Chelsea Terrace Talk – Irish Examiner Article By Trizia

It’s amazing how the arrival of a new player can focus the mind.

I am an Obi Mikel fan, but he can be frustrating sometimes too. When against Wigan he put that perfectly weighted pass through to Anelka for him to fire home, not only did his teammates seem dumbfounded but he looked astonished himself.

He’s a talented player no doubt, and we went to enough trouble to get him, but every now and again, he seems to lose concentration and his passes go astray; not only that but he often appears incapable of passing forwards as if struggling with an alien concept.

Enter Ramires and suddenly Mikel is the complete package. His good work continued against Stoke where he didn’t play solely within the parameters of his usual game but provided invaluable link-up play, especially important as Lampard was not his usual outstanding self, caused either by the hernia for which he will now undergo surgery or by the presence of his new love, Christine Bleakley, in the West Stand executive boxes ahead of her debut on GMTV next week.

The schedule for his operation is fortunate as the international break will ensure that time missed playing for Chelsea is kept to a minimum. His absence, and that of the real England captain, John Terry, should at least make the boo boys happy.

In the dying minutes of the canter against Tony Pulis’s team we welcomed Ramires to Stamford Bridge and I hope we continue with our good fortune when it comes to Brazilian players. We have not had to put up with wimps who balk at a bit of rain, or who miss their mothers, or who whinge that the local women are not up to the standard of those model types on Copacabana beach, or who go missing when it’s time to return to Blighty after an international.

Our boys from Brazil have been robust model professionals who have made themselves crowd favourites by good old-fashioned hard work — the only time we really saw their Brazilian tendencies was when it was time for a free kick, both Alex and Belletti being quite useful from the old set piece.

Alex and John Terry were imperious on Saturday; for a long time now we have had enviable centre back pairings — Leboeuf and Desailly, Terry and Gallas (before Arsenal turned him bonkers), Terry and Carvalho and now Terry and Alex, and we have more than a couple of centre backs waiting in the wings — led by new Dutch international Bruma.

Terry and Alex seem to be developing that understanding at the back which is obviously based on trust. Against Stoke we saw Alex make some perfectly-timed, hard, yet fair interceptions inside the penalty box. He has an agility that defies his size. He has a brooding presence which seems to make strikers, such as Kenwyne Jones, ponder that second too long.

John Terry obviously feels that the Brazilian can be left to safely muster the back line as he has once again started making those thundering forays forward. It’s an impressive sight as opposition players see that they have only two choices — either get out the way or try to stop the juggernaut. I can only hope that his injury won’t keep him out for too long although happily he won’t have to put up with the nonsense that is the England set-up, unlike another star performer from the weekend, Ashley Cole.

The Champions League draw sees us return to Zilina — a Slovakian side that we last played six years ago at the start of the Abramovich era which was one of the most enjoyable European trips ever — even if the hotels at the time were nothing short of horrific. I’m sure the beer will cost more than nine pence a pint these days, but I hope the people haven’t changed, a friendly welcome that we Chelsea fans are not used to receiving.

Marseilles will see an emotional return for Drogba as he still has legendry status there — but Chelsea fans will not have such pleasant memories, as on previous trips we were subjected to unprovoked incarceration in underground warehouses and tear gas for those who did make it on to the terraces.

As for Moscow . . . I don’t want to remember Moscow in any way shape or form.

It will be a shame if Terry and Lampard miss our next Premiership game away to West Ham. If the locals haven’t got those two to boo for the entire game, the ground will be virtually silent in the home ends.

It also looks as if I was wrong about good old Uncle Avram. He is actually good for something —managing West Ham. I imagine if/when Chelsea win, he will find some way to take the credit for the achievements of others (yes, I’m still bitter).

Three games gone, maximum points and no goals conceded. Last time we did that, I am reliably informed we won the league.

Come on Chelsea!