Chelsea's Tactical Conundrum

Debate has gone on for far too long and will definitely be going out throughout the season, especially here at ChelseaFC360.com.

Here's how our attack has largely looked like -

Yes, I've finally got my own template !

Center MF - Oscar aka Brazillian Prodigy and Pirlo Humiliater

Right MF - Mata aka Spanish Magician

Left MF - Hazard aka Belgian Sensation and Trolling Manchester since 1905

These are our midfielders on paper ! Very versatile, can easily take each other's position and arguably three of the most creative footballers on planet Earth. Oscar can defend though he lacks a bit of discipline, which I believe can come with proper experience, whereas Mata and Hazard are quite poor in defending, a topic which I will touch later on.

ST - Torres aka Barcelona slayer and Troll Football god

Not much to argue about. Chelsea's top scorer, trying to reach his scoring boots and should be able to find it this season with 5 goals in 9 games.

LB - Ashley Cole aka Bullet and Arsenal silencer

RB - Branislav Ivanovic aka "He scores when he wants" guy and Serbian god

Again not much doubt. Both players have been top notch at the back and in attack. They have both scored for Chelsea and often find themselves largely out of position but thanks to our defensive midfielders  this has not been a major problem.

CDM (in picture ) - Ramires aka Power House and Black Messi

Our defensive midfielder , who has replaced Frank Lampard after we can come to the conclusion that Ramires is the best at this position as Super Frank is finding it difficult to adapt into a deeper role. He is brilliant in breaking up attacks along with Mikel and adds a lot of pace in our attack through the center and down the right flank.

This is how our defense has been lining up -

Left CDM - Mikel aka Mr. Rising above the hate 

Right CDM - Ramires aka Powerhouse and Black Messi

Not much to know about them again. Mikel does the good job our backs, especially for Luiz . Ramires provides extra cover for Ivanovic which is very much needed as he lacks the pace that Ashley Cole has to come back in time to defend.

LB - Ashley Cole aka Bullet and Arsenal silencer

RB - Branislav Ivanovic aka "He scores when he wants " guy and Serbian god

Both have been good in defending so far and rarely have they made a goal-threatening mistake. Having the best left-back in the world and absolute beast of a right-back has its perks.

Left CB - John Terry aka Captain, Leader, Legend and Savior sent from above

Right CB - David Luiz aka Geezer and Sideshow Bob guy

John Terry has been class so far, giving in good solid performances at the back. David Luiz has also silenced his critics by setting in well with Terry beside him. The pair are very good at attacking and defending set pieces  David Luiz also likes to go forward, lobbing decent through balls and helping out the midfield.

Now there are quite a few problems and I'll start first with attack -

#1 - Goals

We have a plethora of playmakers but our striker up front has been quite shaky. Yes, I know he scored against Arsenal but we need more of that ! If he does, then I'll gladly wipe this reason of this piece. Moreover lack of strikers can also cause problems. Daniel Sturridge is our only natural striker backup. A serious injury to both of them and Chelsea will probably play False 9 through a crucial part of the season.

#2 - Crosses

Our crosses have been below par. Cole and Ivanovic have done well in pressurizing their opponents by moving forward but their quality of crosses have to improve, especially for the Serbian. Seeing that Oscar, Mata and Hazard will be mostly in the center when the left-backs push up, we can really connect well with crosses when Torres is in the box.

#3 - Width

Width came largely into question when Di Matteo fielded his side against Stoke City. Oscar, Hazard and Mata don't really like to drift to the flanks, but when they do they can be devastating. They are very much based on the central and when facing strong and aggressive defenders and defensive midfielders like that of Stoke, they will have some problems. Thats when they use their pace and trickery to get to the flanks. With the inclusion of Victor Moses, Di Matteo can opt for more width against teams that are weak on that area.

Our defensive problems are -

#1 - Left flank to vulnerable

Ramires covers the right flank pretty well when Ivanovic goes charging forward and Mikel has been seen covering for Luiz and Terry.

The problem here is that, Hazard and Cole are left to deal with opposition the left. Hazard might be brilliant but he is no defender ! He had trouble dealing with the players attacking on the left and Cole needs more support.

It was unusual to see Mikel sometimes drifting to the left and Di Matteo is certainly getting his tactics spot on.

I would love too see some suggestions on what you think our problems are as I could not come up with more for the defense part ! 

Sherry Philips (@bluebloodSherry)

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