Salomon Kalou – Underrated or just not that good?
Salomon Kalou has never managed to become a first team regular at Stamford Bridge, but is this due to him being not good enough, or is he an underrated player? Chelsea’s managers have obviously seen more of Salomon Kalou than I have, but I actually think the latter judgement is the correct one. The Ivorian took a couple of seasons to get going, but in his most recent years as a Chelsea player I think he has improved immensely.
Like many players brought to the Premier League from Holland, Salomon Kalou had a fantastic record at Feyenoord, in a three year spell there he made 67 league appearances, and scored an impressive 36 goals. Kalou was snapped up by Chelsea 2006, under then boss Jose Mourinho, who recognised the youngsters potential. Kalou struggled to make an impact in his first few seasons, spending most of his time on the bench, when he did play, it would usually be when he came on as a substitute.
However in the last couple of seasons, Salomon Kalou has really matured as a player, he should have done, it certainly surprised me when I learnt that he was 25 years old. Kalou has still failed to cement a regular first team slot, but whenever he comes on as a sub he nearly always seems to score. When he starts he doesn’t look goal shy either. When you look at Kalou’s record for Chelsea, it is not bad, in 117 league appearances he has netted 31 goals, not too shabby when you think most of these appearances have been made as a subsitute, and that he has often been deployed on the wing. Kalou has already scored 4 goals this season, putting him right up there amongst the top scorers in the league so far.
Many think of Kalou as a small player, but he actually stands at just over 6ft and he is does pose an aerial threat when he plays. Kalou is capable of some excellent finishing, and he often finds himself in the right place at the right time, an instinct that is crucial for any striker.
Salomon Kalou does of course play in one of the best sides in Europe, and the team create hatfuls of chances for their forward players to score, one just has to look at the incredible start the Blues have made to the season, whether he would get as many goals at a less effective side is open to debate. Kalou can still suffer from inconsistency, sometimes he is anonymous in games and he can misfire in front of goal. What I genuinely see in Salomon Kalou however, is improvement, which is so crucial for young players who can so often find themselves stagnating.
Didier Drogba is the best striker in the Premier League, so Kalou is not going to be in the side at his countryman’s expense. But whilst Nicolas Anelka is a good forward, he is not top class and if Kalou performs well there is definitely an opportunity for him to get a lot more starts. In the last couple of games Carlo Ancelotti has selected Kalou to start, and he has not disappointed, it will be interesting to see whether the Chelsea boss decides to stick with him, if he does, it could just be a pivotal year for Salomon Kalou.
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Outrageous to suggest anelkas not top class
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nice article max. i have always had an irrational love of salomon so it’s good that he has finally shown something. or else i would be in for more ribbing from my mates!
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“Nicolas Anelka is a good forward, he is not top class”
You know nothing about football at all…
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Its the truth anelka is not a top class he scores flukes,never scores in hard games.when he was to spearhead chelsea attack during scolari he let us down ,we finished a poor 3rd because he could only score against weak teams. liverpool ,manchester united even poor arsenal beat us.grant and hidink benched him in favour of kalou and brought back drogba n things worked.he caused scolari his job as senior players were angry because of startin him at drogbas expense. Last season he was behind drogba ,midfilders lampard malauda even a substitute kalou in terms of overal goals for the club.what a top class he is ?why do u forget so easily? is it because we are winning .the winning is attributed to drogba not him.replace him with big match winner like dzeko .
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Kalou will never ever get golden boot in the premiership…
Guess who did…?
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You seem to forget that Kalou had a dreadful last season – right up to the last 3 or so games when he played reasonably well. Unless you have an extraordinarily short memory, you’d have to argue that his 2nd and 3rd seasons were as good as it got.
“Aerial threat” – who have you been watching? SWP offers a better aerial threat.
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Anelka not top class? are you some kind of moron?
Anelka may not be an out and out Striker, like Drogba, but he has so so much more to his game, Anelka often runs the last third for us, holding up play, playing in people, assisting, breaking down defenses.
Kalou will never be a Drogba or an out and out Striker and so you must compare him to a player like Anelka and not Drogba.
Kalou has Pace a good head and good positional sense – however, he’s a poor finisher, it looks completely lost at times and does silly things, he runs himself into dead ends which he can’t get out from (where as Anelka can).
Often he’ll recieve the ball, sprint with it, then look like his brain is ticking over on slow motion while he decides what to do next, before he realises it, he’s lost the ball.
Yes he scores, and I think he’s the right man to be a chelsea – He seems happy to be the third striker, which suits chelsea more than having another superstar striker – because Drogba and Anelka for another season or 2 at least, will not be happy sitting on the bench – Kalou will, and he still has enough skill to perform when he does come on, but a 1st choice striker…….don’t make me laugh.
When Chelsea are at there best, they are run by cech/terry at the back, Essien in the middle and Anelka up front – they are the most important players in our squad, Yes the other players may score more goals, grab the headlines, but those 3/4 players run the show.
Anelka not top class….give me a serious break.
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