The Libero - Why Chelsea will not miss African stars

Published: 11 Nov 2009 - 07:57:15

Click To Enlarge

A lot has been made of Chelsea's African Cup of Nations-bound stars, or more to the point how the club will cope with them once they head off to the January tournament, but their absence will barely dent the club's lofty ambitions at all.

Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel will all be swapping the cold and gloom of London for altogether more clement African weather come the turn of the year and the general consensus seems to be that all four will be terribly missed.

It's a view that is easy to buy into. At his best, Drogba is impossible to play against, a bullying brute of a striker who possesses strength and finesse in equal measures and who has a nose for goal as strong as his ability to infuriate with his lack of balance.

- Chelsea home
- Premier League fixtures

Essien, probably the best midfielder in the world right now, is ever more influential in his destructive role in Carlo Ancelotti's diamond midfield and the Ghanaian is a vital cog in the slick machine that is the current Chelsea side.

Kalou and Mikel may not be the best in their positions, and for that reason they are not regular starters, but nevertheless the pair are reliable and effective members of the squad, and more than capable of making an impact off the bench.

How can Chelsea possibly continue their brilliant recent form without that quartet? Surely their season is heading off the rails before most of us have managed to fully shake off our New Year's hangovers. And with Manchester United likely to surge in January, as they traditionally do, Ancelotti may as well just give up now. He's got no chance.

Absolute rubbish. Nonsense, tosh, piffle, claptrap. It is not going to be even half as bad as the most cautious doom merchant thinks.

Sunday's game against Manchester United proved that Chelsea can still beat the best - and United were once again near to their best at Stamford Bridge - even when their main players are not firing on all cylinders.

Drogba was kept quiet and well marshalled by Jonny Evans and Wes Brown. Indeed the Ivory Coast ace was overshadowed by Nicolas Anelka, who was Chelsea's best player on the day. Meanwhile Essien was swamped in the centre of the park and lost the midfield battle to Darren Fletcher, Anderson and Michael Carrick.

Yet Chelsea still ground out a big victory. Sure they got lucky with several decisions, but a couple of Wayne Rooney efforts and a Antonio Valencia penalty shout apart, their back line was largely untroubled, giving the team a platform to go on and nick a winner, no matter how controversial.

In particular, the performance of Anelka will have been satisfying for Ancelotti, who must be in no doubt that the Frenchman is capable of filling in for Drogba up top. If he can keep up that kind of form throughout January, Drogba will barely be missed - much like the opening three Champions League matches of the season. For the record, then Chelsea played three and won three during the Ivorian's absence.

But should Ancelotti want to spend in January and reinforce his squad, he is now able to, the club having last week received a 'stay' from CAS - effectively a suspension of their 18-month ban until the Gael Kakuta case is settled.

Factor in what is now a five-point lead over their nearest rivals plus a January fixture list that could have been far worse - Hull City, Sunderland, Birmingham and Burnley are hardly the most testing of opponents - and Chelsea have never looked in a stronger position to deal with four of their players taking a month's leave.

So forget about Chelsea's upcoming 'woes' - they have nothing of the sort. Instead, how about sympathising with Portsmouth, who stand to lose five players, including Aruna Dindane and Nadir Belhadj, and maybe even Kevin-Prince Boateng too, during January. Now there is a club who really will miss their African stars.

READ THE LIBERO EXCLUSIVELY AT FOOTBALL.CO.UK EVERY WEDNESDAY