Posts Tagged ‘Didier Drogba’

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Chelsea v Burnley

August 28th, 2009

Chelsea host Burnley at Stamford Bridge this Saturday and will be hoping to make it four wins out of four so far this season. Burnley themselves are not doing too badly either, with six points out of a possible nine to their credit, including the now famous 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Turf Moor.

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Chelsea have started off the season in fine form, promising a bright, new future under new boss Carlos Ancellotti. With maximum points from their first three games, they share top spot with fellow Londoners Tottenham, with Saturday’s game giving them every chance of sitting pretty at the top come Saturday evening.

Last Sunday Chelsea had the West London derby against Fulham to deal with, but came through the game with flying colours, leaving Roy Hodgson’s team to mull over a 2-0 defeat. With Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka the Blues two scorers, Ancellotti will be happy in the knowledge that his striking options have started the campaign on full throttle.

Burnley’s first foray back in the top flight for over thirty years has started better than they could have expected, especially as they have faced Manchester United and Everton in the first three games. The victory against United last week will probably be the Clarets most memorable game of the whole season but nevertheless puts them in good spirits for the rest of the campaign. They will have to be mindful however, that Hull City also started life in the top division well last season, but were almost relegated!

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Posted in Burnley, Chelsea FC, Football Fixtures, Football Pre Match Review, Premier League, Premiership

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Drogba getting back into the groove

March 9th, 2009

Didier Drogba, Chelsea striker, is looking for a strong finish to the season, after seeing a drop in form during the earlier games.

In the span of five games, Ivory Coast Captain has bagged three goals, which include the one he scored on Saturday at Coventry in the FA Cup encounter.

Drogba feels that Guus Hiddink has shown confidence by selecting and not just singled him up for some special sort of treatment.

In an interview to The Sun, Drogba said, “There is no need to speak to every player each day. I am in the team and it really means a lot for me more than anything else.”

Speaking on Guddink, he said, ‘He has done his job by getting what he think is the best side. f I am a part of his plan, all I need to do is execute my job properly and not let him down.’

‘At this moment, I am getting opportunities and making full use of them, which is doing my confidence a world of good.’

Drogba admitted the fact that he was finding the pressure difficult to handle in the early part of the season, but is now relaxed and looking to get on top of his form soon.

‘I found it difficult after coming back from a long layoff. But, that’s football. You can see everyone backing you up during good times, whereas bad times will always see the same people pointing a finger at you and asking ‘Why’.’

‘At this moment, I need to walk a bit more and get myself back into full fitness, if I want to give more to the club and see them eclipse Manchester United & Liverpool in the league to lift the title.’

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Tension in Chelsea camp may dash their title hopes

January 13th, 2009

Chelsea boss, Luis Felipe Scolari, was involved in a bust-up with Nicolas Anelka during the training session before the Sunday’s game at Old Trafford against Manchester United.

News sources reported that Scolari asked Anelka to start the game against Red Devils only if he was willing to play on the left and it became the fuel to the heated row between the pair just before the important game, which the Blues eventually lost 3-0.

Anelka has been feeling the sore of being left out from the team in the last few matches after his place was taken by Didier Drogba. Frenchman became adamant, as he refused to accept the decision of his coach and wanted to stand up front.

Meanwhile, Scolari also has been feeling the heat with his players after they have started wondering, if the coaching style of the Brazilian actually works.

There are rumours that Chelsea board is losing their faith in ‘Big Phil’ as they are annoyed with his range of disciplinary measures and fines.

An official at Chelsea said, ‘Nothing is going well for Chelsea as everything is wrong. There has been a sudden outburst of questions regarding the management style of the Brazilian coach.’

To make matters worse, Chelsea got hammered by Manchester United on Sunday, as the Blues were outplayed by the home side in all departments of the game.

Scolari made his stand even worse after he said in a post match conference that there were two options left for him, either he sticks with the current players and they raise their playing standards or else he has to try different options.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Ballack: Drogba will play a key role in the coming games

December 11th, 2008

Chelsea midfielder, Michael Ballack, warned every title rival of his side that teammate Didier Drogba is going to give the Blues an added dimension in the coming future.

Ivory Coast International has been carrying an injury from the start of the season. His season also got affected with a 3 match suspensions in domestic games, when he threw a coin at Burnley fans.

However, Drogba seems raring to move on. His goal against CFR, which took his side in the knockout stages of the Champions League, was an indication of the things to expect from him in the coming games.

During an interview, German International Ballack said, ‘It’s a big comeback for us. Most BPL teams have been very defensive while playing against us at home.’

‘Now with Didier back in our squad raring to go, we’ll get that change needed to counter the defensive strategies of other teams. Like today, he only needs a slim chance for making the difference.’

‘This is what we expect from Didier and everyone at the club is happy that he’s back from both injury and suspension.’

Drogba is going to bolster the attack that is currently being led by Frenchman Nicolas Anelka, who has got 15 goals during this season in his absence.

Chelsea Boss, Luiz Felipe Scolari, has admitted that he’ll need to come up with a strategy for accommodating both the strikers in the same squad.

Scolari said, ‘Following Didier’s performance against CFR, now it’s my job of putting both the strikers in the same squad.’

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Wilkins: Drogba will come out with a renewed hunger for goals

November 12th, 2008

Ray Wilkins, assistant coach of Chelsea, predicted that Didier Drogba can return with a renewed hunger for goals.

Nicolas Anelka has been enjoying a prolific run in Drogba’s absence and it might be the reason for the striker to come out with a lot to prove.

Ivory Coast Captain is all set for starting the game, which is going to be his first in 6 weeks, against Burnley in the Carling Cup encounter, as Luiz Felipe Scolari, Chelsea Boss, is going to ring in several changes.

Wilkins said, ‘Drogba has an in-built determination for achieving success.’

‘I think that he’s not going to lie down lightly and will make a comeback with rejuvenated spirit.’

Drogba was sidelined with a knee injury, which he sustained in a Champions League encounter against CFR Cluj on October 1. Since then, he has been forced for watching Anelka seize the opportunity vacated by him and become the main goal scorer for the club.

In this season, Anelka has been able to hit opponents net 11 times. However, he’ll possibly be replaced by the African in the 4th round tie against a side, which is chasing promotion to the big league.

‘I have found him looking very sharp for the past two days. His determination might give him the will to play the full 90 minutes in the game.’

‘Now, it’s up to Scolari to make sure that he continues to stay in this same mode, as he’ll play a major role in the latter part of the season.’

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Scolari concerned over growing injury list at Stamford Bridge

October 3rd, 2008

Chelsea Boss, Luiz Felipe Scolari, has been concerned over the growing injury list at Stamford Bridge.

The recent addition to the list was Chelsea Striker, Didier Drogba. He was stretchered off with a suspected damage to his knee ligament during Blues’ Champions League tie against Cluj.

The London club is already missing the services of Joe Cole, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole. If Drogba does manage to make this list, Scolari will have a lot to think about in coming games.

In a post on the official website of Chelsea, ‘Big Phil’ said ‘I have no idea of Drogba’s current injury status.’

‘All I know is that he is having a problem, which is making it impossible for him to move on the field.’

Ashley Cole, who recently got injured, said in an interview that he was having difficulty in running and expected the same situation to prevail with Drogba. However, Scolari was hopeful regarding the possibility of his striker to be fit by Sunday.

If the layoff for Ivory Coast Captain is confirmed, it will mean that Chelsea will have only one fit recognised forward in Nicolas Anelka for the game against Aston Villa during the weekend.

Scolari said ‘I have got little time in my hand to develop a tough side with so many injuries on the cards, as there are several important games coming up within a short time.’

‘I don’t know the possibilities of getting desired result against Villa on Sunday. However, I will be hoping that there is no addition to my side’s injury list in the form of Drogba.’

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Essien sidelined for four weeks

September 6th, 2008

Versatile midfielder Michael Essien sustained an injury in Ghana’s shock defeat to Libya 0-1. This injury is likely to keep him out of action for the coming four weeks.

It makes him unlikely to be available for the crucial game against Manchester United on 21 September.

The midfielder, who is also the all-time costliest African player, limped off in the earlier stages of the first half of the International friendly match, as the Black Stars ended up with an unprecedented defeat.

Essien often referred to as the ‘bison’ for his strength and tackling, is to be seen by the doctors at Stamford Bridge before the Blues next match at Manchester City.

The midfielder, however, is quite confident of a fast recovery. He has stated that he knows this injury is a serious one. However, he will be able to bounce back in a short spell of time.

This intensifies problems for Chelsea, as already Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba are injured and losing one more player before the match against one of the ‘soon-to-be’ giants Manchester City must be stressing for their Manager Luiz Filipe Scolari.

Good news for Chelsea fans is that Ballack may be able to contribute a bit in the next match.

Talking of the premiership, two new signings have been done today. 17 year old Hungarian midfielder Zsolt Poloskei has been scouted by Liverpool.

The other signing is Uruguay’s full back, Walter Lopez, who has become the first player to join the ‘out of sorts’ West Ham United. Hammers are currently without a manager after the departure of Alan Curbishley.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Injury toll too high at the start of Premiership

September 4th, 2008

The Premiership rumors and results have been surrounded with injuries over and over again. However, so much of those in the beginning of the season, when all the players are fresh, have brought question marks to the working patterns and the hectic pre-season schedules that almost every club undergoes.

Starting with Chelsea, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba are out of action, thanks to injuries.

Drogba, the Ivory Coast captain, will be sidelined for more than three months by a knee problem that even kept him out of the club’s pre-season campaign to Russia and Asia.

Ballack has been ruled out of the German squad for World Cup Qualifier matches against Finland and Liechtenstein, thanks to a bruised foot he received in the team’s opening game against Portsmouth on August 17.

Germany’s Captain is expected to be back in action in the coming two weeks or so.

Newly transferred striker Louis Saha of Everton, who had five highly successful but frustrating seasons at Old Trafford, is still waiting to play his first game for the Merseysiders, thanks to yet another injury stint.

Yet another injury victim is West Ham and Wales player Criag Bellamy, who has been out of action for some time following a hamstring injury. This injury is also likely to keep him out of crucial qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Russia.

If these high profile injury figures are something to stand by, one wonders what will be the condition in mid-season or in the final one or two months, when the season will take real toll on the players.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Kenyon: No contract extensions for Drogba, Cole till 2009

August 16th, 2008

Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and England winger Joe Cole will not get their contracts extended at Chelsea this year, according to chief executive of the club, Peter Kenyon.

Both players, who have been instrumental in the team’s success in recent times, have two years each to stay at the club.

Drogba, the striker who has wasted most of this summer ‘ thinking ‘ whether or not to stay at Stamford Bridge, had recently made his mind to stay.

He missed Chelsea’s pre-season tour of Asia followed by an off-season tournament in Russia.

According to club officials, the striker will not be getting fresh contracts before next year.

Like Drogba, attacking winger Joe Cole has also been kept away from a new contract, at least for now.

Both Drogba and Cole were not as lucky as Frank Lampard, who has got a considerable rise in wages from his extension. The midfielder, who decided to stay with the Blues after continuous pursuit by Inter Milan, is expected to earn more than 150,000 pounds per week.

Chelsea, this season, has been working extra time to generate a good squad, and have made a brace of high profile signings in Portuguese internationals Jose Bosingwa and Deco.

According to Kenyon, both Drogba and Cole will get a chance for their respective extensions only after this year.

He has insisted that Chelsea is not becoming inactive in the transfer window, with a few possible signings, which include a hopeful one of Robinho from Real Madrid.

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Injury rules Drogba out of Chelsea’s Premiership start

August 10th, 2008

A knee injury incurred in the beginning of the summer has ruled Chelsea striker and Ivory Coast national team captain Didier Drogba from the club’s Premiership start at August 17 against Portsmouth.

Due to this injury and Drogba’s own reluctance in staying at Stamford Bridge, he was not included in the preseason training squad that visited Asia and later played at Moscow.

Coach Luiz Filipe Scolari, the World Cup winning Brazil and later Portugal manager who has been busy making ‘observations’ on his players throughout this pre season campaign for getting the best possible combination from the squad, had hinted that Drogba may be able to play in the London Derby match scheduled to be against rivals Tottenham Hotspur on August 31.

Scholari further said that in no case he would like the player to hurry his comeback. He added that he was getting daily updates from the club’s doctors on the injury.

The coach has also revealed that presently the star striker is training under a special fitness instructor and would take some time to resume training with the rest of the squad, which now boasts of new additions including Brazilian born Portuguese attacking midfielder Deco.

With Drogba out due to injury and fellow striker Soloman Kalou set to go to Beijing for the Olympics, it leaves space for Nicholas Anelka besides Ukraine striker Andiry Shevchenko to lead the attack for games against Portsmouth and Wigan Athletic before the derby against the Spurs. Hopefully by then, Drogba will be back and raring to go!

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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