We’ve got Robchenko

It was interesting how many comments in the press focussed on the fact that Chelsea’s main positive from the Community Shield defeat to a clearly superior Liverpool was the goal scored by Andriy Shevchenko.

The analysis went along the lines of, “One beautiful piece of control and superbly placed shot showed what you get for £30 million, so Chelsea shouldn’t be too worried about this result.”

The factor that the journalists overlooked is that Liverpool already have a player who can do exactly what Sheva did yesterday, and he cost nothing! That man, of course, is Robbie Fowler, and Liverpool fans have seen him score the same kind of goal as Shevchenko’s dozens of times. And don’t forget, Fowler is only one year older than the Ukrainian, and might even have an extra year or two in his legs, given the amount of time he spent in the treatment room over the last four years.

This doesn’t mean that Rafa shouldn’t bother signing Dirk Kuyt or whoever else is a potential centre-forward target. We need that kind of player, and so do Chelsea, which is why Mourinho didn’t let Drogba leave. But let’s not forget that yesterday’s victory came with Robbie sidelined with a minor injury and an hour played without Gerrard and Alonso.

Ultimately, Mourinho’s pre-match mind-games misfired, as his side were over-run by Zenden, Gonzales, Agger, Crouch and Luis Garcia, all of whom are far-from certain first-choice players in the upcoming campaign. Lampard, Ballack and Essien foundered on the rock of Momo Sissoko, while Gerrard, Alonso, Bellamy, Hyypia and Fowler looked on, rested and ready to go for the title.

Even if the Chelsea fans couldn’t be bothered with the Community Shield, two yellow cards inside the first 20 minutes showed that the players took the match all-too-seriously. Deep down inside, they know Rafa has fashioned a better team than Mourinho and on any given day the Reds can beat the Blues.

posted by John