US Tour Round Up

[Sheva]

So Chelsea win the World Football Challenge, new formation, alot of playing time for the youngsters in the squad and also some old faces back at the club.

So what's everyones thoughts on players, who impressed you the most?

Regarding the first team, Drogba has been on fire with those long range efforts and it's nice to see him at full fitness and having the confidence and lets hope he has plenty of goals this season.

For me sturridge looked promising, im not going to get over excited but im sure he will feature in quite abit of first team action next season as i think he also has the ability to play out wide aswell.

Turnbull didn't really have alot too do but he was solid throughout his playing time.

Zhirkov had a good debut and didn't look out of place one bit and capped it off with a goal.

The surprise player was Deco for me and looked very comfortable in whatever role the manager asked him to play, his vision is great and his passing technique is incredible. Did not expect him too do so well after all the transfer talk surrounding his name.

Di Santo showed great enthusiasm against Club America and to be honest i think it would be great for him to go out on loan at a top club and come back a even better player next season.

Going to give a small shout to my 30 million pound man Sheva, done well this tour whenever he has had the chance and he's looked sharp and his effort was 100% every time.

So all in all good tour and impressive start for Mr Ancelotti and also the fan base we have out there in the US is incredible and it was really great too see.

Edited July 27, 2009 by Sheva

[Oblivion]

Agree with most of the points, though I still have my doubts about Shevchenko. Still think he's past it and should be shipped out. To have him around as a squad player, with his wages, would be criminal!

Very impressed with Di Santo and I feel that Carlo has his eye on the lad, as well as having high hopes for Sturridge. Entirely possible that they could be our first choice frontline in a few years time. They certainly have the potential. However, like Sheva, I'm still gonna keep my feet on the ground as far as Sturridge is concerned.

Deco could redeem himself in the eyes of many fans this season, and would certainly be a better piece of business instead of buying Pirlo.

The squad has a balanced feel to it and I actually believe that we're in a better position to survive the ACN than 2 years ago (I mena, come on, Steve Sidwell????)

Good start Charlie. :(

[Captain Haribo]

I'd bet my house on Deco being rubbish again. Except I don't own my house, so I can't. But you get the point.

I'm not at all surprised he's looked better in friendlies: the lack of pressure suits him perfectly.

[ace]

From the Guardian:

Chelsea's players departed the stunning new Cowboys stadium last night for London having secured the first trophy of what they hope will prove a glittering first campaign under Carlo Ancelotti. There are bigger priorities than the inaugural 2009 World Football Challenge yet, in defeating the Mexican side Club America here to maintain momentum from impressive wins over Internazionale and Milan, they will have drawn encouragement aplenty.

The zigzagging across the United States may have sapped energy, but Chelsea return home today far fitter than they left, with their captain's commitment to the club reaffirmed and the squad overseen by a manager who will have gleaned much over two weeks away with his players. Ancelotti will crave evidence of how his team fares under pressure in competitive fixtures, but this tour – marked by a wholeheartedly contested game against his former club, Milan, in Baltimore last Friday – has offered real glimpses of what Chelsea will offer in the campaign proper. So what, then, have we learned?

1) Tactically, Ancelotti intends to play a diamond in midfield, capped initially by Frank Lampard as the marauding playmaker with Deco and Salomon Kalou offered outings in the role against Club America last night. John Mikel Obi and Michael Essien are his first-choice midfield shields, though Michael Ballack may have had an opportunity to stake his claim for the role had he retained his fitness, and Deco had two outings in the position. There will be a pair of strikers – gone, apparently, are the days of 4-3-3 with Didier Drogba barging passage forward with only wide men for company – with the full-backs asked to supply the team's natural width. Luiz Felipe Scolari tried something similar a year ago but never really struck a balance between rip-roaring attack and defensive industry. The Italian in Ancelotti will not put up with frailties if the full-backs are caught too often up-field and the channels left exposed.

2) The team's play may prove far less direct than in recent seasons, with Ancelotti placing the onus on retaining possession in midfield, all neat triangles and overlaps, rather than seeking out Drogba's brawn and muscle through the middle. Inter and, at times, Milan seemed off the pace in coping with the slick approach, with Clarence Seedorf admitting he could already spy evidence of the Ancelotti effect taking hold of Chelsea. Whether Premier League opponents, starting with Manchester United in the Community Shield in under two weeks, find it quite so irresistible remains to be seen.

3) Manchester City could regret letting Daniel Sturridge slip away. The teenager actually stands more chance of making a mark at first-team level with Chelsea than he did at Eastlands given City's recent outlay on forwards. He impressed against Seattle Sounders with a debut goal and assist, unnerved Inter at times in California and should have added to his tally on tour against the Mexicans. Sturridge remains raw but, with his transfer fee still to be decided by a tribunal, he should prove a bargain.

4) Despite the lack of a marquee signing to date, Chelsea's squad retains its depth and quality, even with Joe Cole and Ballack back in Cobham undergoing rehabilitation from injury. Sturridge and Ross Turnbull are useful additions, the latter as a back-up goalkeeper, while Yuri Zhirkov – on the basis of his excellent debut against Milan – will offer balance, defensive surety and spring up-field whether he is employed at full-back or, more likely, in midfield. Deco, for now, and Ricardo Carvalho remain at the club, with the centre-half impressive and eager to put last season's toils behind him. The management had craved more flair, hence their interest in Franck Ribery, though Lampard – albeit in a different way – already appears a natural source of creativity and goals in the hole behind the forwards.

5) Andriy Shevchenko and Claudio Pizarro's days at the club are numbered. That is hardly a revelation given that each spent last season on loan away from Stamford Bridge. Yet the Chilean's impact was negligible and the Ukrainian, despite a new haircut and a public insistence that he would like to stay, appears to be on the fringes. Ancelotti confirmed he did not anticipate the man he rated so highly at Milan remaining beyond the 31 August transfer cut-off. Others, most probably the youngsters Michael Mancienne, Sam Hutchinson, Franco di Santo and Scott Sinclair, are expected to move elsewhere on loan in search of first-team experience.

6) Ancelotti's English is improving though it remains a work in progress. He appeared exhausted and frustrated at times at his inability to explain himself fully, which is utterly understandable, though good humour generally shone through and his assistant Bruno Demichelis is providing invaluable assistance as a makeshift interpreter. There appears to be a real determination about Ancelotti to expand his vocabulary, however, and first impressions suggest he will not fall into the same trap as Scolari, whose English rather stagnated once competitive games came thick and fast.

7) The United States appears to have taken to Chelsea. This was the Premier League club's fourth visit to the country in five years for pre-season and, at last, they have made their mark. Chelsea shirts littered the considerable crowds in Seattle, Pasadena, Baltimore and Arlington where the team played. The gates were magnificent. Some 81,224 people attended the 2–0 victory over Inter, and 71,203 the tight 2–1 win over Milan in Baltimore. The Cowboys stadium was heaving last night with just over 57,000 watching on despite Mexico having played the United States a few hours earlier in the final of the Gold Cup. When the Chelsea players appeared on the astonishing 160ft by 72ft high-definition LED television screen suspended above the playing surface of this arena – the largest screen of its type with 30,000,000 light bulbs and built at a cost of £25m – prior to kick-off, even the Hispanics in the crowd bellowed their appreciation. This club is making an impression in these parts.

Given the crammed schedule and draining west-east-west travelling, that represents a fine use of two weeks away. Chelsea will be buoyed that John Terry has committed his future to the club despite Manchester City's attempts to lure him away, and that has added gloss to their pre-season, but they gleaned far more from the brief spell in the US. The players expect to be back next summer, most likely to defend the trophy won courtesy of Di Santo and Florent Malouda's late goals. They should receive a hospitable welcome.

[Elliott]

Very positive stuff, although Pizarro is Peruvian?.. Anyway, it's a real credit to our people behind the scenes that we now seem to be established in the States, and i'm sure our appearances in the latter stages of the Champs League plays a major part in that.

[rahul]

Agree with most thats been said here but since we have a similar first team line up to what we had last year, I'm still convinced we are short of one creative player, someone like Aguero or Ribery, who could win a game on their own on an off day.

[bonetti]

Very positive stuff, although Pizarro is Peruvian?

He was Peruvian when he was at Bayern!

Edited July 27, 2009 by bonetti

[badenblue]

I was most impressed by the youngsters they came in and were not overawed, am really pleased they were given plenty of game time, Deco seems to have discovered ability, even if a few do not appear convinced, Sturridge looks a fine prospect, can see him getting plenty of playing time, but the one to stand out from this tour is Drogba, on his day he is awesome, but he appears couple of levels above that and it was only friendlies being played.

[Captain Haribo]

That Guardian article seems to rely on a lot of cliched nonsense regarding our previous styleof play: espiecally when it seems to suggest we used to just hoof the ball to Drogba however we could.

Good read, regardless.

[mad_mac]

from what I saw, Kalou looks more and more a second string player, and Turnbull has a lot of improvements to make. I think Pizarro will leave but I could see us hanging on to Sheva. Same can be said with regards to Belletti, I think he's a goner.

But we looked good.

Scott

[Spiller86]

Best article I've read so far on our progress under the new manager. Certainly some interesting points, just wondering on what people's thoughts were on 5. I felt during the time he got Shevchenko looked far more interested and brighter than Pizarro. Is he attempting to impress potential suitors or does he want to stay? If he does wants to stay I don't think he would be a terrible asset particulalry if Di Santo goes on loan to Blackburn as many are suggesting. He was almost playing as I kind of support striker a little deeper than I remember and didn't look too bad. Perhaps he isn't value for money, but assuming that Cote D'Ivoire go deep into the African Cup of Nations, I'd feel alot more comfortable having him around come January/February. Thoughts?

[TheWestwayWonder]

Sheva, you have some good points there, especially about the potential revivals of Deco and Sheva. Some might regard them as a lost cause, but if Deco can be a poor man's Pirlo, and Sheva can even chip in 5-10 goals in all comps and a few assists, it will help.

the article ace posted from the Guardian was a good read, especially the part about the club's reception in America. Four years ago, watching our fans get outnumbered by the DC United ultras in Maryland, I never thought I would see Will Ferrel posing with John Terry, or wind up ticketless for a preseason game. Its crazy thinking about the difference.