Robben is all but Gone

The BBC just put up a report indicating that Robben will soon sign with the Spanish giants:

Chelsea winger Arjen Robben has agreed personal terms over a move to Real Madrid, reports BBC Radio Five Live.

The clubs are yet to agree a fee, which is understood to be about £15m, but Robben, 23, is due to fly to the Spanish capital on Friday.

It seems that the hour of his imminent departure is upon us. I hate to see him go, and leave Chelsea never having fully reached his stride. Robben walks away from the elusive fifth-gear he was never able to reach. Among moments of sparkly, eye-catching brilliance, he never seemed to perform consistently enough to make a definite impact on the season.

Which is a shame. He has so much potential. With all that talent and ability (plus the pace and agility), what were the conditions that he required? Perhaps a regular starting-job was his achilles heel? Or was it actually his achilles heel(?) and various other niggling injuries that kept him out?

Being injury prone is a brutally devestating quality–a plague preying on many of football’s brightest stars. One cannot necessarily blame Robben for his skittish attendance.

But if a regular spot in the squad is what he requires, Madrid is, in my opinion, simply not the best option.

Interestingly enough, envisioning Chelsea playing without Robben isn’t hard. In fact, it’s far too easy. He is injured so consistently that I don’t even know if we will miss him. His performances are so inconsistent. As a spectator I can’t help but hope I get the chance to watch him. But in terms of his overall contribution to the team, what was really there? Nevermind the fact that he has been on a downhill slop since the original 04-05 season, and the statistics betray his diminishing returns. Goals, shots, and assists are ALL down. The only consistent number is games started.

This is not entirely Robben’s fault. He is a player with all the makings of a top wide-man, playing in a side as narrow as they come. Something about Mourinho’s tactics recently have inhibited the attacking qualities of our players. One of the many reasons I don’t want to see him go is that I believe Chelsea will be focusing on width this season. I believe our football will be better to watch this year than it has in the past five years if this is the case.

Fortunately, the BBC report I linked to above also records this little gem for us Blues fans:

It is also believed Feyenoord’s 20-year-old left winger Royston Drenthe has been lined up to replace Dutch international Robben.

This is the player we’re about to lose:

And here’s the Dutch kid we’ve been linked with:

Let’s hope his Ronaldinho-esque braids are an indicative of his footballing skills!

Tags: Robben, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Madrid, Drenthe, Football, Footy

Madrid bid for Robben

Madrid are now rumored to have put in a £ 13.5m offer for Arjen Robben. Robben’s agent, also his father, has acknowledged the offer and stated that he believes his son is interested (how could he not be interested in Madrid?). I do not like this news.

Robben is one of my favorite Chelsea players. Although we’ve picked up Malouda, who would be considered an ideal replacement, I can’t think of anything more exciting than to watch both of them play together in a blue shirt. I will be quite sad if he does end up leaving.

Oh well. Perhaps this will allow us to play Essien on the right, in the formation I suggested earlier? That wouldn’t be so bad. He is perhaps the best jack-of-all-trades currently playing in the EPL. Powerful, determined, clever, quick, aggressive, and a true team player. When I watch him play for Ghana I can’t help but wish that he could somehow be fit into a central midfield role.

But perhaps he would be better than Mikel at playing defensive-mid in the diamond? I wonder…

I wonder what Jose’s appraisal is?

One thing is certain: I’m delighted that we’ve got the option.

Essien is definitely the type of player who can really grab the game by the scruff of the neck and drive Chelsea forward. Most all of the great teams of the past few years have had this type of player: Keane for Manchester United, Gattuso for Milan, and Vieira for Arsenal, just to name a few.

Here’s to hoping that Arjen stays with us, and that Essien is put in a position to shine like he so obviously should.

Chelsea’s Transfers

It has been a while since my last post, but watching the “Kings of Flair” in the Copa America tournament right now has really got me relishing the fact that I’m going to get to watch Chelsea’s new signings this season.

Like a few other football pundits, I believe that the spark a talented, creative, pacey winger can bring to a side cannot be underrated. The ability to really stretch a team by running up and down the lines and put in great crosses that allow the striker to score is essential to success. Furthermore, watching a winger like Kaka, Ronaldinho, C. Ronaldo, Robben, or any of the other such players is always a delight. A good winger plays the type of football you can’t help but enjoy.

We’ve just signed Malouda, who scored on his debut and had an assist (we can only hope he keeps up that type of incredible form). With the likes of him, Robben, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Joe Cole (who has been moving more towards a role in the center of midfield but still looks proficient on the wings) terrorizing the flanks, I couldn’t be any more excited. Salomon Kalou, who I feel will have a solid season this year, has been employed mostly on the outskirts of Jose’s 4-3-3. But that shouldn’t keep him from remaining a solid backup striker/winger. Who knows, he may even have a breakout season and earn a spot alongside Drogba.

Furthermore, Ashley Cole , if he can remain healthy for the season, is the perfect left-fullback for this type of wide squad. Let’s also hope that we can get ahold of Daniel Alves to play at right-fullback. He’s commonly referred to as a right-sided Roberto Carlos. This really would be a perfect complement to Cole/SWP/Robben or whoever plays in front of him on the right. If we don’t manage to pick him up, which I find very unlikely, Paulo Ferreira is still a soild right-back and I wouldn’t mind having him start.

Since Mourinho has been charged with not only winning trophies this year, but also playing an eye-pleasing, attacking style of football, this is the line-up I would start with, assuming everyone is healthy.

———————————–
——Drogba–Shevchenko——
————Lampard————–
Malouda——————Robben
————-Mikel—————-
A. Cole–Terry–Carvalho–Alves
————-Cech—————–

As obnoxious as it is to go ahead and include Alves in the squad, all the speculation that’s reached my ears has affirmed the surety that he will be joining us before the window shuts. I would also start Lampard over Ballack, who has looked perpetually lethargic and apathetic. Mikel over Makelele is an obvious choice: the former looks to be one of the premier league’s upcoming stars, while the latter is a loyal but ageing shadow of his deliberately assertive self.

The wingers I’ve selected, Robben and Malouda, are my favorites. Joe Cole is also one of my favorite players and I would cycle him in very frequently. With so much ability Mourinho really can’t go wrong.

****Note: As I type this, Daniel Alves just put in a fine finish for his country, securing Brazil’s 3-0 lead in the Copa America final. Fantastic!

Chelsea 2-1 Valencia (Agg 3-2)

Excellent work from Chelsea.  Just before the match I’d written that we would win 1-0 or 2-0 unless Valencia scored early.  Well, Valencia scored early, and we still won 2-1.  Fantastic work from Essien, the second goalscorer.  It’s great to have him back in the squad.

In another interesting move, Jose put on both Makelele and Kalou on in the last five minutes of the game.  Obviously, he was expecting the game to go to overtime and saved his remaining two subs specifically for it.  I think that if Essien hadn’t put it past Valencia’s keeper, Kalou would have torn Valencia’s defense apart in the extra time without a doubt.

Chelsea v. Valencia (Second Leg)

I commented earlier in this blog that if Chelsea had John Terry for the first leg against Valencia, the scoreline would be 2-1 in Chelsea’s favor or a 1-1 draw, and I was right.

Today, the stakes are higher and goal is clear.  With ManYoo’s recent stumble, Chelsea are a powerfully hungry team with a firm grasp of exactly what needs to be done.

Barring some disaster or a goal very early in the match by Valencia (which would throw us off mentally), I say we win 2-0 today.  Maybe, we win 1-0 if Valencia play it very defensively.

This match means too much to Jose for him and his players to give it anything but their all.

England win(?) 3-0 over Andorra

In what many people are calling England’s “Worst win ever,” Steven Gerrard managed to score twice before the Andorran keeper botched a fairly rubbish strike from Defoe and David Nugent put it away.

I didn’t manage to see the game, but the boring, lifeless, bland England performance that everyone is reporting seems completely unsurprising.

Even the England U-21′s are more fun to watch.

England draws 0-0 to Isreal

Go figure.