Blue wave coming towards football!

Now that we have won the Champions League, it feels like a heavy load is off our back. No more “You guys have never won a Champions League” claims from the anti-Chelsea fans. We’ve got it now. The Holy Grail is in our cabinet. Last season was a huge success for Chelsea. The season which media predicted would be our worst season went on to become our best season. However, they were right in one thing. We failed in the premier league by losing a battle for a Champions League spot. Maybe this time that would be overshadowed by our famous Champions League win. But fighting for the Champions League spot is below our grade. That’s probably Arsenal and Tottenham’s level. We should be up there at the top. We should be challenging for the title.

Winning the Champions League and FA Cup, however reassures our spot in the list of world’s best football powerhouses. Next season would be the best opportunity for us to prove that we can be consistent at top level. We would be playing in the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup next season. Including those we will take part in 7 tournaments (including the community shield). From them, Premier League should be our main priority. We need a big squad for that. We need rotation in it. Youth needs to step up. Legends should keep leading them with examples. I think we are really good at that part. And with Roman’s huge wallet, I think next season would be more than just gold for us. Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts, because there is a huge blue wave coming towards football. I meant a royal blue wave. A dark blue wave. Definitely not a light one.

Here’s why


Eden Hazard

Ligue 1’s best player for the past two seasons. Owns twenty goals and fifteen assists from last season. Sought after by the biggest footballing giants. But he said, “I’m signing for the champions league winner”. This talented 21 year old can play both as a winger and as an attacking midfielder. However he prefers the latter. Many of the football experts praised this skilled Belgian international. He has got an awesome dribbling, an eye for the goal and creates chances as well in the meantime. He is known for his creativity, speed and technical ability. Described as a “fearless, explosive attacking midfielder who can change the game with a turn of pace or a dribble” and also “a defenders’ nightmare”. He has drawn comparisons with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He is the man for Chelsea next season.

Marko Marin

This guy impressed me first at the FIFA World Cup 2010 after coming on as a sub in a game with a set of dribbles and drilling the defense lines. 23 years old, a German international known as the German Messi for his great dribbling skill. He is described as a player who can decide a game on his own. Quite like Hazard, but he is less physical and is injury prone as he spent most of the last season in the sidelines. This might be a problem. But his effective skills as a winger or as an attacking midfielder compensates for that. He is known for his acceleration, dribbling, agility, creativity, versatility, technical ability and as an assist maker. Chelsea bought him from German side Werder Bremen for $8M. He can bring back the spark from the wings that Chelsea had during the Mourinho days.

Hulk

Now that Drogba and Kalou are gone we need another striker. And I believe Hulk can be the exact replacement. But Porto could be quite reluctant to sell him, especially to Chelsea as our history with them is not at the best condition. Aged 25, this Brazilian international has the power to smash in goals and is quite effective in front of the goal. He lives up to his name Hulk (actually a nickname from his father). He is Chelsea’s first choice to replace Drogba. But Malaga’s Salomon Rondon, Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic and Wigan’s Victor Moses are also in the queue.

Mathieu Debuchy

Team mate of Eden Hazard at Lille. Can be teammates again if the transfer happens. This French international has impressed football eyes in this year’s European Championship playing as a right back for France. He has scored 15 goals in his career which is quite impressive for a 26 year old right back. We need him to replace Jose Bosingwa who is released by Chelsea. Debuchy is known for stability, consistency and positioning which currently lacks at Chelsea. He also has ability to move forward with the ball in the opposition half and provide good crosses infront of the opposition goal. And if needed he can act as a defensive midfielder. I think we should buy him instead of Van der Wiel.

I believe that’s all the shopping we need. Already our squad is crowded and if needed there is January transfer market. And we have skilled youth players in Islam Feruz, Lucas Piazon, Ryan Bertrand who is ready to step up whenever they are given the chance. With this squad, the legends and Roberto Di Matteo, I think we are in for a treat next season. My preferred line up:

Cech

Debuchy/Ivanovic           Luiz/Cahill            John Terry           Cole/Bertrand

Ramires/Meireles            Lampard/Mikel/Essien

Mata                                     Hazard                                  Marin

Torres/Hulk

Feel free to comment in your preferred line up. By #LimCFC

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The Chelsea Way: The only way Chelsea can play?

This is a trend that’s been around ever since after the first leg match Chelsea won against Barcelona in the Champions league semi-finals and much was emphasized since our Champions League glory. It’s a trend where people everywhere say, that Chelsea can only play the boring and defensive football style. If what they’re saying were just to highlight that we can play well defensively, I’d have no problems with that. But in this case, the majority of people are saying this to degrade the qualities we possess as a football club.

This has spread everywhere, every social media and every news media. I have read so many times in social medias where people say, well basically, Chelsea is a team that can only play defensively. Here’s a conclusion I made on all the tweets and comments that are having a say on this:

Both Marin and Hazard were signed to bolster our attacking qualities

“Chelsea have signed Hazard and Marin, and now are going after Hulk, Ben Arfa, Schurrle etc. Why are they trying to sign all these attacking players when they’re just going to turn them into defenders?”

Now this is insulting. By my understanding, what all these tweets and comments are trying to say is 

this: Chelsea can and only knows how to play defensively. Before I start rumbling on how this nonsense is outrageous; now that the Euros are under way, a new term has emerged, The Chelsea way or some say, “doing the Chelsea”. Oh how thoughtful. The Chelsea way is basically a term used for a team using the similar tactic Chelsea used in the Champions League Semis and Final. Here’s an example; as we all know, Trapattoni, the Irish national team manager said they were going to use “the Chelsea way” to face Spain, and we all saw how that ended. Another example is France. They are to face Europe and World Champion, Spain. Reports from Bleacher report and other medias are suggesting that Laurent Blanc’s men will play “the Chelsea way” to face Spain.

Now some are complimenting Chelsea as they mean Chelsea exceeds others in defending, whilst others are just sore fans that for many reasons dislike Chelsea’s success last season. And for whatever reasons they’re saying all this, I finally feel irritated. How is it a team that played using a certain tactic for three matches considered that they could only play that way? So, what people everywhere out there are trying to say is that a team can only play one certain style of play in every match? Heck no. I’m not trying to say that playing defensively is a crime; we’ve had an article before about the beautiful attacking style vs. the boring defensive style, my main point is a team can’t be labeled a defensive team just because they played that way for a few matches. And that also includes Chelsea. We aren’t a defensive team, we exceed in defending, yes. But that’s not the only style we know how. Here’s my answer to those who keep on claiming we are a team that can only play boring defensive football-

1. It was a Tactic that Di Matteo used to perfection

Spot on tactics used against Barcelona and Munich

The three matches that got us the “boring” defensive team was the three matches we played against Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Yes we played defensively. But we did that because we had too. Last season saw us possess the worst attacking quality since the Roman era. Our only quality attackers were Mata, Torres and Drogba. While Malouda, Kalou and Sturridge were under performers. And Lukaku is still to young and inexperienced to be played in these important matches. Compare our atackers to rivals City, United and Arsenal? And we looked ordinary. Heck I sometimes thought Tottenham and Newcastle had better options upfront than us. So what Di Matteo had to do was to apply the best tactic he could. First, I’ll give a definition to what tactic means. Tactic has a definition of a procedure or set of maneuvers engaged in to achieve an end, an aim, or a goal/purpose. In football, I would put tactical aim is to get the best by calculating what you got and your opponents weaknesses and strength. And that’s exactly what Di Matteo did; he got the best out of our quality and took advantage of it. At that time our primary strength was clear: defense. Hence the defensive play against both Barcelona and Munich. Did we play defensively in the Premier League? NO. Did we play defensively against both Tottenham and Liverpool in the FA semis and final? NO. Fact is, Chelsea scored 19 goals since Di Matteo took over on March 4^th. And Chelsea also beat Tottenham with a staggering 5-1 win and a 2-1 win over Liverpool.

Who could forget that season when we broke all kinds of goal scoring records....

2. Stats say otherwise

Here are some stats to back me up. Chelsea until now holds the most goals scored in a season with 103 in 2009-2010 in the Premier League era. Another fact is that Chelsea is placed third among all teams that has participated in the Premier League since 1992-1993 with 1282 goals, only beaten by United and Arsenal with 1541 and 1345 respectively. Chelsea also scored 112 goals in all competitions last season, only 6 below United and 11 below City.

3. Other teams also played defensively

Yes, other teams also played defensively last season. To all Manchester United fans, remember the trip to Etihad? You basically parked the bus too, and worse, you had 0 shots on goal. And to top that, you still lost. Manchester City also played defensively at some occasions. They played defensively when they visited Stamford Bridge, and also when they played Arsenal at both Etihad and Emirates. And to top that, before this season, City was the most defense oriented team. We all know that as a fact.

So with all these, how is it just by playing those three matches, we are labeled defensive and boring? We can play fantastic attacking football and we showed it before. I know this article won’t instantly wipe all the nonsense people are saying out there, but I for one am certainly irritated and sick of all those talks. Roman certainly is showing he means business with all the transfers going on, so with all the signing that has already come, and the signings that will, I hope Chelsea next season will shut the mouths of those degrading and insulting our attack force once and for all.

How do you fellow Blues see it? Well, till then, Keep The Blue Flag Flying High as always....

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