A New Dawn For Mourinho’s Chelsea
Football can be beautiful to watch. As beautiful as when the sun rises at the crack of dawn. A certain Russian oligarch’s obsession to create this feeling has seen him dispose of many managers on SW6. Now it is at the hands of a certain Jose Mourinho. A manager synonymous with the efficient and structured style of play and his second attempt at the job of managing Chelsea consists of getting the best out of the team filled with fleet footed, creative attacking midfielders: Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Juan Mata, Oscar, William and Andre Schurrle.
However, there is a problem. A truly creative force from defensive midfield is inherently lacking in the ranks and this makes Chelsea an easier proposition to go up against. Chelsea did clearly identify that they were in need of a creative force from central midfield when they placed a £40 million bid for Luka Modric to Tottenham Hotspur on transfer deadline day in 2011. Yet, they have seemingly ignored this area, instead strengthening, and to some extent overcompensating, in their attacking midfield area.
Frank Lampard and Ramires have often been used in the two defensive midfield roles for Chelsea and it has often seen them leave their backline exposed. Even when John Obi Mikel plays, who provides some creative focus in the middle of the park, he is often left to do the defensive job in front of the back four and given the burden of the creative play, something he can do but he is not capable of performing both simultaneously, to a high standard.
The deep lying playmaker, often referred to as the ‘regista’, directs the passing of the team. He controls the tempo and acts as the metronome of the team. In one sense, they can control the passing of the whole team and their choice to quicken and slow down the play is what could be decisive in getting a goal. Andrea Pirlo and Paul Scholes are prime examples of these types of players.
If it were a choice of buying a world class defensive playmaker or nurturing the one they currently have in their ranks, then it would be better served to do the latter, with Josh McEachran. The English youngster was labelled as being a future star in the Chelsea midfield but loans to numerous clubs has stalled his progress. Where he was once ready to play with the best players, consistently surrounding himself with players of a band below has perhaps thwarted the early break in his career that his talent so clearly deserves. His best attribute is his delivery of the through ball from deep that can split defences. His passing prowess is second to none and he exudes a class on the pitch that not many have done at that age. Even when he faced up to Paul Pogba some 2 years ago in the FA Youth Cup, he upstaged the French U-20 international in both legs of the semi final. This here shows the untapped potential lurking within him given what Pogba has gone on to do in the years after, when he was given a chance to do so.
All in all, a Josh McEachran and John Obi Mikel pairing in the centre of the park at Stamford Bridge would go a long way to securing a key facet of playing aesthetically appealing football. They would provide an effective shield for the two CBs and would add an imagination to the Chelsea play that Ramires and Lampard cannot offer. Even if this issue was to be sorted out, the top end of the pitch still remains a problem.
A quality centre forward to bring out the full skill set of the three behind the Chelsea striker has been missing in action more for The Blues. The striking quality that is currently there does not reach such expectation. Therefore, it may be in Chelsea’s best interest to look at the aforementioned plethora of attacking midfielders and succumb to a recent trend in football – ‘The False 9’.
A false 9 is a player that is deployed up front but is not told to stay within the width of the 18 yard box, like the archetypal number 9, but rather roam within the final third of the pitch. The lack of presence up front is employed due to the fact that defenders cannot leave holes to press and this puts them in a position to find free space. This means that a player could run at them or thread a ball in behind the defence. Lionel Messi, from 2009 to today, at Barcelona is a good example of how well this role can be used.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have used this role on two occasions and have, unfortunately, not been great. The games were against Juventus and Manchester United where Hazard and Schurrle played up front, in respective games. These were poor attempts as they were selected due to their ability to stretch defences, because of their speed, rather than on their finishing ability. This was shown by Hazard hitting the side netting from a relatively simple angle, which Clive Tylesledy comically thought went in, and Schurrle rattling the crossbar from an easy position, although he was adjudged to be offside. Their goal scoring records were not considered when thinking of who the best player to put up front was.
Juan Mata has not only been outstanding in terms of his performance, but this has translated to him contributing a vast amount of goals and assists. None more so than last season where he achieved 19 goals and 35 assists in the 2012/13 season, playing 64 games in the process. He was Chelsea’s 2nd top goal scorer last season in all competitions and would suit the false 9 position perfectly. Under Mourinho, it has not been plain sailing for Mata. He has had to deal with the fact that the Portuguese manager has noted his poor defensive contribution as being a weak link for Chelsea. Whilst Andre Villas Boas managed Chelsea, a worrying percentage of goals came down the left hand side – where Mata played in his first season. By having him up front, the burden of him having to defend would be lifted. Most importantly, he would be able to link the midfield and attack. Chelsea have brought in No.9s whose main strengths do not include dropping deeper and contributing to the attack. This makes for a detachment between the front line and floating three AMs behind. This makes it harder for the attacking midfielders to provide for them. Since the attacking midfielders are more possession based, this type of striker is necessary. Liverpool of the past and Atletico Madrid presently have shown that it can work but only if the style is set up for the striker to run behind the defence.
This would be a short term fix to something that has persisted for more than 2 years now. Daniel Sturridge would have fitted in perfectly but he was not utilised and sold to Liverpool, where he is currently shining. Romelu Lukaku does not seem like the striker to help with the process of building an attack but since he came to Chelsea at the age of 18, he has worked hard on all aspects of his game and should be considered as an long term option. However, these two players are not available in this present time, seeing as Lukaku will ply his trade with Everton for the season. Therefore, Juan Mata heading the Chelsea attack should be the choice for Chelsea to gain a larger effect on games from their attacking midfield trident.
Mourinho’s job brief is different to what it was some 9 years ago. The instant success that was arrogantly, at that time, predicted by the 2 time Champions League winner was the foundation of getting Chelsea into the upper echelons of football. Now, he has a younger group of players with different talents. They are less functional and it will be hard to mould them into these types of players. Instead, a long term winning mentality coupled with football that would satiate the Russian owner, Roman Abramovich, is the plan. The crux of the talent is there. Lukaku, Marco van Ginkel, De Bruyne and McEachran are just some of the younger players who are his disposal. It would have been better to test the waters and somehow fit the majority of these into the side to foster a familiarity that breeds what a winning team is about – consistency. Alas, two of those are out on loan, one has a long term injury and the last discontented with his playing opportunities. Perhaps it will be a season yet where Mourinho is able to combine his biggest strengths and the highest strengths of his team.