The Man in The Shed

1st February 2020 – Close the window

So with a “war chest” of cash and the chance to buy some of the biggest talent on the planet the transfer window closed and we had bought – nobody ! Perhaps the most important acts in the window were the new contract for James and the loss of Lamptey (perhaps because of James).

I’d said all along that I would rather we didn’t sign somebody if it ruined the team spirit than bring in a prima-donna type so perhaps it would turn out to be a good window. The hope was now that Chelsea had put down clear markers for key players they want and the opportunity would be better in the summer. Still, it kept an army of media “experts” busy for a month predicting a whole load of nonsense. There were perhaps some deals that got close judging by how tetchy Lampard appeared to be at his press conference.

The big news on the teamsheet was Abraham playing through the pain in attack but also the promotion of Caballero in place of Kepa. The stats. had finally put the world’s most expensive goalkeeper to the sword; bottom of the list when it came to percentage of shots saved.

Leicester had lost Ndidi in the warm up. Labelled a replacement for Kanté he was much more than that and a major loss for the home side. There was also talk on TV about the dip in form for Chilwell – could his head have been turned by interest from so called bigger clubs ? To be honest I couldn’t see why he would consider moving from a team challenging for a top two finish to the likes of United or Chelsea.

After a fairly quiet start Chelsea began to get on top. The away support were clearly audible on TV. A possible Chelsea penalty was declined by VAR (it was soft) but we weren’t working the goalkeeper. The first real pressure from Leicester came a quarter of the way into the game and Caballero saved well from Vardy. We continued to create chances with most coming from James crosses but none were converted.

So quite an entertaining first half but again nothing to show for our endeavours. Vardy had not scored for 6 games which was a worry.

The second half brought a surprise – a Chelsea goal from a set play. Rüdiger with a towering header from a corner. Caballero saved us immediately afterwards.

But Leicester were not to be denied. Barnes beat James and his shot deflected over Caballero and in. One all.

Jorginho picked up another booking – nine now this season and heading for another ban.

Then Chilwell reminded us why he is a player coveted by the big clubs. Chipping the ball across the box, for some reason Caballero decided to chase it but realised he couldn’t reach it. The ball was crossed back across to Chilwell to score as Caballero struggled to regain his ground. I guess you’ll always get that craziness with our Argentinian keeper. A shot-stopper with a wild streak.

Before I’d had a chance to consider whether we were good enough to get back into the game – we were ! Another towering header from Rüdiger.

Leicester then somehow missed a couple of easy chances. Rüdiger was immense at the back for Chelsea. An injury time shout for a Leicester penalty was turned down and the game ended.

Great for the neutrals.

Chelsea should have won the game in the first half. Leicester should have won it with their chances in the second half.

On reflection I would have taken a draw before the game began. At half time I was upset that we were not winning. By the end I was feeling lucky with a draw.

That’s football !

Now a full two-week winter break.