QPR vs Chelsea - Monday Match Reports and Comments

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Interesting as always to read different journalists who see the same game and come to radically different conclusions about the game or some players.

The Guardian/Richard Williams - Cautious Chelsea remind QPR of their wealth of on-field talent
Come back at the end of the decade and this might be the sort of high-tension fixture that would have been expected when the likes of Peter Osgood, Rodney Marsh, Alan Hudson and Stanley Bowles roamed west London. As things stand, it will be a while before Queens Park Rangers' new owners have made their money talk eloquently enough to restore the sultans of Shepherd's Bush to the Premier League, and Saturday's generally featureless tie clearly exposed the difference in current status between the Cup holders and a club that has now failed to get beyond the third round for seven years in a row.
The underlying message, however, was equally plain, and it was that QPR are on the way back. "Gigi De Canio/Bernie and Flavio" was the chant, to the tune of La Donna e Mobile, and it will not be long before someone has found a way of extending the verse to include the name of Lakshmi Mittal, whose fortune of about £20bn puts Roman Abramovich's £10bn into a new perspective. On the evidence of the past few weeks, Luigi De Canio - late of Napoli, Siena, Reggina and elsewhere - is quite capable of doing the sort of preliminary rebuilding job with which Claudio Ranieri paved the way for Jose Mourinho's arrival at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea, minus six of Mourinho's "untouchables" plus Andriy Shevchenko, and with Didier Drogba making a surprise reappearance on the bench, played the sort of cautious game that has already become associated with Avram Grant. Their winner arrived, just before the half-hour, when Claudio Pizarro carried the ball across the edge of the area before unleashing a reverse-angle shot that took a slight deflection off the nearest defender, rebounded from the left-hand post, hit the upraised right hand of the diving Lee Camp and rolled back across the line.
They came close to doubling their lead on the stroke of half-time, Shaun Wright-Phillips making the most of a rare moment of lucidity and precision to find Salomon Kalou with a long diagonal ball which the Ivorian laid back to Steve Sidwell, whose 25-yard drive shivered the same post. After fending off QPR's renewed assault in the first 10 minutes of the second half, they brought on a procession of big guns - Drogba, Michael Ballack and Joe Cole - in a successful effort to intimidate the visitors into submission.
With eight new players arriving at Loftus Road since the opening of the January transfer window, and more to come, De Canio gave four players their debuts, the defenders Fitz Hall and Matthew Connolly, formerly of Wigan and Arsenal respectively, making a good first impression. Gavin Mahon, on loan from Watford, provided strength and commitment in the centre of midfield, where Sidwell again disappointed for Chelsea. Akos Buzsaky, the neat Hungarian No10, is being spoken of as a new Bowles, and Rangers certainly missed his inventiveness after his withdrawal with a sprained ankle 10 minutes into the second half. Angelo Balanta, a 17-year-old Colombian winger, came on for the last 25 minutes, got a handful of touches and showed distinct signs of skill and enterprise.
John Terry limped into the press room at half-time with his right foot still in an orthopaedic boot, underlining the availability problems for Grant that are now exacerbated by the departure of Drogba and Michael Essien for the African Cup of Nations, with Mikel John Obi to follow after tomorrow night's Carling Cup tie against Everton. Like De Canio, Grant will be expecting reinforcements to arrive shortly but refused to be drawn on the question of Nicolas Anelka's possible arrival from Bolton.
Man of the match: Mikel John Obi (Chelsea) Guardian

Independent/Glenn Moore - Chelsea 1 Queen's Park Rangers 0: Chelsea fail to set good example for Rangers' money men
No Frank, no JT, no Petr, for an hour no Drog. And no Special One. Much had changed since Chelsea's last FA Cup tie, the 2007 final against Manchester United a few miles away across London. Roman is not even the richest man in football any more.
One similarity with that May day was the dullness of the game. Not only was it short on goalmouth incident, it was lacking in passion. Given this was a local derby, Queen's Park Rangers' first against their neighbours in 12 years, more than the one booking could have been expected. Yet while Rangers' supporters made their desire clear their players treated the match more as an intellectual challenge than a physical one. This doubtless pleased their coach, the technician Luigi de Canio, but it made life easier for Chelsea. Even without playing well they were always going to win a passing contest.
That they only did so due to a fortunate own goal, Claudio Pizarro's shot skidding off Fitz Hall's studs, rebounding off the post, and in off the prone Lee Camp, underscored the poverty of Chelsea's performance. Fortunately for Avram Grant Abramovich was in Russia. Notwithstanding the lengthy injury list matches like this are one of the main reasons Jose Mourinho is now at leisure in Setubal.
Only three of last year's finalists started for Chelsea, Paulo Ferreira, Shaun Wright-Phillips and John Obi Mikel, but even with Frank Lampard, John Terry and Petr Cech out Grant had enough in reserve to leave Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Joe Cole on the bench. Not that Chelsea looked much sharper when they came on.
"They are one of the best teams in Europe but at times we made them look ordinary," said Gavin Mahon, one of seven new recruits featuring for QPR. The former Watford captain added: "If we had a little more quality on the break I think we would have had one or two more chances against them."
Chelsea are the model for QPR's unimaginably wealthy new owners Lakshmi Mittal, Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore (combined worth £21bn). The latter, according to Mahon, appears to be the most active partner. "When I met Flavio he told me he had a three-year plan but I know deep down he wants to get up sooner than that," said Mahon, who has signed on a £200,000 loan until his contract expires in June. Mahon added: "That's why he's spending big in January to get a squad to pick up as many points this season and see where it takes us. Next season I think he is really going to go for it. This man is ambitious. You don't come to a struggling club, spend a few million pounds and then just say, 'Oh, it hasn't worked out'."
No, you sack the manager and try another one, just as impoverished clubs do. QPR's potentates should have learnt one lesson from their neighbours on Saturday: In football, even a large fortune does not guarantee quality.
Goal: Camp og (28) 1-0.
Man of the match: Rowlands.
Attendance: 41, 289.
Call from Capello?
Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
The captain for the day was sound throughout. Shaun Wright-Phillips's wasted potential deserved the QPR taunt 'we won't be buying you." Independent


- THE TIMES/MattHughes - Ashley Cole feels Avram Grant's wrath despite Blues win
Avram Grant’s diplomatic approach does not usually extend to embarrassing his players, although that did not stop him handing out a public snub to Ashley Cole as darkness descended upon Stamford Bridge. Perhaps the softly spoken Chelsea first-team coach plans to toughen up his act after all.
After berating Cole for much of the afternoon, Grant stripped him of the captaincy when Didier Drogba was introduced in the 61st minute, even though the Ivory Coast striker has not worn the armband before. Grant confirmed afterwards that he made Drogba captain when he came on because he wanted more leadership on the pitch as Queens Park Rangers attempted to fight their way back into a scrappy match, words that will not go down well with Cole, who was once identified as a future Arsenal captain by Arsène Wenger.
“Didier is a leader,” Grant said. “Many players that are leaders here did not play, so we gave it to Ashley because I think he is a good example for all the others. I like him, so he deserved to be the captain, but there are other options for leaders in the team.”
Drogba’s only real contribution on his return from knee surgery was a shot late on that was well saved by Lee Camp, although he did enough to illustrate how much Chelsea will miss him, now that he has departed for the African Cup of Nations, and why a firm bid will be made this week for Nicolas Anelka, the Bolton Wanderers striker. By omitting him from their defeat by Sheffield United, Bolton have effectively hung a “For Sale” sign around the France forward’s neck.
Claudio Pizarro did play a crucial part in winning the tie, with his 29th-minute shot rebounding cruelly off a post on to Camp and into the net, but was otherwise anonymous and it says everything about his negligible contribution since signing from Bayern Munich last summer that he was so eager to claim the goal. The Peru striker is unlikely to be standing in for Drogba for long. “I don’t know what the rules are in this country, but I will be claiming it,” Pizarro said. “I need it, it will give me confidence.”
Chelsea’s progress was comfortable enough, but their cup teams are far weaker than a couple of years ago, when Eidur Gudjohnsen and Hernán Crespo regularly featured among their second string. Grant was helped by the negativity of his opposite number, who must show more ambition in league matches if QPR want to return here on a regular basis. Luigi De Canio’s tactics were aimed at damage limitation, with the Italian manager starting with five men in midfield and withdrawing Gareth Ainsworth at half-time even though he had given Ashley Cole a torrid time.
England fans will hope that Fabio Capello does not resort to a similar strategy in an attempt to get the best from his underachieving players.
The Times

See Also:

- Chairman Paladini's post-match Comments

- Earlier compilation of QPR vs Chelsea Match Reports