When we look at all the major national leagues all over the world, the English Premier League is one of the very first ones to grab attention, often regarded by experts as the ‘most competitive’ league championship in the world. Any team on their day can bring an end to the roller-coaster ride of their opponents and spark jubilation among their fans.
There have been some really amazing teams in this millennium and the Premier League boasts of many such examples. Arsene Wenger’s invincible Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson’s, serial winners in Manchester United, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, Guardiola’s Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are some that stand out higher than the others.
When Maurizio Sarri arrived at Stamford Bridge last season, Chelsea fans were hopeful that he would be able to sandwich the broken pieces of Antonio Conte’s jigsaw. He was able to do that to some extent but the team couldn’t follow his wavelength well and work with his ideologies and style of play.
The Chelsea faithful were overwhelmed when the board decided to appoint club legend Frank Lampard as the manager in July. However, muffled discussions about his inexperience and the pressure of handling such a big club, were still making rounds. Four months into the new season and Super Frank has done a tremendous job of converting the fragmented Chelsea team under Maurizio Sarri into one of the best teams in the Premier League. They currently stand third in the points table and are enjoying being one of the favourites to make into the UEFA Champions League next season.
Here are the five reasons why this team could become unbeatable a couple of seasons later.
#1 The striker conundrum has finally been solved
There has been a bad omen associated with Chelsea strikers for a long time now. World-class strikers have come into the team and have donned this jersey, only to fall from grace spectacularly. Strikers of repute like Radamel Falcao and Fernando Torres who used to tear apart defenses on many an occasion, failed to recreate their form in a Blue jersey.
Strikers like Andriy Shevchenko who led the attack of the great AC milan team, couldn’t recreate his magic at Chelsea. Hernan Crespo, Alvaro Morata and Gonzalo Higuain all came with really impressive resumes and a lot of goals under their belt Yet, they couldn’t recplicate their top form for the club. There was still no one to fill the void left by Didier Drogba, barring Diego Costa in his prime who did win a couple of Premier League titles at Chelsea
It looks like Chelsea’s prayers have been answered in the form of a lanky 6’ 5" striker who goes by the name Tammy Abraham. An academy product of the club, he went out on loan for some years before finally making his mark at Aston Villa in the Championship last year.
The Englishman has been in sublime form this season and has scored 10 goals already for the club, tilting the match in the Blues favor on many occasions. By the looks of it, Lampard’s man management has been working wonders. His high-flying confidence and his thirst to win for the club, will reap greater rewards in the days to come.
Also check out:Premier League Premier League Table Champions League table
#2 Chelsea’s academy paying dividends
A couple of seasons ago, there was talk going round about the way Chelsea had been treating their academy players by just loaning them out perennially in the transfer windows. Signing a lot of youngsters was the reason why Chelsea were handed a transfer ban at the start of the season, which forbade the club from venturing into the market for one complete season.
However, Frank Lampard’s willingness to trust the exports from the youth academy and let them start a lot of games ahead of the older players in the squad, has reaped huge rewards. Players like Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Billy Gilmour have all leaped into action and warrant the majority of goals scored by the club this season.
In addition to that, Lampard is gradually introducing more and more academy players with time in cup matches as well. Andreas Christensen, Ian Maatsen, Tino Anjorin and Marc Guehi have all featured for the club in multiple matches. With many promising players like Trevoh Chalobah, Jeremie Boga and Ethan Ampadu away on loan at different clubs, the team’s future looks much brighter at the moment. This could go in to be the basis of a solid foundation that will help the team a lot in the future.
3) A world-class midfield
A good defense is integral to the team, but a good midfield is always the reason why teams click or fail. Barcelona had Xavi and Iniesta in their glory days and Real Madrid boasted of the Kroos-Modric combination. The number of quality midfield options at the moment is giving the manager a serious headache at the moment.
At the base of the midfield, Chelsea have the indisputable Jorginho who has slowly grown into becoming the heartbeat of the team. He makes the team tick with his turns and the huge amount of passes he plays. It looks as if he has finally adapted to the league and is even better than the Jorginho he was at Napoli under Sarri.
Sarri’s brilliant move of using the tenacity of N’Golo Kante is finally paying dividends as the world starts to understand that his endless work-rate makes him much more than a traditional defensive midfielder. With Kante recently quoting that he is going to stay at the club for years to come, it’s happy days for the fans. Mateo Kovacic has turned a new leaf this season and he expertly combines his physicality with dribbling to cause opponents all kinds of headaches.
Mason Mount has been in supreme form this season and is finally justifying himself as the player who can carry on Lampard’s legacy. Ross Barkley is inconsistent but on his day, he can rip through teams single-handedly. Billy Gilmour reminds fans of Fabregas and his endless work rate makes him one to keep an eye out for. Not forgetting that Ballack’s succesor Ruben Loftus-Cheek is yet to return from injury, Frank Lampard is the most worried person regarding team selection right now.
On the brighter side, Chelsea’s midfield is going to get better with time and there’s no reason why they can’t be a dominant force in world football in the years to come.
4) A perfect blend of experience and youth
The youth can always deviate from the track if not guided properly. Even if the team possesses plenty of young players at the moment, it is always important to channelize their capabilities and make them function at the very highest level. Player mentoring is a very important aspect in football and the current Chelsea team has no lack of senior players.
There is Willian, who has become the major attacking inspiration most of the time this season after the departure of Eden Hazard and has extensive experience of playing the game at the highest level. His experience will come in handy and can be passed down to hone the skills of someone like Callum Hudson-Odoi, who has been branded by pundits as a generational talent.
Cesar Azpilicueta has been the stronghold of Chelsea’s defense and has taken the armband ever since John Terry left the club. He will be vital in passing down all that knowledge to the devastating young wing-back Reece James, whose exploits earned him a place in the Championship Team of the Season while on loan with Wigan.
Moroever there are people in the club like Lampard, Ashley Cole and Petr Cech who can definitely lend an ear to the youngsters and help them become better players in the future. Under their tutelage they will become superstars for sure, considering the amount of promise they have been showing so far.
5) The return of the Chelsea feeling
The best thing that has happened to Chelsea after the Premier League win under Antonio Conte in 2016/17, is the appointment of Frank Lampard as manager. Super Frank has turned the tables around and has put Chelsea in with a good chance of landing a top-four spot at the end of the season.
The most important thing amiss at Chelsea was the drive to play for the club. For a club that has had legends like John Terry, Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and Lampard himself, it is natural for the fans to demand more from their team. Frank’s ascension to the role of manager makes sure that the players do so. He has said that he will field players who know what it means to wear the blue jersey.
Moreover, he is the right person to instill the winning mentality in players because he belongs to the golden generation of players who won almost every single title that a club could win during their time, excluding the Club World Cup.
Club legends like Ashley Cole, Jody Morris and Petr Cech can ensure the club proceeds in the proper direction. The current lot of players at the club have all the potential to become club legends in their own right.
This is the dawn of a new era for the club and as many fans believe, the birth of a new Chelsea that will give the fans a thousand glory days, to sing songs about for the days to come.
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