Chelsea v Norwich
Saturday, 18 December 04, 01:24 PM · Comments (8)
Stamford Bridge is not the place where Norwich will record their first away win of the season; we're unbeaten at home, have conceded just three goals and are several classes above East Anglia's second team. (Let's face it, Ipswich and Norwich will swap Leagues next season.)
Although we should win this match with the utmost ease Jose Mourinho will not be underestimating Delia Smith's side. Strange things can and do happen in football.
Mourinho said: "Norwich don't win a lot of matches, they have only two victories, but they don't lose matches. They have a lot of draws.
"They play compact. At this moment they almost play with only one player in front. The two wingers close a lot in midfield so I would say they play 4-5-1. And it is always difficult to play against these teams."
Jose has a virtually fully fit side to choose from. The only absentees from the 18-man squad are Ricardo Carlvalho, who is still suffering from the effects of a broken toe that saw him withdrawn at half-time from last weekend's Highbury showdown, and Robert Huth who has yet to fully recover from an ankle strain picked up on international duty with Germany.
Despite promising to rotate the squad over the Christmas period Jose is likely to stick with the eleven that earned a 2-2 draw with The Gunners last Sunday. The two enforced changes are likely to be Gallas returning to his best position in central defence to replace the injured Carvalho, with Wayne Bridge filling the position vacated by Gallas at left-back.
Score prediction: The last time we played the Canaries was January 2002 when we disposed of them in an FA Cup third round replay. Times have changed for the better for both clubs since then. Today is a proper Premiership David versus Goliath encounter and David is going to find himself on the end of a good old fashioned thrashing. 3-0.
h3. Chelsea 4 - 0 Norwich · Match Reports
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*Related links:*
* Chelsea in the driving seat * Jose: No-one better than Chelsea * Chelsea wingers are magic * Mourinho buries Chelsea's cavalier past
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Anti, a large, competent squad will carry the team through a congested schedule. No worries.
4-0 victories, Barcelona, and Joaquin are all well and good, but I’d like to know why Arsenal is featured in Ocean’s Twelve instead of Abramovich’s XI
something to do with being the best, I think.
That scene has been talked about so much on my favourite forum, I have to see the dumb movie. After the remake I vowed never to watch the sequel.
Oh well, promises are made to be broken.
Anti: until Abramovich is arrested at gunpoint in his corporate jet at a Siberian airfield, flown to Moscow and put in jail, next to Khodorkovsky, we are the best. And I hope Arkady has a food taster!
ChelseaClinton,
Did you say you want to know why Ocean’s Twelve is featuring Arsenal instead of Abramovich’s XI? Well, there are two good explanations. One is that the scriptwriters are a little clairvoyant; they knew there was going to be a TWELFTH MAN on Arsenal’s side on the pitch at Highbury in the form of Graham Poll, which matches perfectly with the film’s title, Ocean’s Twelve. However, the better explanation is that Chelsea is not in the habit of scrounging for bit-part roles in over-hyped films just to make ends meet. If you’re poor enough to ‘sell’ your stadium to Emirates, what wouldn’t you do for money? I’m not sure you’ve got the ticket; but I’m watching David Dein starring as Scrooge this season in some seedy theatres around London. I’ve been told he’s quite good.
Anti,
When are you going to wake up and smell the leather?
DOES ANYONE FEELS SO OR IS IT JUST ONLT ME THAT THINK CHELSEA NEEDS A LEFT FULL BACK.
Hey Anti
I saw Ocean’s 12 on the weekend I wouldn’t bother with it the first one was really good but the sequel was definitely not of the same standard – kind of like Arsenal this year.
8 Comments · Add yours
Yeah, David got whooped, but Goliath went one better than predicted – Goliath 4, David 0.
Someone commented on SKYSPORTS that Chelsea could have played with their overcoats on and still get the same result.
enjoy it, but 2005 will blow an ill wind.
Arsenal were going great guns last year until all those matches bunched together caught up with us.
Look for Chelsea to have a difficult late January/early February.