Chelsea's game tomorrow against Fulham
has become quite simply, the biggest
game of our season so far! Forget your
Super Cup against Bayern Munich; forget
the trip to Old Trafford, these ninety
minutes of football has now become so
important for Jose Mourinho and for
Chelsea Football Club that the whole
country will be watching.
Everyone in the country apart from
Chelsea supporters will be backing and
supporting Fulham. The press and the
media will be sitting there with pens
ready, fingers on laptops, waiting for
Chelsea to fail. After a run of four games
without a win the pressure is on to
deliver a result more than ever. Can Jose
and his players deliver what we need?
God help us if they don't!
So why the mass panic? Why are there
people in this world that are already
questioning Mourinho after a few weeks
of the season? Is there really a real need
for panic amongst the Chelsea fans or like
me, are you slightly concerned but with
every faith in the manager and the
players to work hard to sort it out and put
us back on the right track?
Everyone has an opinion and rightly so.
Everyone is entitled to it. I do however
question those people who have already
called for the manager’s position to be
questioned. Jose Mourinho is no fool and
nor is Roman Abramovich for that matter
either.
A few weeks ago everything was rosy.
Two wins on the spin against Hull and Villa
and these questions were never being
asked because they never needed to be.
As I said before, a run of four games
against Bayern Munich, Manchester
United, Everton and FC Basel has turned
everything on its head.
In addition to poor results questions
remain and are being asked about Juan
Mata, Chelsea's Player of the Year for the
previous two seasons. We cannot
understand why he isn't one of the first
names on Jose's team sheet and it's a
real concern right now. It seems that
although saying otherwise, the manager
has little faith in 'El Mago' (The Magician).
Without question, this is the most
turbulent start to a season Jose Mourinho
has had to face up to and deal with since
he was here before. We have to
remember that football these days and
especially in England, is a results
business. You can play the most attractive
football in the league with plenty of flair
but if you fail to deliver, you are classed
as a failure.
The knives are out and it's backs against
the wall.
The knives are out for Jose Mourinho and
Chelsea and at this early stage of the
season, he is already on the defensive
and it's backs to the wall for the manager
and his players.
In saying that, it's not a bad thing at all.
The manager thrives on that kind of
mentality. He installs a bond and a belief
with his players that it's "us against the
world". It's worked for him before and
will do so again so be prepared for
Mourinho to come out with something
later today in his pre match press
conference at Cobham to focus all the
media and press attention on him and
not his players. All he wants is his players
to concentrate on the game.
So what of the game tomorrow? Well for
Fulham it's simple; they have nothing to
lose and everything to gain. They would
have taken plenty of heart and
encouragement watching how firstly
Everton and then FC Basel approached
the game against us. They would have
watched the way they set themselves us
to defend deep and in numbers without
the ball. They would have seen how
Chelsea struggled to break both sides
down and how we opened ourselves up as
we chased the result.
Fulham are a hard working team, playing
for each other and the manager and have
managed to pull off a master stroke for
two seasons running and have received
little credit for doing so.
Two big signings for Fulham.


The signing of Dimitar Berbatov was and
remains a revelation for the Cottagers.
He is world class, composed and a
sublime footballer of the highest quality.
He may not be the quickest; he may not
work as hard as plenty of others but his
touch and control of a football coupled
with his football brain more than make up
for it.
This summer Martin Jol has done it again
with the signing of Darren Bent. Left out
in favour of Christian Benteke at Villa (and
we have all seen why!), Bent has been
looking for a new start and he has that at
Fulham.
Someone who it he keeps himself fit,
works hard to force himself into the team
and plays well enough to stay there, will
score 20+ goals a season. Those goals will
push Fulham further up the table to finish
inside the top 10 easily. If the Berbatov
and Bent can form a partnership then
who knows where it could take them.
More than anything else, Fulham is a hard
working team. It's the emphasis on the
word team that is being called into
question right now about Chelsea.
Why it's going wrong!
So what of Chelsea tomorrow? What do
we expect and what would I like to see
happen?
Let me start by talking about the way we
play currently and some observations I
have already made. I am really pushing
for Jose to make a switch in our formation
well away from the 4-2-3-1 back to the
4-3-3 formation as I personally feel as
though it gives us a much better balance.
However, bearing in mind it would have
only been three days since Basel, I cannot
see that change happening for tomorrow
so we need to focus on the current
formation.
There are problems at the moment when
we are with and without the ball and both
are contributing to our downfall. With the
ball, we are not using it quickly enough;
our tempo is far too slow.
We play with three attacking midfielders
who are our flair players and we should
be getting that ball into their feet at the
earliest opportunity and for them to
attack the opposition’s defences at pace!
What happens at the moment? We are
too laboured in possession, we are too
slow and allow the opposition to get
numbers back behind the ball and we find
it hard to break them down. As a result,
we pass the ball sideways and backwards
more often than forwards.
There seems to be no interchange of
positions throughout the 90 minutes from
our attacking three. It all starts well
enough in the first half with those players
popping up in different positions all over
the pitch but seems to fizzle out and they
then remain static and easily marked and
played against.
Chelsea's attacking potenti Tomorrow I want to see us utilise the
attacking potential we have at this club
for 90 minutes. We have SIX players all
fighting for a start in three of those
positions. If need be, select three players
on the understanding that if they are not
doing what is being asked of them, they
will be substituted by a like-for-like
change no problem.
I want to see them interchange and I
want to see plenty of movement off the
ball. I want to see the player with the ball
at his feet being given plenty of options
as to who to pass to. I want to see those
players pull the Fulham defence all over
the place, out of position to expose gaps
in their defence that just one pass into
our striker can exploit!
This is the reason I want to see Juan Mata
start and to be given 90 minutes
tomorrow. I want Jose to have the same
faith in him as we all have and as long as
he is prepared to work hard, let the boy
play. I want to see that smile back on
Mata's face as he dictates and
orchestrates Chelsea's attacking play.
Without the ball, I want to see each and
every single one of them work hard for
the team, to be part of our team and to
defend as a team. No half-hearted jog
back towards goal, I want to see a drive
and determination to get back and do the
job they are being asked. Like I said,
there are plenty of options to bring on
players that will do exactly that!
Torres' chance.

I want to see Fernando Torres start the
game. No Eto'o and no Demba Ba, I want
Torres to be the main man but I want us
to start utilising what he brings to the
team. I want us to encourage him to play
on the shoulder of the last defender. I
want to see Torres leading the line and
giving the two centre backs a torrid time
with his movement. I want to see Torres
move off the ball like the Torres of old.
The Torres goal against Bayern Munich
was and remains a massive sign for me.
The way he took that goal indicates to me
he is somewhere in his head, near to
where he was before. Without a single
thought or hesitation, Torres let his
instincts take over and BANG, he struck
the ball so cleanly and so true, the
Goalkeeper never had a chance and could
only sit and admire the strike.
Torres wants to be a part of Chelsea
Football Club. He wants to be a part of
Jose Mourinho's plans so please for god
sake, put him back in there and let the
boy play!
I want to see the return of Michael Essien
tomorrow playing in the deeper role next
to Ramires. Power and strength combined
with bundles of energy, in those two we
have the perfect blend to dominate that
area and put Chelsea on the front foot.
I want to see Cesar Azpilicueta back in at
right back and John Terry to return next
to Gary Cahill. At times we need plenty of
width and support in wide areas and
Azpilicueta and Ashley Cole will provide
the team with exactly that.
A time for hard work!
I want to see a team take to that pitch
more than anything. I want to see players
work hard for each other, support each
other and work hard for the manager. I
want to see a youthful looking side with
plenty of energy, prepared to work hard
and to play at a higher tempo than we
have been.
I want us to defend as a unit, remain
compact, solid and make life difficult for
the opposition to get out of their own
half first of all, then to find it hard to
create anything against us. Chelsea must
not get sucked out of position!
Let's be honest here, Chelsea on paper
are far superior to most teams we come
up against in the Premier League but you
have to earn the right to win games and
take three points. We have seen that on
their day, anyone can beat anyone in this
league, thus we must not underestimate
Fulham. Still, if you believe in Chelsea like
I do, then you may want to put your
money where your convictions are. Go to
Au FreeBets, the site for the extra-
supportive sports fan and the arena for
excellent punting action - visit here.
To sum up this preview, I want to see
changes being made by Jose, I want to
see a marked improvement in our
defensive discipline and our defensive
shape and finally, I want us to raise the
tempo of our game and move the ball
quickly. If we do exactly that, we can win
this game and get our season going again.
It's one thing talking about it. We need to
get out there and do it!
Come on Chelsea!
Carefree & KTBFFH!

EPL Fixture: Chelsea - Fulham Preview

Chelsea will be desperate to end their four-match run without a win when they host Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Meetings between the two west London sides are normally tight affairs, and Chelsea have won just one of their last five league fixtures against Martin Jol's men.

And the match takes on extra significance for the Europa League holders given their slow start to the season which was capped on Wednesday with a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Basel in the Champions League.

New signing Samuel Eto'o has failed to impress in his first two matches for the club after joining from Anzhi Makhachkala, while fellow striker Fernando Torres is still short of form.

Chelsea defender Gary Cahill is aware that the club's record this term has been poor, but stopped short of calling it a crisis.

"It's not a disaster but it's not ideal. A club like this wants to win the majority of games it plays," Cahill told the club's official website.

"That's the expectation. It's a blow but it's not the be all and end all.

"We need to win our next game now, as simple as that. The manager will stress that."

Jose Mourinho's unbeaten record in Premier League fixtures at Stamford Bridge is a staggering 62 matches and although Chelsea's struggles will give Fulham a boost, Jol's side are in poor form themselves.

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