Teams Are Now "Doing A Chelsea"... Against Chelsea

When Chelsea played Barcelona in the semi-finals of last season's Champions League, the tactics used by then-interim boss Roberto Di Matteo caused a bit of a stir. Chelsea's tactics: sit back and defend as if your life depends on it and hit the Catalans on the break. The reactions to these tactics were mostly negative, with many people branding Chelsea's tactics "negative" and "anti-football". Few grudgingly acknowledged that the tactics employed by Chelsea were necessary and was actually the only way the Londoners could hope to get a result against Barcelona. Whatever the media reaction was (since when have we bothered ourselves with what the media says about Chelsea anyway?), the tactic of "parking the bus" and playing on the counter-attack was termed "doing a Chelsea".

Chelsea Aren't The "New Barcelona"...

Chelsea Aren't The "New Barcelona"...

Chelsea's recent results (barring the loss to Shakhtar in the Champions League) have been impressive. But most pundits and tabloids can't seem to get enough of Chelsea's new attacking, dynamic style of play. They have been praising (yes, you read that right) Roberto Di Matteo and his mini-revolution at Stamford Bridge. Some have gone and dubbed Chelsea the "new Barcelona". The Daily Mail ran a whole story on the issue!

The Challenges That Lie Ahead...

The Challenges That Lie Ahead...

When you look at the results that Chelsea have managed to compile so far this season, one cannot doubt the fact that we are now the team to beat. An attractive style of play combined with the "never-say-die" Chelsea spirit has seen us remain unbeaten in every major competition that we have been a part of so far. However, it is still early days in what is sure to be a long season. And while we have shown plenty of promise in the beginning of the season, we need to build on our solid start if we are to end the season with silverware.

An Open Letter To Chelsea Fans

My dear Chelsea fans,

The reason I'm choosing to address you through a letter is because what I'm about to say can't really be called an article. I'm not concerned with tactics & dissecting what went wrong in a match or how we can improve before our next game. I'm not concerned with stats or score predictions. At the moment, I'm not even speaking to you as a member of Chelsea FC 360. I'm speaking to you as just another fan.

The Passing Game: Where We Went Horribly Wrong Against Atletico

To be honest, we didn't get anything right against Atletico. We lacked any sharpness in front of goal, & the defence was in shambles to say the least. And while both these aspects have me worried, what really concerns me was our passing game.

You could wonder why I'm worried about our passing, when it was our defending that lost us the game. The defending is something I believe Roberto Di Matteo will sort our immediately. But the way we attacked against Atletico Madrid was worrisome to say the least.

Post-match analysis showed that Chelsea had 46% possession & Atletico 54%. But that was mostly due to Atletico keeping the ball for long periods in the second half. During the first half, Chelsea dominated possession. But the team lacked any penetration. That wasn't because we had fielded a weak team, but simply because we weren't moving the ball fast enough. The passes being played were either sideways or backwards, which is not a great thing to see.

Will Ramires & Sturridge Be Right-Wing Options Next Season?

It's fair to say that wing-play was a problem area for Chelsea last season. We struggled to find the right combination on the wing and would often suffer as a result of it. The wingers did manage to put up some decent performances, but consistency levels were a bit worrying.

Last season, there were 2 players in particular who were used on the right wing, with varying levels of success. Daniel Sturridge was played wide-right for most of the season, while Ramires was preferred as a winger under Roberto Di Matteo. Let's take a quick look at how both of them fared on the wings last season.

Tactical View: A Look At Our Top 4

Now when I say our top 4, I don't mean our 4 best players. I mean the players who will play in the positions of the right & left wingers, the attacking midfielder & the striker.

Last season, when Roberto Di Matteo was appointed interim manager, the first thing he did was change our formation from AVB's preferred 4-3-3 to the 4-2-3-1. The change worked well, but one could tell that we didn't quite fully utilize the formation to it's full potential. That wasn't because the players were doing anything wrong, but simply because we didn't have the players who could fully flourish in those positions. However, that is not the case this year. With Marko Marin & Eden Hazard arriving at the club, we can now become a fluid attacking unit because the "Top 4" positions will be occupied by players who will be comfortable playing there.

The New Era At SW6 and Who All Will Be A Part Of It?

 

We went down at times, we were written off mostly, we were told this is the worst time at the Bridge and some labelled the Club and its players as fallen heroes and warriors. And against all odds we conquered Europe with our motivation and never say die attitude. The beauty was in grinding out results out of nowhere. Yes people and the media did critisice but despite this intense scrutiny we got a DOUBLE from a team which was called old and had nothing much left in it. This was because of some huge characters and one man to whom the credit has to be given that is RDM.

Not Everyone Can Do A Chelsea!

"England attempted to do a Chelsea"

If you have been surfing through the web, exploring football news (especially about Euro 2012) you would have probably come across phrases like “doing a Chelsea”, “pulling a Chelsea” or even “trying a Chelsea”. If a team tried their best not to concede goals, then they are being accused of “doing a Chelsea”. Well, if doing a Chelsea means fighting till the end, against all the odds, commitment, courage then its fine by me. But let me remind you one thing. Not everyone can do a Chelsea.

Blue wave coming towards football!

Now that we have won the Champions League, it feels like a heavy load is off our back. No more “You guys have never won a Champions League” claims from the anti-Chelsea fans. We’ve got it now. The Holy Grail is in our cabinet. Last season was a huge success for Chelsea. The season which media predicted would be our worst season went on to become our best season. However, they were right in one thing. We failed in the premier league by losing a battle for a Champions League spot. Maybe this time that would be overshadowed by our famous Champions League win. But fighting for the Champions League spot is below our grade. That’s probably Arsenal and Tottenham’s level. We should be up there at the top. We should be challenging for the title.

Winning the Champions League and FA Cup, however reassures our spot in the list of world’s best football powerhouses. Next season would be the best opportunity for us to prove that we can be consistent at top level. We would be playing in the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup next season. Including those we will take part in 7 tournaments (including the community shield). From them, Premier League should be our main priority. We need a big squad for that. We need rotation in it. Youth needs to step up. Legends should keep leading them with examples. I think we are really good at that part. And with Roman’s huge wallet, I think next season would be more than just gold for us. Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts, because there is a huge blue wave coming towards football. I meant a royal blue wave. A dark blue wave. Definitely not a light one.

The Chelsea Way: The only way Chelsea can play?

This is a trend that’s been around ever since after the first leg match Chelsea won against Barcelona in the Champions league semi-finals and much was emphasized since our Champions League glory. It’s a trend where people everywhere say, that Chelsea can only play the boring and defensive football style. If what they’re saying were just to highlight that we can play well defensively, I’d have no problems with that. But in this case, the majority of people are saying this to degrade the qualities we possess as a football club.

This has spread everywhere, every social media and every news media. I have read so many times in social medias where people say, well basically, Chelsea is a team that can only play defensively. Here’s a conclusion I made on all the tweets and comments that are having a say on this:

Both Marin and Hazard were signed to bolster our attacking qualities

Tiki-Taka vs The Chelsea Way ?

The Euros are underway and all the fans would appreciate that finally there is some football to watch. Exciting times lie ahead as a lot of Europe's premier talents are on display. The transfer season is also open. You combine the two and gossip columns get overloaded. Clubs and fans alike will be keen to unearth a magical player for their club to sign.

We have had some interesting results so far with a few upsets. Well organized Danes got the better of the Dutch. Russia performed a Czech mate. Poland was held to a draw, after an inspiring start, by Greece. Among all this news, the catch phrase for this edition of the Euros seems to be 'The Chelsea Way'.

Wondering what it means? Commentators and pundits are using 'The Chelsea Way' to describe a defensive football strategy being employed by teams that are weaker on paper. Guess after centuries of football existence, only recently has anyone thought about playing a defensive game. Credits belonging to Chelsea.

Chelsea's Cinderella run leading up to the finals of the Champions League and eventually Frank Lampard, who goes down in history as the first ever Chelsea captain, lifting the coveted trophy has made the defensive football strategy most sought after these days. Now every team wants to play in 'The Chelsea Way'. Why? Because it gives the lesser fancied teams a shot at winning.