16 juni 2010

Chelsea - What Do We Need, Really?

Även publicerad på Chelsea Vital.

The `Silly Season` is basically on hold due to that noisy thing (I do hate plastic trumpets) happening in South Africa.

The first round is all but played and very little has been divulged by the teams, apart from, it will be a World Cup of bloopers and mistakes which will decide the games. But very few new names to add to any wishlists. (would say Coentrao of Portugal was a positive surprise, but if there is something Chelsea does not need it is another left back).

So whether you are a Xbox-type supporter, or a Football Manager-type that believes success is only accomplished by buying players, let us steer this discussion into what does Chelsea really need? Not names, but qualities, abilties, characters.

We are already without a somewhat creative midfielder that can do the unexpected, a powerhouse midfielder that can play many positions with a good shot and headgame and an utility player that can fill almost any defensive position. We might lose a playmaker style player and a right back that also can double to the left. We also let go of a young, technically gifted but very small player that did not get to make an impact in the upset game of the tournament so far.

I would say that Chelsa do need to look to the right. We are very well off to the left. We have good left midfielders (Malouda, Lampard, Matic, Zhirkov) and left backs (Cole, Zhirkov, van Aanholt, Cork, Bertrand) coming on. Kalou can play to the left and Anelka even if they are used more to the right due to our affluence on the left side.

To the right we should be oaky on the back positions when Bosingwa, honestly the best there, is healthy again. Ivanovic has done a stellar job at that position and can also be played as centre-back. Ferreira if he stays (long contract) is able back-up. Mid-defence we are very well off with JT, Alex, Carvalho, Ivanovic, Bruma, Hutchinson, Mancienne.

Holding midfielder, we are not great there but way ahead of most of the chasers with Mikel the now natural choice. I think Mancienne showed at Wolves that he could challenge for that position with a slightly quicker game. Essien can always play there though he is better used in a more offensive position.

Is speed what we need? The knee-jerk reaction is always to say a creative player. Like there are players that are not creative! I find JT to be a very creative player. I guess what that means is a player that does many step-overs….

Box-to-box. There is no one better than Lampard on this planet and I stand by that however much noise the supporters of a Merseyside boy raise their voices, or how held back Lamps is in the national team to stand behind said boy. Essien is another that easily can play that game, after all is there a position (goalkeeper?) Essien could not play adequately or better? But as Lampard is never out, injured or sick basically we do not really need back-up there.

Right winger or right side attacker. We have ample firepower really. Anelka (golden boot 2009) is the most started in that position. Kalou plays it most. We no longer have Joe Cole, but I guess that Gael Kakuta is expected to step up big time here. He might be played a lot at the beginning of the season to find his way here. Fabio Borini could also play this side.

Centre we have the awesome, in my eyes definitely the second best footballer in the world or better this year, Didier Drogba. We also have Anelka that subbed there wonderfully when Drogba was off to that turkey tournament that takes place every two years in January. Borini is a more lightweight alternative as is Kalou who still sees himself mainly as a central player.

Left winger is today Florent Malouda, with Anelka drifting into that position when needed as can Kalou. Zhirkov could easily play there to and he offers a slightly different alternative with his excursions into the box from left wing.

Where are our problem areas? A positive person will say that we do not have any.

I still think a really awesome right winger that can go wide and do unexpected things like Joe Cole or better when he was good (not the last two seasons). Maybe a more natural right side midfielder would also be needed. But looking back on what I tried to figure out right now I find that our only problem area is in goal. Hilario is not bad, but not good enough to back up Cech as Hilario is growing older. Turnbull some say, I am sorry but I can not see him becoming the man we need if Cech comes out for a longer period. (So please Petr, no motorcycles or stupid adrenalin chasing curricular activities). We have some really good young keepers coming along, but they are too young yet. I am not thinking about Rhys Taylor but Jan Sebek and Matej Delac.

I wrote this to explore what we need and found that we need very little. If the youngsters take that oh so tough and hard step from promising to be able to fill in for 10-15 games this year we hardly need more blood. Still I think there are players out there that easily could come and improve Chelsea. It is just that everyone know who they are and their worth. And their cost is rarely the same as their worth. After all, Chelsea is one of the top 5-6 clubs in football today all categories and probably much better than that, so how many players would improve us? Less than a handful in the world. We surely had the best squad of all in the Premier League this season.

I`d say Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo (whatever I think of him), Maicon, Xavi, Rooney. And then a couple of maybes like Torres (his injury record worries me, a player must be able to play more than 1/3 of a season!), Kaka, Iniesta, Milito, Casillas, Tevez, Ribery. There are many great promises in football, but you never know about promises, though I have now, here at Chelsea Vital, for almost two years pushed for Mesut Özil and I think after Germany`s first game many start to understand why I so wished to see that player at Chelsea. But Chelsea probably have missed that train as he after this WC will belong to the group, very expensive to buy.

Maybe we also will need a Wise-character. A player that really gets the others going by the sheer will of his personality. We of course already have JT, but maybe a rougher holding midfielder is a key. A player with a bit of a mean streak (on the pitch). In hockey in the NHL every team has an intimidator that ensures that the other team stay away from our most important players….

So really, what is it we need? More back-ups? More starting players? Or should we simply do it the Spanish way, buy every good player so the other teams can not use them whatever need we have for them?

Should we buy players just to beat the new UEFA financial and team rules that will start to be implemented 2012? (How many great players want to be bought for the bench?) Should we buy players more suited for only the Champions League? (Despite that Inter proved that the team is more important). Or should we buy to cement our position in English football? (So far no one of our closest competitors have bought much improvement!).

I do feel more confused by trying to find the solution than I was before. I do hope Carlo and the club know more than I do or have a clearer picture. My guess is one on the verge of a starting player and a couple that have to start filling the shoes of our older players that need to rest more games per season. Though that kind of quality players rarely want to play back-up as already stated. Real Madrid have not been very successfull in adding players of great quality as they have found out, it is still a game played by teams, not stars.