Man U, Chelsea and a lot of question marks – Part 1
A year ago, Alex Ferguson famously rankled Chelsea FC by suggesting its players were too old to win the title. One year later and Chelsea’s “pensioners” have only gotten older – yet Ferguson’s inability to sufficiently replace Cristiano Ronaldo, coupled with the Blues success in not losing any of their own key players means that Chelsea might have the advantage this season simply by the fact that they’ve been running in place.
On Sunday, the two teams, whom we fully expect to be competing for top honors again this year, face off in the traditional curtain-raiser, the Community Shield. Here’s hoping the match will provide clues to some of the biggest questions surrounding the two clubs.
How will Sir Alex arrange his midfield? Manchester United’s midfielders do not strike fear in our hearts. Consider Park Ji-Sung, Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes, Antonio Valencia , Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Nani and Anderson. None of them are currently world beaters, but with the right set-up they can get the job done no problem. Our first choice would be Anderson and Carrick in the middle, with Carrick anchoring. Then, we’d throw Nani and Valencia on the wings…and cross our fingers.
"Sir Alex thinks we can be just as potent without Ronaldo in midfield."
Can Ancelloti stay in the hot seat? Despite the apparent insignificance of the Community Shield, Carlo Ancelloti would gain an immediate psychological advantage with a victory over United. It’s something that his predecessor Luis Felipe Scolari could not achieve and led to his undoing. The Italian clearly has the tactical awareness and the man management skills, but his lack of English could be a major stumbling block. Carlo needs to get acclimatized to the rigors of the Premier League immediately, starting on Sunday. Otherwise it’s arrivederci.
Ballack, Deco, Essien… Who’s the odd man out? Throughout the preseason, Carlo Ancellotti has shown a break from the 4-3-3 system that has been used by Chelsea since the Mourinho years by deploying a diamond midfield with Frank Lampard at the point and at least one true winger such as Florent Malouda or new signing Yuri Zirkhov. That only leaves space for two more from at least Ballack, Deco, and Essien. Last season, such a dilemma was avoided because of a lengthy injury to Essien and the fact that Deco was pretty poor. This year, if all three stay healthy, it could be quite a logjam in the middle of the pitch – but that’s not the worst problem to have.
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