Midfield calls will decide title fate

PRESTON was a great trip. We travelled up on Friday night and made a weekend of it — rejecting the “allure” of nearby Blackpool, we stayed just outside Preston and encountered a town and its people excited at having Chelsea coming to visit.

It made a nice change to talk to football fans free of petty prejudices who appreciated our team and players. When was the last time Frank Lampard was applauded off by the opposition fans, I wonder? It wasn’t just Preston’s fans that gave us a friendly welcome — the local police demonstrated that if you treat fans as you would treat any other group of people, then you will, in the main, encounter no problems.

So Preston had its biggest crowd for 40 years, with 6,000 Chelsea supporters doing their bit and both teams treating each other with respect.

I was also pleased that Ancelotti treated the match and the opposition with due respect and put out a decent side (unlike some). Cardiff in the next round should be a “lively” affair. I can’t imagine the police taking much of a laissez-faire attitude to this encounter.

The news that Essien’s injury will keep him out for the next six weeks or so was tempered slightly by the fact that Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast have been knocked out of the African Cup of Nations and so the striker is on his way back after missing just two matches. Hopefully the unexpected exit will have fired him up at this crucial stage of the season.

We have a very tricky run in, but if we do well in the next six games perhaps the back end of the season may not be a grandstand affair. The front line picks itself, and some others are automatically on the team sheet while the defence seems to be playing well no matter who makes it up.

So, for me, the midfield choices could make or break this campaign — and I’m glad it’s not me having to make that tough call.

Lampard, if fit, has to play. But after Frank it gets tricky. Deco is fit again and Ancelotti, like Scolari before him, regularly selects him when available. I can’t help but think this is a mistake.

And where does that leave Joe Cole? Not at his best recently, but people seem to forget that he was out for a long time and it will take him a while to get back to full fitness. Or did we have the best of him and is he a spent force? I think not but can we chance a less than fully fit player at this crucial stage in the season?

Malouda — now there’s a player that splits opinion. When on song, he looks like the replacement for the much missed Robben, but other times is maddening. He can run at the opposition and frighten the life out of them and score great goals, or can wait around on the wing not doing much.

Ballack is another who splits opinion. I had two morons behind me at the weekend who spent the entire match slagging him (and Deco) off. But I think he is the kind of player you want in your team when it’s time to fight while his size and reputation worries opposition players.

Mikel is a player who occasionally reminds us of his age through his naivety but on the whole a powerful player who can only improve surrounded by such talent.

Of course, this is before we have even begun to consider some of the talented youngsters that we have seen blooded this season and who have performed well. If Ancelotti can crack the midfield selection for the formations that we now have under our belt, then the title could be heading our way.

Of course, he also needs to pick the right formation for the right game, but he’s an experienced manager — and I think now is getting a good handle on the Premier League.

I won’t deny that Arsenal making up the points gap was a little disconcerting, but our destiny is in our hands and both United and the Gooners would swap with us in a heartbeat.

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