EPL Preview 2012-2013: Chelsea
Roar Guru Related coverage
The Roar continues to preview the upcoming English Premier League season. Today we look at Chelsea FC.
2011/2012 Result: 6th
Manager: Roberto Di Matteo
Recruitment
Ins: Oscar (Internacional), Eden Hazard (Lille), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen)
Outs: Sam Walker (Bristol Rovers – Loan), Romelu Lukaku (WBA – Loan), Kevin de Bruyne (Werder Bremen), Matej Delac (Vitoria Guimaraes), Ulises Davila (CE Sabadell), Salomon Kalou (Lille), Jose Bosingwa (Free), Didier Drogba (Shanghai Shenua), Rhys Taylor (Southend United)
Analysis
After spending approximately £75 million on new recruits Hazard, Oscar and Marin, there is little doubt that Chelsea expects to be back in the title race this year.
The amount of creative talent available in the midfield is the envy of every other club in the league. But is Di Matteo the man to bring out the best in this squad?
Chelsea’s run to the Champions League final last season was characterised by a style of football that had most neutrals cringing.
Blues fans – and more importantly, Roman Abramovich – will be expecting a lot more flair this year.
Key Player: Fernando Torres
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. With Drogba and Anelka moving on, Torres is currently the only out and out striker on Chelsea’s books.
To say that this season is looming as a decisive one for the £50 million man is understating it.
Di Matteo has spent the summer strengthening the supply line for Spaniard and his form will have Chelsea’s chances resting on a knife-edge.
Succeed, and he will be catapulted into the very top echelon of world class players.
But fail – through either lack of form (read early 2011), or through injury – and Chelsea’s season might as well be down the plughole.
The Road Ahead
Chelsea certainly have the personnel to mount a title challenge this year, but are in danger of having a weak underbelly exposed.
Torres will need help in attack, and the rumoured signing of Hulk would certainly address this issue.
Di Matteo will need to watch his back if Chelsea have a slow start to the campaign – Abramovich churns through managers worse than any other owner in the league.
The spectre of an unemployed Pep Guardiola looms large.
Prediction: 5th – The quality of the squad won’t allow the Blues to slip too far down the ladder.
But this season looks like every other one in the past couple of years. Expect a managerial change in January.
Likely Formation
————-Cech————-
Ivanovic–Luiz–Terry–Cole
—–Ramires-Obi Mikel—–
Hazard—Lampard—Mata
————Torres————
Fun Fact
Oscar will initially struggle to adapt to the English game – I think everyone will accept that. How much of an uphill battle it will be is probably not that appreciated though.
Brazil would generally be accepted as the best producer of attacking players in history. But it could be argued that none (zero, nada, zilch) have been able to make it at Premier League level.
Consider this – at 29 goals, Juninho is the most prolific Brazilian to ever play in the Premier League.
That falls behind such behind such football powerhouses as Zimbabwe (Peter Ndlovu – 35 goals), Latvia (Marian Pahars – 42 goals) and even Australia (Mark Viduka – 92 goals).
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The Crowd Says (5) | Page 1 of Comments
Have Your Say
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August 17th 2012 @ 9:08pm
nathan said | August 17th 2012 @ 9:08pm | Report comment
fernando torres on his game is one of the best strikers in the world we dont need to spend 30-40 million on another striker when we have someone like fernando torres we need to bring in someone like defoe,papiss cisse or demba ba to play along side fernando torres we aslo need to bring in a high quality right back such as daniel alves ,philip lahm.
August 18th 2012 @ 7:07pm
zain said | August 18th 2012 @ 7:07pm | Report comment
we need drogba back since he is the one that makes us win come on cccccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllsssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa yes.
August 21st 2012 @ 3:11pm
Unlikelycombination said | August 21st 2012 @ 3:11pm | Report comment
I know for a fact you’re not a big Chelsea supporter, so I won’t bite too hard.
I honestly think 5th is being harsh, I see them being ahead of Spurs, Arsenal and Newcastle. The team’s backline is actually strong, with Ivanovic almost always solid and Luiz looking fantastic after a laughable first stanza to his Chelsea career. Cole is the weak link now, with his form down the drain along with his pace. Most people still believe the Chelsea backline is weak after the bitter taste of playing a high line with slow players under AVB, expect improvement and a staunch CL defence this season.
Lampard should be moved back into Obi Mikels position, Mikel hasn’t delivered to any stretch of the imagination. Lampard is getting slower and so he needs to adopt a more pulling the strings ‘Pirlo-esque’ role imo.
Hazard is still yet to be seen as a legitimate superstar, but from his first performance it could be a promising first season for him as he has the ability to win games on his brilliance alone.
Torres will score, and a lot. He has to, and I have faith that someone of his calibre simply needs to get a roll on and stay injury-free. Hulk would be nice, but I already feel sorry for all the talented players who will not get the game time they deserve this season. Don’t need to add a striker to that list, and if I’m not mistaken he could well play Marin’s (and De Bruyne’s) role albeit higher up the pitch. I expect they’ll finish 3rd or 4th, with an eye for the league title in the next 3 years after some more spine-rebuilding.
September 10th 2012 @ 12:12am
sauryan dafle said | September 10th 2012 @ 12:12am | Report comment
Forget aside DROGBA ……………………………………….its TORRES now !!!!!!!!!!!
say anything but hazards the BEST
opinion on chelsea formation
3-5-2
3- TERRY IVANOVIC COLE
5- LUIZ OBI MIKEL LAMPARD RAMIRES MATA HAZARD
2- TORRES STURRIDGE
CECH
IVANOVIC- TERRY- COLE
LUIZ- OBI MIKEL
HAZARD- LAMPARD- MATA
TORRES – STURRIDGE
LUIZ and OBI MIKEL can take the ball in front as well as defend at back can also hv great support to the wing
CONCLUSION : we get 5 defenders and 2 in the attack as well
hazard and mata are excellent in the wing but hazard should get a chance in the centre fo his good performance over the months TORRES and STURRIDGE will make a great pair and TORRES will get a partner too………
if u liked my idea please reply me back on the give email above
THANK YOU….
CHELSEA RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!1
October 15th 2012 @ 4:55am
Adebayo samuel said | October 15th 2012 @ 4:55am | Report comment
Chelsea should buy a profilic striker in january is either neymar or falcao