It’s time for Chelsea to step up and begin to play up to its potential before it’s too late in the season across all competitions.
The season has begun with a dull thud from Chelsea as the Blues sit tenth in the Premier League after six games. That’s an inauspicious start, to say the least. While the opportunity to stake a claim atop the table was there, with three draws and two wins to show for the team’s efforts, Frank Lampard’s team has fallen short of expectations. The Blues have squandered a golden chance to seize the moment, so let’s evaluate the first six games and see what needs to be done to turn this around before the window of opportunity closes:
1. Ignite the attack
Chelsea has 13 goals thus far, and only 3 teams have scored more in the English top flight: Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool. Yet, the Blues have not scored when they needed a goal to tip a match from a draw to a win. With that lack of scoring, two points go out the window. Much has been made of the fact that they have not had the whole squad fully fit for any game this season thus far, and while that’s fair, it’s hardly an excuse.
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Chelsea seems to have been devastated early by the lingering Christian Pulisic injury and the early injury to the magician, Hakim Ziyech. But, as those two key wingers now seem ready to attain full fitness, the attack should be ready to roll. Clearly, Ziyech looks to be just about ready to take the lead and move this club into another echelon in the League table.
In addition, Pulisic needs to regain the direct attacking flair that he exhibited last season after the league’s suspension and he looked to begin to do just that against Manchester United. That directness—coupled with the pace of Werner and the ball finesse of Ziyech and Havertz—is what can make this Chelsea steamroller fly. Lampard has to let that quartet loose to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. It’s time; the goals will now come fast and furious.
2. Keep Mendy or Cech in goal
This is no revelation or rocket science. When the Blues have a good/great keeper in place, they’re not conceding the needless goals they would with Kepa Arrizabalaga or Willy Caballero between the sticks. This has to continue and the way it will is to keep Edouard Mendy—and in his absence, Petr Cech—in goal. Mendy is proving to be an amazing signing. Four clean sheets and only one goal conceded in five outings, it doesn’t get much better than that. For a fraction of what it cost to sign Arrizabalaga, he is already proving against top opponents (e.g. Manchester United) that he is the real deal.
If the Senegalese shot stopper needs a rest then the choice should be Cech. The Chelsea legend is younger than Willy Caballero and should be deputized if Mendy is out to bolster the position between the sticks. Chelsea should be about winning, each and every game, no matter the competition. Without Mendy, their best opportunity to win is with Cech. The team is already out of the League Cup, it should not squander any future opportunities to win a title because of poor goalkeeping. The Blues now have no need to—it’s Mendy then Cech, in that order.
3. Add a dynamic box-to-box midfielder in January
Not to minimize the central defensive need, but Chelsea still needs to add a dynamic, driving midfielder to the club in January. Clearly, Bruno Fernandes added that spark to Manchester United after his signing last January. He changed the entire dynamic of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team and now Chelsea needs to do the same in about two months.
The club first has to decide if it feels the Blues have an opportunity to make a statement by challenging for the Premier League title, top four in the league, the Champions League title and/or the FA Cup. If the staff decides Chelsea can challenge for any or all of those titles, then the board needs to make a move for a top central midfielder, one who can link up play between the defense and the forwards. This is a decision for the board and management—specifically Lampard. If the season is lost by mid-December, the suggestion is to wait until the summer, but if the club is still challenging in two of the aforementioned competitions, it should make this move. It’s vital to the team’s success and absent such a move, the Blues are not likely to win much.
In conclusion…
Those are three suggestions for Chelsea to improve the team and possibly make a run at silverware, title(s), or at a minimum Champions League qualification. The team as constituted has great attacking potential, a terrific goalkeeping situation and, with Silva in the middle of the defense, it has an anchor who makes everyone else better.
What the club needs now is an attacking, box-to-box midfielder who can link the defense with the offense, shred a defense with his passes and take the ball to the net and score himself, as well. This is a tall order, especially in the January transfer window, but it will be well worth the investment. The next two months will decide if January is the time to act and hopefully it will be. The ability of the club to compete at that point may well be decided by this acquisition—Chelsea can ill afford to pass it up.
What are some of the things you believe the Blues can do better? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!