Chelsea Ends Miserable Year

I cannot believe what we witnessed on New Years Eve. It was a very, very disappointing game from the Men In Blue.  Aston Villa came to the Bridge probably seeking a draw and we gifted them a win.

They played 10 men behind the ball and pretended that they would not attack us.  We were keeping possession but we did not make it count.

22 minutes into the game, Dunne brought down Drogba, resulting in a penalty. Drogba scored his 150th goal for the club, a remarkable achievement for him.

If we had killed the game there, we would have Drogba’s 150th goal, Terry’s 400th game as captain and 3 points to cheer going into the new year.

Unfortunately, our Blues disappointed us more than they did on Boxing Day. Goal aside, Drogba was poor; he did needless tricks and gave away possession.

Aston Villa picked one of his misplaced passes and nearly capitalized on it.  Drogba was so terrible that I prayed fervently that AVB would sub him with anyone, even Kalou!

Daniel Sturridge got a few chances and he could have contributed more if he was not selfish. As the game progressed, he faded away and AVB subbed him for Torres. For me Torres performed better for the team than Drogba and Sturridge put together.

The Spaniard made a great strike that hit the crossbar with his first touch; he also gave Drogba a sweet pass, one the big man squandered. I felt Torres could have done more if our midfield given him the ball more often.

The goals we conceded are unacceptable. The first, JT was in good position to prevent Ireland from scoring but he failed.  The second, Luiz decided not to mark Petrov. It must be said though; David Luiz was having a good game until that moment.

Given Aston Villa showed no interest in attacking, AVB brought on Lampard to replace Romeu. AVB made the same mistake when we played Wigan. He made Aston Villa deceive him. With Romeu gone, we lost our ability to break Wigan’s attacks and we lost possession frequently.

Lampard gave away possession in a manner that would have disgusted Oriol. Ireland seized on the opportunity, ran with the ball and set up Darren Bent for an easy finish. 1-3 and there was no way we were coming back.

AVB has his job cut out for him in the upcoming transfer window; he needs to buy players with a winning mentality. In the past, we were noted for grinding out wins even when we played poorly.

We have lost that ability; teams no longer fear us, every team now wants to have a go at Chelsea. I will appreciate AVB more if he stops trying to be a smart ass with the media.

Chelsea has a problem and he should work to fix it. If the rumors that he has been given £150m to spend on quality are true then he should spend it very wisely. Chelsea needs him to get his transfer activity right because a top four finish is not a guarantee this year.

It has been a miserable year for Blues worldwide; I hope our squad makes some positive new resolutions and stick with it throughout 2012.

Keep The Faith (and of course) The Blue Flag Flying High!

Have a prosperous New Year!

By Morag

Twitter @super_chelsea