Alan Smith: I fear Chelsea vs Tottenham could go out with a whimper

COLUMN
Plenty to offer: Olivier Giroud is still a decent option for Frank Lampard
REUTERS
Alan Smith21 February 2020

It was strange watching Chelsea fall to Manchester United on Monday.

Not because of the result. United have prevailed at Stamford Bridge plenty of times before.

No, it was the lack of quality that really stood out, as if we were watching two mid-table sides going through the motions. The intensity and passion normally associated with this fixture took the night off.

It made me wonder whether tomorrow’s derby will turn into a similar affair. Might we see the kind of feisty scrap witnessed so often in the past or something more mundane to reflect the situations at these clubs?

Tottenham, after all, have problems of their own, as witnessed on Wednesday against RB Leipzig. Without Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, the team looked largely toothless, or like a

gun without bullets if you’re Jose Mourinho.

For me, though, there’s more to it than that. Even with Kane and Son in Mourinho’s opening weeks, Spurs were nowhere near right. I suppose we have to call this period transitional as Mourinho attempts to build something more substantial.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Man United | 17/02/2020

1/25

Mind you, he’s bound to have his players properly wound up for this one at his old home. And given the lack of firepower, it’ll be fascinating to see what tactics he employs. Already outmanoeuvred once by Frank Lampard, the Portuguese will be desperate to avoid a repeat.

As for Lampard, there was so much to fix from Monday’s defeat, one of them being the choice of striker. The shunning of Olivier Giroud has always baffled me. France’s third all-time top scorer still has plenty to offer, certainly more than Michy Batshuayi as a lone front man.

If Tammy Abraham doesn’t make it, Giroud will surely get the nod this time. It’s an option that Mourinho must privately envy.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in