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It’s the dawn of a new era for Les Blues and Roman Abramovich, Chelsea‘s billionaire owner, is right at the forefront. Not since the Mourinho days have Chelsea been so active in the transfer window. Soft-spoken men are generally shrewd decision-makers and if you’re as rich as Abramovich, you can afford to talk with your money. Chelsea have roped in a string of young talents and none stand out more than the man from Lille, Eden Hazard. The Champions League victory was the impetus they needed to rejuvenate themselves and Chelsea have done so by rebuilding their side during the preseason after the departure of their longstanding servant and icon, Didier Drogba.
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Chelsea, quite plainly, underperformed in the Premier League in the previous season. They finished 6th overall, their worst performance in a decade! This can be due to a series of factors – the inability of Andre Villas-Boas to make an impact as their manager stands at the top of the pile. The racist allegations on John Terry did not help matters either. It could be argued that Villas-Boas was not given enough time to execute his plans, but his 4-3-3 formation style of play was simply not working as their high-defensive line was severely exposed with humiliating defeats to Manchester United (3-1), Arsenal (5-3) and Liverpool (twice). Leaving out senior players such as Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole from the starting-lineup did not augur well for the Portuguese as he was given the boot in March.
Roberto Di Matteo’s promotion to caretaker manager denoted the calm before the storm. Soon, Chelsea were recording a string of good performances and there was a shift of focus towards the Champions League as they found themselves pitted against the mighty Barcelona in the semi-finals. The Blue Army overcame the Catalan giants and progressed towards the final. No mean achievement. Along the way, Chelsea won the FA Cup under Di Matteo, beating Liverpool 2-1 in the final. Di Matteo re-affirmed the faith shown in him by Abramovich by leading Chelsea to their maiden Champions League victory against Bayern Munich, winning an exciting, nerve-wrecking penalty shootout. The image of Drogba celebrating after converting the match-winning penalty will be etched in the memory of every Blues fan.
Eden Hazard (Lille)- £ 32 million
Oscar (Internacional) – £ 25 million
Marko Marin (Werder Bremen) - £ 6.5 million
Chelsea took the transfer window by storm when they spent more than £50 million on Hazard and Oscar alone. But with these acquisitions, the Blues have taken a firm step towards the future. The departure of Didier Drogba to Shanghai Shenhua called for an effective attacking player to support Fernando Torres upfront, and Hazard will play an influential role behind the striker or on the wing. One can only assume how much game-time Oscar is likely to get, but the manager seems to have faith in the Brazilian, “Oscar is a very exciting young talent, a creative midfield player who scores goals. He will add a lot of options and solutions for us in midfield.”
Marko Marin is a smart buy for Chelsea – a direct replacement for Salouman Kalou, and he’ll be one of the key players to watch out for amongst the Chelsea ranks. Jose Bosingwa is another player who bid adieu to the Stamford Bridge faithful, and Chelsea are looking to replace him with César Azpilicueta, the talented Marseille defender. Add to that, the Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku is currently on loan to West Brom. Chelsea still have one eye on Porto striker, Hulk, but they are more likely to land Wigan’s Victor Moses.
What can we expect from the Blue Army?
After making waves in the transfer window, the men under the scanner would mainly be the new signings of the summer. Eden Hazard could find himself in a similar situation to that of Torres if he doesn’t live up to his expensive price tag. Oscar too will have to prove his credentials, coming of a successful Olympic campaign with Brazil. As the season progresses, Marin will get more game time and a few decent outings for him will serve as an added bonus for the Blues. Chelsea have also signed Eden Hazard’s brother, Thorgan Hazard, but the younger sibling is most likely to feature in Chelsea’s youth team.
This section might raise a few eyebrows as I’ve decided to include two players as the ‘Talisman’. This writer firmly believes the performance of Fernando Torres will make or break Chelsea’s EPL season. Coming of a successful, golden-boot winning outing for Spain in the Euros, Torres has turned from an over-priced, under-performing villain to a headline-hogging hero of the masses. Chelsea will expect nothing less than a 20-goal season from their star striker. The departure of Drogba will burden him with additional responsibility. This is where Eden Hazard comes into the Chelsea puzzle. His partnership with Torres will be crucial for Chelsea. If Torres is the predator, Hazard will have to be his partner in crime. Juan Mata has done a fabulous job for Chelsea so far, but Hazard has that ‘X’ factor that could see him cement his place in the starting eleven.
Throughout Chelsea’s pre-season tour, Di Matteo has deployed different formations and changes to the starting lineup to figure out the best possible eleven for the side. According to the Italian, “It will be a challenge to make sure we have the right balance within the team so we will have to see how we fit the team together with all the players”.
Chelsea are extremely lucky to have so many players in the squad who can adapt to multiple positions. I’ve decided to include two formations which Di Matteo could use in the coming season. Let’s take a look at the first one – the 4-5-1 formation. Chelsea are likely to have an unchanged back four of Ashley Cole, John Terry, David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic. Cahill could figure in the scheme of things if one of the centre-backs is injured or does not perform to expectations. John Obi Mikel is likely to get the nod ahead of Raul Meireles, however, the latter will be part of Di Matteo’s plans as the season progresses. Frank Lampard is likely to have a less attacking role, along with Ramires, in the heart of the midfield, while Hazard and Mata should feature in the starting eleven to provide support to Torres (lone striker) on the flanks.
The more attacking formation would be the 4-2-3-1. The usual suspects will fit into the roles of lone striker and back four. With Chelsea’s recent acquisitions, this formation will enable them to field their young, attacking talents at the same time. Hazard could play in the hole behind the striker while Chelsea have enough bench-strength to make use of Marin and Oscar on the flanks. However, one of the senior midfielders will have to sit out if Di Matteo employs this formation. If that’s the case, this writer envisions Lampard, who will be in the final year of his contract, to be shown the bench.
Realistically, a third-place finish will be a great achievement for Chelsea. Anything above that should be lauded profusely. Manchester City have pretty much a settled and dominant side while Manchester United, if they land ‘Mr Arsenal’, will be the team to beat.
The question arises why this strong and rebuilt Blues side is not good enough to win the Premier League. This team certainly has the potential to win the league but with so many young players in the squad, they would need to adapt to the aggressive style of play in the Premier League. One can only wonder how long Chelsea will take to do so, but the moment the entire team clicks, every fan with a blue flag flying high, along with BB King, will learn why they sing the Blues…
