Much has been made of the lack of a dominant and consistant force in The Barclays Premier League this season and the encounter between - failing a miracle - soon to be Champions Manchester United and current Champions Chelsea only highlighted the lack of togetherness and quality that Chelsea have lacked this campaign.Without inside information it is hard to draw conclusions as to whom is responsible for player recruitment, whether it be the manager or in fact Roman Abramovich, the club owner but one thing is for sure, that person was unsuccessful as of late and this ultimately has cost Chelsea the title and probably european glory too.
One might think I'm making reference to that of £50 million man Fernando Torres but this is most definitely not the case. I am a huge Torres fan and in time he WILL find his form and he WILL score goals-prolifically, but he needs chances to do so. In my opinion this is where the problems lie for the Stamford Bridge club, in their creation, imagination and flare.
It's clear to me that try as he may Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou is simply not good enough to provide what is needed from a wide position against the very best. He was barely in the game at Old Trafford and never looked a threat on the flank or elsewhere for that matter. Having only provided three Premier League assists in 29 appearances its no wonder that Fernando and co are struggling to net.
Without service strikers are dysfunctional and Chelsea have more than enough goal-scorers up front to convert all manner of chances. Not many teams in europe can boast a strike force consisting of three world class strikers: Real Madrid? Maybe - Higuain, Benzema and Adebayor. Aside the richest club in Football history Chelsea are doing just fine in that department with Drogba, Anelka and Torres which leads one to cast his eye elsewhere in the Chelsea squad.
Width is key for providing goal scoring opportunities, Manchester United have proved this time and time again, no more so than this season and in particular on Sunday as Park and Valencia run riot. Previous Ferguson teams have seen the likes of Kanchelskis, Giggs, Beckham and Ronaldo given the role of provider but Valencia and Park gave as good as their predecessors by practically sealing a record breaking 19th league title for United.
Park had arguably one of the greatest and most energetic 45 minutes ever seen along with his running buddy Valencia who made England 'star' Ashley Cole look average at best, no wait i'll say it - made Ashley Cole look absolutely non exsistant, maybe even sunday league. And its this width that is key and has propelled Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United teams to unrivaled success both at domestic and european level.
Having praised Sir Alex and slated Carlo i've got one more dig to take at the Chelsea bosses team selection last Sunday - John Obi Mikel. Sure Mikel does a tidy enough job strolling around in front of the back four playing five yard passes, but is that enough?! With the ever impressive Ramires available for selection it's hard to see why he wasn't included from the start. Compared to the red devils in wide positions Chelsea lack energy and fight, Ramires would have added this.
Of course hindsight is a wonderful thing and maybe I've been a little harsh on Ancelotti but Chelsea need to learn from Sir Alex if they wish to become a potent force once more. The order for the day for Chelsea is wingers and a creative force, I'm sure Carlo or even Sir Alex wouldn't disagree with me there.
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