Saturday, 9 January 2010

Barclays Premier League

Hull v Chelsea, 12:45

Saturday, 16 January 2010

Barclays Premier League

Chelsea v Sunderland, 15:00

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Barclays Premier League

Chelsea v Birmingham, 19:45

Saturday, 30 January 2010

Barclays Premier League

Burnley v Chelsea, 17:30

Am I right in saying these are the games we'll miss Essien, Drogba, Kalou & Mikel for? If so you can hardly say that we NEED to sign another striker specifically for these games can you? Personally I'd love it if we signed someone anyway- just to have a better player than Kalou in reserve in case of a Drogba/Anelka injury.. but for these fixtures specifically.. we don't have any excuse to lose with Kakuta or Sturridge up front!

I wonder if Ancio might give in to temptation though and bring out his Christmas tree with Joey and Deco/Malouda behind Anelka.......

This African nations thing just don't worry me one bit, we have the squad to cope with that no problem and as you pointed out no major games to play.

Why my feet are firmly on the ground we still got to play most of the top half of the table away.. bar Villa and Stoke Away.

Ive said all season that the ACN is a storm in a teacup and shouldnt affect us one bit. Doesnt stop the media going on about it though. We have to admit we have drawn the lottery with the fixtures (remember last Jan we went to Anfield and Old Trafford). There will also be 2 FA Cup matches as well, and its doubtful , dependent on who we are drawn against that Essien and Drogba wouldve played in those anyway. I say Essien and Drogba as they are the players we are only really going to miss, unless we have a midfield injury crisis in which case Mikel being absent will hurt us too.

So if we buy a striker it wont be with the ACN in mind it will be with the future in mind.

Whilst we do have Borini,Sturridge and FDS to call on, i am would be worried if one of Drogba or Anelka picks up a long term injury as i dont think any of those three are ready to step into a regular first team spot yet (CA has stated as much about Sturridge and Borini). Kalou isnt good enough - fine for the Carling Cup and a 20 min sub appearance but not good enough to lead the line on a long term basis.

So im pretty sure we will be bringing someone in in Jan with the long term in mind, also bearing in mind the age of our current front two as well.

Edited November 23, 200916 yr by bjd

The fixtures during the ACN are too kind, I'm almost expecting UEFA (yeah, they'll get involved) to order us to play Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool away all in the space of 10 hours with 6 men whilst Drogba and co are away.

Er, cough.....Wigan... Cough

Er, cough.....Wigan... Cough

Yes a little hiccup there, it makes you wonder how the hell did they beat us, considering Pompey's and Spurs results.

Still the fixture's have been kind to us for once, while we lose a couple of players to the ANC competition

I think whatever signings we make in January will be made with the next two seasons in mind especially as we are likely to face at least a one transfer window ban. My guess is whoever we sign will be loaned back to their clubs for the rest of the season UNLESS they happen to not be cuoptied for the Champions League

i'm a lot less worried about missing drogba after the wolves game. iknow it was was only wolves and they were aweful but we didnt have lampard or ballack either and we were still magic most of the game. i think we'll miss essien than drogba but looking at that fixture list we should still cope comfortably.

Looks like Liverfool are going to overtake us this season..

http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2009/11/13-po...s-time-for.html

Looks like Liverfool are going to overtake us this season..

http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2009/11/13-po...s-time-for.html

Alarm bells were sounding around Anfield; fans were in a state of depression. 17 points behind Arsenal?! Surely overcoming a such a gap was an insurmountable task? Surely the league was completely out of reach?

Not for Liverpool FC.

You just have to laugh really.

I just threw up a little. Erugh.

Er, cough.....Wigan... Cough

Same as Scott. Don't count chickens and all that eh?

If they have their full squad available, I certainly don't expect the Sunderland game to be a foregone conclusion.

Of course, every Liverpool fan remembers the abject disappointment of what happened next (!) lolz

Essien and Mikel: that's DM gone. Who are we going to play there? Lamps? Bella? Deco? Matic? Ballack?

Drogba and Kalou gone: well, that's Drogba gone. Anelka likely to take his role. Borini or Malouda to take the second striker's role?

I think we might be able to make it through with certain key players taking on slightly different roles, but I do believe with the impending transfer embargo we need to think 1-2 seasons ahead. We cannot afford to let the window pass with no signings.

Cheers,

Butch

Is there anything that typifies a Scouser more than that article?

Their trophy cupboard is more of a blast from the past than my CD collection.

People make a far bigger deal of the ACN than it really is. Last time around, correct me if I'm wrong, we won 6 and drew 2. There's usually a few cup games thrown in there as well, so the league challenge shouldn't take much of a hit.

The only worry might be an increased chance of injury, but as a big supporter of the international game I don't like people complaining about that. We can leave the Scousers to cry about Torres snapping his legs again whilst we enjoy the benefits of squad depth.

The main issue I see with ACN this year, is our only two real DM players in Mikel and Essien are leaving, which leaves a huge gap in the team. But Ballack and Beletti can fill that for a month or so.

Also, in Carlo's two striker diamond system, Anelka is the only established striker left after Drogba and Kalou dissapear...and we're left with Borini and Sturridge (and possibly Di Santo) who are yet to prove they can win games.

That said, if we don't bring in a player or two to fill the gaps, I will still be reasonably confident in our ability to perform well in that period. Just put Kakuta in to play striker...he can do anything he wants :)