ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:NICOLAS ANELKA has produced a thinly veiled criticism of the club's former manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari, for denying him a prolonged chance to prove his credentials alongside Didier Drogba.
The pair were thrust up front as a partnership for the last 21 minutes of Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Watford after a side selected by Ray Wilkins, which had begun with Anelka effectively on the right flank, trailed to the Championship team. The France international duly scored a hat-trick, linking up well with Drogba, to take his personal goal tally for the season to 20.
“At the beginning, I started on the right but, in the last 20 minutes, it was good,” said Anelka. “A lot of people said we couldn’t play together, but we have never really tried to play together. Today, in 20 minutes, we scored three goals. It’s not about me. To play with Didier up front changed the game, and that’s why we scored the goals and won the game.
“People have asked whether we have a Plan B but we’ve never tried playing us together. Even the 20 minutes today were good because we showed everybody that we can play together and we can score. Today it was me scoring, but it might be Didier next time.
“I’ve played as a striker all my life. To play on the right or the left is always difficult. To help Chelsea, I can do that. But it’s even better if I can play up front with Didier because, if that’s the case, maybe I can help Chelsea even more.”
Drogba spent the first few months of the season recovering from injury, his comeback then frustrated by a ban for hurling a coin thrown by Burnley fans back into the visiting support at Stamford Bridge, but had been cast to the fringes in recent weeks.
He was dropped for the games against Southend and Stoke, and used as a substitute in Scolari’s last four games in charge. “I hope I will get back to my best before the end of the season,” he said. “I have been off the pitch for about five months. I hope now to show that I deserve to play.”
Wilkins will hand over the reins to Guus Hiddink at training today for the first time, confident the Dutchman will have an immediate impact on the side. “There’s not a lot wrong here,” said Wilkins. “We just need to communicate within the club and we’ll be fine.”
Chelsea’s communications yesterday were largely directed at Manchester City, who had been linked with a summer move for the Blues captain John Terry.
Though the club’s chief executive, Peter Kenyon, admitted that City had made an inquiry, he dismissed any prospect of the England central defender leaving Stamford Bridge. “We made it very clear that John was not for sale,” said Kenyon. “We did not entertain any further conversation on the subject and nor will we in the future. John is our captain and the captain of England. He is part of the heart and soul of Chelsea.”
Guardian Service
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