The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Troubled times ahead for Chelsea Posted: 27 Aug 2012 04:44 PM PDT AUG 28 — This may sound rather foolish considering they are reigning European champions and currently sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table with a 100 per cent record, but I still believe trouble lies ahead for Chelsea and their manager Roberto Di Matteo. Di Matteo walked into a no-lose situation when he replaced Andre Villas-Boas midway through last season. The team was struggling in the Premier League, on the verge of exiting the last 16 of the Champions League after a 3-1 first-leg defeat at Napoli, and beset by rumours of internal strife between the manager and dressing-room leaders John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba. Things could only get better. But take a look at the bigger picture and it becomes apparent that Villas-Boas should not be judged too harshly for his tenure at Stamford Bridge. Sure, results had been poor and AVB's reign was anything but successful, but that was only to be expected when you consider that he had supposedly been appointed to oversee a long-term significant restructuring of the club's squad and playing style. After years of too frequent managerial changes and with an ageing group of players, Villas-Boas was touted as the man to lead Chelsea into a bright new era, which was meant to be based on the focus on youth development and free-flowing football showcased by Barcelona. Instead, Villas-Boas was given little more than six months to carry out his work as trigger-happy owner Roman Abramovich lost his nerve at the first sign of trouble and took a firm step back into the past with the appointment of Di Matteo — one of the old guard who was on decidedly friendly terms with many of the players. Employing a mate of the players who were supposedly being gradually ushered out was no way to proceed with a transitional period, but it did undoubtedly succeed in creating a short-term revival as the players went back to what they knew best and galvanised themselves around the powerful leadership of Terry, Lampard and Drogba. The rest is history as the Blues battled their way to an unlikely Champions League triumph and also added the FA Cup to give Di Matteo an impressive haul of two trophies in less than three months. Those unexpected and dramatic few weeks at the end of last season will live forever in Chelsea's proud history, and rightly so, but they will do little to mask the fact that the squad still needs to be overhauled. That applies particularly to Drogba, Lampard and Terry, who have given the team its identity and, more than that, largely defined Chelsea for many years. Drogba has already gone, of course, quitting at exactly the right time to preserve his status as an iconic club legend. Lampard (34 years old) and Terry (32 in December) are still there, but if Chelsea want to enjoy a bright long-term future they need to be moved on. That's not to suggest that they should be dispensed with altogether — they can still perform at a high level — but they need to become prominent members of the supporting cast rather than the lead characters, in the same way that Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have done at Manchester United. New stars, new heroes, new leaders need to be found — players who can guide the way towards a new philosophy of play and a strong collective identity. Two players, in particular, have the opportunity to play a big part in that process: Fernando Torres and Eden Hazard. With Drogba's departure, Torres is now — for the first time — secure in the knowledge that he is the first-choice striker at Stamford Bridge. Until this summer, he has been trying to fit in, competing with Drogba in the hierarchy and looking to find a role for himself: now that role is clearly defined and ready for him to firmly claim as his own. The Spaniard has responded well so far with three goals in four games (including one in the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City), although his general level of play has been below the supreme standards he regularly reached during his time with Liverpool. If he can continue to score goals and, perhaps more importantly, become a genuine catalyst and talismanic inspiration for Chelsea in the same way that he was at Anfield, it would enormously help the Blues' transition to life without Drogba. The other player who can fulfil a similar purpose in midfield is new signing Hazard. The Belgian playmaker was the outstanding player in the French Ligue 1 over the last two seasons, and the early indications are that he has every capability of becoming a major success at Stamford Bridge after his summer move from Lille. His penalty against Newcastle on Saturday was his first goal for the Blues, and he also has a few assists to his name after a string of highly impressive performances. It's too early to say for sure, but Hazard could be Chelsea's future, assuming the role of midfield leader that has been jealously guarded by Lampard throughout much of the last decade. So Chelsea already have the players — potentially — to allow them to ease the old guard into more peripheral figures. But a lot of that will depend on the decisions taken by the manager, and it remains to be seen whether Roberto Di Matteo is the right man to lead that process. Is he too deeply wedded to Chelsea's old way of doing things? Is he too close to the players that he needs to replace? The fact that he was only given a one-year contract clearly suggests that Abramovich feels the answer to both questions might be: "Yes." And if that happens, Di Matteo will surely be shown the door before too long. For Di Matteo to enjoy long-term success at Stamford Bridge, rather than relying on the same old spirit and identity that has served them so well in the past, he has some tough decisions to make. Decisions like leaving out Lampard and Terry in the big games and giving new stars a chance to emerge (Cahill and Luiz in defence; Oscar, Hazard and Romeu in midfield). These, of course, are the kind of decisions that cost Andre Villas-Boas his job. It might cost Chelsea a few points in the short term, but if they genuinely want to forge a new team and a new philosophy, it has to be done. Nine points is a great start, but it's time for a new Chelsea. Di Matteo has to prove that he is capable of providing it. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Posted: 27 Aug 2012 04:35 PM PDT AUG 28 — In a few more days, we will celebrate our 55th year of being independent. National Day is the best day to reflect back on our journey as a nation. First, there are no other days which are more significant in our nation's rich history. Second, it reflects exactly another year of us being fully responsible for dictating the course of Malaysia. We have no one else to blame, as the power has been solely in our hands. This day is also special for me personally. It used to be the only day in the year where my friends and I would get the chance to actually wave the "Jalur Gemilang" during the annual celebration in primary school. It was also the time of the year where my father insisted that our house showcased the "Jalur Gemilang", though it was my younger brother's duty to fix the flags due to his thinner physique. From my primary school days, I also remember working with the entire school to produce a huge, extra-long "Jalur Gemilang" for this special day. Those were amazing moments. I would limit my reflection this time on the political aspect of August 31. Many of us assumed last August that we would have seen the results of the hotly anticipated 13th general election by now. But most of us were wrong, and it now seems unlikely that the GE will be held in 2012. Today, I don't want to discuss assumptions on the outcome of this postponed election. What concerns me most is the effect of this delay. Datuk Seri Najib Razak has until April next year to call for election and both parties are now happy to use this time to strengthen their positions. However, although both political sides benefit from this delay as they can reduce the cracks internally, this wait has increased the cracks between Malaysians as a country. The intensity and frequency of the fights in the political arena has increased as the year progresses, and has given all political parties something to work on to prove their worth. On the other end of the spectrum, this postponement of the elections has the potential to deter eager first-time voters who might lose their interest in voting in the midst of the wait for elections to be announced. Ultimately, my biggest worry is that we will be so divided that GE 13 will be a trigger of an even wider division among us as country, instead of providing a new fresh mandate for our political leaders. Perhaps fixed-term elections like that in the United Kingdom can help ease the uncertainty and the division it has the potential to create. Other than that, we could say politics is generally heading in the right direction, though not at a satisfying pace as of yet. Some issues are being raised constructively, which then leads to productive debate over the issues at hand. Ignited by the debate in London between Khairy Jamaluddin and Rafizi Ramli on Wawasan 2020, we have thereafter seen a number of debates on a number of other issues such as Bersih and higher education. This is all good, considering that two years ago this kind of debate was unimaginable in the Malaysian political scene. However, this is no reason for us to rest on our laurels and not work towards bringing further changes politically for the nation. We should strive for more progress, and move away from debate being a display of disagreement and clash of ideas on an issue. Instead, we should demand for debates that provide an intellectual means for us to dissect that issue deeply, and that lay out both sides of the argument in a professional manner. These debates should instigate more debates and forums on the particular issue, not petty fights on who was the better debater. Apart from this, we should take comfort in the fact that we are progressing as a nation. Mishaps such as the choice of theme for National Day by the Information Ministry, which was then mirrored by state governments controlled by the opposition, should never be repeated. Miscalculations such as the language of teaching for science and mathematics should be minimised. But that is what happens when a country progresses. Some breed multiple political parties such as in the UK, where it is very hard to form a majority government with one single party. Others indulge in financial liberalisation, making money the only significant factor in winning the presidential race in the US. But no matter what progress brings, mistakes will be made, but we should always remember to learn from them, and take responsibility for our mistakes. Thus I implore you all to draw positive ideas instead of destructive criticism from Malaysia's past, and work towards a better Malaysia. Merdeka! * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
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