Chelsea FC Goalkeepers – Thibaut Courtois or Petr Cech?
Schwarzer’s performances when called upon last season have already endeared him to the Chelsea supporters. He has a huge amount of respect from players and fans for what he has done in the game since starting his career all the way back in 1990, before some fans were even born. He was a solid second choice keeper domestically and in Europe last season and proved to be a very savvy purchase by Mourinho.
The return of Courtois, however, has put Schwarzer’s position in jeopardy. There is no doubt that he is now third in the pecking order behind Courtois and Cech and if both keepers stay he will see very little game time. Nevertheless, even Hilario made the occasional appearance during his tenure as Chelsea’s third choice keeper.
The big difference in this case is the Chelsea squad situation. In the Premier League Chelsea can only register 17 players who are not Under 21 or Home Grown. Mourinho has acknowledged he is aware of this situation and even after Oriol Romeu has left on loan, Chelsea still have 18 players competing for 17 spots. If Mourinho is unable to offload another player, Schwarzer will be an obvious casualty. It would seem surplus to requirements to register 3 ‘foreign’ keepers, when we have both Blackman and Beeney available as Home Grown options.
This dilemma is amplified further in the Champions League, where again Chelsea can only register 17 players who are either not Club or Affiliate Trained or Under 21. The caveat for Europe is that Under 21 criteria is slightly different, meaning Kurt Zouma does not qualify. Therefore we essentially have 19 ‘foreign’ players fighting for 17 spots. Schwarzer will almost definitely miss out. Jamal Blackman will likely be the third keeper registered, as three goalkeepers have to be in the 25 man squad. Blackman is Club Trained and therefore fulfils the quota.
What would you do with Schwarzer if you were Mourinho? I would not register him at this point in the season, but keep him around the squad as he has so more experience to give. In January, if Cech or Courtois were to leave, Schwarzer could then be registered as second choice.