Part 2 Special Feature: What’s next for January’s big spenders Chelsea?
Therefore it is quite possible that Ancelotti will revert to one of his older formations, a setup that he utilized in his early days last season as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786’s manager.
The formation in question is the 4-4-2 formation but with several key standout features. During his tenure at Milan, Ancelotti played the 4-4-2 formation but in a diamond mould, which in tactical terms at Chelsea will mean that
Torres and Drogba will play as the front two men with Lampard as an attacking midfielder.
The remaining three midfielders will be namely http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-Essien-c25294.
This formation started to fall apart during the middle of the 2009-2010 Premier League season due to the absence of Jose Bosingwa because of an extended knee injury.
As a consequence, even though http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ashley-Cole-c6809 provided the Blues width down the left hand side of attack, their lack of options on the right hand side meant that Ancelotti had to abandon the 4-4-2 diamond formation in favour of a more
robust 4-3-3 switch.
Another drawback of the 4-4-2 diamond formation at Chelsea in the 2009-2010 season was the lack of energy brought in the right sided midfield role by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Deco-c10735.
The German captain and the Portuguese midfielder have now parted ways with the London club and this role can be aptly played by Ramirez who arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer transfer window.
Ramirez has the tactical nous and the endurance levels to match the levels required to become a right sided midfielder when Chelsea have possession of the ball in a 4-4-2 diamond formation. But he also has the strategic awareness
to retreat into a more defensively minded central midfielder when the Blues are without the possession of the ball.
Ramirez has already proven his credentials in the right midfield role in the 4-4-2 diamond formation for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Brazil-c2858 and before the 2010-2011 club football season at his ex-club Benfica in the Portuguese football league.
The youthful Brazilian is a perfect candidate for a role which Michael Ballack and Deco failed to perform due to their rigidness and lack of work ethic. However, this formation is not without its limitations.
It will firstly curtail the offensive abilities for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Frank-Lampard-c14097 who will have to revert to a playmaking midfielder rather than a goal scoring one. As the 4-4-2 diamond formation calls for more positional discipline, Florent Malouda
will also find it hard to adapt to its intransigency and curtail his tendency to roam free in the 4-3-3 setup.
Not only does the 4-4-2 formation provide tactical issues for Ancelotti, it also creates management problems. Beside the difficulties that Malouda and co. will face in the diamond formation, the removal of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nicolas-Anelka-c27786 from the
starting line up at Chelsea might give rise to dressing room unrest at the London club.
The ex- Real Madrid striker is well known for his mood swings and thus Ancelotti will have to draw on his years of man-management to keep the Frenchman happy.
Nonetheless, it is imperative that Chelsea understand that best club’s are built on solid tactical foundations that breed on the find success.
Luis Felipe Scolari’s time at Stamford Bridge taught the club’s fans one thing that cramming one’s best players into a random formation is not always the best recipe for success in domestic or European competitions.
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