It's fair to say that wing-play was a problem area for Chelsea last season. We struggled to find the right combination on the wing and would often suffer as a result of it. The wingers did manage to put up some decent performances, but consistency levels were a bit worrying.
Last season, there were 2 players in particular who were used on the right wing, with varying levels of success. Daniel Sturridge was played wide-right for most of the season, while Ramires was preferred as a winger under Roberto Di Matteo. Let's take a quick look at how both of them fared on the wings last season.
Daniel Sturridge was AVB's first-choice on the right-wing. AVB once described Sturridge to Porto winger Hulk, who was also converted into a winger after starting his career as a striker. While the comparison was pretty far-fetched (as was proved during the course of the season), Danny did have a decent start to the season. He seemed extremely lively on the wing, & added a level of dynamism to the attack. The fact that he's left-footed meant that he was easily able to cut across on to his left foot & have a shot at goal. But it was his willingness to shoot that was eventually his downfall. It became a common sight to see Danny beat a couple of defenders, then cut across on his left & take the shot on, often missing by yards. The fact that there were often other players in better positions simply waiting for a pass made the whole situation even more frustrating. This led to Sturridge experiencing a dip in form & being dropped from the first XI on a regular basis.
Ramires became a regular on the right-wing under Roberto Di Matteo. Daniel Sturridge was dropped as a result of a string of poor performances. Ramires' pace made him seem like a pretty decent replacement. He put in some impressive displays on the right-wing, most notably in the matches against Napoli & Barcelona, while also putting in a good display in the FA Cup final. His pace & acceleration proved to be critical to Chelsea's counter-attacking style of play, & more often than not he was involved in quite a few of the goals we scored on the break. He did have his limitations on the right-wing though. While he had pace, he would become a bit isolated on the wing at times, & seemed to struggle against Premier League teams. Nevertheless, playing him as a winger proved to be a masterstroke.
It's clear that both of them had their good & bad points playing on the right-wing. Which brings me to the question that I asked you right in the beginning... "Will Ramires & Sturridge Be Right-Wing Options Next Season?" The answer is no. Not really.
I won't rule it out completely. There's still a chance that both of them could be used on the wings, but it certainly won't be on a regular basis. The signings of Marin, Hazard & more recently Oscar will see to that. But aside from the fact that we now have plenty of options, both Ramires & Sturridge on the wings had their limitations. While Sturridge's shoot-at-sight policy made it very clear that he prefers to play as a striker, Ramires was more suited to the counter-attacking style we employed under Di Matteo, a style that I see us dropping this season.
Whatever does happen, I foresee a very exciting 2012/13 season for Chelsea. Bring it on!
By Shayne Dias
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sturridge was dropped cuz of di matteo's formation for me
ReplyDeleteA drop in form was also one of the reasons. He played on the right-wing quite a few times in Robbie's 4-2-3-1 as well.
DeleteSturridge needs to improve his work rate and defensive quality and he could play RW for us.
ReplyDeletemain point behind dropping sturidge was his lack of team play. he is a selfish lad who always sees glory instead of passing the ball to another player who is in good position to score. this problem of his started noticing when he was played regularly and everyone thought that he would learn with time, to play more for the team which eventually did not happened. which meant he was on the bench towards the end of season.
ReplyDeleteDani doesn't want to be a winger, PERIOD.
ReplyDelete