After three winless league matches in September, Antonio Conte must find a solution to Chelsea’s problem before they suffer the same fate as last year.
There’s a familiar feeling around Stamford Bridge this year. And as unwanted as it may be, the concerns that the current campaign is shaping up to be a repeat of last season’s disaster are fair and legitimate. Players aren’t just under performing; they’re simply not performing at all. There’s a lack of belief and fight within the dressing room which is eerily similar to the 2015-16 season which Chelsea fans had the misfortune of enduring. Antonio Conte is feeling the pressure.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, however. The board have had two transfer windows to fix the plentiful problems in the squad and have failed to do so. As the team lined up to face West Ham on the first day of the season back in August, only one player wasn’t a part of the starting eleven from the previous campaign. N’Golo Kante was the odd one out and he was arguably man of the match that night at the Bridge as Chelsea claimed a 2-1 win over their London rivals.
It’s unacceptable that a team who finished 10th last season only delved into the transfer market for just one upgrade. David Luiz would eventually join Kante as a fellow new starter while there’s hope that Marcos Alonso and Michy Batshuayi will eventually force their way into Antonio Conte’s plans. For now, though, Chelsea are left facing a problem which they’ve known about for the past 12 months and refused to solve.
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Branislav Ivanovic, who has captained the side in John Terry’s absence, should have been dropped at many stages over the past 12 months. Some would argue it goes even further back. Ivanovic has a been a great servant for Chelsea, and his two goals at Anfield in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2009 has ensured he’ll always have a special place in the fans hearts.
But the 32-year-old simply isn’t good enough to be playing week in, week out. Whether it’s defensively or offensively, Ivanovic doesn’t offer much on either side of the field. Moving Cesar Azpilicueta over to his more natural position at right back and slotting Alonso in on the left would be a wise move.
Gary Cahill is another defender whose flaws have been made more obvious during Chelsea’s struggles. Cahill always had the unenvious luck of making mistakes but his quickness and perfectly timed tackles or blocks would make up for them.
These moments of heroism have ceased to exist in the past 18 months and one would assume that if it wasn’t for Kurt Zouma’s unfortunate injury, Cahill would be surplus to requirements. His mistakes just in the month of September alone have cost Chelsea at least three goals.
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: Gary Cahill of Chelsea shows dejection after Arsenal score during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on September 24, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Though he was fouled by Leroy Fer for Swansea’s equaliser earlier in the month, his enthusiasm for playing with the ball in his own half is inexcusable. While the mishap versus the Welsh side was controversial, Alexis Sanchez stripped him of possession to put Arsenal 1-0 up last Saturday. There was little he could complain about then.
A lot of things happened last year which contributed to the shocking downfall of Chelsea. The major reasons come in the form of the players. Ivanovic, Cahill, Nemanja Matic and Eden Hazard were the worse of a bad bunch.
But Jose Mourinho, having won the league with the same group of players during the 2014-15 season, resisted the temptation to bring in the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kenedy as he stuck with his experienced talent.
He would soon become a victim of his own loyalty and stubbornness. Though the Portuguese manager pushed for reinforcements during the 2015 summer, he never got them. John Stones tried forcing his way from Everton but to no avail while Paul Pogba was reportedly a target for the Blues until it became obvious Juventus had no intention of selling at that time.
The lack of options available to Mourinho is what eventually led to him trotting out the same team each week, hoping for different results. This is where Conte has to be different. Ivanovic, Cahill and Matic were awful at the Emirates. Whether they were losing possession or lacking in work rate to keep up with Arsenal’s quick passing, their performances weren’t good enough.
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They aren’t the only ones as new signing Kante suffered his worst day in a Chelsea shirt, but the three players listed above have been the most consistent sub-par performers over the last year.
Decisions like the ones that Conte faces are what defines a manager. If he chooses to stick with the same players and simply hopes they play their way into form, he will suffer the same fate as his predecessor.
However, a change in personnel and possibly even system, will show the fans and the board that the Italian isn’t afraid to mix things up when necessary. Three games with just one point isn’t what Chelsea were looking for after a solid August. Eight points behind table-toppers Manchester City doesn’t help, either.
Next month will prove whether the former champions are in for another long year, or are ready to turn their season around and get back on track. Hull are next up before home games versus defending champions Leicester and Manchester United, with a Southampton trip closing out the month. The games aren’t getting easier and neither are the decisions that Conte faces. Hopefully, for his and Chelsea’s sake, he gets them right.
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