Chelsea have top players like Hazard, Costa, Tibo, Willian, Fabregas, Azpilicuta and Matic. Then they have quality young players like Zouma, Traore, Kenedy, Christensen, RLC, etc. But their main problem lies with the players such as Oscar, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Baba, Mikel, and Remy. All these players are either aged or are below par. None of them qualify for a starting position in a top team. Chelsea must replace at least 4 of them with quality players if they are going to be competing for the title in the coming seasons. Regardless of their manager, they are not going to do well with their current squad.
Another problem for Chelsea is the lack of leaders in their team. They really need players who can inspire when the morale is low. They lost their spine with the loss of Drogba, Lampard, Cech and Cole within a very short span of time and they haven't found adequate replacements for any of them. Except Terry, who is on the verge of retiring and is only going to be a bit-part player in the coming season, they don't have a real leader in their team now. Ivanovic, who was their captain in the absence of Terry, is fast becoming a huge liability for them on the pitch. The only players in their team who are showing some sort of leadership and spirit are Fabregas and Azpilicuta. Costa can also be a leader, but lack of communication and his bad temper often makes negative impact in that aspect. And as per reports, he is not happy there and is looking for a reunion with Atletico.
Unless they address these issues, i am not worried about Chelsea.
In my point of view Chelsea pushed above their weight because of Jose Mourinho.
On his day
Hazard is a force not to be reckoned with. He lacks goals, but i don't want to stick the knife in, he's class.
Matic has been poor since their 5:3 defeat against Spurs, imo. A recovery is possible, i'll give you that.
Willian is a hard worker who rarely gets dispossessed, i liked the way he played against PSG, quick acceleration. His eye for the best pass is still questionable, but overall he's a good player.
Turning to the likes of Azpilicueta, Courtois, Costa and Fabregas. I see more problems coming up. I'm getting more familiar to the idea that some of their players are a bit overrated.
Azpilicueta is perhaps the best one on one defender in the league, his problem has always been his attacking participation. For Spain Azpilicueta hasn't been setting the world alight, i'm under the impression that Del Bosque isn't that convinced of Azpilicueta either.
Courtois had a lot of problems with defending his near post, there were a lot of soft goals. But he's a young keeper who had suffered an injury some time ago, therefore i cut him some slack. But what i won't do is stop criticising his distribution. A modern goalkeeper should be more comfortable with the ball at his feet.
Costa is a very good striker in the box, i like his movements, but his decision on the ball has been poor. Guys like Hazard thrive on one touch but that's not what Costa's style of play is all about. He seems very fragile and emotional, acts like the hard man but when the going gets tough, he backs off. Remember their game against Mangala and Kompany (3:0 City), they really put him in his place. I wouldn't be too happy relying on a player like that. But in my view, the biggest problem of Chelsea has to be
Cesc Fabregas. If he has time on the ball he's probably the best passer in the league, but when opponents press him hard, give him no time on the ball, he gets easily dispossessed. Chelsea tried him as a No10, but he lacks goals these days, alongside Matic must be his place. Matic had to work for both them, at some point it was too much, against counter attacking teams their door was wide open. As long as Fabregas is at Chelsea, i don't see compactness and pressing high up the pitch happening.
Zouma depends heavily on his fitness level, that injury could be make or break for him. His passing has been questionable.
Christensen ain't coming back next season. Gladbach made a two year deal with Chelsea. He's class though. The likes of
Traoré, Kenedy and Loftus-Cheek still have a long way to go. Maybe
Aké is the dark horse, played pretty well for Watford.
Chelsea must deal with the the likes of Oscar, Ivanovic, Cahill , Baba, Mikel, and Remy (not Terry) properly. I fully agree with you. Over the years average has found its way into Chelsea. Most of the players are on big contracts and additionally friends with the boss, for example Ivanovic and Abramovich, imo. Drama baby, drama!
My point is Chelsea desperately need 2 defenders (one centre back and one fullback), two midfielders and a striker. They need starters, players from whom you now what to expect. These kind of players could also be called 'leaders'.
Here comes the problem for Chelsea. I've seen pictures of their upcoming reconstruction of their stadium, it's about 600 mil bucks. Next season they won't participate in the Champions-League, money is going down the drain. Furthermore it looks like that their kingpin has made up its mind and tighens the belt from now on. Why else did they force this 'one in and one out' policy on Jose Mourinho. It doesn't help their case that the prices for players are only going up and up.
Conte seems like a very emotional coach, former players like Vidal talk about 'going to war'. On Twitter there was this 'Conte only knows to words': to fight. I keep wondering how that's going to play out with the aformentioned guys.
Maybe i'm underestimating the lot, but i can't see how they'll mount a challenge on anything apart from a cup. Maybe Conte is out of work in spring. You'll never know with Chelsea, Abramovich gets easily triggered and it's always the coach and never the players who are wrong at Chelsea.
