Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinarocket
I'm not worried yet for Chelsea. There are a bunch of things I've noticed that are different to the same time of last season but I'm going to wait a few more games before having a solid opinion really. It's just two fixtures I wouldn't overreact especially when one of those two fixtures is the toughest of the 38 and the other they were down to 10 men.
Nobody really knows if the board/mourinho is constraigned not to spend much (there is a new stadium to finance) but even then they had a good balanced team with chemistry going I don't really see what signing they could realistically make that improves their team significantly.
The LB they just signed is supposedly a quality left back who performed at a high level in germany last year and is still young (23 iirc) with upside and I think that's a great move as the cahill/terry partnership is getting older and their lack of pace is starting to become really worrying they got caught several times vs city and swansea with balls behind their back. If I'm Mourinho I'd strongly consider putting Ivanovic at one of the CB spots, switch Azpi to RB as he's really starting to look more and more like a liability going forward on the left side and play the kid at LB if it turns out he's good enough
Overall I'd echo this, but I think there is still need for a bit of worrying. Ivanovic didn't just fall off the cliff at the start of the season; he was dreadful defensively for almost the whole second half of the year. We were just so much better and ahead of everyone else that it didn't matter. Azpi is still doing great defensively, and even gets into great areas offensively with well timed runs, but his lack of being able to use a left foot is killing us going forward. Him on the right seems great now that we have a young talent. Ivanovic is no longer quick enough to handle the elite wing speeds of any of the top 3-5 squads (Memphis, Sanchez will run him just as ragged), but he would be a solid CB during Terry's transition to the bench. I'd also possibly be willing to reach on Stones to ensure an English talent who could be an anchor for the next decade.
Chelsea will still be fine because Mou coaches defense better than anyone, but he doesn't have the right pieces right now. Rahman is already a good start, but to ensure depth he'll need to rotate in the center and slowly have a solid alpha CB to replace Terry. Cahill is solid enough, but just not that guy.
I regretted so much that we got rid of De Bruyne and Schurrle, and they looked fine and useful to me the few chances they got. We have 0 mids who would make the runs Schurrle did or the attacking talent. That's a huge weakness now. De Bruyne and Schurrle both added elements to our attack that we desperated need. I think Oscar can do much of the De Bruyne job, but he isn't consistent and thats likely because of his slight frame. Getting rid of Mata was very painful after what he gave us, but its clear Mou was right to get rid of him on this squad. Poor guy is an ewok and completely unfrightening from a defensive standpoint.