'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
It’s rare to witness clubs retain titles, especially in the Premier League. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have done it in the past, apart from Chelsea. While it was a really tough task to pull off, the way forward after reaching the top is going back down.
The very fact that the Blues have done it in the past doesn’t mean they will do it again. The task is a gargantuan one and has often been impossible for many. Leicester’s failure to do so was expected and Antonio Conte’s men will look to prove their critics wrong after claiming silverware last season, pipping Tottenham to it.
While they did oust the Lilywhites recently, they’re still with one win in two games. Here are five reasons why Chelsea will finish outside the top four this season.
#1 Lack of depth
When the Blues took on Arsenal in the FA Community Shield clash recently, the team sheets did come as a bit of surprise. Not in terms of quality, but in terms of quantity.
While the Gunners full team occupied the whole page, the Chelsea side occupied only one half of it. That suggests the lack of numbers they have in their ranks to compete consistently throughout the season.
They have sold or loaned out more players than what they have bought and that could cost them big time. Nathaniel Chalobah has been sold to Watford, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been loaned out to Crystal Palace at a time when Diego Costa is refusing to play and is unlikely to play again for them. Nemanja Matic has been sold to rivals Manchester United, while former skipper John Terry wasn't offered a new contract.
To compete in a long season, one needs depth in the side to challenge for the pinnacle.
#2 Champions League football
Last season, there was lack of Champions League football and the absence of it was one reason for their league success when sides like Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City were busy playing European games.
And because of their lack of depth, the Champions League games can pile up exhaustion among the players. In fact, with the absence of the European competition last season, Chelsea had a wider squad to select from. This season, with the presence of it, they have a smaller squad.
There have numerous seasons when we have seen campaigns of clubs unravelling due to the excessive number of games they play. Ask Spurs from last season. They’ll give you a concrete answer.
#3 A proper replacement for Costa?
Diego Costa is one of those players in world football who are very difficult to replace and imitate. The presence he brings is something not many can replicate. The goals he scores are indispensable.
Alvaro Morata has already scored once and while his abilities are undoubted, the former Real Madrid star isn’t the kind of striker that Costa his. He isn’t as proficient on the break as Costa is and his failures to do the job that the former Atletico Madrid man would have done were evident in the game against Tottenham.
Costa’s threatening presence means opposition defenders are always on their toes and they are always riled up by Morata’s Spanish teammate. Morata doesn’t have that fearsome presence, no matter how good he is.
#4 They can’t resort to the same tactic
Against Tottenham, everyone expected Chelsea to lose. Antonio Conte did well to nullify the threat their fierce rivals possess, but they can’t use the same approach in every game they play throughout the season.
The 3-5-2 saw David Luiz play in midfield to deny the duo of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen any room to pick out holes in the heart of the park. It was the perfect example of the catenaccio style that Italy boasts of and Chelsea grabbed the win in a near smash and grab fashion.
But they can’t use the same tactic against sides which are inferior to them. They will have to attack more and without Diego Costa up front, it remains to be seen if they will be as proficient in front of goal when Alvaro Morata still needs to adapt to the demands of the Premier League.
#5 Matic’s absence
When Chelsea sold Nemanja Matic to Manchester United for a fee in the region of £40m, eyebrows were raised. And the performances that the Serbian has put in for the Red Devils shows that the Blues may well miss his presence in the heart of the park.
People have been quick to criticise Matic during a season when N'Golo Kante would not have won the PFA Player of the Year accolade if not for the former Benfica man himself. The defensive assurance and physical presence he brought in the midfield eased out Kante’s task of breaking up play and recovering lost balls in the midfield.
Matic does lack pace and his replacement Tiemoue Bakayoko has more of it, but the summer capture from Monaco is more of that box to box commodity who likes to do the attacking bit more.
They missed Matic’s presence against Burnley and they may well miss him throughout the season. Jose Mourinho would be left to smirk proudly in the Old Trafford silhouette.
