Roberto Di Matteo Brings Back Squad Harmony To Chelsea Blue

Roberto Di Matteo has been another inspired decision by Roman Abramovich. The perceptive Italian has managed to solve the old and new divide within the Chelsea squad. There is finally a distinct feeling of squad harmony not seen since the happy times of Mourinho. Winning matches usually helps, but more importantly, man management is the key.

While Chelsea try to revitalize their playing squad this season, the old guards of Frankie Lampard, Drogba and Terry have stubbornly refused to concede their starting places to the young stars-in-the-making. Conversely, the young stars of Mata, Torres and Sturridge have found their performance on the field stifled by the legends.

Against Spurs in the FA Cup semifinal, it was apparent that Chelsea old and new have begun to develop a symbiotic relationship within the team. Frank Lampard commented that Di Matteo should be credited favourably for that.

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Liverpool March On To Dream-Like Domestic Cup Double

The dream of being double Cup winners is slowly materialising. Liverpool got past a potentially difficult quarterfinal match and comprehensively beat Stoke City. Goals from Luis Suarez and Stewart Downing handed a semifinal berth to the Reds.

Like every season, FA Cup semifinal drama could be in store with the prospect of a special Merseyside derby. I'd prefer that Liverpool meet Sunderland instead. Being in the semifinal of the FA Cup should be a big enough game for the Reds to be fairly motivated even if they were to face Sunderland. Besides, Liverpool have unfinished business with O'Neill's men, having lost due to Bendtner's winner recently. Storming into the FA Cup final while demolishing a side with x-Devils O'Shea, Bardsley and Richardson, would bring a happy smile to my face.

Three things stood out in the win over Stoke last weekend.

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Assessing The Young Irons and Young Guns From The West Ham-Arsenal FA Cup Match

The FA Cup never fails to bring romance back into the game of football. In classic David versus Goliath fashion, Leeds United relived moments of their past glories by shocking a strangely subdued Manchester United. That win brought about feelings of "can do" while approaching the subsequent FA Cup 3rd round match of the weekend, West Ham United versus Arsenal. Could West Ham do what Leeds had done to the Mighty Reds?

Well for about 65 minutes, West Ham were working hard to preserve a lead given by a well-taken first half Diamanti goal. It was inevitable really, as much as the workrate and effort was close to herculean (especially from Behrami!), West Ham could not sustain that kind of energy throughout the 90 minutes. And so in the last 25 minutes, the Hammers were pinned too deep in their half and were repeatedly chasing shadows as Arsenal finally penetrated the stout defence that West Ham had put up. Replacing two young potential stars with two experienced international (Diaby and Nasri) definitely tipped the balance in Arsenal's favour.

More interestingly was that this FA Cup 3rd round match allowed us to catch a glimpse of what's in store for the future as both teams blooded the youth. Young players who could be key players for their respective clubs in the next few years. Here, I want to assess their capability and readiness for the Premier League based on their performance in this game.

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