I’ve lived a very fortunate life as a Chelsea supporter since I started following them close to twenty years ago. I’ve seen endless trophy wins, a parade of big-name signings and the recruitment of world-leading managers and there’s rarely been a season where I haven’t had something to shout about. In this context, I’m sure it’s difficult for any fans of other sides to feel any sympathy for me or any other Chelsea fans during the club’s current miserable plight, and that’s fine. Every team is owed a bad season every now and then, and my god have The Blues had an absolute shocker during the 2022-23 campaign.
I wrote a blog at the start of the campaign, aptly named Worrying Signs at the Start of Chelsea’s New Era, in which I pleaded for patience from the fanbase, in spite of some questionable early decisions from the Boehly-Clearlake consortium. I stand by those comments and still think that you cannot judge the new owners on such a short space of time, especially as they inherited quite a few problems from the new ownership, which some Chelsea fans seem very keen to ignore. However, the facts are there for all to see: Chelsea sit 11th in the Premier League table in April, went out of both domestic cups in the first round (albeit away to City both times) and barring a miracle, will be easily eliminated by Real Madrid at the Champions League quarter-final stage. Added to that, we are on our third manager of the season, have spent over £600 million in the transfer market in one of the craziest scattergun strategies ever seen and have still only scored 42 goals in all competitions. For comparison, Man City have 123. Jesus.
Crisis is an over-used word in football and the problems at big clubs are nearly always exaggerated; look at the transformation at Manchester United this season compared to last. However, none of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ have had a league campaign as bad as Chelsea’s for a very long time, and there is no denying that the club is in dire need of a complete overhaul, in almost every on-field department. And by that, I don’t mean signing even more players. In fact, that has been the problem so far: Boehly frantically pressing the “make another signing” red button whenever things got worse. No, it means getting rid of a lot of the dead weight in a ridiculously bloated squad, getting in the right manager to start the rebuild and making some pretty obvious tactical changes.
Here is what I would do:
New Manager: Luis Enrique
No-one loves Frank Lampard more than me. And I was sufficiently charmed by his shocking return as interim manager, but making his appointment permanent, irrespective of how well he does in the final games of the season, would be yet another mistake. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be on the cards and it is fairly obvious that the position of the next permanent coach will go to one of two men: Luis Enrique or Julian Nagelsmann.
One of the many things Graham Potter’s cursed reign at Chelsea told us is that there is a reason the big clubs in Europe always look at the same pool of around ten to fifteen names. I actually liked the fact that someone like Potter was given a chance, but it became increasingly clear over time that he was just too nice and too normal to succeed at the Bridge. Whether it should be the case or not, ego and charisma matter just as much as tactical nous at the top level. You need to be a bit mad, especially at Chelsea. Of our most successful managers in recent years, Conte, Mourinho and Tuchel all share an intensity and a mean streak. More softly-spoken figures like Sarri, Villas-Boas and Potter have been chewed up and spat out.
And that’s why I would go with Enrique. Nagelsmann’s a superb coach but he is still staggeringly only 36 years old and his sacking at Bayern hinted at some naivety regarding managing those above him as well as in his own dressing room. Enrique on the other hand strikes me as someone who doesn’t give a sh** about what anyone else thinks, and that’s exactly what we’re after. He was in a dangerous position midway through the 2014-15 season with Barcelona, fighting battles internally, but won the argument and then delivered a treble. We’ll have a bit of that please.
Players to Sell:
One of Kepa/Mendy; Koulibaly; Gallagher; Ziyech; Pulisic; Aubameyang.
This list could have been a whole lot longer, but I’ve tried to be realistic in terms of who the club might, and could, sell. Some are obvious as in the cases of Ziyech and Aubameyang, some are for the purpose of trying to recoup some money and value (Pulisic & Gallagher) and others are to free up a spot in the squad for a better replacement (Koulibaly/one of the keepers). Added to this, members of our yearly loan army should finally be jettisoned permanently, even for cut-price deals (Bakayoko, Rahman and Hudson-Odoi could all in theory command a transfer fee). I would also look to loan out someone like David Datro Fofana, who clearly isn’t ready yet, and possibly the same for talents like Chukwumueka and Hall, who look really promising, but aren’t going to get enough minutes in such a big squad.
Players to Keep:
Chalobah; Loftus-Cheek; Cucurella; Mount
To be clear, I’m not bothering to speak about the players who will obviously still be at Chelsea next season. In fact, due to our eight-year contract policy, it’s safe to say the likes of Mudryk, Fernandez and James will be at the Bridge for the long haul. Instead, I’m reflecting on any that could in theory be in the above ‘to sell’ category.
For the first two, Trevoh Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, it’s simply a case of retaining two dependable, home-grown squad players. I think the general consensus amongst Chelsea fans is that these two could go in a heartbeat, but this isn’t FIFA career mode and you are required to retain a certain number of home-grown players within the squad. In the case of Loftus-Cheek, he can play in a number of different positions and has arguably actually had the best season of his Chelsea career (though that’s not the highest bar) whilst Chalobah is needed to cover the injury-prone Wesley Fofana at right-centre-back.
Now for Marc Cucurella. This will be the most unpopular opinion because there’s no getting away from it: he’s had a nightmare. I said at the time that we had paid over the odds for him in another example of Boehly’s over-eager spending and he has subsequently been one of the biggest victims of Potter’s constant formation-changing. However, I think he needs another season. And another season where he only plays at wing-back, when Chilwell isn’t available obviously, as that is where he excelled at Brighton the season before and where his obvious defensive vulnerabilities won’t be as exposed.
And finally, Mason Mount. Something that seemed totally inconceivable at the start of the season is now apparently more than likely, and that is the prospect of Mount leaving Chelsea to join a Premier League rival. This would be a gigantic mistake. Yes, he’s had a poor season, but it’s the first time he’s had a series of niggling injuries and let’s be fair, who hasn’t been disappointing during this wretched campaign? Chelsea are a noticeably better team with Mount in it; he injects badly needed energy and emphasis and he has also proven himself to be one of the most tactically-adaptable attacking players in European football. We’ve been here before with the likes of De Bruyne and Salah and to a lesser extent people like Tomori and Abraham. Watching someone who is genuinely Chelsea through-and-through excel, as he undoubtedly would, at a rival would be heart-breaking and must be avoided at all costs.
Positions to strengthen in: Goalkeeper; Striker
The irony of all the doom and gloom around Chelsea at the moment is that, as I just evidenced above, there is still a great deal of quality already at the club. In fact, I think every sensible Blues fan appreciates that in a lot of positions, the players we have are good enough, it’s just a case of creating a system and culture that allows them to flourish.
However, there are two notable exceptions, and they come at the two crucial areas of the pitch. Chelsea have lacked a world-class goalkeeper for a good few seasons now, ever since Courtois left the club. Before anyone says it, Edouard Mendy was superb during the 2020-21 campaign, deservedly winning the UEFA Best Goalkeeper award, but that was a case of a player over-performing and reaching a peak which he’ll never be able to repeat. And again, there have been moments this season when Kepa has shown glimpses of why we paid such extortionate money to bring him to the club.
It still remains a fact that neither are good enough to get Chelsea back to the top level; their weaknesses are too glaring to overlook. Mendy isn’t good enough with his feet to be able to build from the back as all top sides do, and Kepa still concedes too many shots that other top keepers would easily save. I don’t necessarily have a name in mind, as there is a shortage of world-class replacements available, but perhaps Andre Onana from Inter Milan or Gregor Kobel at Dortmund would be the upgrade we desperately need.
And now for the big one: striker. A position that seems to haunt Chelsea more than anyone else. When we don’t have a good one, as is the case currently, our attack is as blunt as a spoon. When we go out and buy one (often for huge money) it’s a disaster. See the catastrophic roll call of Lukaku; Werner; Morata; Torres and of course most recently Aubameyang. Which makes investing in one this summer a delicate balancing act.
For all the frustration around his inconsistent scoring, there is a reason that a series of Chelsea coaches all find a place for Kai Havertz; the German has a lot of good qualities in terms of linking the play, pressing and making runs in behind. And as shown when Lukaku was available, we often look a better side with him in the team instead. So, signing yet another big-name, big-ego striker is not the solution (as I desperately pointed out when we signed Aubameyang). Instead, I’d look for someone on the up in their career, who is willing to run the hard yards and also accept that he won’t necessarily play every single game.
Again, I haven’t got one name in mind (before anyone says it, Victor Osimhen will not be joining us with the other options he has available) but there are plenty available in the Premier League and beyond. People like Ollie Watkins or Ivan Toney, or, for a continental option, Randal Kolo Muani or Marcus Thuram (who could be got on a free). Someone who fits the team playing style, doesn’t arrive with sky-high expectations because of a ridiculous fee and who can develop alongside the other rising talents we have.
Build an identity
This last point could probably be considered the most important of all. All season, it has been so frustrating watching a side that doesn’t seem to have any clear idea of their identity or how best to build attacks and create chances. Even if you accept sacking Thomas Tuchel was a mistake, the German was struggling with this problem in the latter days of his tenure and things have only got worse since Potter and Lampard have taken over.
First and foremost, the new coach should stick to one formation and that formation should be playing three at the back. It’s the formation that has always suited this Chelsea side best. It’s the formation that last won us the Premier League back in 2017. It’s the formation that propelled us to the unlikely Champions League triumph in 2021. We have two of the best wing-backs in world football in Reece James and Ben Chilwell and should finally have some good back-ups/competition next season in new recruit Malo Gusto and Cucurella. Three at the back also gets the best out of the ageing but still exquisite Thiago Silva. It isn’t a fix in itself, but it should certainly be a starting point for the new permanent manager.
And lastly, the other affliction that Chelsea have suffered with for far too long is a miserably slow pace of play. Again, it crept in under Tuchel, got worse with Potter, and has culminated in a crippling lack of purpose under Lampard. Possession is all well and good, but if it doesn’t lead to anything, then it’s mind-numbingly dull. And as evidenced by the Brighton embarrassment, we’re not even good enough at it to justify attempting it in the first place. I am not advocating switching to direct, long-ball football (I wouldn’t have vouched for Enrique if that was the case) but there needs to be a clear, embedded instruction to play quickly and to progress forward at every opportunity. It would get the best out of our pacy, maverick forwards such as Mudryk and the incoming Nkunku and it would also quickly get an increasingly tense and disenchanted home crowd back onside.
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As I hope has become apparent, none of my suggestions are particularly ground-breaking, but that is very much by design. As horrendous as Chelsea’s fate seems in this current moment, there are some very obvious and simple fixes available to them. The new ownership has so far been a story of panicked, disjointed thinking and knee-jerk decisions. The best thing they could do to win over the fanbase is learn from their failings. That is the only way the Blues will return to their trophy-winning best.
George F Brown 