We've destroyed the lad
Posted by Zeno in Chelsea, Shaun Wright-Phillips | 10 February 2006
Well, obviously. Shauny W-P has singularly failed to set the world alight since his £21m move from Manchester City this summer. We must have broken him.
What I find most surprising about the SWP comment that flies around is the naivete of it all. What did everyone think? That, simply because a team like City were willing to base their attack around a "give it to Shaun" attitude, Chelsea were going to do the same? That that notable free spirit, weekend hippy and all-round cuddlesome fella Jose Mourinho was going to bin his rigid, disciplined team structure to allow a diminutive winger free rein whenever he felt like it? Grow up.
Chelsea are probably the most disciplined team in English football. The team attacks, and defends, as one. When Jose arrived in England, he tried his best to explain his theories about "transition": the switching from attack to defence (and vice versa) that make a team difficult to play against. The reason so few people heard him, of course, was because there were 200 overweight journalists spewing bile and professing cynicism at his "Special One" claims; and this despite him having a reasonable case for being the most successful coach in Europe at the time.
So when you talk about SWP lacking opportunity at Chelsea, you simply show yourself to be a bit slow on the uptake. It's not a question of him being inferior to the 3 players he's competing with.
Robben is the pick of the bunch, when he's in the mood. Cole may rival him for close control, but I can't think of any other wingers in England who run with such pace and directness, and show such agility when they're being closed down. On his day, Robben is one of the top 3 or 4 attacking players in the country, and would walk into any team in the world. Nuff said. He's learning to tackle back and cover and, although it's not the best use of his talents, it seems that he's come to terms with the fact that it can broaden his game and add another facet. He tackles with minimal conviction, but he's willing to run and get his body in the way. As a 12 stone winger, there's not an awful lot more you can ask.
Cole is more of a conundrum. He scores more goals, and covers more ground than his Dutch counterpart. His close control is exceptional, he works for the team (usually) and he resists showboating. Plus he gets lucky a lot, particularly with things like deflected shots. People who write this off are missing the point. In football, you make your own luck. You can't get the breaks if you don't create the chances.
Duff has also broadened his game since he's been at Chelsea, but he seems to have lost a little something in the process. He doesn't run at people with the joyous abandon he used to and, although he still makes important contributions and has had several injury problems, my instinct is that he's third-choice behind Cole and Robben.
What Jose is clearly trying to do is build SWP's confidence while instilling in him a little of the Special One's footballing philosophy. It's not always about what he did at City: there are ways to help the team when you don't have the ball... there's your positioning when your team is breaking... there are a host of ways in which SWP can become a more effective player. And those people who bemoan his relative lack of influence at the club which paid so much money for him miss the point beautifully. If you are to take the step up to regular CL football and the prominence that playing for Chelsea will give you, you need to do a little learning as well. And that can only be good for England. The boy's 23, for Christ's sake. Let him learn. He'll come good. And if he doesn't, he could always go on loan to the Gooners. Let's face it, at this point even he couldn't save their season.
Comments
Saturday 11th February: Ha ha ha
LoL, from
Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal and the 16 other teams below you.
(note from Zeno: Ah, reasoned debate. Can't beat it.
So... what are you debating, exactly?)
Excuse my EN, I'm from Swe.
I get the point of your opinion and maybe you are right. Then again SWP did a great job off/def when he was at Man C so why can't he do that in Che? Maybe it's the fierce competition?
Personal remark. He didn't move to the right team. Ars would have been the best pick I think!
Zeno says: thanks for the feedback. I don't think his defensive game was as pronounced at City. My instinct is to say that both England and Chelsea fans should trust Jose Mourinho on this one. The man is a shrewd judge of players.
