Association Football

Ye Old Chelsea

Although this pains me to say, I have to admire what Sir Alex is doing in Manchester this year. The youth movement, for better or worse, is a shift that must be made by a big club every 5-7 years.  Or, if you are Arsenal, every 2 years. Over the last few seasons Chelsea has tried to fight this philosophy with a Botox strategy – buying a few younger players to make the club look young on the surface but deep down the wrinkles are there, trust me.  Not only has Sir Alex committed to moving towards a younger squad, he is actually playing them, and I am not just talking about the Carling Cup fixtures.  Sure his hand was forced a few times due to injuries, but more often then not we have seen a young upstart in the starting 11 for United in a key fixture with a healthy Giggs or a Nani on the bench.  Such strategy is the proper way to groom your younger talent.  Conversely, I cannot remember a big game in the last three years where Chelsea gave a start to a younger player.  Don’t get me wrong, in their older age, the likes of Drogba, Anelka, and Terry are still pacey and powerful, but father time will win, and when he does I am not convinced that Chelsea will be ready for it.

Injury Bug

The number one contributing factor in a team’s success in the premier league is the health of their stars.  In this department Chelsea has been more than lucky.  Sure Essien has had his issues – so has Peter Cech, Ricky C (of Madrid fame) among others, but in last year’s campaign Chelsea remained relatively healthy in key positions.  Lampard’s Ripken-like run has been remarkable. John Terry and Didier Drogba’s have also maintained their healthy form throughout the grueling league and cup campaigns, whereas their northern competitors have had no such luck.  Last year United was forced put an ailing team on Rooney’s saddle, that is anyone that was left to play. Liverpool also played long stretches without Number 9 and several key defensive players, Skirtel and Agger among them. This left Jaime Carragher to unsuccessfully defend the kop, poor Pepe. Then there is the Arsenal, who consistently prove that they are just too fragile for this league, nothing more to it than that.  Call me a pessimist, but I am afraid to say that Chelsea’s luck in the injury department is surely to run out this year.  As a result, this will force Chelsea to play unproven quantities, which brings me to my next point.
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Very excited to be asked by the lads to submit a guest post, let’s hope they will let me hang around a bit. As you can guess, I am true blue all the way through, however, this year’s campaign will be a tricky one for the west London boys. The following is a preview of the Blues upcoming season. I will start with the good.

The Reasons Why We Will See JT and Tubbylotti on the Winner’s Stand Come May:

The Essien factor

The Bison is back! There is no doubt that Michael Essien is a world class player, but the Ghanaian has only played in roughly 50 games for the Blues since 2007 due to ailing knees. When on the pitch he has produced several magical efforts including key FA Cup and Champions League performances, but can Chelsea really count on Essien for an entire season? The smart money says, no. Two major knee surgeries will do that to you. But when fit, Essien is just damn intimidating, see any Essien performance against Cesc Fabregas in the last 4 years. If Essien puts in a full season at Stamford Bridge Chelsea fans have every reason to think that his pace and incredible tackling will dominate any midfield-set that Chelsea will face.
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