There has to be concern on the part of Chelsea fans considering the events of the last few weeks. Chelsea’s performances leading into the Liverpool match were not great and since then they have plummeted. Further defeats to Sunderland and Birmingham have cranked up the pressure on Carlo Ancelotti and his men.
The main concern for Chelsea fans has to be the significant lack of depth they have to their squad. Sure they have some very talented youngsters in the ranks, but they are not ready to fill the shoes of the senior players. Chelsea have missed Frank Lampard considerably. There were ridiculous murmurings that Chelsea didn’t need him a couple of weeks ago – what the last couple of weeks have shown is they do. The squad ticks when Frank Lampard is playing well. Didier Drogba ticks when he is in the team. He has a great knack of getting on the end of something or forcing the issue against a stubborn defence. Against Birmingham it was clear Chelsea were missing a creative spark in the middle. Lampard provides that for Chelsea, and it can’t be underestimated how important he is.
The second concern is clearly in the transfer market. Selling Ricardo Carvalho was a mistake. His performances at Real Madrid have been superb, and is once again looking one of the most talented defenders around. Chelsea lack quality defensive cover and it is costing them. Aside from Alex and John Terry, Chelsea have no one that has the necessary quality to deputise. Why on earth did Ancelotti let Carvalho leave without replacing him. Carlo Ancelotti must have known that Terry would begin to pick up niggling injuries as he gets older, and to let a quality player like Carvalho leave is costing Chelsea.
Furthermore, Chelsea look a side that have blown out of steam. This could have two explanations. The first could be that Chelsea were so impressive early on in the season that it all became too easy for them. Maybe they have got themselves into a rut and these run of defeats will actually help them long term. Having said that, the argument doesn’t stand up because of the experience in the management and playing staff. It seems as if age is catching up with Chelsea in a big way. They are sluggish on the ball and wasteful in front of goal. They look a side that have run out of ideas, a side that lacks any real creative drive. Their performances over the last couple of weeks are of the AC Milan side that Carlo Ancelotti left at the San Siro. Simply, has the squad ran out of gas?
Of course Chelsea have not become a bad team over night. However, many people pointed to these issues as potential weaknessess at the estart of the season. Carlo Ancelotti has one of the smallest Premier League squads and let Joe Cole, Michael Ballack, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Juliano Beletti all leave the club, only to replace them with Yossi Benayoun and Ramires. Chelsea need a squad to win the Premier League, it seems they do not.
When Chelsea have their best eleven out on the pitch, they are the best team in the Premier League. However with injuries to key defenders and a midfield that is changing every week, Chelsea have serious problems. Ramires hasn’t settled to the pace of the English game and Yuri Zhirkov is in no way good enough in the centre of midfield. The lack of depth could derail Chelsea’s bid to retain the Premier League. There are cracks in the team and come January, Carlo Ancelotti will need to address a series of problems the squad faces – if he is still at Stamford Bridge of course.
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