Mourinho repeatedly expressed, throughout last season, that he wanted to be judged in the coming year, but people have been raising question marks over why the Chelsea side who added stars like Willian, Matic, Schurrle and Eto'o during the course of the season were unable to finish ahead of Liverpool last season. Mourinho will be quick to point out the fact that he had one of the youngest attacks in the league in response to these claims. Chelsea's inability to land Mourinho's ideal target, Wayne Rooney, would've been of huge frustration to the Portuguese manager who returned to Stamford Bridge that summer. The attack is, without question, where Chelsea fell down last season. Their inability to break down teams like West Ham, West Brom, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are inevitably what led to Chelsea being unable to match Manchester City. With the best defence in the league and the best record against fellow members of the top 7, it would seem a certainty that they would've ended up winners of the league, but that was not the case. Eden Hazard came in for criticism from "The Special One" during the first leg of their defeat to Atletico Madrid, in the Champions League semi final, due to an unwillingness to track back that led to a goal and the Belgian's season which looked reasonably impressive statistically underwhelmed me, as a man who expected a huge improvement from Hazard. Willian, who arrived from Shakhtar last summer for a hefty transfer fee seemed to settle into England very well and added a lot to Chelsea's attack, even though it wasn't enough. Oscar's huge downturn in form following the departure of Juan Mata and as he prepared for the World Cup was something of a concern to Chelsea fans, but there is a solid foundation to build on for the coming season.
Manager: Jose Mourinho
Since he was last in England, "The Special One" managed to win another Champions League, however, his reputation amongst the general footballing world had taken a slight dip during his time at Real Madrid. Having been involved in controversies with Barcelona like gauging the eye of Tito Vilanova- assistant manager of rivals Barcelona at the time and abusing Tito Vilanova following his arrival as manager at Barcelona, it was clear that the pressure cooker of the Bernabeu was too much for the man who had proven himself all around Europe. Jose returned last season and the slick look of the man who took on and conquered Sir Alex Ferguson (for a couple of seasons anyways) had disappeared as he often arrived at matches unshaven in the facial hair department and with his shaved head. "Now, why do you make such a big deal of Mourinho's appearance?" I can hear you ask. Well, it seems to me that that the ragged look he has taken makes him seem far more comparable to a man entering war than the man who was prepared for clean and comprehensive victories during his last stay in England. Last season Mourinho insisted that the media wait until this season for success and with the re-investment of all the Luiz, Lukaku and Ba money into new players, Abramovich will be expecting a Premier League trophy to be added to the cabinet, at the very least.
Jose Mourinho is 33/1 to be the next Premier League Manager to leave his post. He is also 3/1 to be LMA Manager of the year.
Transfers:
In: Diego Costa (Atlético Madrid, £32m), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona, £27m), Filipe Luis (Atlético Madrid, £15.8m), Mario Pasalic (Hajduk Split, £2.4m), Didier Drogba (Galatasaray).
Out: David Luiz (Paris Saint-Germain, £50m), Romelu Lukaku (Everton, £28m), Demba Ba (Besiktas, £4.7m), Patrick van Aanholt (Sunderland, Undisclosed), Ashley Cole (Roma), Sam Hutchinson (Sheffield Wednesday), Frank Lampard (New York City), George Cole, Daniel Pappoe (Both Brighton & Hove Albion), Billy Clifford (Walsall), Tomas Kalas (Cologne, Loan), Wallace (Vitesse Arnhem, Loan), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Loan), Bertrand Traore (Vitesse, Loan), Cristián Cuevas (Club Universidad de Chile, Loan), Mario Pasalic (Elche, Loan), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton, Loan), Gael Kakuta (Rayo Vallecano, Loan), John Swift (Rotherham United, Loan), Oriol Romeu (Chelsea, Loan), Kenneth Omeruo (Middlesbrough, Loan), Samuel Eto'o, Henrique Hilario, Milan Lalkovic, Adam Nditi, Jhon Pírez, Mark Schwarzer (Released).
"Never go back!"- Obviously Didier Drogba has never heard of this famous expression always told to those contemplating a return to pastures already trod upon. Sadly, I think this is something the Ivorian should've been told before he decided to make his return to Stamford Bridge. Having left The Blues with his last kick as the winning penalty in Chelsea's first ever Champions League victory, the legacy that he left behind is well and truly on the line following his return to London this summer. He probably will have limited opportunities and as he gets on in years, what he has to offer Mourinho will be far less than that of their previous spell together. Mourinho's plan to disassemble the Atletico Madrid team that beat Chelsea in the Champions League semi final has hit the ground as he purchased Diego Costa and Filipe Luis and also recalled Courtois at the end of his loan spell. If you can't beat them, buy them I suppose. However, after Diego Costa's arrival at Chelsea I was quick to point out my concerns. His disappointing World Cup and injury hampered second half to the season last year, led to a dip in the former Brazilian and now Spanish international's form. Will Luis start in the big games? I presume so, but he'll do well to beat Azpilicueta to the left back slot after the Spaniard's terrific year last season. Luis, although getting on in years for his value, will provide an attacking threat from the full back position though, which is an extra dimension as Chelsea look to break down the strong defensive units of Crystal Palace, West Ham and any team who attempts to achieve similar results against Chelsea as the two already mentioned. Cesc Fabregas has arrived at Chelsea a year on from David Moyes' effort to lure the Spaniard back to England. Where Moyes failed, Mourinho has succeeded and the former Arsenal man who pledged his allegiance to Arsenal and despise of Chelsea a few years ago, joins with huge expectations in front of him. The Spaniard who never really made it to first choice at the Nou Camp will be expected to provide "the magic" for Chelsea. Seemingly, he will be brought in to replace Frank Lampard who left the club after many years of service. It'll be key to the Chelsea team that he manages to strike at least 10 goals to lift the weight off Costa's shoulder.
In the last 12 months before this summer, Chelsea had managed to loan out an eventual La Liga winner in Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku- who impressed Everton enough during his spell at the club to cause them to fork out £28 million for the Belgian star this summer, Victor Moses who went to Liverpool and played a squad role during their rise above Chelsea in the league and 24 other players out around Europe. With 11 players gone on loan already this summer, it seems that Chelsea are continuing with the policy that has been hit and miss for them so far. Marko Marin is on the verge of being loaned out to Fiorentina also making him, remarkably, the 12th player to depart the Bridge for a short-term deal elsewhere. Chelsea also seem to have undertaken a clean out job as they've rid of ageing players like Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard from their squad. The exit of David Luiz was of very little surprise to the majority of Chelsea fans as his indiscipline was always unlikely to go well with the very structured Jose Mourinho. However, the fee of £50 million, making Luiz the most expensive defender in world football, has taken many by surprise. The deal was agreed before Brazil's 7-1 trashing at the hands of Germany. Luiz, unfortunately for him, was captain for this match and took a lot of criticism in the aftermath. PSG's owner seems unfazed by the World Cup still claiming PSG have got themselves one of the best defenders in the world. Lukaku's departure was a surprise as the Belgian was the ideal replacement for what Didier Drogba will contribute this season and he surely offers a lot more. But, once again, Chelsea somehow managed to receive a whopping £28 million. Crazy money for a club like Everton to invest in one player. Demba Ba is another striker who'll leave Chelsea feeling he never got a truly fair chance. With huge goals against PSG and Liverpool last season, I am in very little doubt that the Senegalese man will return to the Premier League soon. A chance missed for teams like Newcastle, West Brom, Stoke and even Spurs when he was available? I think so.
The Blindsman's Flag Transfers Rating: 8/10- Although I've expressed my concerns about Diego Costa's arrival about the Bridge, I think Chelsea have completed terrific business in general this summer. Having made £83 million from the sale of 3 players who wouldn't have started this year, Mourinho was provided with the opportunity to re-invest it all. With the re-arrivals of Kurt Zouma and Courtois also, Chelsea's squad looks well equipped to mount a serious charge at City this season.
Predicting The Lineup:
Leaving out great and very reliable players like Cech, Ivanovic, Ramires, Van Ginkel, Mikel, Schurrle and Salah from this team is what, in my opinion, is Mourinho's biggest challenge for the coming season. What a headache he will have should he choose Courtois over Cech and the Belgian is unable to match his performances from La Liga when in England. He'll be under severe scrutiny from the media for that decision. Equally as tough is the decision on which full back to leave out for the bigger games. Ivanovic provides an unmatched threat on set pieces and has scored many goals in recent seasons. His defensive ability is, without question for me, the best out of the 3 full backs Chelsea have to offer. But, with Abramovich looking to make Chelsea sexier, the technical ability of both Azpilicueta and Luis may be opted for. But, no matter who he chooses, the options at his disposal are absolutely fantastic. Fabregas and Oscar, how does Mourinho manage this situation? Oscar- the young man who'll dribble around, play nice yet sometimes simple passes, score a few goals but struggle to break down a layered defence and Fabregas- the more experienced star who'll make late surges into the box, score plenty of goals and has a fantastic set piece delivery, will both struggle to fit into the Mourinho was for big games. No question, the energy, tackling and bite that Ramires provides to the central midfield at Chelsea will be missed if the midfield I've suggested above is opted for. Nemanja Matic will undoubtedly start next season as his arrival improved Chelsea's midfield significantly last season. But, will Oscar's huge dip in form at the end of last season cost him his place in the lineup? Andre Schurrle was one the standout players at this World Cup for me. His assist that he provided in the semi final was one of only many things that he provided to the German team on their route through, but the left winger will struggle to burst his way past either Hazard or Willian once again this season. Now, that being said, I'll be very surprised if Schurrle doesn't break the 30 appearances (in all competitions) mark this season. Hazard's image in the eyes of Mourinho did take a hit near the end of last season, so this is a huge year for the extremely highly rated Belgian, who has failed to reach the dizzying heights of a Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo, as I eventually believe he will. Not a criticism, just a knowledge that there is more left in his tank. Expect Torres' (who's just had another nightmare pre-season) and Drogba's chances to be limited as Mourinho will look to drag the Atletico Madrid form out of Diego Costa and let him fire his side to the Premier League title.
Unsung Hero: Nemanja Matic
Having burst their piggy bank to buy Nemanja Matic back from Benfica last January, the big and imposing star had a key role in many of their games towards the end of the season. When he arrived back in England, I had been completely misinformed to the belief that Matic's technique (or lack of) would cause huge problems to Chelsea. How wrong that would prove to be? Extremely. From an outside glance, one may say "But Chelsea still made a Champions League semi final without Matic (who was unable to play in Europe for The Blues)?"And from staring blankly at this, there is very little arguments I could make, but as you take a deeper look into Chelsea's downfall in Europe, Matic would've made a huge impact to that team when they lost 3-1 to the Spanish champions. Now, it's easy for me to make that claim and not back it up, but when Hazard took slack for an inability to track back, Mourinho forgot to remember that Matic (who is best covering on the left side) would usually be there to mop up Hazard's mistakes. The key to having flair players is a spine of a team that can make up for any errors they commit, but when David Luiz, Mikel or Ramires would have to take the place of Matic, they were also too keen to get involved in the attack. This is why, Matic staying fit is absolutely key for Chelsea this season.
Prediction: 1st
All throughout the pre-season, I've been reasonably reserved about whether Chelsea will win the league. Last summer I was far more confident as I predicted Manchester City to win the Premier League, but this year I don't have 100% faith in Chelsea to produce the goods. I expect a reduced number of points in big games, as teams like Arsenal, Manchester United and Spurs wise up to the antics of Mourinho, but I do think that the ruthless edge to the Chelsea side will return again. The Blindsman's Flag got the World Cup wrong and it has got many predictions wrong in the past, so I advise against re-mortgaging your house for this bet and with the very poor odds one would get on Chelsea winning the league, I really don't think your money should leave your pocket, but if Fabregas and Hazard hit top form, the Chelsea midfield may be unstoppable. 2 seasons without a trophy, will a 3rd make Mourinho the ultimate "Specialist in failure"? Takes one to know one, eh?
Chelsea, who are favourites at 15/8 this season... What a bold prediction.
Will we see this again? Possibly, very possibly.
Retweets, Comments... Anything for feedback! Your reading is appreciated.
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