A “Travels” is a rare visitor at this time of the year; however as we have reached the Final of Europe’s premier club competition what better way than to mark it with recollections of what was, for many of those who went, a very favourite European trip.

The 2010 – 2011 Champions League campaign began with exceptionally smooth progress through a first stage comprising Marseille, Zilina and Spartak Moscow, ending with Chelsea topping the group on 15 points, having won 5 games and lost 1, the latter in a tough visit to Moscow, and, when the draw for the Round of 16 was made, there could have been few fans unhappy with a pairing against FC Copenhagen, a tie from which the club could be fairly confident of progressing.

Having sourced possible flight and hotel combinations for every other team we could have been drawn against, but improbably omitted Copenhagen, the usual scramble to secure a flight and a hotel ensued.  So it was that I found myself on a BA flight from Heathrow Terminal 5 on the morning of Monday 21^st February.  Over the years, I’ve tended to find myself flying out of Gatwick more than Heathrow (although as I’m now living in the heart of London, I now try and arrange to fly out of there in preference to anywhere else).  T5 is light years away from the rest of the Heathrow monolith, being airy and having a feeling of space.  The shopping is also rather good, and flying with BA has all the advantages of a reserved seat and free baggage.

This trip was the furthest I’d been north, and as the plane started its approach to Copenhagen, it was possible to see from my window that the country’s coast was not only bleak and sepia-tinted, it was also literally freezing. The weather forecast for the week had promised sub-zero temperatures, so I had invested in a thermal vest and socks, and planned to attend the game in many more layers than is my norm.

Copenhagen Airport is brilliant to get to and from.  None of your getting on a airport bus here, but a rapid train ride from the airport to the city centre in about 15 minutes for the equivalent of £7.  I’d travelled out to Denmark on my own, but was meeting up with a party later in the evening, having declined an invitation to visit a brewhouse almost as soon as I landed, when all I felt like doing was finding my hotel, having an orientation walk and getting a square meal. 

I’d managed to get quite a good deal on a hotel in the centre of town, and speedily located it. Having checked in, dumped the luggage, and been charmed by the fact the room even had a kitchenette, I set off for a walk into the biting cold dusk.

I remain quite sad that due to the fact it was the middle of winter, I didn’t see as much of the city as I’d have liked, and certainly didn’t see the royal palace, which I’d hoped to do, and the famous Tivoli Gardens on Hans Christian Anderson Boulevard are closed in February.  However, the walk took me past the Tivoli and on towards the Radhus, as it got darker and colder.  After a brief perusal of the main shopping thoroughfare, where I pondered and rejected the possibility of buying another sweater (a decision I later regretted), I decided to find my dinner.  Having walked back towards H.C. Boulevard, I found rather a nice looking Italian restaurant and walked in. 

 As readers of the Travels will recall, I have a very poor grasp of most European modern languages, but my Danish extends no further than “Tack”.  So in order to get over the language difficulty in Ristorante Vesuvio, I decided I might as well give the Italian a run out.  And surprisingly, it was rather successful, and I had an extremely enjoyable meal of bruschetta, tortelloni melanzane e zucchini, and sorbetto Vesuvio (lemon sorbet with limoncello liquor).  Once fortified, I headed off towards the train station, to meet another member of the party, who was arriving on a later flight.  Just as I was saying hello to H., it so happened that Dazza A. (whose prophecy regarding the Milanese coleslaw was so accurate – see Travels with the Chels – Milan), who was also joining the trip, was short-cutting through the station with his half-brother, Kim, who was over from Norway for the game.  Our final renegade, Mr E.,who’d escaped the carnage of the Milan lurgy, was also in town and, as a real ale buff, had reluctantly agreed to meet the rest of us in the Old English Pub in Vesterbrogade, but had retreated to his lodgings to change his frock.

 It’s usually the case that any English/Irish pub you wander into on a European trip will be stuffed full of Chels, but Copenhagen seemed to be the exception.  We found this slightly strange, but settled down for an evening with reasonably priced alcohol, a band playing U2-type numbers, and Sky Sports News on the TV.  About 9pm, not having had any dinner, H., Dazza and Kim went out to the conveniently-located Burglar King next door. When they returned, it was with the news that the reason that the Old English Pub was so quiet was that everyone was probably in the Cafe Guldhornene on Vestegarde, which had heavily promoted itself as the home of Chelsea in Copenhagen, and who were said to be running promotions on drinks.  Mr E. decided he was feeling his age at this point (about midnight) and wanted to be up at the crack of dawn for his day-trip to Malmo, so he left the rest of us wastrels to make our way to the proposed den of iniquity. 

 As we left Vesterbrogade and crossed over to HCA Boulevard, it seemed to have got even colder.  And as we reached the Rathaus, we felt the first flakes of snow drifting gently to the ground.  Although old enough to know better, this was the signal to caper around the square shouting “It’s snowing! It’s snowing” (like we hadn’t had enough snow in London during that winter).  After a slight disagreement about the location of the Guldhornene, as is usually the case, a colossal drunken roar signalled that we were in fact near the venue, so we followed the noise down a side street.   The bar appeared to be subterranean, and we could see a fairly crowded looking room through the basement windows.  However, we weren’t ready for the heat and the noise which hit us.  It was obvious that a fair proportion of those who had travelled to Denmark were in there.  The Tuborg, at the equivalent of just £2.20 a pint, was fairly flowing, and so were the bawdy songs, in particular one coined especially for this trip to one of those Euro-type tunes:-

“We’re in Denmark

We’re in Denmark

We’re on the p..s

With Abramovich*

We’re in Denmark”

 (*in general terms presumably, I certainly didn’t see him in there).

In spite of the heaving crowd, the bar staff were very efficient, but after we’d had a couple of drinks we decided to call it a night and returned to our respective hotels, having arranged to meet again at the Old English pub the next day for a drink before a pre-match lunch.

I shall never forget the next morning. Having turned on the TV for some local news, in particular hoping to see pics of Chelsea fans out and about in Copenhagen, most of the coverage was, justifiably, about the awful earthquake in New Zealand.  However, further down the news was indeed unintelligible reporting which appeared to have taken place outside and around the Guldhornene, and much to my amusement, I saw various face I recognised cavorting around in the background – however, happily not mine nor my friends, the camera crew must have bailed out before we arrived.

Having breakfasted on an excellent buffet spread, in spite of having said I’d meet the others at the pub, I whistled up H. and asked if a walk was in order. Meeting outside the Rathaus, we wondered if we could make it as far as the Carlsberg factory for the free tour, but decided it was probably too far away so we did the photo ops by the lovely statue of Hans Christian Anderson and the town hall, and then headed down towards the river. It was a brilliantly sunlit day but bitingly cold, even more so than the previous day and, pausing by the river before we turned back towards the Rathaus, we were astonished to see it was freezing over. Heading back towards the pub, we passed the Tivoli Gardens and I peeped through the railings for a proper look. It looked extremely attractive clad in its winter mantle, and again I felt disappointment that I wasn’t able to visit.

The team congregated at the pub, and although it was midday by this time, all I wanted was coffee. I was feeling sleepy due to the extreme cold and managed to nod off whilst the others watched England getting mauled by Holland in cricket’s World Cup. Mr E. joined us about 12.30, having spent the morning on a train between Copenhagen and Malmo where he’d managed to avoid getting detained by border control in spite of not having taken his passport with him.

I had sourced what seemed a suitable venue locally for a cheap lunch, but Mr E. thought it sounded ghastly, so he decided to go and visit another brewhouse, where we would meet him later whilst the rest of us headed to a restaurant call Ad Libtorv. This sounded rather a fun place where you buy a space for roughly 15 pounds, but then you could eat and drink whatever you liked from a buffet which included hot and cold dishes, breads, salads and soups. The drinks even included wine and beer as well as soft drinks.   En route, H. decided he fancied a bag of crisps or similar for the match, and we spotted a likely looking shop called Tiger.  This turned out to be a magical cross between Poundland and Primark and we wandered around the aisles examining local delicacies.  H. found a massive bag of the equivalent of Kettle Chips for about a pound.  Then we headed towards the restaurant, grabbed a table and were soon stuffing away. H. thought the beer rather watery, but managed to drink a half a pint of white wine, a tremendous achievement. I merely sipped a glass of red. Dazza A. and Kim tried the wine and the beer, as well as the coke. Whilst we were enjoying our meal, the skies had grown ever more cloudy, and again the snow began to fall. Whilst the boys were sitting in the restaurant, I went back to my hotel to put on a number of layers as the weather forecast had threatened that the temperature could be down to -6 by the time the game started. I returned to the restaurant to rejoin the boys, and as we were heading out the door, the bus we needed to take us to the brewhouse pulled up over the road. We travelled through the streets of Copenhagen which were growing increasingly snowy, and upon alighting walked to the brewhouse which was probably a mile and a half away from the ground and which Mr E. proposed walking to. In the snow. And sub-zero temperatures.

In Stephen Fry’s film of Vile Bodies, “Bright Young Things”, near the beginning the heroine, Nina, says to her cousin Miles “I’ve never been so frantically bored in all my life”. Which pretty well sums up those three hours. I love to travel and I like to meet the locals, but my idea of pre-match hell is being stuck in a pub with real ale enthusiasts and no Chelsea fans. Eventually the time to depart arrived and we headed off towards the ground, with the thermometer now in the region of -8. In order to get to the ground, we ended up having to cross a park. In civic, civilised, environmentally friendly Copenhagen, cyclists have priority, even over pedestrians and we found ourselves having to dodge them as they speeded around us as I dragged myself with frozen feet towards the welcoming lights of the Parken, cursing that I hadn’t insisted on a cab.

However, we finally got there, and were searched by friendly stewards who happily didn’t manage to find H’s hip flask (tucked inside my bra) or the packet of B U M (delicious fruit and vodka drink from Germany, provided by my nephew) hidden under my hat.

Once waved through, we made our way into the bright, modern stadium and I decided a loo visit was definitely needed due to the cold.  Carlsberg don’t do ladies’ toilets, but if they did, they’d probably be like the ones at Parken.  Having rejoined the rest of the class (who’d obtained some Carlsberg that was suspiciously light on alcohol), we found seats together and warmed up vocally.  I have to say most of what was a solid, albeit fairly pedestrian game, warmed only by a brace from Anelka, taking him to six goals in seven Champions League games and the presence of dear old Jesper Gronkjaer in the home side, passed me by.  I have never been so cold in my life, and I shall always be grateful to the Police and stewards for not implementing the usual CL lock-in after the game.  Chances are, if that had happened, many of the travelling fans would have ended up with frost-bite.  My toes were absolutely numb by this time, and, having managed to lose Dazza A. and Kim along the way, Mr E. and H. ended up dragging me back across the park towards the brewhouse.  Proof, if it were needed, of the bitter frost was provided on the way  back when we passed occasional pint of lager, abandoned and frozen.

By the time we arrived back at the brewhouse, they were winding down for the evening, but we were welcomed in for a drink and the chance to warm up, and it was interesting to see that Danish CL television coverage was being hosted by none other than Peter Schmeichel.  It was literally one drink, however, and we bade farewell to the owner and trekked back to the bus stop.  Luckily we only had to wait a couple of minutes and within another 15, I was back at my hotel, having said goodbye to the chaps, who were flying back to London on the first plane.  I crawled into bed, where I slept soundly due to the cold and the evening’s perambulations.

As I wasn’t flying back until mid-afternoon, the next morning afforded a brief opportunity to pick up some souvenirs, so, having left my holdall with reception, I ventured out into another snow shower and not only visited a tat shop for local gifts, but also popped into Tiger and bought a purse and a note book.    On my way there, I’d bumped into a Mantle twin.  In spite of the cold and snow he was sweating profusely and drinking water, having been in the Cafe Guldhornene until 5am!

After picking up my luggage, I caught the train back to the airport, and found the time for an authentic, delicious smorgasbord of smoked salmon on rye bread.  Probably the gastronomic highlight of what was a hugely enjoyable trip.

And I’m sure we all hope and pray that this week’s trip is just as enjoyable.  I’m off with my party (including Dazza A., Mr E. and H.) to Stuttgart on Friday for an overnight stay, prior to arriving in Munich by train about 10am on Saturday morning.  I’ll be wearing my now-lucky oldish shirt with Blue Baby on the back, so feel free to say hello.  I’ll also be wearing my lucky hoody, my lucky jewellery, my favourite lucky jeans and my lucky underwear.  My hair will be in its lucky bun (I’ll be glad to get it cut), and I’ll be listening to the lucky songs (Three Little Birds and The Liquidator) on the i-pod.  And know this; in my 10 European away trips, I have travelled from Heathrow to four of them.  And my record? 100% – see, lucky airport.  And if we win, there’ll be a special edition of Travels next week.

Wherever you are watching the game, whether it’s in the Allianz Arena, in SW6, in a hostelry local to you, or in the comfort of your own home; whether it be on your own, or with an army of friends, I sincerely hope that we all enjoy the most wonderful night in our club’s rich history on Saturday. 

I’ll be here sporadically throughout the summer, but in the meantime you can follow me on Twitter @BlueBaby67

Yes, yes he has.

The Spaniard’s first goal in Chelsea blue kicked off wild celebrations at Stamford Bridge as it put the seal on three hard-earned points against West Ham in conditions which at times bordered on the absurd.

Frank Lampard’s first half opener had given the Blues a deserved lead but the visitors proved tenacious and wouldn’t go down without a fight. Torres’ left-footed finish put daylight between the two sides, and Florent Malouda’s stoppage time piledriver put the gloss on affairs.

Carlo Ancelotti made just one change to the team which beat Birmingham in midweek, bringing Branislav Ivanovic back into the defensive unit in place of Paulo Ferreira. Everybody else kept their starting places for the third successive game.

The visitors missed talismanic Football Writers’ Player of the Season Scott Parker, but featured former Chelsea players in Carlton Cole and Wayne Bridge alongside manager Avram Grant.

A lively start from the hosts threatened to make West Ham’s afternoon uncomfortable but Malouda was unable to convert either of his early openings.

Fifteen minutes in and the heavens opened. After a particularly warm and sunny start to the day, Londoners decked out in shorts and t-shirts were sent running for cover (from the front rows of the West Stand at least) as the rain began to pour.

Petr Cech was forced to make a smart save low to his left to deny Jonathan Spector a goal, the American sprawling to head a cross from the right after the Hammers broke away on the counter.

With players skidding about and losing their footing, the game struggled to find any fluency, which suited West Ham’s approach perfectly. They began to threaten and Spector was denied again by a sharp clearance on the line by Ashley Cole.

Instead, Lampard opened the scoring a minute before half time to cap a fine move. Drogba’s slide-rule pass released Cole, who cut back for the onrushing midfielder to slam high into the roof of the net.

A poignant celebration followed a day short of the third anniversary of his mother’s passing.

More rain fell during half time, making the pitch even harder to play on, and more treacherous for the players. Michael Essien discovered this to his cost as he fell awkwardly, suffering a knee injury and was forced off. Yossi Benayoun replaced him.

The Hammers saw another effort cleared from the line when Mikel was on hand to deny Manuel Da Costa, but were taking heart from the problems Cole and Demba Ba were causing the Blues’ defenders.

Lampard, having his best game in weeks, tested Green’s reflexes at the other end with a dipping effort which was beaten away, but Malouda could only put the rebound into the side netting.

David Luiz then curled a beauty from the edge of the area which left the goalkeeper rooted to the spot, but the ball crashed back off the crossbar. In response, Ba extended Cech with a thundersome effort from well outside the box.

Anelka and Torres were introduced with fifteen minutes to go, and instantly combined to fashion an opening. Torres unselfishly squared a ball to the Frenchman, who saw his goalbound effort headed away by Gabbidon, his goalkeeper nowhere.

Six minutes from time, pandemonium ensued. Anelka’s through ball released Torres, who tried to round Green but saw the ball held up on the wet turf.

He was the first to adjust and with everyone else still going one way, he spun and delivered a tidy finish into the back of the net to seal the win.

Buoyed by the celebrations, Malouda added a third with a screamer from the edge of the area after the ball ran loose from Torres.

It was his fourteenth of the season, beating his previous best tally set last season.

Taking conditions and the effort put in by West Ham into account, it must go down as a good performance by Chelsea, for whom Lampard, Drogba, Cech and Mikel played well throughout.

For Blues fans though, there is only one subject of conversation this Saturday evening.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry (c), Cole; Essien (Benayoun 56), Mikel, Lampard; Kalou (Anelka 69), Drogba (Torres 75), Malouda.
Subs not Used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Bertrand, Zhirkov.

West Ham (4-3-3): Green (c); Jacobsen, Da Costa, Gabbidon, Bridge; Noble (Keane 59), Hitzlsperger, Sears (Obinna 81); Spector, Cole (Piquionne 78), Ba.
Subs not Used: Boffin, Tomkins, Kovac, Boa Morte.

Ask any set of Chelsea fans and they will tell you that past few weeks have been very hard for the club. And after that demoralising defeat at Arsenal just 48 hours ago, it was important that we got all three points over the in-form Bolton Wanderers, thankfully that’s what we got as we returned to winning ways with a 1-0 win.

With only a day’s rest between games it was hard on the players but Carlo Ancelotti made just three changes, with Mikel injury forcing his hand on one. Fit again Anelka returned to the line-up along with Ramires and Jose Bosingwa.

The Blues begin the game in a cautious manner and the nervousness in the crowd was also apparent. Bolton were just one position behind Chelsea when the game started and they were intent on making this an even contest, as they tried to put pressure on Chelsea players at every occasion, going over the top as well sometimes.

For the first part of the match, it looked like the game was going to tell a similar tale again as Chelsea failed to get going as an attacking force and didn’t test the Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. On the other hand Bolton didn’t create any clear cut chances either but did went close with Matt Taylor’s curling effort which went over and into the Matthew Harding stand.

Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies were proving to be quite a handful for the Chelsea defence and constantly forced the players on the back foot, Ivanovic was booked during one of such exchanges, getting his fifth booking of the season, and thereby forcing him out of the Villa game.

Chelsea’s first half display was summed up by the Drogba free-kick which went horribly wrong and into the other wing for a Bolton throw, but still nothing justifies the disgraceful act of booing by some section of the fans, not the way to back your team.

No changes were made by either side at the beginning of the second half, but the change in attitude was all the more apparent from the Chelsea side as they begin the game with a much more positive intent.

The midfielders were now making forward runs and providing more support to the forwards, thereby relieving some of the pressure which the defence was under in the first half.

All the signs of a goal were there, like the beautiful defence splitting pass from Lampard to find Drogba, with the Ivorian only being denied by the post and Jaaskelainen fingertips, and the forward runs of Essien and Ramires, but still the thing which would calm everybody’s nerves was missing.

However, that goal also came soon, as Essien skipped past two Bolton defenders before releasing Drogba, whose squared ball was slammed home by Malouda as the Bolton players appealed for offside in vain. The relief brought by that goal could be clearly seen on everybody’s face.

The goal brought back some of the confidence that was missing for a while, but it wasn’t before some very nervous moments at the end that the win was sealed.

It was the first win for the Blues since the 1-0 win over Fulham in mid-November and brings much needed relief for the under pressure Ancelotti.

It was a win which wasn’t convincing from the beginning to the end but right at the death we saw Chelsea regain some of the confidence and swagger which had gone missing. Cole was making marauding runs and combining with Malouda on the left and the influence of the midfield trio of Lampard, Essien and the impressive Ramires grew as the game went on.

The big test for the team is to now go on a run and show that they have turned the corner starting with Aston Villa on Sunday otherwise this will be just a false dawn.

Carlo Ancelotti believes his team have now stopped from the rot, he said; “We needed to have this victory to move on,”

“It was important to win to forget the bad moment and now we will have more confidence in the future.

“The first half was not good. We were a little bit afraid. We wanted to win and in the second half we played much better.

“We did well on the counter-attack, had a lot of chances and scored, and we controlled the game defensively.”

“Bolton played well, they used a lot of power up front, they were dangerous. Now we have to wait for the next game.

“This is an important step. I’m not sure that everything now will be okay. We have to put on a performance again.”

It might be slightly premature to make such claims about a match, but as Bolton visit Stamford Bridge tonight, one thing is clear.

As the Premier League season reaches the midway mark, Chelsea’s 19th fixture of the campaign carries more significance and importance than any which has gone before it.

Sure, there have been tougher opponents, but with 2010 drawing to an end, Carlo Ancelotti and company must draw on the vast successes of the calendar year in an attempt to turn around the club’s roughest patch of form for well over a decade.

Bottom of the form table after Fulham’s victory at Stoke yesterday, the Blues have just one domestic win since October, when a solitary Michael Essien goal beat their West London neighbours before the Ghanaian was sent off in stoppage time.

A spiralling run of form has seen no more than one goal in any fixture, and the club has dropped into fifth place, something almost unthinkable even just a few weeks ago.

It could get worse. Owen Coyle’s Trotters arrive at the Bridge in their loftiest league position since Sam Allardyce’s reign, but by virtue of playing some of the finest football in the country this season.

A win for the visitors will see them leapfrog the defending champions, leaving Chelsea outside of the automatic European qualification spots.

The good news for the hosts is that they historically fare very well against the Lancashire outfit, and are unbeaten in fourteen consecutive matches against them going back to the 2003-04 season.

In three meetings last season, Chelsea recorded nine goals without reply, including two 4-0 victories. In the only tie against Coyle, a header from Nicolas Anelka secured three crucial late season points in easily the trickiest of the trifecta of matches.

Coyle’s troops have had the benefit of a slightly longer recovery period from the Boxing Day slate, having beaten West Brom 2-0 at the Reebok Stadium. However, the camp has been struck by tragedy after the death of the father of midfielder Tamir Cohen – former Liverpool and Rangers midfielder Avi -yesterday.

Ancelotti is unlikely to have any faces return from injury and must therefore work with the same matchday squad which fell apart at Arsenal.

Nicolas Anelka’s knee problem is likely to keep him sidelined along with longer-term absentees Alex, Yury Zhirkov and Yossi Benayoun.

Against an opponent which the club secured one title against and all but finalised another, a return to that sort of form will be most welcome.

OK, so it’s not necessarily just the Arsenal defeat where things have gone wrong recently.

One win since mid November – and that merely a late one in a below-par outing against MSK Zilina – has left Blues fans reeling at the club’s worst run of form for over a decade, and has left a number of questions in need of an answer.

Is it an issue with squad depth? Was the downward spiral triggered by Ray Wilkins’ unexpected and untimely departure? Have the players become too comfortable? Do they care? Are they good enough?

It can, and will, go on and on. With Bolton less than 48 hours away and in the knowledge that a win at Stamford Bridge will take them above the Blues, something of a crisis point has been reached.

A solid, if not great first half display at the Emirates Stadium on Monday night was soured by Alex Song’s breakthrough just before the break. Two goals in two minutes from Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott put the game beyond Carlo Ancelotti’s troubled troups, and despite a consolation from Branislav Ivanovic, the game was up.

Rather than go into a full scale report on proceedings – from a match Chelsea fans will quickly want to forget – let’s take a look at some of the on-field problems plaguing the current defending champions.

With just six goals in eight matches and no more than one in any domestic fixture since Blackburn away in October, there are clear and present issues in the attacking third.

Certainly, there is a knock-on effect from the build-up play elsewhere on the pitch, but to analyse things in more detail, let’s take a look at the reverse fixture this season, during happier times when goals from Didier Drogba and Alex secured a 2-0 win over the Gunners at Stamford Bridge.

Against this particular opponent perhaps more than any other, Drogba has thrived on being the physical battering ram in attack, and Chelsea duly play to his strengths.

Petr Cech’s excellent long distance kicks to the Ivorian are commonplace, especially in this fixture, but despite Johan Djourou doing a fine job this time around, Chelsea’s talismanic striker struggled for support.

At home, he was able to dominate his marker, but had help in the form of runners from midfield, looking to outnumber their red-shirted opponents and play in space.

However, come the re-match, Arsenal adapted well, giving him a tougher time in receiving the ball, whilst ensuring more men were back. Drogba had little help, with Lampard and Malouda in this example both having given up on the ball before it’s been won, whilst Kalou is far too wide.

If this approach wasn’t going to work, there were surely alternatives? Again, it’s a tale of two matches. With their tails up, confident and in form and with a lead at home, Ramires has plenty of options to choose from as he looks to advance the ball.

On Monday, John Obi Mikel takes up possession a little deeper, but looks forward to a sea of Arsenal shirts, with no easy ball forwards. Instead, he goes on to search out Drogba, gets it completely wrong, and concedes possession.

The importance of playing forward cannot be stressed enough. It is preached at every level and is the only way to play, as otherwise it affords the opposition too much of an opportunity to rest and stay in their shape. Rotating possession is fine, and a very integral part of success, but the ability to play further up the pitch is paramount.

Unfortunately, it has plagued the team in recent times. Here, Ramires once again – one who was superb in the home fixture but overlooked in the away one despite impressive recent form – has a multitude of options to choose from. He finds the out of picture Ashley Cole, who provides Drogba with the chance to open the scoring, which he duly does.

Deeper down the pitch at the Emirates, Kalou breaks up play in a similar manner to the above, but has nothing available, and once again, turns the ball over.

It doesn’t get a whole lot better when playing in and around the penalty area. Despite being almost outnumbered, Ancelotti’s forwards provide Ramires with options midway through the second half, with Drogba pulling away from his man into space to facilitate the through ball.

Contrastingly, early in the game, when attempting to seize an early initiative, Lampard turns in anticipation of attacking movement, only to once again find nothing. His options are to play the ball wide to Kalou, or to play backwards, allowing Arsenal to add to their strong numbers behind the ball.

By making it easy for the opposition to defend, Chelsea offer them confidence to go about their business at the other end, safe in the knowledge that there is little to worry about at the back.

Here, at 0-0 in both fixtures, the ball is worked wide to the full-back – something which was a clear target for Chelsea in both matches – who has time and space to fashion a delivery. At home, he has men on the move, ready to meet the ball, and a late arrival at the back post if necessary.

Away, he simply has Drogba. The header is won and he goes close, but the situation is in Arsenal’s favour, and once again they aren’t truly threatened.

Now, you might say that these situations have been selected to prove a series of points, whilst missing the bigger picture. That much might be argued, but there was a clear difference between winning and losing.

Arsenal dominated possession on both grounds, and had more attempts at goal. Chelsea scored twice from set pieces (which are Arsenal’s biggest flaw this season) – one direct and one indirect – but looked more threatening in attacking situations at home.

Playing a counter-attacking system each time, it was important to make full use of the ball when you have it. If possession is wasted – and Chelsea only had 39% of it in defeat – the match quickly becomes a one-sided affair.

It’s also not just about the two fixtures. With the exception of the away fixture at Birmingham, where 31 attempts at goal were recorded, things have been desperate in front of goal.

Injury problems haven’t helped, and the squad depth issue is another argument, but one which may prove harder to fix. These tactical issues, nothing more than providing more options for the man on the ball, can be addressed.

The players look petrified as of right now, afraid to make a mistake which could make things worse. With two tricky home fixtures coming in the next six days, the focus must be on improving morale, and getting numbers into attack.

And remember, win or lose, up the Blues.

It’s not often that a dead rubber ends up as one of the most important matches of the season.

For Chelsea, however, the trip to Marseille to round off the Champions League Group Stages presents the chance to right some recent wrongs and pick up a first win since beating MSK Zilina in late November.

With both teams already through to the last sixteen, neither can change position, and the opportunity to rotate and rest some weary legs will strike a chord with both Carlo Ancelotti and Didier Deschamps.

Ashley Cole and Nicolas Anelka are not part of the travelling party, and Blues supporters should expect to see more from Patrick van Aanholt, Josh McEachran and Daniel Sturridge. Jeffrey Bruma and Gael Kakuta will be hoping for involvement.

However, many have made the point that by playing a strong team in a meaningless fixture, a rare opportunity to play without pressure or expectation could be just the tonic to improve morale and steady the ship ahead of three make-or-break fixtures to see out 2010.

To that end, John Terry will be expected to lead the side as he continues his return from injury, whilst Didier Drogba is guaranteed a start as he makes an emotional return to the Stade Velodrome.

A lifelong OM fan, the Ivorian spent just one season in Southern France, but scored 32 goals en route to the UEFA Cup Final and is as revered today as he was in the 2003-04 season.

He is sure to receive a fantastic ovation and will ideally find his scoring form once again, for whilst he has scored eight goals so far this season, only four have come from open play.

Results so far mean that, as group winners, Chelsea will meet one of Inter Milan, Lyon, Valencia, FC Kobenhavn, Roma or AC Milan in the knockout rounds, with either Shakhtar Donetsk or SC Braga a possibility depending on how Group H finishes.

Despite the weather and additional expense at this time of year, a healthy Blues following has headed over land and sea to back the boys. Hopefully things go a lot more smoothly than they did in 1999, when a single goal from Robert Pires consigned the Londoners to defeat.

Just one point stands between Chelsea and progression to the UEFA Champion’s League as group winners.

A fairly simple proposition on paper, but things have been far from simple lately at Stamford Bridge.

Three defeats in the last four games and a worrying drought in front of goal, with only five goals scored in the previous six domestic outings, has left Carlo Ancelotti and his squad reeling as the media vultures gather around the club.

Let’s not forget Twittergate either, with an unfortunate rumour spreading about the Italian’s short-term future in the Blues’ hot-seat.

Assurances may have been made that Carletto intends to stay at the club, but everything has certainly gone awry of late, and a tonic is needed.

So what better time than to face a team who are on course to clock up the worst statistical European Cup group stage on record, and have the opportunity to rotate a tired and stretched squad?

Ancelotti will use the clash against MSK Zilina to give a full debut to 17 year-old midfielder Josh McEachran, thus far limited to a little more than half a dozen substitute appearances.

His cameo outings have left fans salivating at the mouth, keen to see more of a home-grown youngster, and it’s perhaps fitting that his first start will come against the same opposition who featured in his first professional outing earlier in the season.

Elsewhere Jeffrey Bruma will deputise for Alex, who is being nursed through knee trouble until the squad is back up to sufficient strength for him to undergo surgery. It will be the Dutch Under-21 international’s first involvement in continental competition.

Patrick van Aanholt and Gael Kakuta are also likely to be involved whilst Ross Turnbull will afford Petr Cech a rest in goal. Michael Essien, meanwhile, will miss out with a toe injury after sitting out the previous two league outings suspended.

The Ghanaian joins Yury Zhirkov, Frank Lampard, John Terry, and Yossi Benayoun on the sidelines, and with numbers stretched once again, the opportunity for a group of Steve Holland’s reserves to take their places amongst the substitutes will become apparent.

Zilina have found their debut campaign in the competition proper a nightmarish experience. Bottom of the group with four straight defeats, they have shipped seventeen goals, including seven last time out at home to Marseille.

Their solitary goal came against Chelsea as a consolation effort in a 4-1 defeat, where a brace from Nicolas Anelka and one from Essien before half time and a fourth from Daniel Sturridge put the Slovakians to the sword.

Manager Pavel Hapal is likely to use a 4-1-4-1 formation with Tomáš Oravec ploughing the lone furrow in attack, with the emphasis of their journey to England sure to be to attain respectability and to make life tough for their illustrious hosts.

Chelsea enter the match as overwhelming favourites, but exercise a note of caution ahead of this tie. A year ago, a seemingly routine match at home to APOEL Nicosia finished 2-2 and saw Essien sidelined for the rest of the season.

A few years previous, a lowly-attended group game against Rosenborg finished 1-1 and saw the departure of Jose Mourinho hours later. With a number of blue seats expected to be empty this evening, let’s hope that lightning doesn’t strike again.

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