[FA Cup] Lotti: Hilario was not to blame for City shocker
-
Chelsea v Stoke
Sunday, 07 March 2010
Channel 24 : 12.00 am (Live) (Mon morning)
Chelsea are without the suspended pair Michael Ballack and Juliano Belletti. Centre-half Ricardo Carvalho faces a late fitness test after suffering a hamstring injury on international duty with Portugal.
Goalkeeper Hilario will continue to deputise for Petr Cech who is recovering from a calf injury. Midfielder Michael Essien remains sidelined with a knee injury. Gael Kakuta, who played twice for France in midweek, also misses out and there is a doubt over Yury Zhirkov (calf).
Defender Ryan Shawcross is unavailable as he starts a three-match suspension following his red card last weekend for his tackle on Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey. Stoke will await fitness checks on Matthew Etherington (knee) and Danny Higginbotham (back), who have missed three and four matches respectively, before naming their side.
Last season: No corresponding fixture
Top scorers (all competitions): Didier Drogba (Chelsea) 25; Dave Kitson (Stoke) 7
Referee: Martin Atkinson
- Information from Zocoss, credits to him
-
Chelsea Defender Alex Compares Stoke City To A Dutch Side
27-year-old is familiar with direct approach from time at PSV Eindhoven.
FA Cup: Chelsea celebrate, Chelsea v Cardiff City (Getty Images)Chelsea center-back Alex believes Stoke City's playing style is similar to that of many Dutch sides.
An injury to Ricardo Carvalho means the Brazilian is likely to face the Potters in their FA Cup quarter-final clash on Sunday, and the 27-year-old believes his time spent in Holland with PSV Eindhoven will help him cope with the challenge.
"When I came to England I thought only Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United liked to play, all the other teams I thought would be long ball, but after some time I knew only two or three teams play like this and the rest of the teams like to play," Alex told Chelsea's official website.
"In Holland it is the same as Stoke, and Bolton too, there are many teams who have tall forwards and put the ball in the air and play like this. They don't have the good quality like Stoke have also."
Assistant manager Ray Wilkins pin-pointed the "tremendous delivery" of Rory Delap's throw-ins as a key danger for the Blues, and Alex agrees that the defense will have to be fully prepared for the challenge.
"We have to pay attention to the second ball, sometimes it is difficult to win the first ball but you have to win the second," Alex explained.
"You have to play very concentrated and stay compact."
The defender, who won three league titles at PSV, believes striker Ricardo Fuller has the ability to cause problems.
"Fuller has quality with the ball and he is a strong, strong man, so we have to play strong also and don't leave any space," he said.
"We received four goals in the last game [against Manchester City], which is no good at home." -
Originally posted by Poignant:
"In Holland it is the same as Stoke, and Bolton too, there are many teams who have tall forwards and put the ball in the air and play like this. They don't have the good quality like Stoke have also."
Shoot Stoke until like that, Sekali lose. -
Didier the Entertainer: Stoke's Salif Diao defends Drogba's play acting as 'part of the show'
Gone swimming: Didier Drogba has developed something of a reputation for playacting
Stoke's Salif Diao claims Chelsea striker Didier Drogba's tendency to frequently go to ground is 'part of the entertainment' of football.
The pair are close friends and face each other in an FA Cup quarter-final - the Potters' first in 38 years - at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Drogba has earned himself a reputation for diving and Diao said although he had spoken to the Ivory Coast international about it, he did not view it as a problem.
'Myself and others tell him to stop diving,' he said. 'But it's part of the show for him. It is not cheating, but part of the entertainment.'
Diao is full of admiration for a player he has known for a decade, having first encountered Drogba when the pair were playing in France.
And although Drogba has returned to top form with 25 goals in the current campaign, after struggling last season under Luis Felipe Scolari, Diao believes he can still get better.
'He has been a good friend for 10 years and as a character I would say we are very similar,' said the former Senegal international.
Silence the doubters: Stoke City's Salif Diao
'He has a winning mentality and knows what he wants. I think all the big players have that - the wanting to be always the best. We call him 'The Project' because we see him as someone who hasn't finished yet.
'He is not the finished striker yet because he always wants to improve. He's like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. They know they have achieved, but they still work hard every day because they want to get even better.
'Some African players get to a level and stay in their comfort zone, but Didier wants to go further and further.
'Africa has always had big, strong strikers, players like George Weah. But if Didier carries on and 'The Project' goes its full term, then I think he will be the greatest.'
Stoke head to Stamford Bridge as rank-outsiders but Diao does not believe there is a huge gulf between the sides.
In their last two encounters two 94th-minute winners gave Chelsea the edge and that, says the midfielder, gives them encouragement.
'The good thing is that every time we play a big game, everyone is up for it,' he added. 'Nothing is impossible.
'We have been playing so many games where people write us completely out, but that gives us more motivation to disappoint those people.
'We believe that on our day we can beat anybody.'
Diao hopes to be able to earn himself another 12-month contract at the Britannia Stadium this summer but much will depend on his level of fitness.
'I don't want to retire just yet,' he told The Sentinel. 'Although I am 33, I have missed a lot of games over the years and so I haven't got the mileage in my legs but I still win my tackles in training.'
-
Ancelotti: Hilario was not to blame for Man City shocker
Hilario will be in the spotlight again in tomorrow’s FA Cup clash
Carlo Ancelotti told his Chelsea side they were all to blame for last week’s Manchester City debacle – not just stand-in keeper Hilario.
The Portuguese stopper had a nightmare as Ancelotti tasted defeat at Stamford Bridge for the first time. Petr Cech’s replacement will be in the spotlight again in tomorrow’s FA Cup clash with Stoke. But while Hilario copped the flak from the Chelsea fans, and Ricardo Carvalho blamed him for Carlos Tevez’s opener, Ancelotti pointed out the collective responsibility they must all take.
Assistant boss Ray Wilkins revealed the Italian pointed out a catalogue of blunders. He said: “Supporters nowadays will always have a pop at the errors. As a keeper, you make a rick and you’ve lost a goal, simple as that.
“Hilario is experienced enough to come through it. He’s substituted for Petr many times very well and it was just one of those games when it didn’t go as he wanted.
“But if you look at that first goal, it was not one mistake. First, when the ball dropped on the edge of the box, Frank Lampard tried a chip when he should have shot. If it goes in the stand we are a minute from going in half-time 1-0 up. It doesn’t.
“That was the first mistake.Then the ball is cleared to the halfway line where Tevez is offside - the second mistake.
“The third mistake was John Obi Mikel trying to head it back into our zone. We had John Terry and Carvalho there but Ricky was a bit wide – there’s four mistakes.
“By now the ball is on the edge of the box. Ricky does a complete turn. As a defender, you never make a complete turn because you’re out of the game.
“Tevez slots it past John and the ball goes past Hilario. If you make one mistake in the Premier League you lose a goal. For that first goal there were seven mistakes, one by an official, six by players.
“We learn from our mistakes and that won’t happen again. We’ve spoken with the players and will work on the training pitch to rectify errors.” Ancelotti is still without Cech, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien, whose comeback is now on hold.
Carvalho picked up a hamstring problem on international duty, while Michael Ballack and Juliano Belletti are suspended.
Jose Bosingwa’s season is over after it was decided he needs more knee surgery but Wilkins insisted Chelsea would play a strong side as the FA Cup remains a “massive” competition for the holders.
Back-to-back defeats to Inter Milan and City have put the Blues under pressure.
But Wilkins, who insisted Joe Cole’s “contractual situation” would be resolved, maintained: “We’re top of the league, in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and still in the Champions League.
“We lacked a bit of concentration against Man City but 19 other Premiership sides would sooner be in our position than their own.”
-
Plz dun see Stoke City as a small fries
It long throw is a threat to us -
Stoke City almost score, a chelsea player had to clear it off the line... phew.