Chelsea’s season, part 3 of 3: Best XI, horse races and lingering concerns
Final Thoughts
Scott: You would be hard pressed to find too many legitimate complaints to be had this season, and the only one that seems to stick out week in and week out is rotation. Yes, Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount have been spectacular. They are also very young. Olivier Giroud, Michy Batshuayi, and Pedro may be needed later in the season. It would benefit everyone to play them a bit now.
Varun: It’s easy to forget just how revolutionary a time this is at Chelsea, with such seamless integration of academy players seeming like regular tradition. Lampard has done extremely well with this Chelsea team, but so had Maurizio Sarri at this time last year in terms of performances. The period from late November to early April is the most hectic of English club football, the end of which will provide the first realistic assessment of where Lampard and his players really are.
Gabe: This may be the deepest Chelsea has been in years, in defense and midfield. The Blues could legitimately trot out two completely different defenses (Emerson, Rudiger, Tomori, James; Alonso, Zouma, Christensen, Azpilicueta) or midfields (Mount, Kante, Loftus-Cheek; Jorginho, Kovacic, Barkley) and contend in just about any Premier League match. It’s incredible.
Nate: Lampard is playing with house money, so when the inevitable dip in form hits, everyone needs to take a deep breath and remember that this is still a long-term project. This might be asking a lot… patience has never been a virtue around Chelsea.
Olaoluwa: “Fringe” players will be needed as much as starters during this dreaded winter period, if not more so. If Lampard keeps giving minutes to only those that are “deserving” of it, “nondeserving” players would not have had as much game time as they’d have needed by the time they are forced to be fielded.
Lampard has to give more minutes to more players, even if it is just to keep them prepared for when he is forced to field them.
What else can the Blues do?. Chelsea players' off-the-pitch talents. light
Abhishek: Frank Lampard has Chelsea in the top four without adding one player of his choosing from the transfer market. With Petr Cech as his trusted ally in the boardroom, Lampard should be able to supplement a young squad with valuable experience in some positions. This Chelsea team is still a work in progress and it will go from strength to strength next season.
Barrett: Still worried about the cohesiveness of the defense.
Oliver: Lampard is going to have a time and a half figuring out how to work Ruben Loftus-Cheek back into the lineup. Loftus-Cheek was one of the best players last year (despite only really playing after Christmas) but now Chelsea has Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic really hitting their stride. N’Golo Kante is just getting back but it looks like there was no rust in his game at all and then of course you have Mason Mount to consider. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great problem to have, but it’ll be tough for Lampard.
Next. Ben Chilwell would settle the always-unsettled left-back debate. dark
What is your best XI and take on Chelsea’s league position? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!