Quadruple Dreams

Why can’t David James be consistently poor? He kept out everything that was thrown at him. A goalless draw sucks, especially in front of a home crowd. Luck was definitely not on our side when somehow David James kept out a clear shot from Lampard in the dying seconds. Now we are reduced to being 9 points clear. For me it is 2 points lost because winning every game matters.. and I echo the thoughts of Jose: The final score line does not do justice to us at all. During the 1st half we had balls cleared miraculously off the line and continued our assault on City’s goal throughout the 2nd half. Firing blanks? Maybe. But I do not agree that without Robben we could not create chances and attack fluidly. Gudjohnson and Kezman, though disappointing, had some chances to knock some goals in. The introduction of Tiago was a very good one. We needed another midfielder to counter the crowded midfield formation Kevin Keegan presented. Jarosik can win headers but was rather ineffective, and he should remain a substitute till he is more comfortable with the English game. Smertin would have been a better choice. After this game I believe if we need to play a lone striker with 2 wingers, we should use Kezman. If a 4-4-2 striking partnership is required, Gudjohnson and Drogba should be employed. That’s my 2 cents worth.

What are our chances of sweeping all 4 trophies? Let’s be realistic and measure our chances. After February our questions would be all answered. In chronological order:

Premiership
Feb 12 Everton v Chelsea

FA Cup
Feb 20 Newcastle v Chelsea

UEFA Champions League
Feb 23 Barcelona v Chelsea

Carling Cup Final
Feb 27 Liverpool v Chelsea

All the next 4 fixtures are away games and represent all 4 trophies we are gunning for. The away tie at Goodison Park could prove very tough. If we were to win it, it will be a huge confidence boost ahead of our FA Cup tie with Newcastle.. which in my opinion we should win, but Jose might play for a draw to focus more on the away tie at Nou Camp 3 days later. The away game against Barcelona will probably be the toughest fixture for us yet this season. Realistically a 1-1 draw will suffice but being the home team in the 2nd leg would always put extra pressure on us to prevent any away goals scored by Barcelona. Therefore playing a more attacking formation in the 1st leg would be ideal. The Carling Cup against Liverpool is not an easy one as they have found their scoring form recently and would make it tough on us after a hectic February period. Our players would by then be worn out and if we were to do badly at Nou Camp, overall confidence might be affected.

Therefore against Everton we should put out a team similar to the one against Man City. We could then reserve our strongest side to thump Newcastle out of the FA Cup, thus increasing our confidence and self-belief against Barcelona. If we win at Nou Camp, we are invincible, so bring on Liverpool. If we lose at Nou Camp, our silverware-hungry players would give it their all against Liverpool to claim our first trophy of the season. So in conclusion the key moment in February would be our performance against Newcastle. My prediction is that by season–end we will win 3 trophies: the Premiership title, FA Cup and the Carling Cup.