A Bridge Too Far

Willian the playmaker in chief against Stoke at the weekend

Last Saturday, Stoke City were sent onto the football field with a gameplan: to nullify Chelsea and attack them on the counter-attack. By Saturday night, a combination of Chelsea attacking like a wounded animal and Stoke failing to inspire anyone with their performance led to a comprehensive 3-0 defeat. Whilst Stoke did not turn up, defending and attacking without conviction, Chelsea were wasteful, exploiting so many gaps through the centre of the field and not taking advantage when through on goal. Willian was a key architect, though his co-conspirator Mohamed Salah played his part in two of the evening's three goals. The first goal came from a cutback cross in the box that no Stoke player could get a foot to, yet Salah could lash the ball into the box with a hint of venom: in other words an unstoppable shot.

Cameron out of sorts, injured, and replaced by Andy Wilkinson
at half time in the defeat to Chelsea

Stoke made two changes at half time, bringing Andy Wilkinson and Charlie Adam on for Geoff Cameron and Wilson Palacios. This suggests that Hughes knew that Plan A wasn't working (possibly what I suggested last week unfortunately) so he tried to shake up the midfield whilst steadying the defence after Cameron was off form and possibly injured. The substitutions in fact did have an impact, but only negative ones as Andy Wilkinson, not long after his introduction, conceded a penalty that even the staunchest of Stoke supporters could not deny was a stonewall decision. Asmir Begovic did better than he has ever done at a penalty before and made an initial save, but could do nothing about the rebound that put Chelsea 2-0 up and put Frank Lampard on 250 Premier League goals. Chelsea's final goal was a defender and goalkeeper's nightmare, as it was a situation where they would say collectively "if you can score that goal, you've earned it," and Willian obliged by curling the ball from distance around Ryan Shawcross and past Asmir Begovic into the top corner. A bad day at the office for Stoke City in general with set pieces providing minimal hope for the travelling supporters that a goal at Stamford Bridge could come, but by the end it proved to be too much to ask.

Revenge is Black and White:

Yohan Cabaye: a big cog missing from Newcastle's machine

For the first half hour on Boxing Day, Newcastle United did not show up for their match against Stoke City, so when Oussama Assaidi took the lead in the game, it would be unfair to say it was an undeserved lead. Two questionable refereeing decisions moments later and Stoke City were down to nine men and any potential momentum they were trying to gather for future matches was depleted with a demoralising 5-1 loss. Yohan Cabaye was influential that day in keeping the Newcastle midfield ticking over, not sublimely, but efficiently to make sure that the two-man advantage they had counted. Since then they have won 3 out of their last 16 matches, and are on a current run of form that consists of four losses out of five, 12 goals conceded and only one scored in their tight victory over Crystal Palace. Consider as well that before Stoke's visit to Chelsea they had scored 8 goals in three games, conceding only two, this should be a game with some goals in it.

Erik Pieters battling with Hatem Ben Arfa

It will be a positive inclusion if Stephen Ireland is able to overcome the illness that kept him out of last week's defeat to Chelsea, with his ability to keep the ball moving forward a useful trait to have in the team, something that admittedly was missed last week. The only other change I'd be tempted to make is at right back, depending on how Geoff Cameron has recovered from his injury against Chelsea. With a World Cup on the horizon, it would not be unfair to give arguably Stoke's player of the season (at the very least one of the contenders) a break before travelling to Brazil and give Andy Wilkinson some games to brush off the rustiness that he showed during last week's defeat. Whilst Wilkinson is uncompromising in the tackle, his poor decision-making that lead to Chelsea's penalty can come from a lack of game time so I would be inclined to give him a second chance if Geoff is showing signs of not being 100% fit. As for Newcastle, they have set up in recent weeks in an unorthodox manner, similar to West Ham, by placing a strong central midfielder, Moussa Sissoko, in the wider areas of the pitch. Whilst he may have the license to drift inside whenever they attack, it is unusual to see as wingers are usual fast and tricky rather than tall and muscular. Erik Pieters should be able to handle any attacking threats that come from his wing, whilst on the left it is a choice between Yoann Gouffran or the riskier Hatem Ben Arfa who throughout the season has been a better impact player than starter. Newcastle's defence looks particularly frail as well, with Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Davide Santon both trying their luck at right back in the absence of Mathieu Debuchy. Mike Williamson and Fabricio Coloccini are capable and experienced defenders, yet Stoke will be looking to exploit any lack of pace from either of them through Peter Odemwingie and Marko Arnautovic, hopefully by running onto any flicks (aerial or on the floor) by Peter Crouch.

Champions League Semi-Final Draw Thoughts:

4-2 on aggregate but Bayern fought hard for to progress

For the neutral, the semi-final draw is fairly mixed, with an entertaining match on offer with Bayern Munich due to take on Real Madrid, whilst the last survivor of the English contingent - Chelsea - will face off against Athletico Madrid which is already being feared as a drab encounter. Both Athletico and Chelsea have attacking players in their respective squads, yet both focus on the defensive aspect to their games before focussing on the attack. This has been shown in the pre-match punditry focussing on Thibaut Courtois being able to play against his parent club and potentially knock them out en route to the final. The danger of using the loan system, as Chelsea have done, is that they could have a star in their hands, such as Courtois, but not be able to use them as they have bought him too soon. If Courtois makes an appearance against Chelsea before appearing for them, it shows that something has to be done internationally about clubs loaning players out consistently year after year without any chance of making a first team appearance. In the other tie though, it is the match of the would-be champions, both prior to the match considered the favourites to win the cup. Despite a 2-0 loss at Borussia Dortmund this week, I would still tip Real Madrid to be too strong for the encounter, as long as Cristiano Ronaldo is fit again after a recent injury. His absence from the pitch reflected on the pitch with Real struggling to take a grip on the game once they had an early penalty saved by Roman Weidenfeller. If Ronaldo is fit, I would back them for the victory across the two legs as Bayern Munich did little to impress me, tactically or in their performance. For Wednesday's second leg against Manchester United, they set up with the intention to counter United's plan to counter attack by deploying so many men forward in their team's shape. At one point the formation was close to 2-3-4-1, with Philipp Lahm and David Alaba acting as attacking midfielders behind Toni Kroos and Mario Gotze. Whilst it was inventive and did prevent Manchester United from consistently counter-attacking, they still conceded the first goal using this tactic. Their comeback was more to do with United being unable to settle down after taking the lead than Bayern suddenly waking up, as Arjen Robben argued. Pep Guardiola, for all his success at Barcelona seems determined to find a new way of winning football matches, with it being his Barcelona team to first use the false number 9 position that Messi now occupies. Whilst this was a brave attempt to break down an opposition that parked the bus (or as one onlooker said 'parking the plane'), Guardiola will have to use a more tried and tested shape against Real if he does not want his team to be punished.

Quick Snippet - Player of the Season:

PFA Young Player of the Year and the Player of the Year?

Whatever you think of Luis Suarez as a person, it cannot be denied that he has been the player of this season. In close second I would have to say it is Yaya Toure, just for the larger contribution to results he has made this season than in any past season, while Eden Hazard would receive the bronze medal for his improved goal tally which has helped to keep Chelsea in the title challenge. Suarez though has surpassed most expectations from outside of Merseyside prior to this season, forming an effective partnership with Daniel Sturridge, who in my opinion deserves the Young Player of the Year award. Whether he should be up for that award considering his age is another question, but due to the pair forming a strong and effective partnership this season that could well earn Liverpool their first title in two decades, it would be a pair of awards well earnt.