The Hard Line

There has been a shit load of talk about Chelsea since their defeat to Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge. Some saying the team are old and beginning to look like AC Milan currently do, others saying that Roman Abramovich is about to reinvest a massive amount of money. Some saying that The Anchovy's days are numbered, but most of it is transfer speculation. And a lot of it is stupid.

I think that if we've learned anything this season it is that you can't buy success. Real Madrid are perfect evidence of that, and I have no doubt that this lesson has not been lost on anyone at Chelsea. But I do think that the other thing which must be learned is that a team will only perform when they have one leader, and when the team is formed and built by that leader. Inter were rubbish last year, and it was mostly because they were not Mourinho's team. On Tuesday, the following players who were bought this season played: Eto'o, Milito, Pandev, Sneijder, Lucio, Materazzi and Motta. Six of those started while Materazzi was a substitution late on. This is the reason Inter look so strong this year, they are Mourinho's team. Just like Chelsea were.

Now, while it is true that consistency is vital to any team, there also has to be progression and growth and this is the key element which has not been present in Chelsea. I personally think this is because there have been too many coaches, all trying to make their stamp by buying players. As they say, too many cooks spoil the broth. For example, Nicolas Anelka. He is a wonderful striker who is too good to leave out of the team, but he is being played out of position and is subsequently only about a third of as effective as he could be. So, for it to work he and Drogba need to be played up front together, rather than Anelka being left out wide. But this requires a third player to play behind the strikers and while Deco played very well in this position at the beginning of the season he picked up injuries and his form dropped. With Joe Cole being injured and then out of sorts, the only options were Lampard and Malouda.

Both were rubbish. And both were fantastic in a different position, which brings in another conundrum: Malouda. He plays so well out wide on the left hand side, and is only average from central midfield, you have to play him up front. Which means Anelka and Drogba can't play as a pair, and subsequently means Anelka on the right wing. The only other option is a straight 4-4-2, but Malouda plays best as a 'second striker' on the left, and even if he were to be pushed back there is no one to play on the right wing.

There are just too many problems with personnel, and this is because there has been no single leader over the last two years. Grant bought Anelka, Scolari bought Deco and wanted Robinho while Hiddink bought Zhirkov (not directly, but you know what I mean). No one knows who bought Turnbull or Sturridge. Sure the core of the team is still there, but the core of the team is Mourinho's and no manager will ever get them to do what he wants them to do because of that.

The other thing I think has been, and is still a major problem within the team is the fact that because they've been leaderless they have needed to create a leader and that leader has been John Terry. Power has shifted from the manager to the players and this is not healthy. Mostly because as a result of scandal surrounding Terry and others, the players have become divided.

So, what's the solution? Well, I think that this is a time for courage. That sounds dumb but what I mean by that is The Anchovy needs to have the owner's backing, and then needs to take a critical look at the team and make some difficult decisions which will probably be very unpopular with a lot of people. I don't know what he will decide but there are three things I'd do, and then there are a few players I'd buy.

First thing I'd do is sell Didier Drogba. The players seem to think they are invincible and Drogba's bad example in the Champion's League can't be tolerated. He seems to be well respected, so if they hit him everyone in the team will be scared. But the biggest motivation behind his sale is simple: The team play better without him. During the ACN Anelka led the line, Malouda played on the left and Joe Cole on the right and the team ripped Sunderland seven new ones, tore Birminham City (best defence in the league at the time) to bits and crushed everyone else they came up against. With Drogba the team seem to be one dimensional, but with Anelka leading the line they have far move movement up front and the team really do just look better in general.

Second thing I'd do is sell John Terry. He's caused a lot of trouble with this whole Wayne Bridge sex scandal shit, and I think he's divided the dressing room. He also has too much say, in my opinion, and by getting rid of him The Anchovy would not only scare a lot of players but would also draw a line in the sand. And let's be honest, Terry's form has been awful of late. Alex is a better defender, and Ivanovic is just as good an attacker. I'd replace Terry with Ivanovic and let Carvalho or Alex follow his lead in the same way they currently follow Terry's.

Third thing I'd do is give the players an option. If they don't like what's going on they can leave. If they're prepared to stick around and be successful and win for the club then they need to follow the manager's lead. I'd also have a stern chat with Ashley Cole, and ask him if he would like to clean his act up and stay or leave now.

After that it is a case of choosing a formation and how Ancelotti wants the team to play, and then responding accordingly. I know how I would like them to play, and who I'd buy but it really is up to him. Personally I'd like to see a 4-2-1-3 formation and with that in mind I'd bring another goal keeper in, and sell Hilaro to push Cech for his number one spot. I'd replace Terry with a center half and possibly sell Carvalho. I'd buy another world class right wing(back) and possibly replace Ashley Cole depending on what he decided to do. I'd keep Essien and Mikel for the holding role, because I don't think Mikel is anywhere near as bad as people seem to think he is (there has been a lot of talk about him being sold). I'd buy another central midfielder because I think that Lampard and Ballack together can play 60 games a season, but they can't make an entire season each. I'd get rid of Deco because he's only been trouble since he arrived, and I'd bring another attacking midfielder in. Then I'd sell Drogba and Kalou and I'd bring in three strikers. Currently the team have four strikers to fill six positions (assuming you want two players per position on the field) but I'd play five for six so that there is space for the younger players to come in but not too much pressure on them to perform.

I would love to bring in David Villa, Sergio Aguero and either Angel di Mara or Miroslav Stoch. Stoch is of course one of the club's current young players on loan in Holland but I don't know how good he is. If he's as good as Angel di Mara then yes, bring him through. Otherwise sell him. I'd like the club to play three central strikers with a lot of movement across the front three, a holding midfielder and a central midfielder with an attacking midfielder moving around to feed the strikers, a static centre half pairing and overlapping wingbacks.

This is of course all my own speculation but we'll see what happens. What we do know is that The Anchovy needs the team to play the way he wants them to and based on his old Milan team and the way Chelsea played while Deco was performing that involved decisive passing, tactical positioning, fluid and fast attacking with disciplined and compact movement. It's up to him as to how he'll achieve that.