Tom Lappin: Despite Terry's gaffes, Chelsea are full of verve under Ancelotti

Published on Friday 27 November 2009 22:51

RELATIVES wondering what to get John Terry for Christmas might like to stop off at Amazon and click on a self-help title along the lines of How To Win Friends And Influence People. The answer to that question about what to get the man who has everything might in this case be a basic grounding in diplomacy.

It's not been a great week for the Chelsea and England captain on the image front, even if the club's results have been satisfactory. It has emerged that his commercial advisers are capitalising on his status as national team captain in order to tap a few more lucrative revenue streams in that expensive run-up to Christmas. Terry has insisted that he did not approve the sending out of the email, but its very existence remains unedifying. England captains are still supposed to pay lip-service to the notion that the armband is an honour, rather than a brand-enhancing accessory to be exploited before the manager hands it to someone else.

So far, so grubby. Terry's other announcement this week was also as clumsy as one of his trademark upper-arm blocks. Talking about Chelsea's title potential, he suggested that the team was close to rediscovering the ability to intimidate the opposition in the manner of the Jose Mourinho sides that won the Premier League in 2005 and 2006.

Casting up the M word doesn't do the present incumbent Carlo Ancelotti any favours. The Italian is caught between the rock of Mourinho's impressive achievements at Stamford Bridge, and the hard place of the knowledge that the pragmatic style of Mourinho's sides eventually led to the Special One's dismissal.

So far, Ancelotti has been impressive in navigating the middle ground between accumulating the points and keeping the boss interested. It's something of a thankless task (OK, the salary means it's not all that thankless) keeping the circus entertaining enough not to incur the wrath of the all-powerful Roman emperor, while ensuring the results keep ticking over.

So if Ancelotti purrs with Serie A-bred satisfaction at Chelsea's remarkable sequence of clean sheets at Stamford Bridge, Abramovich can also brag to his friends about that delicious goal Didier Drogba scored against Bolton last month, when he volleyed in a Lampard flick.

If Chelsea's status as title favourites is built on the foundations of that resilient defence, Ancelotti's long-term job prospects are supported by the performances and goals he has elicited from his forwards. Drogba will go to the World Cup next summer vying with Fernando Torres for the accolade of world's best centre-forward (although David Villa may demur). Not far behind is another South Africa-bound striker, Nicolas Anelka. Without his contributions, France wouldn't even have been in a position to cheat Ireland out of that play-off.

Anelka is having his best season in England since he won the title with Arsenal twelve years ago. One of the most protracted adolescences in world football seems to have come to an end, and Anelka's unselfish and intelligent play for club and country will have Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City (and Bolton) fans wishing he were still on their books.

Add in Salomon Kalou, Deco and Florent Malouda, the return to fitness of Joe Cole, and the promising prodigy Gael Kakuta, and it's apparent that Chelsea's attacking options eclipse those of their immediate rivals. Ancelotti needn't have too many sleepless nights over the potential sudden availability of Guus Hiddink (especially as the genial Dutchman has tarnished his reputation somewhat by contriving to fail to take Russia to the World Cup).

The nearest rivals to Chelsea in the attacking roster department are their hosts tomorrow afternoon. Arsenal represent Chelsea's first daunting away trip of the season, although Ancelotti's team have already lost to the less-than-frightening Wigan and Aston Villa. Otherwise, a kindly fixture list has given Chelsea a few yards start on their rivals. In theory the stagger should start to unwind in the next few weeks, beginning with the visit to the Emirates.

It looks a propitious time to play Arsenal, whose league form stumbled at Sunderland last Saturday. Much has been made of the loss of Robin van Persie, with suggestions of the Dutchman's talismanic importance to Arsenal's attack. Arsene Wenger is more inclined to be sanguine about his absence, knowing that in Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin (left), Theo Walcott and Eduardo, he has options.

Arshavin is not the lightweight he seemed at Euro 2008. Apparently his head is robust enough to leave his team-mate William Gallas still sufficiently groggy to miss the visit of his former club after the pair clashed skulls on Tuesday night. With Kieran Gibbs also hospitalised after the Champions League match against Standard Liege, Wenger will have to counter Chelsea's forwards with a makeshift defence.

Their first-choice back four would struggle to contain Drogba and Anelka, so Arsenal's best chance of sneaking a victory, and closing the gap at the top to five points, rests with Arshavin and his colleagues in attack. For Chelsea to emphasise their title credentials, Terry will hope that all his gaffes this week have been committed off the field.