Chelsea: The secret to storied success is mentality, not skills

The secret to Chelsea’s success next season is the mentality that the club comes before the individual, that begins with manager Frank Lampard.

At this moment in time, there are two types of people in the world: those crying about Chelsea ruining football and those basking in the glory. Following a highly scrutinized transfer ban and a winter window in which they didn’t buy anybody, the Blues are now bringing in seemingly everybody they set their sights on. They’re undoubtedly the biggest winners of this market, having already brought in a plethora of talent in Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva and likely Ben Chilwell and Malang Sarr soon.

The widespread question amongst the Chelsea fanbase now switches from “are we good enough?” to “how on Earth are we going to fit all of this talent into the XI?”. The answer is rather simple—we aren’t. That’s where this side will excel though; the individual skill is enough to carry the team to victories, but the mentality of the group will be strong enough to move mountains and shatter records in the process.

One can discuss Frank Lampard’s pull power all day long, but at the end of the day, it’s the plan he has for the club that’s the special magnet. The best managers in the world are able to attract top talent and that’s what Lampard’s done, despite being just a second year manager. He isn’t the best—or even in the upper echelons of the world rankings—just yet, so how did he attract all of this talent?

The answer is simple: mentality. Lampard is building something special at Chelsea. He’ll need time, cooperation and talent to do it though. The Blues legend has monumental ambitions and that resonates with his players. It has also attracted some of Europe’s top talent. The challenge now becomes keeping the squad together. With so many prestigious young players in the team and a limited number of spots and minutes, Lampard will struggle to fit everyone onto the pitch as much as they’d like. He’s planned for this though, the great managers do.

Lampard is looking to replicate what the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are doing at their successful English clubs, but on a larger scale. The gaffer has spoken with each and every player the club is bringing in and by doing so, he confirms they are not only talented enough to have a place in the team, but mature enough. While some players spend their careers chasing individual glory—one Neymar comes to mind—others choose club success over anything else.

Lampard was one of those individuals; it just so happens he was just talented enough to achieve both. He’s got many similar players in the current team, as well. The key to playing for Chelsea going forward is going to be the understanding that although you are incredibly talented, you won’t play every minute of every match. Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva buy into this at Manchester City; Xherdan Shaqiri and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain similarly at Liverpool. In order to win, you have to have mature individuals willing to put their self interests aside for the bettering of the team.

From the moment he stepped foot back at Stamford Bridge, Lampard preached giving 100 percent for the badge on the front of the shirt and not the name on the back. There are only 11 starting places in a team for each match, so some generational talents will sometimes be left out. As long as Lampard is able to control the mentality of the team and keep them together as a cohesive unit, a dynasty is being built at Chelsea.