Carlo Ancelotti’s methods are beginning to be vindicated as Chelsea go into their home clash with Bolton Wanderers ready to tighten their grip on a historic Premier League and FA Cup double, says former Blues boss John Hollins.
Ancelotti’s side can go four points clear at the top by beating Bolton at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, making them firm favourites to become only the seventh club in English football history to lift the League and FA Cup trophies in the same season. Chelsea contests the FA Cup final against the Premier League's bottom club, Portsmouth, on May 15.
Speaking exclusively to Goal.com UK Hollins, who managed Chelsea between 1985 and 1988, as well as making 436 appearances for the Blues as a player in the ‘60s and ‘70s, believes the Italian coach has shown his pedigree in expertly riding out the Champions League defeat to Inter Milan.
"It was disappointing, because Ancelotti came as the man to present the Champions League to the owner," said Hollins, "but they haven’t felt sorry for themselves, and it can still be a good, good season."
Hollins pinpointed Ancelotti’s psychological and tactical management of his troops over the last month as the key to Chelsea's reclaiming the initiative in the title race, particularly in the crucial win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
"He managed to change the face of it," he said. "[Didier] Drogba came on and scored, but he looked as if he had that little bit of anger inside him, as if he felt he should have started. There was a little bit of a grimace in there too. And [Nicolas] Anelka, who is such an excellent all-round player, always seems to be the one to make way, so he’s still hungry. It’s an exciting prospect to see what they do next."
Myriad tactical options present themselves to Ancelotti, who told reporters on Monday that Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou would start against Bolton in place of Deco and Joe Cole, and admitted he was also considering giving Florent Malouda a breather.
Hollins said the coach’s wealth of choice, especially in attacking positions, had vindicated his surprising decision to abstain from the January transfer window.
"They’ve got three games in a week (Villa, Bolton, then Tottenham on Saturday) but whatever position they’re in, they’re better equipped to take care of that situation than the rest," he said. "Ancelotti is very astute in knowing that one centre-forward can work, because the team is full of (forward) players who can run hard, chase hard and create danger when they have the ball."
Ancelotti’s experience at Milan of getting the best out of an unchanged squad has stood him in good stead, and indeed Hollins believes the lack of player turnover has served the coach well. "It’s mainly the same squad that was winning under Mourinho, so he’s just squeezed a little more out of what’s already there, rather than having a problem settling in new players and upsetting the balance.
"It helps that the players who are coming back from injury are coming back at the right time, and he’s used the squad well to fill the gaps when they’ve appeared."
Despite Joe Cole’s obvious disappointment at being substituted in the FA Cup semi-final and his absence from the starting XI against Bolton, Hollins still thinks the England man has a big role to play in the run-in. "The variation he gives them is something they didn’t have at the start of the season.
"He was way out of form, but has something big to aim for now with the World Cup. What I’m pleased about is that he's getting closer to the full-back, getting more confident, a bit more daring and going past his man, rather than just knocking it to someone else. That’s not what Joe Cole’s good at – he wants to be taking people on."
Ancelotti’s side can go four points clear at the top by beating Bolton at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, making them firm favourites to become only the seventh club in English football history to lift the League and FA Cup trophies in the same season. Chelsea contests the FA Cup final against the Premier League's bottom club, Portsmouth, on May 15.
Speaking exclusively to Goal.com UK Hollins, who managed Chelsea between 1985 and 1988, as well as making 436 appearances for the Blues as a player in the ‘60s and ‘70s, believes the Italian coach has shown his pedigree in expertly riding out the Champions League defeat to Inter Milan.
"It was disappointing, because Ancelotti came as the man to present the Champions League to the owner," said Hollins, "but they haven’t felt sorry for themselves, and it can still be a good, good season."
Hollins pinpointed Ancelotti’s psychological and tactical management of his troops over the last month as the key to Chelsea's reclaiming the initiative in the title race, particularly in the crucial win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
"He managed to change the face of it," he said. "[Didier] Drogba came on and scored, but he looked as if he had that little bit of anger inside him, as if he felt he should have started. There was a little bit of a grimace in there too. And [Nicolas] Anelka, who is such an excellent all-round player, always seems to be the one to make way, so he’s still hungry. It’s an exciting prospect to see what they do next."
Myriad tactical options present themselves to Ancelotti, who told reporters on Monday that Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou would start against Bolton in place of Deco and Joe Cole, and admitted he was also considering giving Florent Malouda a breather.
Hollins said the coach’s wealth of choice, especially in attacking positions, had vindicated his surprising decision to abstain from the January transfer window.
"They’ve got three games in a week (Villa, Bolton, then Tottenham on Saturday) but whatever position they’re in, they’re better equipped to take care of that situation than the rest," he said. "Ancelotti is very astute in knowing that one centre-forward can work, because the team is full of (forward) players who can run hard, chase hard and create danger when they have the ball."
Ancelotti’s experience at Milan of getting the best out of an unchanged squad has stood him in good stead, and indeed Hollins believes the lack of player turnover has served the coach well. "It’s mainly the same squad that was winning under Mourinho, so he’s just squeezed a little more out of what’s already there, rather than having a problem settling in new players and upsetting the balance.
"It helps that the players who are coming back from injury are coming back at the right time, and he’s used the squad well to fill the gaps when they’ve appeared."
Despite Joe Cole’s obvious disappointment at being substituted in the FA Cup semi-final and his absence from the starting XI against Bolton, Hollins still thinks the England man has a big role to play in the run-in. "The variation he gives them is something they didn’t have at the start of the season.
"He was way out of form, but has something big to aim for now with the World Cup. What I’m pleased about is that he's getting closer to the full-back, getting more confident, a bit more daring and going past his man, rather than just knocking it to someone else. That’s not what Joe Cole’s good at – he wants to be taking people on."
No comments:
Post a Comment