Chelsea Analysis

In my previous blog I said that my second favourite club to watch last season was Tottenham Hotspurs because of their direct and attacking football while my favourite was, and still is, Chelsea. Tottenham's football is based around doing the basics right every time with a no nonsense and attacking attitude while Chelsea's approach is a little more sophisticated.

Ancelotti was brought in by Abramovic to give Chelsea an 'identity', and I think he has done a rather good job. When I think of Chelsea the characteristics that stand out are a high work rate and a compact formation where attacks start from the fullbacks and defence begins with the strikers. This may not be condusive to counter attacking football, but with a solid core and creativity coming off the flanks and more recently through central midfield, plenty of goals have been scored.

While creativity and flair is encouraged and even expected during attacking phases, tactical rigidity during defensive phases is strongly enforced. Many teams such as Barcelona and Arsenal build their identity around an attitude which says 'we'll outscore you' but with Chelsea it is seldom a game ends 4-3 or even 6-2. Rather than focusing on goal scoring, the objective is excellence in every aspect of the game with a 'predisposition' towards attacking football. As a result, it is far more probable that a game would end 4-0 than 5-1.

Ancelotti structures the team so that in attack they have a dynamic midfield, with freedom up front for the three strikers while the fullbacks are required to get forward in order to provide width or at least an outlet for the players in the final third. During a defensive phase, the shape and structure is strictly adhered to with a great deal of emphasis placed on tactical positioning from the forward line and defenders, with the midfield closing the ball down, rather than a situation where the front three are allowed to roam and defence is expected to close the ball down with midfield providing cover.

During the season the formation was changed from the original diamond to the current 4-3-3, but clearly the overall system has worked very well with the club winning the domestic league and cup, though success in Europe has not yet been attained. In fact, the criticism aimed at the squad as a result of the fall out after encountering Inter Milan was that there was a lack of creativity or at the very least the lack of someone to deliver a final ball. This is something Ancelotti identified before he even arrived at the club and something that I believe he has rectified this season by bringing Benayoun in (and playing him in central midfield) as well as identifying Gael Kakuta and Josh McEachran youth academy products to develop as soon as possible.

The other criticism which has been harped on about over the last few years is the age of many of the players: Drogba and Lampard are both 32, Anelka is 31, John Terry and Malouda are 30, Ashley Cole is 29 etc. While many of these players are getting on, this is a problem which is being rectified by the coach.

Ballack (33), Belletti (34), Deco (33) and Carvalho (32) have all been released or sold while Ramires (23) and Benayoun have been brought in. Benayoun is already 30, but the truth is that he is really being used as a 'stop gap' between the current setup and the youth being promoted from the academy, which brings me to my next point.

Many have said that with only two prominent arrivals (thus far) Chelsea don't have the squad to compete for the Premier League and the Champion's League. While this is partially true, these people are clearly overlooking the fact that the Anchovy has promised to bring through five youth players from the academy, namely Jeffrey Bruma, Patrick van Aanholt, Nemanja Matic, Gael Kakuta and Fabio Borini. There is an extremely strong possibility that a young striker Romelu Lukaku will be added within the next year, which will help to lower the average age even more.

So how big will the squad actually be? Well, let's have a look:

Petr Cech (GK)

Branislav Ivanovic (DF)

Ashley Cole (DF)

Michael Essien (MF)

Frank Lampard (MF)

Yossi Benayoun (MF)

Didier Drogba (FW)

John Obi (Wan) Mikel (MF)

Flourent Malouda (FW)

Jose Bosingwa (DF)

Yuri Zhirkov (DF / MF)

Paulo Ferreira (DF)

Salomon Kalou (FW)

Daniel Sturridge (FW)

Nemanja Matic (MF)

Ross Turnbull (GK)

John Terry (DF)

Alex (DF)

Nicolas Anelka (FW)

Henrique Hilaro (GK)

Michael Mancienne (DF)

Sam Hutchinson (DF)

Gael Kakuta (MF)

Fabio Borini (FW)

Patrick van Aanholt (DF)

Jeffrey Bruma (DF)

Ramires (MF)

Once again, I have put the position the players play in brackets, while I do not think that Michael Mancienne will feature much this season.

Given the fact that Chelsea are competing on four fronts, and are realistically challenging on two of them I think that there will be plenty of game time for the youth coming through and the 'squad players' who will be rotated to provide consistency across the board.

This then begs two questions. First, does the squad need anything else or anyone else and second, what should be the realistic expectations and goals.

For the first question, I think everyone has a different view. Some say there is a desperate need for a center half after Carvalho's departure, others say the club NEED a striker. Personally, I think the squad need a goalkeeper more than anything else. Let me explain my reasoning: In the past Chelsea had Cech, Cudicini and Hilaro. Cech was the best in the world for some time (and still is up there in my opinion), while Cudicini could easily start for most clubs. Hilaro was good as a third choice keeper though you wouldn't feel comfortable with him there.

At the moment, Cech is still great, though he has had injury concerns but neither Turnbull nor Hilaro get anywhere near him in terms of quality. Sure, Turnbull makes a good third choice keeper but so does Hilaro. Problem is neither are potential first choice keepers and subsequently shouldn't be second choice keepers.

I know the club have signed a 16 year old Croatian goalkeeper named Marec Delac who is already playing as the first choice keeper for his club but he is on loan this season. I think the plan is to bring him in and make him second choice, behind Cech. Hilaro's contract will expire soon and that will leave Turnbull as the third choice. That is a setup I could be happy with, though that doesn't help this season. That's why I'm praying Cech stays fit.

As for the defenders and strikers, the club are showing their clear commitment to the youth by not buying replacements for older players who leave, and thereby providing a space to slot into. With Bruma able to slot in as a center half and Hutchinson possibly taking over from Ferreira at right back, and Sturridge and Borini coming into the forward lineup things look good for the youth in terms of playing time.

As for the expectations, I think that the club can clearly field a starting eleven as good as any, and as a result I believe they can and should win the Champion's League. The truth is that if players like Drogba and Lampard don't win it this season they won't ever, so the motivation is there and so is the ability.

I don't think they will win the league because if the Anchovy is bringing through some young talent, it's likely that points will be dropped because of rookie mistakes. If five of the youth cost the team two points each throughout the season, that is the difference between first and second, possibly even third place.

There is every chance that the club could win the FA Cup, and are perhaps even likely to win the Carling Cup with their current crop of youth.

I'm not going to say too much about Chelsea right now because I am actually a Chelsea fan and I will have enough to say about them during the season, but what I will say now is that I expect them to win the Champion's League this season, and I would be disappointed if they don't win the Carling Cup or the FA Cup.