Time For An Honest Appraisal Of The Chelsea Squad

It’s been a roller coaster few weeks; poor form looked to be turning around before disappointment against Wigan and poor finishing against Tottenham left us fourth in the table with no real prospect of mounting a title challenge and, if we are realistic, looking over our shoulder in the fight for Champions League qualification next season. While we are busy laughing at the Manchester clubs’ exit from this year’s competition we should note that both are likely to finish ahead of us in the Premiership and that we might not even get the CL group stage next season if we are not careful!

So, what has gone wrong? Where is the squad too lightweight? Where must we strengthen?

Management

Let me start with management. There has been lots of ‘Trust in AVB’ crap (for that is what it is) with fans borrowing a phrase used by Scousers with regard the hopeless Rafa Benitez and Gooners with regard Arse W*n*er. However, there has also been plenty of crap giving the contradicting view that he should get the chop.

Why are both views crap? The ‘Trust in’ camp need to realise that blind faith is rarely a good thing especially in someone yet to prove himself while the ‘give him the chop’ camp need to gain perspective.

AVB came with a short but exceptional record but, as I have stated more than once, came untested by the kind of challenges that come with a downturn in form, with rebuilding a squad, with anything close to Premier League type pressure. In short, I would not have offered him the job but now he is here he deserves the chance to make amends for Carlo Ancelotti’s oversight in allowing a squad to both age and get thin without taking action. That task is not a small one and should we even fail to qualify for next season’s Europa League AVB must be given the opportunity to rebuild. Sacking him will only leave his replacement with the same squad and same task.

The Squad

That squad is looking desperately thin. Last season it was exposed when injuries to Lampard, Essien and Drogba left the team struggling in the middle part of the season. This season the picture is worse, especially if (God forbid) we have another couple of long term injuries.

Goalkeeper

Petr Cech has been at fault for both of the last two goals conceded but is still a world class keeper. But what if he should succumb to injury? Hilario and Turnbull are competent but would we really be comfortable if either had to have a long run in the side? They’re okay for occasional cover but not much more. We need better cover for Petr Cech especially given growing rumours his knees are ‘fragile’.

Defence

We have some serious problems here. JT continues to be a legend and Ashley Cole although no longer at his peak is still by far the best left back in English football. David Luiz is good and will improve and Branislav Ivanovic has provided competent cover both at right back and centrally. The less said about Jose Bosingwa the better and Paulo Ferreira is a loyal servant but, for all his great game v the Spuds, is at the tail end of a career. It says everything about the squad’s problems at right back when the injured Essien, a midfield player, is our best right back by far!

As a minimum we probably need one if not two right backs and another central defender preferably one with pace.

Midfield

I am less concerned about the ability we have in the middle than I was at the start of the season although quantity is still lacking. Romeu has been a revelation relegating Mikel to competent cover in that holding position. I’ve made no secret of the fact I am not a John Obi fan but as cover, he’ll do. Whether he’ll be happy with that is another matter. Lampard is still brilliant but AVB is right to use him more sparingly and to get the most out of his twilight years. Ramires has improved no end, while Mereiles is mostly good but needs to show more consistency. Essien has yet to come back and we can only hope two long term knee injuries have not reduced his desire, energy or confidence. Then there is Josh McEachran, one for the future and who surely deserves more playing time, not to say needs it, for his development – perhaps a January loan?

Our midfield has got ability without depth, energy without quality and creativity. We need at least one midfield player of quality, an artist to match the industry.

Up Front

Thank F*** for Danny Sturridge and Juan Mata! I include Mata up front although have little doubt he could also provide the artistry our midfield lacks but what would that do to our front three (assuming we continue to play the same system)?

Nicolas Anelka has gone and had passed his sell by date anyway and Didier Drogba still looks good in flashes but, though we love him, is no longer the Drog of old. Salomon Kalou? Well if he is the answer someone is asking the wrong question! Florent Malouda comes out and goes in with the sun and his inconsistency in a side desperately needing players to ‘turn up and be counted’ adds him to my transfer list. Danny Sturridge has been brilliant (despite wasted chances) and will get better. Lukaku? I remain to be convinced but will be happy to be as wrong as I was about Ramires.

I know I haven’t mentioned Torres but I’m not convinced we signed the right player. Yes, he was quality but was he made for Chelsea or would we need to change too much else to accommodate the player he was. As for the player he is? Blind loyalty aside; the jury must be out. The African Cup of Nations offers him what, to me, should be his last chance to rediscover old form.

Nonetheless, even should the real Fernando Torres stand up, for a team which aspires to Champions League and Premiership glory our attack is under-whelming and only one injury away from being threadbare. We need at least two more decent strikers to back our likely end of season preferred trio of Mata, Sturridge, and El Nino.

Ah yes, the African Cup of Nations! Don’t get me wrong there are some fantastic African players out there and I love watching the tournament but please Chelsea, don’t sign any more Africans!

I do however think about the youngsters who can be added to bolster the team, not forgetting that surrounding them with the right quality will bring them through far better.

It was only a couple of seasons ago I smugly looked at other sides and played the game of ‘how many of your players would make it into our team?’ It was rarely more than one or two, very occasionally three. Now? Against the Spuds possibly only four of our starting eleven would have made theirs. You may agree with me on that or disagree but surely you will accept my argument that we simply do not have the quality or the depth required right now.

AVB must start to earn that trust some fans talk about by beginning the rebuilding process with some sound purchases and some difficult decisions on who to let go come January and (given it  won’t all be done in one go) again in the summer.

KTBFFH

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly – A Blue Analysis

Was it really only six days? Six days which have included Foygate, defeat at Loftus Road, a win but at a stretch and with another red card, the CPO vote and home defeat to Arsenal. I don’t know about you but I don’t know how many six day periods like that one I can take!

Time to hit the pause button, time to analyse where we are, what we’ve got and what we lack.

Obviously we are not on the FA’s favourite’s list. Foygate was shocking as was the FA’s failure to investigate and the media’s total disinterest in exploring why not. Although today’s ref was better (he had to be), questions still need asking, not least how Szczesny’s foul with the scores at 2-2 warranted any less punishment than Bosingwa’s far more innocuous one of last week. A game changer without doubt but what might be of more interest will be (I predict) the total silence from both FA and media over van Persie’s Nazi style salute to the Arsenal supporters after his second goal. Both the foul and the salute would be major talking points had Chelsea players been responsible for either.

But what of the internal; the manager and the squad at Chelsea?

My intention here is to take a fans eye view of some of what we have and to suggest where change is needed. Of course, not everyone will agree but a good discussion would be healthy.

Starting at the top with Andre Villa Boas, I was amazed to hear some Chelsea supporters on the platform at Football Broadway after the game today suggesting that he should go. My own view was (and is) that he should never have been given the job in the first place, however now he is here we should give him at least two seasons to shape the team in his image – unless things really go tits up!

Why did I think he shouldn’t have got the job? Experience. Not lack of experience based on age, I believe his success speaks for itself. What I questioned was his experience of dealing with adversity; for the manager we employed last summer has never had to manage a team through a ‘sticky patch’ and we therefore have no Way of knowing how or if he will cope when such a patch inevitably comes along. Mistake made, he has the job, let’s stick with him.

The defence has looked shaky all season and I’m sure I’m not alone in getting through more than my share of finger nails watching our defensive frailties thus far this season. Work is needed on tactical positioning not just in the defence but in a midfield which has, at times, left the back four woefully exposed. Remember 2005 and how we defended as a whole team? It seems a long time ago!

Other than that, we don’t look too bad! We play some nice flowing, attacking football. But is it winning football? Draw comparisons with Arsenal’s last Premiership away scalp (Blackpool) and you can soon see that such football should not be mistaken for good football and certainly not for successful football!

On the player front, we have more than a few passengers.

Top of most people’s passenger list seems to be Salomon Kalou and I don’t disagree but I made my feelings on Kalou clear earlier this month (‘Salomon Kalou? You’re Having A Laugh!). Today I want to look at some of the other components either not up to scratch or perhaps getting past their sell by date.

Top of my list is Jose Bosingwa. At times he looks quite stylish, he looks great going forward and has even been known to deliver a mean cross on occasion but Bosingwa is a right back and in that role he is perhaps average at best. Defensively he is often caught out of position, frequently loses his man and is not definitely not the world’s best tackler. It is time he was moved on and a replacement found. The club’s best right back is probably Ivanovic but he was needed in the middle today and the second best right back we have is out injured and, anyway, Michael Essien is of far greater value in midfield. Paulo Ferreira? Great servant but at this stage of his career no more than useful squad player. The right back slot has needed addressing for some time and must be sorted out in January, although I fear that will already be far too late to save this season. Not AVB’s fault, Ancelotti had two years to address it and failed, AVB has merely inherited it.

The next player in my sights might be more surprising; John Obi Mikel. Although he is regularly among the top passers in the Opta stats, he has failed to fill the role of holding midfield player adequately. His pass completion ratio may be north of 85% but of real concern is how many of the 15% are in critical areas of the pitch. The stats look good but the reality is he has a habit of leaving our back four exposed. His tackling is suspect too, on occasion looking great then seconds later clumsy. A genuine holding midfield player needs to be high on AVB’s January shopping list.

The paucity of defensive cover is highlighted by the above two players’ shortcomings and the lack of viable alternatives. Yes, Michael Essien is out and yes we do have four good centre backs (when David Luiz concentrates) but the weakness at right back and in front of the back four will inevitably leave us exposed several times a game.

Holding position aside, our midfield looks stronger than last season when it was the long term injuries to Lampard and Essien which, in my opinion, undid our campaign. Or, more accurately, the lack of genuine, quality cover. This season Ramires has looked improved, Lampard is getting back to his best (but will need more rests as he ages), Meireles is a bargain and, erm, well, Essien aside that’s it. Cover is provided by promising youngsters in the shape of McEachran and Romeu but they will need easing in to gain experience. Mata can play deeper than he has been but, In short, we are still short in the middle of the park and realistically only an injury or two away from real problems.

Up front, Kalou must go. Drogba, much though we have loved him, has had his best days and Anelka is a shadow of his former self. Malouda continues to lack consistency looking world class one minute and non-league the next (okay, a bit harsh but you understand my sentiment). Sturridge is definitely one for the future and is becoming one for now and, today aside, Torres is starting to look a little bit more like, well, Fernando Torres! I like the look of Lukaku but like McEachran and Romeu, he will need time.

Then there is Juan Mata. Sublime. By far the signing of the summer.

So, who should be shown the door?

Kalou, Bosingwa and Mikel; thank you but good bye. You are not Chelsea class.

Drogba and Anelka; thanks for the memories, it’s been a privilege to watch you play but your time has passed.

Desperately needed?

A decent right back and a world class holding midfield player plus another midfield player of quality to bolster squad size and strength.

Add to that a better coached team (not just back four) defensively and we aren’t a million miles away from where we need to be.

Without? I don’t think it’s good. My preseason prediction last season was that we would struggle to qualify for the Champions’ League. That we did qualify was down to Arsenal and Liverpool’s woeful performances rather than any quality of our own. This season we need to improve considerably or start preparing for the Europa League (or worse). The starting point in personnel is at right back and holding midfield and in coaching terms is to again start defending as a team.

KTBFFH