Letter to A.V.B

Sorry for the defeat against Arsenal at the Bridge. I know how disappointed you feel. It’s a battle, the war is still on. Chelsea is determined that you stay and we are ready to stand with you through your trying times the way we stood with our dear boy Torres.

But there are things I personally think you should consider or try. Presently, you do not have a first eleven. I think this is costing you points. As much as you are trying to offer everyone playing time, I think you should decide on your main team – It is a better motivation to the players.

I can’t do that for you, but I have a few suggestions. One, you do not currently have a solid holding midfielder in Mikel; our opponents know this and they will keep running at the defence because they have no protection.  As much as I like Mikel, you have to push him to move faster with the ball and be more commanding in his play; he used to be both.

On the alternative, try David Luiz in that position. Try him in midfield; he is amongst the top three players in your team but being the last man who bursts forward so often it is hurting him and us. And you can’t keep him on the bench – I cry whenever I see him on the bench.

Another good player for that position is Romeu. You can play two of them in that position frequently until Mikel picks up his game.

Having Drogba, Anelka, and Kalou in the team will cost you dearly if you can’t put them on the bench without having your peace. They are amongst my idols, they have bleed for this team but I saw how you wanted to please Drogba and in doing so lost the QPR game. There is no way you would take Sturridge off and keep good old Drogba and slow Mikel, when we are a player down, knowing that Lampard needs a pacey young player and Ramires is not on the pitch.

Terry is shaky at the moment, put Romeu or Luiz in front of him not Mikel for now. Terry is still the leader but his nerves; his nerves are not what they were. He needs protection from a good holding midfielder.

Furthermore, you must start to buy now. You need a striker, I mean top class if you want to compete with City and United. Right now there is just a chink in City’s armour: the left back. But if they have to play two holding midfielders you would not see it.

We have four unreliable spots that reinforcement should sort out.

1.       No natural right-winger

2.       Weak holding midfielder

3.       Shaky central defense

4.       Slow recovery in right fullback

Unless something is done, experienced coaches will continue to exploit your weak points. There is nothing wrong with your attacking philosophy; only that you would have to decide whether you can handle the defence or get another assistant coach to join the crew just for defensive purposes.

I like your game. You have impressed me by defeating Everton home and away – Thanks. I can’t criticize you for those defeats (QPR and Gooners). Not when you had to play with nine players without conceding. I don’t want to even talk about the fishy officiating. I knew Arsenal would be difficult because of our weak spots that could be exploited by anyone. We scored three; but we conceded five.

Let’s not get too hard on ourselves, you’re a great coach. But remember, you are here to win … not to play or impress. That’s what separate coaches. Win! Win them all. I expect you to go to City and to give them the surprise of their lives but you must watch your back. You must protect your defenders. You know what to do. City would never play United with one holding midfielder. They are not ashamed to defend, which leads to wins.

I would consider you try to play with options of Luiz, Romeu, Mikel, and Merieles. I would like to commend your team so far. They have done well so far in spite of a few hiccups. Encourage them; don’t let them become nervous. They do badly when they get nervous, especially Lampard, Cech and Cole. They don’t know how to lose. Please get them ready for the upcoming games. And one more thing: ditch rotation. It doesn’t work here. The more they play, the better they perform – especially Fernando.

Regards

Stan Blue