Midfield Magnet

This week's game against Bolton confirmed my idea that Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti require a midfield playmaker for success. It is his way, and now it is their way. Jose Mourinho did not want the team to ever require a player in the team for success, and as a result he played a system which never really utilised a traditional playmaker but the Anchovy has in the past and continues to do so. At AC Milan he played Pirlo deep in midfield, and then Kaka further forward doing a similar thing in a different way. And with him as Chelsea's manager, they will need to do the same thing.

In fact, their success at the beginning of the season was dependant on Deco's performance, as a playmaker behind the strikers. At some stage Deco picked up a few knocks and didn't play as well as he had, and the results reflected as much. Then he was injured and the team were eventually forced to change their formation. He came back but was played deeper in midfield, and this worked very well until he was injured once again, and once again the team went through a difficult time. Recently he has come back from injury and the results have picked up drastically.

There is however one major problem with Deco. He is old and susceptible to injury, and while he provides the team with some culture they need more. As a result I think that Chelsea NEED a quality playmaker for next season, I think Rafael van der Vaart would be a good buy, as well as to bring through Gael Kakuta for the position. With a more traditional playmaker in midfield, given the freedom to roam and dictate the team's play, wingbacks on either side allowing the wing strikers to move inside and be playmakers themselves the team would have a very fluid but tactically sound approach to the game which would be focused on zonal pressure and attacking play.

Control midfield with two central midfielders, put three strikers up front, wingbacks to patrol the flanks and allow a playmaker to do whatever the fuck he chooses wherever he wants. Job done.