Cascarino: Chelsea will be just fine (From Your Local Guardian)

Cascarino: Chelsea will be just fine

10:04am Tuesday 12th January 2010 in

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Tony Cascarino believes Chelsea have the strength in depth to cope with the unavailability of several key players due to the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Blues will be without Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and John Obi-Mikel for the best part of a month due to international commitments, with each player hoping to excel in Africa.

But former Stamford Bridge striker Cascarino believes his former club will manage without the key quartet.

He said: “If there is one club who have the squad strength in depth to cope with the departures then it is Chelsea.

“Carlo Ancelotti may be losing four players but only Drogba and Essien are really important members of the team, Kalou and Obi-Mikel are really only squad players that can be replaced.

“Of course, any team in the world would miss a player like Drogba but, in Nicolas Anelka and Daniel Sturridge, Chelsea have viable alternatives.

“Neither of these two play like the big Ivory Coast forward but Anelka’s performances this season have been very much underrated. Drogba has won most of the plaudits for his form and goals but Anelka has played really well and his return should give Chelsea more than enough firepower to cope during January.

“Sturridge looks like he is finding his feet at the Bridge. He is a confident lad and if he gets a run in the side could prove to be an excellent replacement. Whether the young English striker will get the goals in Drogba’s absence is up for debate but his performances of late suggest he is now a viable alternative.

“The problem for Ancelotti will be coping without Essien. The Ghanaian adds pace and strength to a relatively slow Chelsea midfield and his absence leaves the Italian with a quartet lacking pace in the middle of the park. When Essien was missing through long-term injury last season, the Blues didn’t offer the same physical threat, so it will be interesting to see how Chelsea cope with a relatively one-paced midfield.

“One of Chelsea’s main title rivals, Arsenal, will also be affected, with their Cameroonian midfield enforcer Alex Song departing to Angola. The lad has come on leaps and bounds this season and is now one of the first names on the Gunners team-sheet.

“He has turned into a really good player, balancing out Arsenal’s attacking team as a shield in front of the back four and saving the club millions of pounds in the process. Despite his absence, I cannot see Arsene splashing out on a new midfielder as he has an abundance of midfielders at the club and, in Abou Diaby, may already possess the man to fill Song’s boots.

“Diaby has all the attributes to play the holding midfield role. He has a superb physique, great pace and is all-round excellent athlete. My only fear is that he can be caught ball-watching at times and, like the former Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair, can be prone to the odd big mistake.

“Arsenal have already shown that they can cope without a player who is arguably more important to the side than Song, their striker Robin Van Persie. Surprisingly, the Dutchman’s absence hasn’t affected their form. So, I don’t expect a massive change in fortunes for either Arsenal or Chelsea, despite losing key players to the African Cup of Nations.”

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