3 things Conte learned from Chelsea’s defeat against West Ham
Chelsea’s defeat against West Ham came as a shock, especially after a series of excellent performances in recent weeks…
The Blues were rocked by an early West Ham goal, and spent much of the game playing catch-up against Slaven Bilic’s men.
Granted, West Ham are never an easy side to beat, and the hostile atmosphere in the London Stadium certainly played a part – but the Blues were expected to win the game, and win it comfortably.
Nonetheless, there are several things that Antonio Conte can take away from the game as he looks towards the weekend – and he can look back on the West Ham clash with the trip to Southampton in mind.
With that said, here are 3 things Conte learned from Chelsea’s defeat against West Ham…
Squad Depth
The result, if nothing else, proved to Antonio Conte that his squad depth is simply not good enough to warrant wholesale changes in less important fixtures.
The Italian boss opted to utilise some of Chelsea’s fringe players, combined with a sprinkling of youth and experience – and whilst on paper, the team looked perfect; it simply was not good enough.
It made clear the fact that Conte has to go into the transfer market in January and, if he can’t bring top tier players to Stamford Bridge, he at least needs to look at bringing in some squad players in order to bulk out his first team.
In games that are less significant, it is extremely important to give players a rest – and Conte cannot afford to do that at present, judging by this result.
John Terry
This one is a tough one to admit, but the clash against West Ham proved, at the very least, that John Terry is not a viable option when utilising a 3 man defence.
It would certainly be jumping the gun to presume that John Terry is done at Chelsea, considering he made a good start to the season, but his weaknesses were exploited as part of a 3 man defence, and if that is the formation that Conte utilises going forward – Terry will have to take time to adapt.
Terry won’t be starting again for the foreseeable future, barring any injuries.
Youth
Perhaps the only silver lining from the game was the positive performances from some of Chelsea’s young stars.
Nathaniel Chalobah was, undoubtedly, a highlight – and he looked more than capable of having a role in the first team going forward. Ola Aina was another, albeit less high profile starter – and he looked good on the right-hand side.
If nothing else, this game proved that the future is bright for Chelsea – even if the present is a little bit murky.