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DROGBA: TERRY HAS BACKING OF SQUAD
Two-goal hero Didier Drogba insists that disgraced England captain John Terry has the full backing of his Chelsea team-mates. Drogba took his tally for the season to 22 with goals in the eighth and 22nd minutes against London rivals Arsenal and then revealed how Terry continues to have the support of the Chelsea squad.
Terry was sacked as England captain this week by Fabio Capello following allegations relating to his private life but Drogba told Sky Sports: "We offered him (Terry) as much support as we can. The best thing for him is to play. All his team-mates have to do everything for him."
He added: "It has been a difficult week for us, for Chelsea, for all the club. We tried to stay together and focus on the game. It is a matter of time but we will stick together and keep looking forward."
Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti paid tribute to Terry after the defender produced a typically inspirational performance. "John is the perfect captain for Chelsea," said Ancelotti. "My captain has a fantastic attitude. He is doing very well in every game.
DROGBA TIPPED TO WIN PFA VOTE
Didier Drogba has been tipped to win the journalist's vote, netting him the Player's Player of the Year Award, and snatching it from the hands of Wayne Rooney.
Rooney’s haul stands at 21 goals from 24 league appearances and some voters — when it comes to the players’ and journalists’ poll — may be swayed by the fact that he comes without baggage.
The United man has never seemed bothered by personal acclaim; Drogba’s histrionics, and the frequency with which he has questioned his future at Chelsea, suggest a man who needs to feel the love and the recognition.
Credit has been squandered, with a dive, an on-pitch tantrum or some remarks to French newspapers made in the heat of the moment, but we should note that those incidents have become less frequent. Approaching 32 and into his last big contract, Drogba appears as settled as at any time since he arrived in London. He is gaining from the support of Nicolas Anelka but no one questions which of them is the daddy. Successive Chelsea managers, and there have been a few, continue to find Drogba indispensable. And the one who did not, Luiz Felipe Scolari, soon paid for it.
His performances will probably always have their melodramatic moments, and yesterday Drogba limped to the sidelines with his face screwed into such pain that one assumed that significant surgery would be the least of it. He returned in a matter of minutes. But that was incidental compared with the two goals that took his total to 17 from 20 league games.
He will be dismayed that Arsenal do not come around again. Their defence has yielded four goals to him, and a record of 12 goals from 12 outings against the North London club reinforces every preconception about Drogba’s power and how Arsenal shrink in the face of it.
DECO: DROGBA IS WORLD'S BEST
Chelsea midfielder Deco believes Didier Drogba, who prevented embarrassment when he scored the equalising goal during the 1-1 draw with Hull City on Tuesday evening, is the best striker in the world.
Drogba, whose Chelsea side face Arsenal on Saturday, has been in destructive form this season scoring 20 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions.
"Every team wants Didier, he is for me the best striker in the world when he is fit," Deco said on his club's official website. "It is better for us to have him and he gives more options for all the team."
The Ivorian, who has only recently returned to Stamford Bridge due to his involvement in the African Cup of Nations, traditionally plays well against Arsenal, but Deco believes it is important not to get complacent.
"We need to be prepared, because any game will be more difficult from now. We want to win the Premier League and any points now are difficult," the playmaker added. "The game [against Hull] was difficult, the pitch was difficult, they fought and worked hard, but of course for us it is not good when we don't win."
DROGBA SAVES A POINT
Didier Drogba celebrated his return from African Nations Cup duty by notching his 20th goal of the season to spare Chelsea's blushes in a 1-1 draw with lowly Hull.
All eyes were, inevitably, on John Terry in his second match since allegations over his private life entered the public domain but it was Hull centre-back Steven Mouyokolo who grabbed the limelight by heading the Barclays Premier League strugglers in front.
Drogba, in his first Blues match for a month, snared a point for the table-toppers when he drilled home a contested free-kick just before the interval.
In the ninth minute Frank Lampard had the first chance of the match, capping a nice passing move with a swerving shot at goal. Boaz Myhill could only parry it to Nicolas Anelka 10 yards out but the Frenchman fluffed his finish. Chelsea should have taken the lead 25 minutes in when Deco's crossfield ball set Branislav Ivanovic free on the right and he arrowed a cross into the Hull area. Michael Ballack timed his run perfectly but headed tamely and straight at Myhill from close range.
It was no great surprise when Mouyokolo outjumped a number of Chelsea defenders to head home Stephen Hunt's 29th-minute corner. But three minutes before the break, Drogba lashed home the equaliser with a disputed free-kick from just outside the penalty area.
Anthony Gardner missed a glorious chance to restore the lead before the break when he headed Tom Cairney's flighted free-kick over from just a couple of yards. Ivanovic forced another parried save from Myhill in the 50th minute and Lampard skied the rebound over.
Drogba was off target in the 77th minute, heading over Ivanovic's curling delivery and Myhill ensured the Tigers held on to a valuable point as he stretched to save Daniel Sturridge's late strike.
ANCELOTTI RELISHES DROGBA RETURN
Carlo Ancelotti believes the return of Didier Drogba to the Chelsea squad this weekend will have a major impact on his sides title hopes.
The coming weekend will see the Blues travel to face Burnley where Ancelotti can once again call on the talents of Drogba who is now back from international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. And with United set to visit Arsenal 24 hours later, the Chelsea manager is confident his side could strengthen their position.
"We have one more point with a game in hand (on United) and two points more than Arsenal," he said. "That?s important because, on Sunday United play Arsenal. Maybe we can improve our position on Saturday."
"I think we need to have Drogba because he's a fantastic player and, with him, we can play the same football. Our philosophy and aims won?t change: to play good football and win. We won't change. We'll maintain the same system. I said I need to have Drogba. I'm happy he'll be here with us tomorrow morning. He had a fantastic start to the season and will be very important for us in the future.
"We did very well in January. I want to thank my players who did a fantastic job without the African players. We could have had some problems without them, but we did very well."
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John Obi Mikel
Ashley Cole
Petr Cech
Franco Di Santo
Didier Drogba
Branislav Ivanovic
Salomon Kalou
John Terry
Frank Lampard
Michael Essien
Joe Cole
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If you reckon Didier is gonna win the Player f the Year Awards why not have a look at the sports betting odds?
Tag Cloud:DIDIER DROGBA Chelsea Ivory Coast World Cup
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