The Future of Chelsea: Josh McEachran

I was having a chat with one of my friends last night and we were talking about a certain Josh McEachran. I have to say that this kid completely blows me away every time I see him play. With his introduction to the Carling Cup tie against Newcastle, he completely changed the flow of the game. We were down 3-1, with a team of mostly youngsters and backups on the field (with a few exceptions). The only senior players on the field were Ferreira, Alex, Terry (first half), Benayoun, Kalou (10 minutes), and Anelka. In the 63rd minute, Benayoun was taken off with injury (Kalou had been taken off earlier after only 10 minutes in the game). Ancelotti's hand was forced, he put in McEachran.

Anybody who watched that game could tell you, we were a completely new side once McEachran was put into the mix. His composure on the ball, his confidence, and his range of passing are all phenomenal for a boy who's just 17 years old! It still blows my mind how in a game which we were losing and the tide was against us, McEachran's introduction turned our fortunes around and almost helped us in what could have been one of the greatest cup comebacks in history (announcer's words, not mine).

Josh McEachran is certainly our long-term replacement for Lampard. I can't see Lampard losing his role in our team for the next 2-3 years unless a certain youngster replaces him. Keep your eye on this kid, he's going to do big things.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf56xfUoLdA&feature=related
^ Josh McEachran highlights from the Newcastle game. Watch how twice, he dribbles past and confuses the Toon defenders and tries his luck on goal.

Carlo Ancelotti: Chelsea's New "Special One?"

When I first learned about the possibility of Carlo Ancelotti coming to take the helm at Stamford Bridge, needless to say I was very interested and pretty excited. As many people know, Chelsea have had more than one problem with managers since Mourinho was sacked following a falling out between him and owner Roman Abramovich. Following Mourinho, we had Avram Grant, Big Phil Scolari, Guus Hiddink, and now finally Mr. Ancelotti.

One of the big things that sticks out about Ancelotti's resume is the fact that he won the Champions League twice as a player, and twice as a manager. In the 2002-2003 season, he led AC Milan to glory over Juventus, and in the 2006-2007 season he led AC Milan to revenge over Liverpool for the embarrassing 2005 finals loss. During Ancelotti's reign over AC Milan, the club won some other silverware, although clearly the two Champions League victories are the most significant.

It is with this European pedigree that Mr. Abramovich decided upon Ancelotti as the new gaffer for Chelsea, and with the win over Wigan Athletic to clinch the Premier League title, it is clear that Mr. Abramovich has made the right decision. One of the biggest problems we have had since Mourinho was sacked was not a lackluster squad (indeed we have a very good squad, one of the best in the world really), but lack of managerial stability. This has definitely affected our football, considering the only thing we have won since Mourinho's departure was the FA Cup last season, under the guidance of caretaker manager Guus Hiddink. With the FA Cup in hand, Chelsea looked forward to the 2009-2010 season with optimism and an expectation that Ancelotti would finally end the heartache caused by the departure of Mourinho.

Ancelotti's first games in charge gave us all a preview of what the season would be like. The four friendlies that we played in America all ended in wins, and the two biggest names that we brought in over the summer, Daniel Sturridge and Yuri Zhirkov, both scored on their debuts. The first competitive game of real consequence was the Community Shield, in which we beat Manchester United 4-1 on penalties. The start of the season was great, with Ancelotti winning his first six Premier League games. After that, a few stumbles against Wigan, Aston Villa, and Manchester City made our season a little more troublesome.

The lowest point of our season came not after the John Terry/Wayne Bridge scandal broke (even though Terry was wrong, Bridge cannot feel good about himself since he has acted like a child during the whole ordeal) but the defeat to Mourinho's Inter in the first knockout round of the Champions League. True, Inter outplayed us in the second leg, but by all means we should have tied, if not won, the first leg. I will not engage in hypotheticals, because hypothetically Messi could quit Barcelona and dedicate himself to Chelsea, but there's no point in talking about what could be/could have been.

It was at this point that Ancelotti, knowing that this morale depressing defeat could potentially derail the season, held talks with his squad. It is this point where our season turned around. Following a forgettable "warm-up" draw with Blackburn (I say warm up considering the results of the next two matches), Chelsea stormed to a 5-0 thumping of Portsmouth and a 7-1 crushing of Aston Villa. Following a title defining 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, Chelsea cruised to the title with the only scare coming from the 2-1 loss at White Hart Lane by the in-form Tottenham.

Ancelotti should be recognized as the driving force behind this successful season. Not only did Chelsea win the Premier League after three seasons of Manchester United dominance, but we set a record breaking total of 103 Premier League goals. Not only that, but Didier Drogba clinched the Golden Boot with 29 Premier League goals, and Frank Lampard became the first center midfielder in Premier League history to score more than 20 goals from his position. This feat has only been achieved by one other midfielder, Cristiano Ronaldo, but he played in a more advanced attacking role than Lampard. Chelsea also witnessed Florent Malouda, previously more or less an average player, blossom into a very deadly winger, and an attacking force in his own right (his 12 Premier League goals attest to this, his best league haul in his career so far). Ancelotti also made a great decision to stick with Branislav Ivanovich as his first choice right back with the season ending injury sustained by Jose Bosingwa in October. Indeed, Ancelotti's decision to slot Ivanovich into the right back role was more than justified when Ivanovich was voted into the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

All in all, this has been a great season for Chelsea and Ancelotti. He has proven that Chelsea's squad is not too old to challenge for glory (we won the league and are now looking to clinch an historic double with the impending FA Cup final against Portsmouth). He has given Mr. Abramovich the attacking style of football that he has always wanted (7-2 against Sunderland, 7-1 against Aston Villa, 7-0 against Stoke, and 8-0 against Wigan), and proved that an Italian can successfully adapt an attacking style of play. Chelsea finally has the much needed managerial stability that we were previously lacking after the departure of Mourinho, and to the delight of me and Chelsea fans everywhere, this is just the beginning. After winning the title this year, Ancelotti happily told the press that he hoped this was the beginning of the many successes and trophies that he wanted to bring to Chelsea. I know that I was ecstatic earlier in the season when Ancelotti said he wanted to have his own "era" at Chelsea, much like Wenger at Arsenal and Ferguson at Manchester United. I am even more so now, since Ancelotti proved he has the managerial mettle to lead Chelsea to glory no matter the ups and downs. Cheers to the beginning of a very promising career for Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge, and congratulations to the title winning Chelsea squad!