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This season took off on the right track for Chelsea, with Roberto di Matteo recruiting the explosive Eden Hazard and the clever Brazilian in the form of Oscar. Roberto di Matteo successfully accommodated Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata who produced attacking wonders for Chelsea by terrorizing every defensive unit in the Premier League. It all started when Chelsea played against Shakhtar Donetsk, which ended in a 2-1 loss for Chelsea with di Matteo’s failed strategy of playing Daniel Sturridge as a “False Nine”. It got worse when they were controversially defeated by the Red Devils at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea then became the first Champions League cup holders to be knocked out from the group stages of the competition. The Blue Ship sank when di Matteo was sacked by the over-ambitious owner, who appointed the Public Enemy number 1, Rafa Benitez.
Let us look at the main aspects that led to Chelsea’s decline…
1) Lack of patience from Roman Abramovich
Andre Villas Boas thought of injecting an attacking style of football to a counter attacking team. He planned on making Chelsea even more creative and as a result, he made the signing of the season and brought in Juan Mata. Hence his ideologies forced Chelsea into a transition state from a counter attacking team to a free flowing attacking team. This strategy was not able to produce instant results and hence AVB was sacked by the owner and he appointed Roberto di Matteo. He rolled back to the classic counter attacking strategy. No doubt, Chelsea won the Champions League but di Matteo again wanted to make Chelsea a free flowing team, which kept the defense open. Hence they were punished by the likes of Shakhtar and Juventus leading to Chelsea’s elimination. Again, the impatient owner sacked the fan favourite di Matteo for the hated Rafa Benitez, who now seems clueless with his squad.
2) Over dependence on Juan Mata
Chelsea has brought in players like Eden Hazard, Oscar and Victor Moses. Chelsea looks clueless when their talisman, Mata, does not start the game. Chelsea’s creativity vanishes when Mata is kept silent. Even though they have an explosive attack in the form of Hazard and Oscar, they simply fail to produce Mata magic. The Capital One cup game against Manchester United is a classic example that shows how much Chelsea are dependent on Juan Mata, even though they have Hazard and Oscar.
No matter how good Chelsea’s midfield is, this man never seems to score. Who would have foreseen such days for the ‘once upon a time’ defense tormentor? The 50 million business was an epic fail for Chelsea, as he was bought to replace the goal-machine Didier Drogba. But you will have to pity Torres. He works so hard on the field but unfortunately becomes the victim of trolls just because he is missing his scoring boots. A man who was brought into the team to replace a goal-machine turns out to be a disaster when so much was expected of him. Having scored just 7 goals in 23 Premier League games for Chelsea this season, Fernando Torres clearly seems to be finished.
4) Rafa Benitez
The major reason for Chelsea’s downfall is none other than Rafa Benitez. While Roberto di Matteo proved to be a tactical mastermind by converting Chelsea to a free flowing attacking team, Benitez wanted Chelsea to play more direct, with players sticking to their respective positions. Rafa wanted his misfiring striker to start scoring again, but unfortunately Torres never seems like scoring. His substitutions are often questionable. His decisions to bring on a defender for a defender, a midfielder for a midfielder, a striker for a striker never work and he does such kind of substitutions in each and every game, irrespective of the game’s situation. His recent decision in an FA cup tie against Brentford, where he swapped Ba for Hazard and deployed Ba on the wings, raised many eye brows.
Things that Chelsea must do
Chelsea must understand that Fernando Torres is finished and must find someone else as Demba Ba’s partner.
Chelsea must hang onto the creative and quick Kevin de Bruyne, with Schalke approaching for a deal.
Chelsea must appoint a long term manager with the owner’s full support and patience.
Chelsea must provide Frank Lampard with atleast a year’s contract.
CONCLUSION
Chelsea can still pull up their socks and bring home the UEFA Europa cup, as they go into the competition as the strongest team (atleast on paper). With EPL title rapidly slipping out of their hands, Chelsea must act quickly and make necessary changes in the team for the next season to challenge for the title again.
