Conte’s Eleven: Chelsea’s squad stability in the 3-4-3 underlies win streak
By George Perry
Chelsea’s squad stability under Antonio Conte provides a stark contrast to the Premier League’s current “tinkerman,” Pep Guardiola. The stability in the 3-4-3 underlies Chelsea’s recent success.
The football world continues their attempts to make sense of Chelsea’s victory over Manchester City. A recent talking point on SkySports was the vast disparity in squad stability between the two clubs. The Blues are three places ahead of Manchester City on the Premier League table. However, Chelsea are top and Manchester City are dead-last for squad stability.
Antonio Conte has only made eight changes to his starting XI over the course of the season. Pep Guardiola, by contrast, have made 46 changes. he made five changes against Chelsea alone compared to his previous league match against Crystal Palace.
Even while Antonio Conte was using the 4-2-3-1 in the first six games, he made very few changes between league games. Chelsea’s short-lived EFL Cup campaign provided the only significant opportunities for the non-regulars.
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Chelsea have seven players with over 1000 Premier League minutes. Six of them have appeared in all 14 games (Nemanja Matic being the exception).
The two players with the next highest playing time are David Luiz and Marcos Alonso. Neither were in the squad at the start of the season. Both signed on deadline day, August 31. David Luiz made his second Chelsea debut two weeks later against Liverpool. Since then, he has played every Premier League minute.
Marcos Alonso debuted two weeks after Luiz, 75 minutes into the Arsenal debacle to introduce the 3-4-3. He, too, has since played every Premier League minute.
Next on the list are Victor Moses and Pedro. Moses had only 56 minutes on five substitute appearances before eight consecutive starts – the same eight as Marcos Alonso. Pedro had one start in the 4-2-3-1 against Watford. He came on as a late substitute for Moses against Hull, and has started every game since.
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These 11 players have been Conte’s starting XI during the eight-game undefeated run with two exceptions: Pedro against Hull City, and Fabregas in for Matic against Manchester City.
The relationship between stability and success is not one-way. Each breeds the other. Conte’s ability to re-purpose players into legitimate stars in new positions could not happen without a team-wide commitment to training and development.
Victor Moses did not attract FC Barcelona’s attention on the basis of one game. His progression over his first month at wingback did. His sliding interception to deny Sergio Aguero an easy tap in exemplifies how the former winger has added fullback skills to his game to become a highly-rated wingback.
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Moses could not have executed that play earlier in his tenure at the new position. The timing and technique require significant experience on the training ground and in matches. Had Antonio Conte not given Moses the consistent playing time necessary to develop, Moses would have either not been in the right place to make the tackle, or would have bottled the attempt and conceded either a goal or a penalty kick.
Chelsea’s immediate and consistent success in the 3-4-3 formation speaks to Antonio Conte’s long-term vision and training methods. Conte built a system around his players, which eliminated the need or temptation to fiddle with the lineup to fit his system.
This is not the Pep Guardiola way, which worked well at Barcelona but is seeing mixed results at Manchester City. Stability is the Conte Way, and therefore, the Chelsea Way. Those results speak for themselves.