Chelsea in trouble .....
-
Uefa hands Essien two-match ban
Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has been given a two-match ban by Uefa for his tackle on Liverpool's Dietmar Hamann in the Champions League.
With Chelsea in the last 16 of the competition - they discover their opponents in Friday's draw - Essien will miss both the home and away legs.
Essien, 23, had been charged with gross unsporting conduct for the challenge in last week's 0-0 draw.
The Ghana midfielder has since apologised to Hamann for the tackle.
"Michael has spoken to Dietmar by telephone," said a Chelsea spokesman.
"He apologised to Dietmar, assured him the tackle was accidental and that there was no malicious intent."
Essien caught Hamann just below the knee but the tackle was missed by the referee.
Hamann had earlier been critical of Essien for not apologising.
"Nobody from Chelsea has said anything to me and Essien hasn't apologised or anything like that," said Hamann.
The German midfielder said the tackle was the "worst I have suffered in my career" and questioned how Essien escaped punishment from the referee.
Hamann said: "The referee blew the whistle for something else just a second beforehand but with four officials around the pitch these days, did nobody see what happened?
"I thought they were trying to stop things like that happening in the game.
"But it's finished as far as I'm concerned. It's not for me to say whether it was a booking or a red card, for me it's finished."
Essien has already courted controversy earlier this season, when he was booked for a similar tackle on Bolton defender Tal Ben Haim.
Referee Rob Styles wanted to turn that into a red card after reviewing footage - but Fifa stepped in to prevent any retrospective punishment.
So no Makelele and no Essien for their two UCL last 16 match , i smell trouble in Chelsea's camp . -
No Makelele and Essien will surely affect the way the team set ups to play in midfield. But being Chelsea, they have got good players throughout the squad. Geremi is no Makele or Essien but he can come in and do a decent job. Depending on who they draw, Mourinho can also bring in Gudjohnsen and adopt the less conservative 4-3-3 if it was against a "weaker" opponent.
I won't say Chelsea are in trouble yet because they have a strong team. They are certainly not built around just one or two individuals. But, it will definitely affect their chances of doing well in the next round. -
From the fans' perspective, it would certainly look like a big blow without Makelele and Essien.
Let's see who else can Chelsea have in midfield...
Lampard & Geremi are midfielders. So is Diarra who performed very well in his first appearance for Chelsea..a mini Makelele.
Joe Cole and Gudjohnsen can also fit into that role,
Duff can hold left midfield.
Who knows, Gallas may even be pushed just forward of the centre halves Carvalho and Terry.
Still Chelsea has, Drogba, Crespo, Robben, SWP and Carlton Cole around as forwards.
Oh, btw, th last 16 starts in February 2006. Makele should recover by then or Mr Moneybags will buy another player who is eligible for CL to take that position
The team still looks good enough.
-
2 match is too little...
-
2 match only. should end his career man!
-
yeahOriginally posted by anhydrouscoppersulphate:2 match only. should end his career man! -
they are still very strong with the two of them.
dont gloat.
if liverpool lose 2 first team players they will be in real trouble.
hopefully nothing bad happens in the final. -
in trouble? how wrong u r...chelsea got so many world class players...if
mourinho is a really clever manager...they play 4-4-2 oso can..4-3-3 oso
can..4-5-1 oso can..if chelsea was a club like everton den losing 2 important
figure in their squad would spell disaster for them -
Originally posted by Poolman:
Good....whoever's their next opponent shd smell blood!
[b]Uefa hands Essien two-match ban
So no Makelele and no Essien for their two UCL last 16 match , i smell trouble in Chelsea's camp .
[/b]
-
And their next opponent is BARCA!!!
Essien to miss BARCA's two legs. Chelski to be knocked out! Woohoo!
-
wait..why no makelele?ucl starts only in feb leh..unless suay suay injured again.CHOI!!!..
-
Banned from playing soccer?Originally posted by anhydrouscoppersulphate:2 match only. should end his career man! -
Essien or not, it's oni fair they get butt-OUT by Barca tis time!Originally posted by CoolMyth:And their next opponent is BARCA!!!
Essien to miss BARCA's two legs. Chelski to be knocked out! Woohoo!