always defend him. Notice the Lucas baiters have disappeared now he is getting a mention in the press!
Have to disagree with ya about Kuyt He’s not good enough to get in any of the top teams so shouldn’t be in Liverpool’s either imo
Im sorry patrick..but kuyt is a quality player…
i like kuyt as much as i like gerrard or carragher… and you dont need to look at anything else apart from the fact that he was a constant figure in a team who appeared in the finals of the last world cup..and i suppose a striker or midfielder with a price tag ( from the media ) of 10 million pounds have never played in all of the games of a finalist team…So that definitely means that number of people( fans ) who would look for tricks and flamboyance are pretty less compared to the hard work and passion given by players in the field.. and kuyt is definitely one player who most of the fans would want in their squad, just because of his hardworking, workrate and most importantly unselfishness…
True, true, true Sreejith – his stats this season are goals 4, assists 5. Oh, the same as Gerrard
stevie g is a great passer of de ball a lot of de time ,top player. i wasn a fan of lucas since he came, but this season and de latter end of last season he has being v good ,kuyt is top player effort is unbelivable every game he does a great job for the team,hes even better since k k came back.
At least you’re are man enough to admit it about Lucas. Also agree with you on Kuyt – he runs the opposition into the ground.
All they care about is skills some players like Coentro, Hazard show. Name one player who have succedded in displaying skills against Premier League teams consistently. None. Its all about hard work and it was because of that factor which Torres was lacking, he was allowed to leave the club. Kuyt is KWALITY.
There aren’t enough arguments in this article. It’s just things that have run trough every Liverpool fan head sometimes , but they never stayed .
I am very suprise to hear liverpool fan, kicking against our hard-working dirk kuyt. In the whole of premier league, no one is as hard-working as the likes of Dirk kuyt, Gerrard and Cara.
but wen kuyt played on wings he still works very hard and unsettles the oppo defenders, but at the same time the team sacrifices raw pace.technical abilities,crosses,trickery lightning counter attacks ect which other teams like manchester ,tot and arsenal achieve throug their wingers which makes them stand above us in the league..His hardwork is great and i admire but u must look other aspects in the game which makes other teams finish above us..he should be used as a backup for suarez when he gets injured..