Defending the “BIG EARS” And Battling It Out With THE MANCHESTERS: IS CHELSEA READY?

Last season Chelsea enjoyed one of the most intriguing Hollywood adventures in football, fully packed with action, drama, tragedy, breathtaking suspense and a spectacular happy ending. I believe if we put together the whole story of our roller coaster journey last season, it could challenge for the Oscar award I bet you. From Fernando Torres’ unforgettable miss at old Trafford; our 1-0 loss to QPR and 2 red cards; the epic 3-5 loss to Arsenal Financial Corporation (AFC) sorry Arsenal Football Club; our 3-0 must win against Valencia which qualified us to the round of 16 in the Champions League and I believe if the hostile media knew that Thursday night football would become so popular in the City of Manchester, they would have been more patient on the Londoners.

Never mind and let us enjoy our captivating journey, the alienation and departure of Anelka and Alex which was the beginning of the end of our rookie manager, Andre Villas-Boas(AVB) and a test of his man-management skills, the 2-1 win against the then invincible Man City, the 3-1 loss to Napoli and the 1-0 loss to West Brom which led to the premature end of our young tactician AVB (aka “The Group One”) and his “three-year project”, the take over as caretaker manager by Roberto Di Matteo RDM, the famous 4-1 comeback win against Napoli which was a strong statement of intent to embark on our “Mission Impossible”conquer ofEurope, the famous Barcelona win at the bridge and the return leg which saw John Terry red carded, the stunning Ramires’ goal, Lionel Messi’s penalty miss and Fernando Torres’ atonement of his Old Trafford miss which qualified us to the champions League Final in Alianz Arena to face the host Bayern Munich for the 2^nd time in our club’s history, in between this famous Barcer win was our 5-1 thrashing of our London rivals Spurs at Wembley, our 7^th F.A cup win against Liverpool and their 4-1 consolation against Ross Turnbull’s 11, and finally down to the greatest night in our club’s history, the unforgettable 19/05 triumph over Bayern and Spurs including all the London clubs who are yet to experience our moments such as AFC. 19/05 shall live in infamy as far as the history of Chelsea is concerned and more so that it coincides strangely with 1905, the year our club was founded.

What an interesting piece of event isn’t it? It is a happy ending story which makes us forget about our 6^th position in the league and the fact that Newcastle and even Spurs finished ahead of us but certainly a triumph which can hardly erase the fact that we finished 25 points below the two Manchester clubs. So going into next season bearing in mind the challenge ahead of us to improve greatly at domestic level and defend our champions league trophy, the multi-million dollar question is, are we ready to defend the ECL trophy and battle the Manchesters for domestic titles?

There is no doubt that our capture of the most sensational young player in Europe, Eden Hazard would be a huge boost to our attacking option and will add creativity to our attacking play. Hazard and Marin’s tricky and swift feet will be a headache to EPL defenders and great source of assists to Fernando Torres. However the EPL has its own peculiarity and they might need to acclimatize with time. Nevertheless, it is a great piece of business by the club. So looking at the favored formation of RDM which is the 4-2-3-1, the likely starting 11 should be Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry and Cole; Mikel, Lampard; Hazard, Mata, Ramires; Fernando Torres. Looking at the starting 11 without injury and suspension which are inevitable, do you feel we can challenge EPL title holder Manchester City?

We have to also realize that we will play the highest number of matches in the EPL and maybe in Europe should we progress. Therefore the need for a strong backup is crucial. It is obvious that we need a cover for Brana at the defence. In midfield, Lampard is still good but he is 34 and will need rest however Raul Mereiles IMHO is a squad player who can hardly offer the needed boost to our play due to his faulty passes, untimely tackles and inaccurate shootings. Michael Essien is fast losing his power and pace due to injuries and I could hardly trust him again. I see young Romeu as a good replacement for Mikel Obi who has been growing in confidence since RDM took over. Mikel is a majestic player who is capable of winning and holding the ball to bring calmness in the middle whiles offering as a shield to our defence. I think Mikel is a good player as part of the double pivot role.  Our 3 attacking midfielders are world class and Marin could be a good backup with any of our youngsters (Debruyne/Piazon) but itis imperative we get another powerful winger who can find his way through a strong and tough defence. If the transfer rumours are through, it means our club is exploring for such a player. Finally, Fernando Torres leading the attack to be backed by Sturridge and Lukaku, I think IMHOare not better than the forward of City but when Torres is in form, he is a top class although he has not been consistent for a long time but I hope the exit of Drogba (according to Anceloti, he “devours” his competitors) and the European golden boot can kick start his confidence.

So if you compare our entire midfield to that of Manchester City’s, thus Yaya Toure, Silva, Nasri, Milner, Barry, Dejong and their strikers Aguero, Dzeko, Balotelli and Tevez; Do you think that Chelsea is ready to battle the EPL champions and also defend our Champions League trophy?

Keep your views coming and KTBFFH!!!

Seth Adusei @sethaadusei

  

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