Chelsea 3 - 0 Burnley : Aug 29, 2009

Awesome display by Chelsea!

Awesome, but not perfect. Chelsea had so many shots on target not because of an imperious setup; it was just weak defence. Caldwell was heavily missed by Burnley defence today and they know it. They had no answer to Didier's speed or Essien's long passes. And boy! Essien was just on fire, sending in superb passes the likes of which I haven't seen of late. His excellent performance was matched only by the amazingly resilient brian jensen, who kept out too many good shots, which could have gone in, even past Van der Sar. The difference, here, is that VDS will never be alone with Vidic and Rio. Jensen was at bay.


Chelsea - Amazing team, this. On track for the title :)

* 01 Cech - Had nothing much to do today.
* 03 A Cole - Awesome. Superb enthu. His goal was a stunner, if I ever saw one.
* 06 Carvalho - Had a practice outing.
* 17 Bosingwa - Very good performance and involvement.
Belletti 66 - Practice game. Looked a little outta sorts.
* 26 Terry - Couldn't stay away from the ball too much that he lunged into an attacking mode as often as he could.
* 05 Essien - God.
* 08 Lampard - Amazing amazing passes. Two stunners to Ballack (one of which was a goal) and an amazing corner, again to Ballack, somehow saved by Jensen.
* 13 Ballack - Very good !
Mikel 83 - Practice run.
* 20 Deco - Superb involvement, great game. Will be an asset when we meet the rest of the big four.
* 11 Drogba - Super enthusiasm, missed one awesome pass from Essien, and made sure the second went in, deflected of carlisle/anelka. Good game overall.
Kalou 75 - Had a good game, given that he wasn't on the field for long. Got the ball past Jensen once intelligently, only to be saved on the line by Myers.
* 39 Anelka - Probably the slowest of the lot, rivalled only by Belletti. Took a pass in great style. A run or two. Nothing much apart from that.



Burnley - Forgettable day

* 12 Jensen - The best keeper in the league by far so far. Saved Burnley from sure hell.
* 02 Alexander - Tried a lot. Wasn't up to the standard.
McDonald 74 - Good show.
* 05 Carlisle - Again , tried a lot. I think the incoming passes were too much for him.
* 14 Mears - Good take off the line.
* 21 Bikey - Injured?? He was the only one in the Burnley defence who could match Drogba.
* 23 Jordan - Didn't notice.
* 11 Elliott - Didn't notice.
* 16 McCann - Good show.
* 09 Fletcher - Got frustrated towards the end. Let it go.
* 10 Paterson - Too much of a defensive outlook. More back passes than otherwise.
Gudjonsson 58 - Good show.
* 20 Blake - good show.
Guerrero 78 - good enthu.

If we forget the defence, Burnley wasn't so bad.
They'll be ready when Chelsea visit Turf moor. I could see that in Coyle's smile. ;)

Burnley at it again!

A recent equation doing the rounds in forums around the World.

Burnley at Turf Moor = Liverpool at Anfield.

They sent ManU crying, and how! Even without Caldwell and half of the team's "Moor" defence. (The new guy's cool, though.)

Recent scalps : Arsenal, Chelsea and ManU.

Go on Coyle!

Forums believe that ManU lost because of :
1. Lack of pace.
2. lack of width.
1+2 = 3. In short, Lack of CR7.

I wouldn't say that. Though Cristiano was an incredible "presence" against weak teams, I still think ManU missed Carlos Tevez more.

Just wait and see what Tevez does for ManC when they visit Burnley. You'll see what I am talking about.

Of Burnley and Arsenal..

There are better things to talk about than if CR7 deserves his Golden Ball.(though I will come to it later. :D)

The Lancashire Clarets, Burnley, for instance. Whatay Run!! I didn't see any of their matches to glorify the club, but give it to them, all sites report them to be the better side in all three games against Chelsea, Fulham and Arsenal. If I remember correctly, they shocked Liverpool a few years ago in the Cup.

When you think about it, I really cannot imagine why a 'youthful' second string side should be used by Wenger against a team that has shown Chelsea the door. Yea, yea, premiership and Champions league are more important and players need rest, but heck rotate 'em. The Cup is NOT a silver imitation. Gotta be more serious about it, especially when you are meeting Burnley at Turf Moor. Not the best of stadia in England, you cannot dive in that grass facedown and keep all your teeth. Wenger, better luck. Arsenal is one of the better teams out there, and it really sucks when it loses periodically. I don't mind Arsenal losing, but I, for one, believe that EPL shines becoz' of Arsenal. The style of play, the speed, the beauty. That is sooo lacking of late, and that doesn't give me the best of feelings. I really miss pre-injury RVP. All Wenger had to do was send him in in the 71st minute against ManU when they were trailing by a goal, and ta da! Arsenal wins 2-1. As the only guy in that room supporting Arsenal, you know the feeling! An year later, i call it "Ol' times.."

All the best to Burnley and Coyle (and Kevin McDonald :)). It cannot be an 'upset' if Burnley lifts the Cup now. They deserve it.