FA Cup: Wigan Athletic 1 - 2 Chelsea
Match reports
The Observer, Paul Wilson: “[A] masterful contribution from Nicolas Anelka, who scored one goal, made another and added some much needed finesse to Chelsea’s workmanlike win.”
Sunday Telegraph, William Johnson: “Anelka, predatory in the North West while wearing the colours of Liverpool, Manchester City and Bolton, showed all of the sharpness he displayed as an Arsenal youngster to propel the holders into the last 16.”
Sunday Times, Jonathan Northcroft: “The one certain thing about Anelka’s goal was that his finish was that of a thoroughbred … On the volley, and with a beautifully judged touch, Anelka toed it past the goalkeeper.”
Official Chelsea FC Website: “A great cup week in the north-west was completed when Nicolas Anelka’s first Chelsea goal and Shaun Wright-Phillips’s third goal this month were enough for victory.”
The good
- Nicolas Anelka. The £15 million we paid Bolton for Anelka is already looking like one of the bargains of the season. (Consider this: is Dimitar Berbatov worth twice as much? I think Spurs are having a laugh.) Everything about Anelka says class, he oozes it - his movement, touch, pace and vision are second to none. He’s certain to add a hatful of goals to the one he scored in this game, his first for Chelsea, in the remaining months of the season. The question is, will Avram Grant play both Anelka and Didier Drogba once the latter returns from Africa Cup of Nations duty? Everton manager David Moyes made a good point in the Match of the Day studio about Anelka playing with Kevin Davies at Bolton, and that Anelka could perform a similar role alongside Drogba. That Moyes fellow has promise. Whatever happens, we’ve not had a strike pairing with this much potential since the heyday of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen.
- Claude Makelele and Steve Sidwell. What a player Makelele is. I was so impressed that I thought about awarding him Man of the Match. Sidwell played with a great deal more confidence and deserves recognition after coming in for some criticism this season. Like Michael Essien, he seems to have a limitless supply of energy.
- The back four. For 87 minutes they looked almost invincible, I’m pretty sure Petr Cech had just two saves of note to make - one with his legs from an Emile Heskey shot at the near post, and a tame Jason Koumas free kick. To be fair there wasn’t a lot they could do about Antoine Sibierski’s terrific turn and volley, though Juliano Belletti did get too tight to the Frenchman (his only mistake in an otherwise brilliant performance). The final few minutes were a good example of why it’s best to keep the ball instead of looking to score another goal; Marcus Bent came very close to earning Wigan an undeserved replay.
- We’ve gone 19 games undefeated in domestic cup competitions since losing 2-1 to Liverpool in the semi-finals of the FA Cup back in 2006.
The bad
- Florent Malouda. The only player who disappointed me; he put in what can only be described as a lightweight performance. Somebody needs to tell him to get stuck in and stop being bullied off the ball.
- Our play was as patchy as the pitch. Apparently Wigan spent £120,000 on an inflatable cover system to keep the worst of the weather off the JJB Stadium lawn only to find that the central support killed the grass underneath it. Still, the whole of the Stamford Bridge playing surface used to look like that on occasions a few seasons ago, so who are we to complain.
- Michael Brown. I dislike Brown almost as much as I dislike Stephen Hunt. Both wouldn’t think twice about ending a fellow professional’s career with a vicious and unnecessary tackle, and both should receive more red cards than they do. Brown’s off-the-ball forearm to Makelele’s chin was more than the “handbags” claimed by Wigan manager Steve Bruce - any higher and Makelele could have ended up with a nose like Bruce’s. What’s the betting that the Football Association will do nothing about it? Michael Essien received a red card against Derby for an innocuous hand-off in the face of Kenny Miller, yet the likes of Brown get away with much more serious offences like this.
Man of the Match
As mentioned above, I thought about giving it to Claude Makelele but, for his overall performance and for scoring his first goal I’m going to give it to Nicolas Anelka, who could turn out to be one of the most inspired signings of recent years.
Final thoughts
It’s so late that I don’t seem to have any.
I would like to point you in the direction of the Football Fanzine Awards. If you feel that we deserve some recognition for our efforts you can nominate us for the best blog award as well as a number of other awards, including best writer or editor. Thank you.
Related links
- Reaction: Good play, bad pitch
- The Cult of Michael Essien
- Branislav Ivanovic in Chelsea’s future plans
- Posted at 02:07 AM · Permalink · Print · 2015 views · Last indexed by Google on the 15th May 2008
- Tags: Alex, Avram Grant, Chelsea, Claude Makelele, David Moyes, Didier Drogba, FA Cup, Florent Malouda, JJB Stadium, Juliano Belletti, Michael Brown, Nicolas Anelka, Steve Bruce, Steve Sidwell, Wigan Athletic
I agree with you that Makelele was great. He has been fantastic for us for some years now and there is no sign of slowing down. If you ask me, I think he has been one of the best signings this club had ever made. His contribution is priceless.
Now that we are through to the next round, with the squad that we have, nobody can say that we can’t defend this FA Cup.
Nice write up Nick, 2nd half was really entertaining, it appeared as though Wigan had some chances, it was not such a close game after all!.
Malouda, he was bad, very very bad.
Joe Cole should have scored in the first few mins, it would have been great.
SWP, he needs a little more composure, needs to know where he is and his team mates are, at times he produces the best of the crosses or goofs up BIG time..
Belletti, he is a great player susceptible to the occasional lapse of concentration!
Overall a good game for us, but again we are ending up becoming a second half scoring team, now THAT should change.
Is Ballack injured? I really will be rooting for the toons tonite, manure needs a beating, what was the word again…schadenfreude? way to go Blues..
our next zola or even gr8r than zola is JOE COLE the guy is full of creativity that no english man has ever possesed you really have to study the kind of football he plays he does finish most of the teams with his wizardry, he has the kind of skill that gets refined with age and does not wither away,credit to him i have never seen any english man with skill creativity and flair that could rivals his
Ballack was playing he had a ginger wig on his head! Yes Sidwell’s best game by far, perhaps he needs a run to get some much needed confidence, and yes he does deserve a mention.
I don’t recall Brown getting even a single yellow card in the game, surprising as he committed so many fouls, but I’m not holding my breath for any retrospective action by the FA for the WWE forearm smash on Maka.
A final note… how good will Anelka be once he settles in?… the mind boggles!
If nothing else the last few weeks prove that no one is indispensable. Whilst at one point we panicked as to how we’d cope with the loss of Jose or the ability to score goals without Drogba it’s clear that we can overcome such hurdles. Indeed rather than the current debate of whether Anelka can play with Drogba maybe, if the quotes we’ve heard from Drogba are true and not just press fabrication, we should let Drogba waste away in Africa until the end of his contract?
As if things weren’t bad enough, with the injuries and ACN, the squad was reduced in numbers again as Ashley Cole spent a weekend in north London with the Shake ‘N Vac trying desperately to remove the evidence from the cream carpet. I’m probably old fashioned in my views on marriage and affairs but I feel that if you’re going to have a bit of extra maritals try to avoid throwing up over the third party.
At the moment we’re having it all, win after win, all of the stand-ins playing well including Steve Sidwell so whilst we’re really lucky it’s at times like these that as the Haves we should spare a thought for the Havants. I’m not talking about the non league heroes from the south coast but that ugly mob from Merseyside. Liverpool Havant got a defence that can keep a clean sheet against non leaguers and, far worse, Havant got any footballing ambition. Whilst we proclaim “We want the Premiership†or “We want the Champions League†poor old scouse Havants have a banner up in the Kop with “We want DICâ€.
Happy days.
Anelka was a much better idea than Berbatov. Though Berbatov does score some beautiful goals, he’s possibly one of the most selfish players in the Premiership, a right grumpy little madam. Nicolas Anelka geniunely wanted to join Chelsea and be part of our team. I like that.
Anyway, onto the match. I didn’t get to see it as I was at a restaurant celebrating my mummy’s 44th birthday, but I’m happy with the win and pleased that Niccy Anelka get his first goal in blue.
And Paul Wilson’s match report is utter garbage. He seems to think he’s hilarious. He ain’t.
@Emma
Happy Birthday to your Mum, but I’m afraid Anelka got his first goal in yellow ;-)
@Mark
Very good, excellent piece, although I want Drogs back and pairing up for a possible marriage made in heaven with Anelka!
@Clive
Sometimes marriages that appear made in heaven don’t always work out the way you hope - ask Cheryl
Clive:
Of course, that’s what I meant. :D
Here they are, in their highlighter kit:
http://i191.photobucket.com/al.....6f1-ge.jpg
Lime is the colour!
“Ballack was playing he had a ginger wig on his head”– ha ha!!!
Also a note on the attendance for the game 14,000 or so is poor by any stretch of the imagination.
I’m surprised Wigan can afford £120,000 from those sort of gate receipts on any form of heating for the pitch that caused the line of dead grass.
There’s me thinking they had a little extra income from British Airways to train new and old pilots in the art of crash landing a 777
Thanks to good old BBC for airing the Chelsea game. Now we have three musketeers in front: Anelka, Drogba and Sheva… There’s no limit!
Worst pitch of the year? Never seem one before with a large stripe down the middle. Must have made life very difficult for both sides but particularly ours. Apparently they use the stadium to play Rugby (League?) as well though it looks more like the effect produced by an oversized quarterback.
Never thought Chelsea looked in any difficulties, even at the end where I thought a little bit more playing for time would have stood us in better stead (the flip side of a more entertaining style, perhaps). I agree that Malouda was invisible. Not a good game for him. Some good performances elsewhere. Alex is looking a halfway decent centre back. If Ivanovic is anythere near as good as people say, we are really strong in this area now.
With luck, Nigeria will be eliminated early from the ANC which means we’ll get back Mikel. The rest look like they’re headed for the final stages of the competition. Still, the end of February looks like we’ll have all our big guns available for a major push in all competitions. Given the way we’re playing at the moment, we might well be seeing a lot of unusual substitutes on the bench (Frank, JT, Drogs, perhaps).
Pity that Ricky got a fifth yellow (a bit harsh too) but it was going to happen sooner or later, so better sooner. He’ll miss Reading rather than Portsmouth or (horror) LIverpool.
Oh, and amid the gushes of praise for Anelka, let’s not forget who made his goal with the pinpoint long pass — Juliano “Thank God They Wouldn’t Release Alves” Belletti.
Anyone have a clue what the best XI now is?
@limetreebower Best XI - that’s tricky now!
Cech
Bridge, Terry, Carvalho, Beletti
Essien, Ballack, SWP
Anelka, Drogba, J.Cole
Damn, but it’s almost impossible to leave out Lamps, Alex, Makelele and Mikel as well!
Can we play with XV instead of XI?? ;D
The next round maybe like this:
Chelsea vs Huddersfield
Portsmouth vs Liverpoopoo
ManU vs Arse
Another great game for the lads, there`s no stopping em at the mo. Flawless..couldn`t see one thing to complain about..not even Sidwell!! Anelka`s goal was nectar with a perfect through-ball from Belleti, and as for SWP, what can i say? Even my Ma loves him!!! Totally agree Nick that the F.A, will do..er..sweet f.a about Maka`s smack in the chops. I said exactly the same thing last night, red cards, fines etc are reserved for Chelsea FC only. Never know, i may be proved wrong, though i very much doubt it.
Up the Chels xxx
Great review, I agree about the back four they were invincible for the majority of the game and like Mark Lawrensen said didnt give Wigan anything, Sidwell impressed me, he was much more energetic and alert than in previous performences
Michael Brown is a total buffoon and should have been sent off, its getting ridiculous, remember when Riccy got a red against Villa even though he made a genuine attempt to get the ball and didnt touch the player? Crazy!
Anelka was fantastic hes a player who is right were you want him when you want him there, you could just sense that his goal was coming
As for Drogba/Anelka playing together, I think they would do well in a 4-3-3 because Anelka has played like that at Bolton and with Malouda not looking half the player he was at lyon, you can bet Nic will get his position, Looking back Sheva (remember him) was fantastic against Villa and looks like he has finally cracked the style of the EPL, will should get the nod if it comes to him or DD playing with Anelka at the moment (call me crazy but Sheva will stay for the rest of his career as he has recently stated and Didier looks almost certain to leave in the summer, We are going to have some dissapointed players once everybody is back from the ACON and recovered from their injuries
Keep the blue flag flying high :)
I would like to start here by thanking Nick and the the lads for the fantastic job they’re doing, and also for the Blue fan who suggested the preview (whose name I unfortunately don’t remember) …Thank you whoever you are :)
And the p.e.n.a.l.t.i.e.s. series continues for the ManUsa, it’s getting really so bizarre that I’m starting to think this is another formation invented by the Sir that goes as follows:
4 - 4 - 1 - diver, whoever that guy is (they have multiple choice for that role).
Any chance the FA will do anything, even talking Brown out of his attitude?!
Blue Will Always Be The Color.
Ginger wig had his best performance by far. Great display. But only we play him against top opponents do we see his real talent. Don’t think he has a smart brain, Siddie only uses raw tackling technique to win the ball.
Where was Ballack? heard him injured his calf?! Gosh another name on the injury list.
My personal guess at the best XI goes –
Cech;
Bridge, Terry, Carvalho, Beletti;
Kalou, Obi, Lampard, Cole;
Anelka, Drogba
– which seems ridiculously harsh on SWP, who’s been fantastic in the middle (but how’s he going to keep Lampard *and* Ballack out of the team in that position?), Ballack (seems to be a straight choice between him and Frank for the central midfield spot, glad I don’t have to make that decision, only Jose Musumba would avoid a sleepless night over it), Alex (he seems just a teeny bit sleepier than JT), and Essien.
Maybe injuries aren’t such a bad thing after all.
Oh, and let’s sell Cashley.
Good day all! Great revue as always, thanks to Nick this time!
To be honest I was a bit worried about the Wigan game. I thought there is a danger of complacency after the Everton game. I was worried about the motivation and the spirit of the team, just because of “too much football†been played in too short time. As Vially said ones, about the busy football schedule: “If you get too much of one thing, eventually you get tired of it, even if that is sexâ€.:) (or something like that) Thankfully the boys came out and perform as usual, very professional with a desire and enjoyment! So far so good Avram, but
I think Grant will have difficult time when they all back. Then he has to make important decisions and if the results are good – no problem, but if they are not-then anyone will be suggesting who should have played instead of who and so on. So far he is doing fine, team selections, roles, and transfer market, but there is some serious decision making waiting ahead. Let’s hope he gets it right!
On a sidenote, Hunt has antics of his own but are generally more gamesmanship than anything for me (Cech issue aside). To compare him to a Savage-like goon like Brown is a bit harsh. Clearly should have been off for Makelele and many others before that.
@limetreebower
At least we agree on the defence and GK!
I think in the Ballack/Lamps position they are absolutely equal, but maybe you’re right to go with Lampard due to his great history with the club. But I would still play Essien ahead of Mikel and SWP ahead of Kalou personally ;)
limetreebower,
Been drinking early this morning ;) ???
I jest - it’s your opinion, and the team you pick is up to you.
In my eyes, given his age and the potential spending at the hands of whoever, I’d build a new Chelsea team around Essien. The guy is an utter tank; a complete athlete. O.k, he doesn’t have the shooting of Lamps or Ballack, and his tackling (whilst markedly improved) is still a bit ropey, but the £23m-odd we spent looks a bargain in my eyes. Irreplaceable IMO.
Kalou ???? - Don’t even get me started………
Huddersfield at home in the fifth round.
I still get a buzz watching cup draws.
Full draw:
Bristol Rovers v Southampton
Cardiff City v Wolves
Sheffield United v Middlesbrough
Liverpool v Barnsley
Manchester United v Arsenal
Preston v Portsmouth
Coventry City v West Brom
Chelsea v Huddersfield Town
Almost perfect draw. One of Arse and ManUre are out.
Shame scousers aren’t away
One flare, you’ve only got one flare…
Nice draw - at least 3 non-Premiership teams in the last 8 which is good.
@simon - almost got the draw right Simon, do you have a “people” inside? :)). You should consider buying a lotto ticket today! :). Nice done!
SimonT:
2 out of 3!
You could be a psychic.
Personally, I think this draw has been lovely to us.
Would be rather handy if the Mancs and Arsenal booted seven shades out of each other too…
Didn’t we have them at home a few seasons ago ?? 4 - 0 or 4 - 1 ???
Good draw, all the nonsense of not under-estimating the opposition, but we should be able to get by with the remnants of our squad as it currently is, maybe with the likes of Sinclair getting a game.
Would have been nice for it to be on TV, but can’t see it. ManUSA v Le Arse obviously will be on the Beeb as they get first choice. Sheff Utd’s bid for a third Premiership scalp will probably be live, along with Pompey’s trip to Preston I reckon.
I wonder if that miserable sod Grant will hand over the scouting reports/tactics etc after the game to huddersfield town like jose did when we played the lower division clubs…
Fifty - they beat us 1-0 in the fizzy cup back in 1999. A very young JT and the mighty Jes Hogh failed to keep the Terriers out!
Fifty (again) - but I think you’re right - we did play them a couple of years ago actually. Can’t remember the score. The only reason that the other game sticks in the mind is the “one flare…” thing.
Yes we beat them 2-1 in the 3rd rnd 2006
I think Joey and that carthorse Eidur scored ;-) sorry Tony
had posted something earlier about the Ballack/lampard debate…but I guess you all know where am going with this ;-) so I will not go there for now…
Lovely draw I am now beginning to think that if things continue this way…we are bound to take four cups…yes 4 cups…This bloke seems to have all the luck…
Trend
Ranieri out with nothing
Jose Mourinho comes in and wins 2 cups in his first season
Jose mourinho out with 2 cups
Avram comes in and wins four cups???? Hell why not…
125-1 for us to win all 4 pots Jose - time to get your money on… :-)
Hmmm….JD
You want to edge paddy off the betting biz now?…
Just wanted to get back onto the team selection issue rasied by several on this page. Fitting in Lamps, Ballack, Maka (although playing well surely his last season???)Essien and Obi let alone Drogs (if he stays) SWP, Kalou and J.Cole is very interesting.
If I was CFC manager/ managment - I would really be putting Arensen to use. Purchases like Di Santo are ideal - young players who wont mind being super subs for a season or 2. If all our players are fit then who do we leave out? and will that mean players like Obi and Kalou will leave?
At the mo - my 1st team is:
Cech
Belleti - Terry - Riccy - Bridge
SWP - Essien - Lamps - J.Cole
Drogs - Anelka
I prefer 442 - but if we go 433 then its:
Cech
Belleti - Terry - Riccy - Bridge
Essien - Obi - Lamps
SWP - Drogs - J.cole
Honestly - thank god for injuries sometimes otherwise some of our players would never get a game and would surely leave!!
The mind boggles - but at least it’s a nice problem to have. Issue is - until we start investing in youth - team selection and therefore bench-time for players who could walk into most other teams 1st11 will be a problem for us.
God Bless Roman’s Blue Army!!
All part of the Chelsea Blog service alex… we’re also offering 4-6 against Avram wearing a suit that fits properly before the end of the season :-)
All part of the Chelsea Blog service alex… we’re also offering 4-6 against Avram wearing a suit that fits properly before the end of the season :-)
I’ll have £500 on that JD… tell me where to send the cash ;-)
@Fifty
My rashionale for chooshing Kalou wash dat … hic … wheresh my vodka?
No seriously, my rational for picking Kalou in my best XI was to annoy everyo–
No seriously.
If Drogba and Anelka play together up front, which they surely must given what we’ve seen of Anelka so far, they they either have to play as a two or as part of a three. I can’t see how the three would work, but if they play as a two, that means a midfield four, and I’d have two wingers there (hence Obi instead of Essien to tighten things up in the middle). As a straight winger, I do seriously rate Kalou higher than SWP. SWP’s been fantastic playing more centrally, but as a winger the ball seems to bounce away from his feet and he tends to run headlong into defenders; plus his crossing is occasionally pretty iffy. Kalou can get the ball into the box even when there’s a defender in the way, or he can hold it up and cut it back inside to Frank, or he can zip round the byline.
Of course Kalou can’t beat the giant Joleon Lescott-type defenders in the air like SWP can.
Some interesting comments made by Lamps about R.A
“I’ve not known a club owner like him,” he declared. “As soon as he took over, we’d see him in the dressing room and at the training ground.
“There was nothing better than after we won the Premier League. Me and John Terry with Roman and his son bouncing up and down on the bus!
“He was like a fan — someone you could have picked up on the street with a Chelsea cap on. After England played in Russia last year, he flew all the London-based players back in his jet. I say jet, it was a Boeing, massive, like an apartment.
“His English isn’t great so we don’t have long conversations. But I’ve got this huge respect for him, I guess you could say I’m even a little nervous when I see him around.”
Maradona meets chelsea http://www.chelseafc.com/page/.....54,00.html
Wow he looks tiny compared to Sheva
Blimey, Shevchenko. Didn’t he play for us at one point?
I’d just like to re-post the link Nick included at the start of this article :
http://www.footballfanzineawards.com/
Only takes a few minutes to vote and register; I’ve done it - I think that’s the least we can do for the hard work that is put into making this one of the more mature and professional discussion forums about.
Sure, JD gets all the glory for his bit-part reporting in the Observer (although not so much recently JD ???), but they all deserve some sort of recognition.
Vote now !!! (and I’m not receiving any commission for this, or enhanced odds at JDyersbookies.com)
Cheers Fifty - been quiet of late due to the arrival of a nipper, but I’m on the verge of a return to full fitness and regular attendance again…!
You sly old dog JD, kept that quiet. That’s a good part of any disposable income taken care of for the next 30 odd years then mate!
JD,
Congratulations. As Tony says, wave goodbye to a sizeable slice of disposable income.
Premonitions of a full Stamford Bridge career if it’s a boy then, and some sort of Nobel Prize winning litery author for a girl ???
Yes congrats JD and as Fifty mentioned vote on the awards everyone, it only takes a few minutes and goes a little way in showing our appreciation.
What you guys make of Wise going to Newcastle. Good old Chelsea boy working with KK? Do you think it could be of some use for Chelsea in the future?
Congratulations JD!
The draw for the Cup is hilarious. After the brief aberration — drawn away! — to a Premiership team!! — we are back to our usual home tie against the kind of team for whom the match will represent A Big Day Out for the fans (balloons, scarf waving, lots of chants about how rubbish our support is, pretending they don’t care that it’s a ho-hum routine victory for us).
Arse and Man U will stage a fight with sharpened pizza. Rooney and Adebayor will be sent off, suspended, and sent to jail for actually attempting to kill each other (Arsene: “I didn’t see the incident”; Ferg: “It’s a man’s game, back in Glasgae we used tae see worse than tha’ every Friday night”). Man U will win the tie when Ronaldo slips on his own ooze in the box and wins a penalty. In the next round they will draw Liverpoo (who have squeaked past Barnsley in a replay). Both sets of supporters will use the match as an occasion to demonstrate against American owners. Competing with each other to attract the attentions of Dubai IC, they will burn American flags while chanting “Death to the Great Satan” and will forcibly eject all women from the stadium. The FA will expel them both from the competition. The final will be Chelsea v. Bristol City. AG will wear a white suit for the occasion.
You heard it here first.
@limetreebower
All that was believable right up until the very end and you blew it!! by stating AG would wear a white suit.
Congrats JD!
Not too sure about that to be honest with you Limetree, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and reckon it was a tongue in cheek remark!
I don’t know whether I’m happy with the draw or not at the minute, we should walk it and we probably will put out a strong enough side to put on a good performane but away at Huddersfield would have been better that way round.
Never mind though, perhaps in the next round we might get Sheffield United away and hae a good day out in the steel city!
is the tie really set to be played the 16th or 17th? between Liverpool’s and Olympiacos’?
then i’m more than happy, it could be much worse
congrats JD! welcome to the best part of your life.
now, you’ll have enough sleeples nights to write previews and match reports.
Cheers all - I’m certainly being kept busy…
@Jiko, Emma
My crystal ball seemed to be working! That’s 780-1 chance for hitting the forecast double. :-)
@ JD
Just seen that one about the new Blue…Guess your writing is going to be even more focused…considering that Cech improved since he became a dad