The Mask is Slipping

So here we are. More than halfway through the season, and I think it’s fair to say, it’s been a letdown. Last season, despite an atrocious run of form either side of the Christmas period, Chelsea managed to finish 2nd in the Premier League and lost out to eventual runners-up Man Utd in the Champions League Quarter Finals.

Having lost 9 and drew 8 games all season, Chelsea have already lost 5 and drawn 5, so arguably are on the same pace as they were last season, but the opposition has improved – Man City and Spurs are on track to finish with more points than they ended up with last season, while Chelsea are on track to finish on 70 points – 1 point worse off than under Carlo Ancellotti last season – leaving us in 4th place. Contrast this with Spurs (on track to finish 19 points better off), Man City (21 points better off), Man Utd, (7 points better off) and you wonder – what was the point in getting rid of Ancelotti?

Today’s rumblings from Stamford Bridge have reinforced this belief. The manager seems to be entirely focused on the short-term – which is fine, but the results or the football haven’t been good enough to justify this sort of view. Maybe AvB feels under so much pressure that he has reverted into a conservative shell that sees Chelsea playing bland football and generally achieving victory by the narrowest of margins. That’s fair enough, but I thought he came with a mandate to play a more attacking form of football, or at least a more open brand that would yield more goals. This, allied with a financially rewarding termination clause in his contract should surely have encouraged him to foster a new approach at Stamford Bridge.
Let me clarify – I wanted Ancelotti to go at the end of last season as I felt that he was not the man to engineer the necessary changes at Stamford Bridge to ensure Chelsea’s continued competitiveness on both the domestic and European fronts. I welcomed the appointment of AvB as a young manager with interesting ideas and looked forward to an infusion of fresh talent and a new and more exciting brand of football. So far, I feel like I’ve been short changed.

For all the excitement and openness seen in games against Man Utd and Arsenal, Chelsea have largely reverted to the bland unimaginative football that became the norm under Ancelotti. Only the addition of Mata has brought any real imagination or creativity, and as he is only a cog in a bigger machine, we see only fleeting glimpses of his undoubted genius. Not since Zola have Chelsea had such a player, and hopefully we see more of him in a more influential role. So far, he has largely been used as an auxiliary winger, and much like Sturridge, I have to question if the manager is getting the best out of him in such a role.

And aside from the football itself, the development of the personnel is moving at a slower pace than I would like to see. Again, in today’s press conference, AvB apparently disavowed any interest in anything other than the short-term and seemed to have little to say on the potential role of Kevin De Bruyne at the club. Josh McEachran was allowed to fester on the fringes of the first team squad for much of the first half of the season before being allowed to join Swansea during over the January transfer window. I guess it might have been asking a lot for a loan to be arranged during the summer when AvB was not long in the job, but at the same time, it doesn’t appear that Josh got many chances to prove himself from September to January, although I will admit that I know nothing of what goes on on the training ground.

The most grievous mistake (as yet unpunished) is the failure to give Ryan Bertrand more first team opportunities. I have no idea if Bertrand is a tremendous prospect or not, but he’s all Chelsea have in terms of an alternative to Ashley Cole, who is no longer a dashing twentysomething, but has so far managed to avoid any meaningful absence through injury or suspension this season. The role of Romelu Lukaku has been a puzzle as well – someone who (physically) looks like he’s cut out for the Premier League as well as being a fresh face, has received little game time. Only Oriel Romeu has seen significant first team action so far, and his form has been encouraging. So let’s see more youth, eh?

It’s been a frustrating few weeks. The next 6 weeks will go a long way to determine whether this will be a successful season. Man Utd at the weekend, Napoli home and away and Birmingham in the FA Cup, and an away trip to Man City. There are also plenty of ‘easier’ ties, but nothing feels easy at the moment. If it doesn’t work out with AvB, I know of someone else who may be available next season. You know what I mean.

Benvenuto, Carlo

It's hard to believe that Chelsea allowed Guus Hiddink to walk at the end of last season. The guy steadied what could have been a sinking ship at Stamford Bridge, was hugely popular with the fans, and was getting much more out of hitherto underachieving expensive players (e.g. Malouda) than either Mr. Grant or Mr. Scolari. A pretty tough act to follow-even if his only silverware was the quickly depreciating reward of the FA Cup. But, Carlo Ancelotti would appear to fit the bill-massive international reputation, appears popular with his players, and a dry wit that has thus far gone down well with the British media.

But, I have the say that I am not convinced (ok, Chelsea haven't kicked a ball on a competitive or friendly match under his management) by the droll Italian. In 7 seasons at AC Milan, he won 1 Serie A title (Juventus were stripped of their titles 04/05 and 05/06, Milan were runners-up in both seasons), and his overall win percentage was just under 57% (compared to Jose's Chelsea record of 70%, Avram Grant's record of just under 67%, and Guus' record of 71%)-a statistic that looks suspiciously like Uzbek based Mr Scolari's record in his (brief) tenure at the Bridge. In addition, he failed to win anything in his 2 seasons at Juventus, finishing league runner-up twice (something Chelsea have become used to in the past few seasons) Now, this is a bit of an 'American' approach to assessing performance, but it's not a bad starting point.

What I didn't mention above of course is that Carlo has won 2 Champions League titles, and arguably should have won a third in his time with Milan (even Liverpool fans would agree?)-and it's pretty obvious what is Chelsea's primary ambition these days. So it certainly looks like it's his European pedigree is what has attracted him to whoever it is calls the shots on these matters on the Fulham Road.

The pre-season was successful (in the sense that Chelsea were unbeaten and players didn't suffer any serious injuries), but didn't answer many questions.

For example, will Chelsea play more adventurous/attacking football? Having only seen Sunday's Community Shield, I didn't notice any great difference in Chelsea's approach, and I don't recall any of Ancelotti's previous teams playing especially 'sexy' football. Note that I don't particularly long for more advanture and attacking just for the sake of more entertainment-but I do believe it is necessary to take the next step in Europe (a Champions League victory), and to wrest control of the Premiership from Manchester United. Plus, you have to admit that Chelsea have been far more successful in some of the battles with Liverpool when 'going for it' from the word go as opposed to adopting a policy of conservatism and containment. Still, it is too early to say what the weekly approach will be, and I am happy enough to reserve judgement on that score for now. The results will, hopefully, speak for themselves.

Will Ancelotti be able to motivate malcontents (Drogba), underachievers (Anelka) and underperformers (Ballack, Mikel, Malouda...) to greater heights than Scolari or even Avram Grant managed. That seemed to be Hiddink's key strength-he had the same players as those available to his short-tenured predecessors, but seemed to get more out of them. Malouda especially appeared revitalised, and his form in the 2nd half of the season was outstanding (there was a story about how issues with his wisdom teeth may have affected him earlier in the season), and, to be honest, I wonder about the decision to sign Zhirkov in light of Malouda's recent excellence, but than who knows who made that call.

Is Ancelotti happy with the players he has, or does he need his 'own man', specifically, Andrea Pirlo? The continuing rumnours about Pirlo appear to have died down after Pirlo's comments last weekend. I'm not too upset by this-I have great time for Pirlo as a player, but don't see his style translating well to the demands of the Premiership. This report worried me somewhat, if Carlo cannot accomodate Essien, prefarably in a central role, then I fear I will have little time for the guy. The fact that his role appears to be on the right side of a midfield diamond doesn't impress me-witness the one-sided attacking approach employed against Man Utd on Sunday-surely Carlo should be looking for a more orthodox right-sided player if he is to deploy the diamond on a regular basis? I haven't really seen anyone mentioned in transfer gossip who fits the bill. Breaking news-Roma have apparently turned down a bid from Chelsea for Daniele De Rossi-now that's a midfield player I would like to see Chelsea sign. You would also like to think that Joe Cole could feature in a right midfield role at some stage this season as well.

And so, as Chelsea prepare to kick-off against Hull at lunchtime on Saturday, as gentle an introduction as you can get to the Premier League as a new manager I guess, there is much to look forward to for Chelsea fans this season, not least the prospect of a double Champions League winner taking the reins at Stamford Bridge. Let's Chelsea can add to his trophy tally.