"He can be as good as Drogba," said Grant. "He did a good job until now at the other clubs, and at the big clubs he can be better. I think Anelka can take the chances that will make the difference in matches. He knows how to score goals. He has good pace and, in the modern game, you need three or four strikers in the team." Avram Grant on the reasons behind why Anelka was at the peak of his transfer targets.
“He's a great footballer, the complete player in many ways - pace, strength, technique and he scores goals.” Former Manchester City manager Sven Goren Eriksson on his failed escapade to sign Nicolas Anelka in the 2008 January transfer window.
Months of endless speculation and hearsay on the grapevine were ended after Nicolas Anelka walked through the doors of Stamford Bridge as the latest big-money striker and only just recently has the moved paid dividents. The unsettled voyager is now at his eighth club in a career that has spanned from the awes of the Santiago Bernabeu to the hostile lands of Turkey, but ten leagues goals to his credit in the 2008/09 campaign means he could finally be settling at a club where winning silverware does not come at the sacrifice of regular first-team appearances.
Anelka has freely admitted that he has been forced into adapting his style to be more effective in Chelsea’s approach but is beginning to be rewarded through the finesse he has demonstrated in the goalscoring department this season. His attitude has caused criticism to be levelled at him before and several have questioned Anelka's value to a European powerhouse such as Chelsea, of course the manner of his penalty miss in the Champions League final won over zero fans but we are started to witness the footballing brain behind the £15m price tag. Injury-plagued Didier Drogba has been an irregular presence in the starting eleven after falling victim to injury on consecutive occasions but Anelka has stepped up the ante in his absence.
The French international currently sits top of the goalscoring charts, and fans and Scolari alike will pray that his searing streak will be there for all to see right through to the final round of matches in May and beyond.
Soccer City FC analyses Anelka’s contributions to Chelsea’s winning start to the season through the joys of statistics.
Appearances: 12 (11 starts)
Minutes Played: 951
Goals: 10 (34% of Chelsea’s league goals)
Shots On Target: 21
Shots Off Target: 21
Shooting Accuracy: 50%
Goalscoring Rate: One every 95 minutes
Passes: 287
Passing Accuracy: 77%
Crosses: 23
Assists: 2
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