Cole adds polish to the Chelsea diamond

Chelsea 5 Blackburn 0
By Chris Hatherall

Monday, October 26, 2009

CHELSEA’S diamond, which was beginning to lose its lustre, is looking polished again this morning thanks to a sparkling performance from a player who looks certain to reinvigorate their Premier League title challenge.

Joe Cole has spent almost nine months out with a knee injury but his effervescent display during Saturday’s 5-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers, playing at the tip of Carlo Ancelotti’s diamond formation, could prove to be one of the defining moments of Chelsea’s season.

It is not just that Cole provides the team with fantasy, energy and a touch of the unexpected, although those benefits were amply highlighted at Stamford Bridge. It is the fact that his return allows Chelsea’s most important player, Frank Lampard, to finally do what he does best, too.

Before Cole’s arrival many supporters were beginning to question Ancelotti’s obsession with a formation that had seen the team embarrassingly beaten at Wigan and resulted in Lampard, the most consistent midfielder goalscorer in the country, going 10 matches without finding the net.

Lampard, whose trademark runs from deep and long-range shooting have seen him hit 20 league goals in each of the last three seasons, just did not look comfortable higher up the field and when Deco played at the tip of the diamond instead the system looked even more fragile.

With Cole there, however, Chelsea thrived, even if Blackburn were ill-equipped to provide a serious test. Cole’s presence meant Lampard could come from deep to join the play and attack the penalty area, and he also found plenty of space to unleash the 25-yard specials that Stamford Bridge fans have become used to.

With the awesomely athletic Michael Essien at the base of the diamond and Michael Ballack back to his best in the centre Chelsea barely needed to move out of third gear to beat a Blackburn side short on confidence and short on quality.

By the time Cole was substituted Chelsea had already hit the net five times through a Gael Givet own goal, two from Lampard and one from Didier Drogba, who once again produced a performance of power and class.

No wonder Cole is hoping his new position can provide a boost, not only for Chelsea’s season but also for his own career.

"I’ve always wanted a chance to play in this position," he said. "It’s where I started my career in the youth team at West Ham but unfortunately since then I haven’t played in a team that has played that system so I have had to adjust my game and play off the left or off the right.

"I enjoy it in the middle, it’s more natural for me to play there. I hope I stay there, I ain’t going to lie. The position suits me down to the ground. If I was a manager I would put myself in that position. I love it."

With Cole in place there is every possibility of silverware for Ancelotti’s side, depending, of course, on how they cope with the absence of Drogba, Essien, Kalou and Mikel during the African Cup of Nations in January, and the Italian did not hold back in his assessment of the midfielder, who is now 27.

"Joe is a top player who has a lot of quality and makes assists for the strikers," he said. "I was surprised today because after eight months it’s not so easy to return to play with this kind of performance."

Cole’s movement, his flicks, tricks and even a showboating cross hit by swinging his right foot behind and around his left lit up Stamford Bridge, but in truth almost every player in the home side contributed to an excellent victory. In contrast to a depressed-looking Sam Allardyce, Ancelotti, despite rushing back from visiting his ill father in Italy, looked refreshed and elated as he flung his arms around Cole as the midfielder left the field.

"He is a great manager," said Cole later, still smiling as widely as he had done all match. "He’s come in and proven he’s a world class guy. Right now, I just want to enjoy being back at Stamford Bridge with the fans and everyone. It’s just beautiful, it’s blinding."

REFEREE: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire) 7: Correctly awarded Chelsea a penalty, made good decisions and was given few problems by either side, making only one booking

MATCH RATING: **** Five goals – and it could have been twice that – a great cameo performance from Joe Cole and an exhibition of centre-forward play from Didier Drogba. Top stuff.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Monday, October 26, 2009