₦airaland Forum

Cristalz:
Gosh somze, that hurts the eyes

Just sew the defense up tight Chelsea.  .  .almost there.

Boo to a Guus
Merson backs Villa to secure massive win

Paul Merson Posted 19th February 2009

The jury's out on Guus Hiddink in my opinion. Is he really as great as everybody says he is?

His Holland team were poor in 1996. South Korea needed some lucky refereeing decisions to get through in 2002. Russia only got to Euro 2008 because England shot themselves in the foot against Croatia. He did nothing at Fenerbahce, nothing at Real Mardid, nothing at Valencia,

Don't get me wrong, you need a bit of luck in football, but I think Hiddink has been a very lucky manager. I don't know if he's the answer for Chelsea and he's got a very difficult job ahead of him, especially if he's doing the Russia job at the same time.

He's got to get all of the players on his side. There's no point getting rid of the players who fell out with Scolari because Chelsea need all hands on deck to make sure they finish in the top four - that is not a gimme at the moment.

Don't get me wrong, you need a bit of luck in football, but I think Hiddink has been a very lucky manager.

They need to look over their shoulders because Arsenal have some very kind fixtures coming up. And I agree with Sir Alex Ferguson when he says Chelsea are out of the title race, although to be honest everyone is out of the title race apart from Manchester United now. Nobody is making up a five-point gap on them with 13 games to go.

Confidence

Saturday is a massive, massive game. If Villa win they'll be full of confidence and I can see Arsenal beating Sunderland so they'll be right on Chelsea's tails. The problem for Hiddink will be that his team is not playing well or winning games.

Chelsea will also have half an eye on the Champions League next week. I don't think they'll rest players, but they'll be thinking they can't win the Premier League so that competition is their best chance of a trophy. I hope they don't take their eye off the league because if they lose on Saturday they could be struggling.

Villa might be a little bit more focused. They were absolutely slaughtered when they went to Stamford Bridge earlier in the season and they will see this as a vital game.

They haven't got the biggest squad. I don't think any of the players on the bench against CSKA Moscow would get into a Premier League side (apart from Brad Friedel and maybe Marlon Harewood). Thankfully they've been lucky with suspensions and injuries up until now and I suppose that's the luck you need to get in the top four.

Attack

I don't think a draw is much good to Aston Villa. I would say Chelsea will get better in the last 13 matches, but I'm not sure if Villa will. That's why they need to go out and win this game.

When you're winning, as they have been for a long time, players don't feel tried. If that points gap starts to get a bit tighter then the players will start to feel the pressure. So for me, Villa have got to go out and attack Chelsea.

The game could be won in the battle between Ashley Young and Jose Bosingwa. At Stamford Bridge, Young spent most of the game chasing Bosingwa in his own half and was almost playing like a full-back.

If that happens again it will take away half of Villa's attacking threat, so he has to make sure he's pushing the Chelsea defender back.

PAUL'S PREDICTION

Home win - I just don't think Chelsea were the team they were and if Villa go positive they can win this. Villa must not play for a point and if they have a go I can see them winning 2-1.

MERSON'S MAGIC MAN

Ashley Young - No question he's the key player - and how he doesn't get in the England squad is beyond me. I watched him against CSKA and his crossing at pace was superb. But he has to make sure he isn't chasing Bosingwa for 90 minutes.

Ibime:
What history? Drogba had no history before 2003! The difference between me and you is that I have been concerned about Drogba's drop in workrate for the last 2 years because I realise that Drogba is deficient in basic technique and his workrate is the only thing that makes him a great player. You, on the other hand choose to idolise him, not adhering to basic objective analysis.

Ibime:
My friend sharrap! Anelka is not my cup of tea but the technique with which he finished off Watford is something Drogba could only dream about. I have said it before and Ill say it again, Drogba without stamina is as useless as John Carew.

Class (Anelka: 1997-2009) is permanent, whilst form (Drogba: 2006-2007) is temporary.

Drogba needs to go back to being a workhorse, because he is no use to me unless he runs like a slave.

davidylan:
debo u got a link to the game?

dayokanu:
Somze,

Can you provide explanations for Thiago, Kezman, Nuno Morais, Lassana Diarra, Scott parker, Sheva, Pizzaro, Ben haim, Sidwell, SWP, and others