Chelsea FC: 5 Things We Learned from the Blackburn Clash

Following two critical derby losses to QPR and Arsenal, along with a disappointing midweek tie against European minnows KRC Genk in the UEFA Champions League, Chelsea and its fans were looking for a win against another team in a slump—the Blackburn Rovers.

These former Premier League winners battled it out at Ewood Park on Saturday, and the West London outfit were victors with a scoreline of 1-0.

Although many say that Chelsea played below par and should have done better against a relegation team, I thought something completely different. Today, I saw a Chelsea team that can strike fear into opposing teams.

I agree that they should have played better, but there were many bright spots in the match, and this can lead to a bright future in the EPL. Perhaps this Chelsea team can finally find their groove under André Villas-Boas.

When AVB first took over, everyone knew he was going to implement the 4-3-3 formation. It worked in FC Porto, and he was hoping to do the same with the Blues.

When playing this formation though, a team needs side-backs that love attacking the flanks since there is not much width. A problem arose when Villas-Boas picked the right-back for this formation—he chose Jose Bosingwa.

Maybe AVB chose Bosingwa because he used to play for Porto or because he is his compatriot, but whatever he based his decision on, he was wrong. Bosingwa does fit the bill for a right-back. He's fast and loves to attack. However, even though Bosingwa loves to attack, it does not translate him to being good at it. As for his defense, it is even worse.

Before his red card against QPR, Bosingwa attempted four crosses. Do you know how many of them were accurate? Zero. In fact, none of them even beat the first man.

Do you know how Andre Santos scored against Chelsea for Arsenal? Bosingwa failed to get in a cross and aimlessly drifted towards midfield, neglecting his defensive duties on the right side.

These are just a few examples of how bad a player Bosingwa is. Thankfully, the Blues have a solution in Branislav Ivanovic.

The Serb is said to be slow and incapable of playing offense. I laugh at these remarks. Not only did he deliver a stunning cross with the outside of his foot to assist Frank Lampard for the lone goal against the Rovers, but he also was a constant threat down the right side. He delivered several dangerous crosses into the box (take note Bosingwa) and even picked out Lampard at the top of the box with a Dani Alves-esque pass.

I'm not saying that he is Alves, but he sure seems like it compared to Bosingwa.

The Serbian international is also solid on defense. He has a great standing and sliding challenge whilst also possessing the ability to win headers constantly on both offense and defense.

Remember, he was in the back four of the Chelsea team that won the EPL in '09-'10, and he was an integral part in making that defense being one of the best ever in England.

I tend to criticize David Luiz a lot, making people think I hate him. The truth is, he is one of my favorite players, but I will never trust him in the back four because of his constant fouling and his habitual risk-taking.

That's where Alex comes in.

Yes, he is slow and a bit rotund, but he is better at defending than fellow countryman David Luiz. Alex may have shown that his lack of speed can hurt the team—examples of such are the goal by West Brom's Shane Long or his red card against Fulham in the Carling Cup. But for the most part, he wins his battles in the air and on the ground, and he does all this without repeatedly fouling the other player.

Alex may be a bit slow to react, but he makes up for it with his football IQ.

He can sense danger. For instance, against Blackburn, Formica attempted a pass to Yakubu. Had it been successful, it would have been a one-on-one situation with a groggy Petr Cech. Instead, Alex immediately saw the threat and got a slight touch on the ball to make sure Blackburn didn't score.

Sorry David Luiz (and your fans), but you are not quite cut out to be a trustworthy central defender for the Blues.

Everytime the ball was in the air at Ewood Park and Mikel was involved, he lost the battle for the ball. Yakubu, Rochina, and N'zonzi all beat him to it, and it shows how one mistake from the Nigerian can start a counter for the opposition.

After Makelele's departure in 2008, the Blues had looked for a defensive enforcer but have failed to find that in Michael Essien, who is constantly hurt, and John Obi Mikel, who has awful positioning. He is not a bad player, but I do not think he possesses the right skills to be a starter for Chelsea.

Although defense is supposed to be his main priority, you would expect Mikel to have little bit of offense on him. Instead, he constantly slows down play and delivers passes that don't help Chelsea's fast tempo.

Makelele could not play much offense either, but the Frenchman did not have to with the way he  protected his back four—both side-backs knew he was protecting their positions.

There are several answers to the Mikel problem.

One would be to wait it out and allow Essien to get his position back. However, the Ghanian has had so many injuries, making him different from the world-class player he once was. Another would be to make La Masia graduate Oriol Romeu a starter. Allow the Spaniard to start more matches, and he will gradually build up enough skill to replace Mikel. After all, he does have Barcelona football running through his veins.

Other less favorable solutions include purchasing Daniele De Rossi, who wants to leave Roma and would be a perfect fit, or Yann M'Vila of Rennes, a player with much acclaim. Both of these players have good tackles on them with the ability to pass the ball around, but De Rossi is the better overall player.

Daniel Sturridge finally got the chance to play his preferred central striker position, but the problem is that he always ends up drifting wide and has to play the ball back into the middle. Fernando Torres has regained form, and I believe he is coming back, but he missed an open net, point-blank shot once again. Didier Drogba is a shadow of what he used to be, and his age is becoming more apparent each game.

These three strikers have been ineffective in the lone striker role, and it seems as though there are no real other players to fill this void.

Anelka would be great in this position, but he hasn't played this role for almost three years now. He is used to playing second striker or right winger ever since his transfer from Bolton. Kalou can't really do any good and looks more like a fool than a danger on the field. Lastly, Lukaku is inexperienced. Though AVB should try him out for an extended amount of time during matches, he will find any playing time hard to come by.

All these problems give Villas-Boas a headache, but there are a few ways to ease the problem.

He can either play Torres up front and look for better options for a right winger during January, or he can do something more drastic—he can ask Mr. Abramovich to buy him another striker. The latter would most likely not happen but if it did, it would really shake things up once again, just like when Torres made his move to the Blues last January.

Also, there are rumors that Chelsea and Villas-Boas have sent scouts to watch Uruguayan hitman Edinson Cavani, who is scoring goals at Napoli for fun and plays in a similar setup to what the Blues are using now.

One of the most significant things taken away from the Blues' victory is the fact that they kept a clean sheet—their first one in the EPL since opening day. The gritty defense kept battling and held on for the three points. At one point, I felt as though I was taken back to 2005 and watching Mourinho coach the Blues.

Terry, Alex, Ivanovic, and Ashley Cole all protected Cech and ensured nothing got past them. Although there were the occasional slip-ups, the Chelsea defense finally looked like a collective unit that played with a single purpose.

However, there was one change to the style that Mourinho would have played. AVB kept telling his side-backs to charge forward whenever they had the ball, and he knew that numbers on the break could help the Blues get another goal. Even though they failed to make it two goals, Chelsea still remained composed and most importantly, they were confident on offense and defense.

This may have been a match against a weaker team, but if this is a sense of what the future may bring, then Chelsea fans should be very excited to see their team take on rivals Liverpool on Nov 20th because the Blues will put on one heck of a show.