Nicolas Anelka deserves to be Chelsea’s first choice striker

chickendinner have even made a spreadsheet to prove our point!

chickendinner believes that the fact Nicolas Anelka is the Premier League’s top scorer should be enough to ensure he is one of the first names on the Chelsea teamsheet but until last night Luiz Felipe Scolari seemed to disagree.

The Chelsea boss should also be aware that Anelka’s presence has a similar effect on the team as Florent Malouda’s, whereby even though he isn’t necessarily a fan favourite, the team have operated far better as a unit this season when the number 39 has been on the pitch. Here is the proof:

Posted: January 15th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Anelka v Drogba - who should start against West Ham?

chickendinner’s guide to who Scolari should select on Sunday

Luiz Felipe Scolari claims he is not afraid to start two strikers but assuming he sticks with Chelsea’s favoured formation of one up front against West Ham on Sunday, either Nicolas Anelka or Didier Drogba will be forced to watch from the dugout. chickendinner is aware that Scolari has been feeling tired recently so has produced some useful statistics on both strikers to help make his decision a little easier:

Nicolas Anelka
+ The top-scorer in the Premier League this season with thirteen goals
+ Scored in his last home start against West Ham
+ Has been involved in four 4-0 victories over the Hammers in his career

- Has only scored in one of his last six home games
- 13 of his last 14 goals have come when Malouda (doubtful) has started
- He has yet to score in a London derby for Chelsea

Didier Drogba

Posted: December 11th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Counter argument: five reasons why Chelsea won’t beat CFR Cluj

Chelsea/CFR Cluj, 7.45pm, ITV1, Best Odds, Free Bets

Chelsea could be eliminated from the Champions League tonight if they fail to beat Cluj and Bordeaux win away to Roma but nobody is really expecting that to happen. The general consensus is that even if Chelsea slip up, Roma will bail them out. However, the draw still seems ridiculously overpriced at 9.2 with Betfair (the away win is 27), so here are five reasons why Chelsea could stumble tonight:

1. Chelsea have gone three home games without a win and have only won one of their last five at Stamford Bridge.

2. The two sides drew when they met in Romania two months ago. Cluj won 2-1 away to group leaders Roma earlier this season and were only beaten by an own goal in Bordeaux.

Posted: December 9th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Why Chelsea should make West Brom victims number 21

WBA/Chelsea, 5.30pm, Setanta Sports 1, Best Odds, Free Bets

Chelsea may have lost their unbeaten home streak and their record of three Carling Cup finals in four years since Luiz Felipe Scolari took charge but there is one run that the Brazilian has kept in-tact despite seemingly tough challenges against Stoke and Hull. The table-toppers have an incredible sequence of twenty straight wins away to newly-promoted clubs and considering the Baggies have lost all six of their Premier League games against them, it’s easy to see why Chelsea are 1/3 favourites. So how do you make money on this encounter?

Chelsea to win both halves - 5/6 with Paddy Power
Chelsea have led at half-time in five of their six Premier League wins against West Brom and also in six of their seven domestic away wins this season, so this looks like a good bet, despite the short odds.

Florent Malouda to score the final goal - 9/1 with Ladbrokes
This bet is a riskier proposition but the Frenchman has scored the final goal in two of Chelsea’s last three Premier League away games and his last four domestic goals have all come away from Stamford Bridge.

Posted: November 14th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Nicolas Anelka’s impressive goalscoring achievement

Chelsea scapegoat is actually doing a pretty good job

There has been a recurring theme this season: whenever Nicolas Anelka scores a goal it is dismissed as being “just a tap-in” while the finger of blame is instantly pointed at the French striker and his compatriot Florent Malouda whenever Chelsea lose, with the phrase “if Drogba was playing, it would have been a different story” often being uttered.

But this stat helps put into perspective just how impressive Anelka has been this season:

Posted: November 10th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment