Swindon Town vs Chelsea: Return of the Special Juan

'Jose made me do it'

There’s not too many people that would consider Chelsea’s Milk Capital One Cup tie a glamour fixture – it’s like Sky knew something they didn’t.  Tuesday night’s match turned out to be an opportunity for Chelsea’s players to show why they should be on the teamsheet week in and week out. Although most clubs use this very somewhat important competition as an opportunity to watch their youth and fringe players, only Chelsea would have Juan Mata and David Luiz on that list.

The away support, as always was brilliant. Taking nearly 500 more than the allotted 3000 to the County Ground. A stadium which has brilliant floodlights, and a less than brilliant scoreboard operator. So impressed by Fernando Torres’ opening goal, this man awarded him 2. Once he managed to rectify that, there was a series of other screen related instances which shockingly did not end with him watching porn a massive game of solitaire being played. Also good to see Mourinho give the competition and opposition the respect it deserved by putting on his very best track suit for the game.

So how did those boys do in their audition to start at White Hart Lane this weekend? Well, unfortunately for Van Ginkel he is definitely out and looks to remain that way for the next six to nine months. Although with the performance that de Bruyne put in, Van Ginkel could be more likely to start. After a brilliant season in the Bundesliga, and a lot of promise in the money making venture that is the pre-season tour, de Bruyne did not make a case for himself. If this game had been a movie, it would be ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’.

But not to worry KDB, you’ve impressed in the past and surely will again. Plus, you had Willian on the pitch making you look like Messi. Fair play to him for getting Spurs to fly him out, put him up for a few days in London, and pass his medical before signing with Chelsea. But one can’t survive on infamy alone, can you? His purpose on the pitch at this time is to fanny about with the ball and then have a quick run yet to be determined.

There were some solid performances out there as well. Chelsea youngster got his club debut at on Tuesday at the age of 40 + 51 weeks. This of course makes him the oldest debutant AND player to grace the pitch. Let’s just hope he doesen’t break a hip making some of those diving saves. He’s not the only one making a little bit of history at Chelsea – Ramires has the distinction of being the only player to be subbed on in the first half and not start the second half. Who says Chelsea doesn’t have history?

The casually attired manager of course let bygones be bygones and allowed not one, but all three of Chelsea’s a start. And they were definitely men on a mission. Torres was easily man of the match with that performance. Easily undermined as it’s against League One competition – but he did the same against Munich (a club slightly better than any in England’s third division). That man loves himself a cup competition. When approached about his cup form after the match, he said it was because he had played a lot more in them and would like to bring that form to the Premier League. We all would Fernando, we all would.

With versatility being Mourinho's 'thing' as of late, David Luiz graciously accepted playing both in defence and midfield. There was no shortage of back heels, passes and curls bobbing about the pitch. He also took as many shots as Mata and Ramires just for good measure.

All eyes, of course, were on Chelsea’s Special Juan – but he was arguably most concerned about the two staring through him from the dugout. Mata went to great lengths to earn himself a trip to the opulent surroundings of Seven Sisters. Mata ran his little socks off while committing three fouls! Three!! No Chelsea player committed more than Mata. He also managed three tackles throughout the night as he essentially stalked Swindon’s players to take them out and prove to Mourinho that he could. Only time will tell if it was enough to earn him a few more starts.

As for Swindon, it was interesting to see that when Nile Ranger has to take on ready, willing and able opponents – he isn’t quite up to the task. If they’re looking for a manager to sort them out, word is that Paolo Di Canio has recently become available.

On to Saturday as Mourinho faces his former charge as Chelsea take on gracious hosts Tottenham Hotspur. Expect shared pints and cuddles all around.

jb x