Chelsea’s season; a cause for worry or part of a process?
Chelsea’s woes in recent times have been worrying to say the least. For some seasons now, the team has been subject of mockery and aggressive banter from fans and pundits alike.
There are many theories as to why the club is performing so badly; the most superstitious being that the club is under some curse because of the way and manner it was “forcefully” taken from Russian billionaire Roman Abrahmovic. Recall that Abrahmovic was disqualified by the Premier League from owning Chelsea after having sanctions imposed on him by the UK government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The league’s decision to bar Abramovich from being a director of Chelsea ultimately culminated in the club being auctioned off to American billionaire Todd Boehly and his Clearlake Capital Consortium in a deal worth $5.25 billion (£4.25 billion) back in May 2022, in what became the most expensive team transaction in professional sports.
Since the Americans took over the club has hired and sacked two coaches respectively. Mauricio Pochetino is the current gaffer the club believes (or hopes) can come up with a lasting solution. While different schools of thought exist as to what may be the cause of their woes, one obvious exception has to be the commitment of the current club owners. During the takeover, there was a phobia amongst Chelsea fans. They feared that the Boely regime wouldn’t be willing to splash the money. Well, since the takeover in 2022, Chelsea has spent €723 million on player transfers; the biggest of any club in the world. The second on that list, PSG, has spent €470 million in that period.
A worrying and immediately identifiable problem though, is the performance of the players that were brought in.
The quartet of Enzo Fernandez, Mukhailo Murdryk, Moses Caicedo and Nicholas Jackson cost a combined total of €400 million pounds. Disappointingly, they have a combined total of 10 goals and 6 assists between them in the past 2 seasons./>
On the other end of the pitch, €145 million was splashed on the defensive quartet of Robert Sanchez, Benoit Badashile, Axel Disasi and Malo Gusto. They haven’t lived up to expectations, keeping 13 cleansheets and conceding 71 goals in 53 matches since the 2022/23 season.
The club currently occupies the 10th position on the Premier League table despite having no parts to play in European competitions this season. The last time the club had a 10 game unbeaten streak in all competitions was in December 2021 under former coach Thomas Tuchel. That’s too average for a club like Chelsea.
Another popular notion among fans and pundits is that the players are too young and quite inexperienced for a club like Chelsea. There may be some truth to this, as the squad has an average age of 23.22 years. If you pretend that Thiago Silva is not there, the average age is 22.7 years; it is a very young squad with lots of time to learn and adapt.
One thing which is evidently lacking in their game though, is leadership. John Obi Mikel in his interview with talkSPORT cited that the team does not have leaders who take charge, admonish, discipline, rile up or encourage members of the team when necessary, and I agree.
The players at times look lost and confused in different areas of the field. In the 2-1 loss against Manchester United they kept giving the ball away in front of their box. Also, the technicality and efficiency level has dropped drastically. The absence of a proper set-piece taker is evident, as the club has witnessed only two freekick goals since 2021. Compare that with the likes of City, Liverpool Arsenal and even Spurs who have the likes of Arnold, KDB, Odegaard or Maddison, and you’ll appreciate having a technically gifted player in your team.
In spite of these issues, there is a lot of hope and signs of a brighter future, as one aspect of the team has improved a lot compared to last season.
Last season, Chelsea scored 38 goals in 39 games, an average of 1.0 goals per match with a goal conversion rate of 10%. This season they have scored 26 goals in 15 games already, averaging 1.7 goes per match with a 13% goal conversion rate. To put that into perspective, only Manchester City (15%) , Aston Villa (15%) and Arsenal bracket (14%) have a better goal conversion rate.
The goals have started coming, but are not coming enough. While some are of the thought that a top level goal getter like Victor Osimhen be brought in to finish off the chances, I think sorting out the defence will do the team a lot of good. Lasting solutions should be proffered for the full back positions, as James and Chillwell cannot be relied upon because of their recurring injuries.
Pochetino at the helm of affairs should fix these things and bring in a two or three players that will fill the deficient roles. If he does it well, then the team will be one of the best in 2 to 3 seasons, as most of the squad will be between 24 to 27 years and in the prime of their careers.
Imagine what a team it would be!