Source: Daily_Mail
Diamonds are forever despite struggle at Reading, insists Chelsea boss Carlo
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has vowed to stick with his diamond formation despite a patchy pre-season performance against Reading.
Ancelotti's midfield diamond of John Obi Mikel, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Deco found life tough against the Championship outfit, with Chelsea scrambling for a 2-2 draw.
The Blues’ Italian manager breathed a sigh of relief as his side rescued the draw on Saturday thanks to a last minute Salomon Kalou strike and injury-time own goal from Alex Pearce.
Michael Essien
Michael Essien in action for Chelsea at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday
The performance raised more questions than answers for Ancelotti however, as he lost his 100 percent pre-season record.
The former AC Milan chief has brought the new formation to Stamford Bridge this summer, and until the weekend there were no doubts that it could work, with easy wins coming over the Seattle Sounders, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Club America during the Blues’ tour of the United States.
Carlo Ancelotti
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti watching his side take on Reading
However, against gritty Reading, Chelsea struggled to turn their dominant possession into chances on goal, and it is clear that any width in the side this season is going to come from the full-backs.
Blues supporters can expect, or hope, to see Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa pushing forward more often this season to provide ammunition for the forwards - because Ancelotti is adamant he will not be changing his tactics in the middle.
The new style of play will face a major test at the weekend when they face Sir Alex Ferguson’s champions at Wembley, but Ancelotti explained: 'We can play Lampard, Deco and also we can play Joe Cole, he has the quality to play behind the striker and maybe also Kalou.
'Lampard can play on the left and he can play offensive midfielder. I want to try this because I like games where he is in this position.
'The other players can play in the diamond in a different role, they can play up front or they can play behind the striker, so I want to play with the diamond.
'The most important thing to win is the Premier League and the Champions League. To win these would be a success, but we also need to have an identity with the team and I think we are going the right way about doing this.
'In the last games I saw some very good ideas coming from the players.'
Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka both missed chances to score at the Madejski Stadium, but Ancelotti is intent on sticking with the pair as his first-choice partnership.
A late friendly draw at Reading is seemingly not a concern to the Chelsea manager, as he has his eyes on the long-term plan.
John Terry
John Terry battles for the ball with Reading's Shane Long
He added: 'My patience is my biggest strength, although I also love football and I think this is the biggest point.
'I love the tactics, the play, and I love finding solutions and trying new solutions. But the most important thing is to have a team who play with a clear idea of how they need to play. So we prepare the training with this objective.'
The feel-good factor has also extended to defender Juliano Belletti who had became disheartened after just five League starts last season.
The 33-year-old Brazilian has fallen in love with Chelsea again since Ancelotti’s arrival, and said: 'Last year was hard, the team was in China and I was here, it was a difficult moment because I had some questions about my future and it was tense. But this year I feel more important. I can tell you we never know what is next, but now I feel important to the team.'
Meanwhile, former Chelsea chairman Brian Mears has died aged 78. A descendant of the family that founded the club in 1905, Mears was chairman between 1969 and 1981 during which time Chelsea won the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup.
