Last year this time, my expectations for Chelsea F.C. were “unrealistically” through the roof. Hailed as the second coming of the “Special One”, Andres Villas-Boas was hired from FC Porto to revolutionize the Premier League and help the Blues win the Champions League. His 4-3-3 attacking formation and tactics were supposed to turn Chelsea F.C. into the “English version” of F.C. Barcelona … an attacking force to be reckoned with.
By March, AVB was on his way out and the Blues were on their way out of the top four.
Sure, Chelsea ended last season as the FA Cup holder and European Champions (which by the way, they clearly stole from Bayern Munich and by the way I’m clearly okay with that and still grateful I witnessed it).
But their sixth place finish in the Barclay’s Premier League was far from okay for a team that has an owner who has spent over £1 billion since his arrival at the club in 2003. This summer, the spending or should I say “investing” habits continued. Roman Abramovich “invested” over £70 million (roughly $94 million) to revamp his squad.
Out went old players like Salomon Kalou, Jose Bosingwa, and the big Ivorian, Didier Drogba (FYI… this shirtless picture is for a certain someone … you know who you are).
In came creative and attacking players like Oscar, Eden Hazard, and Marko Marin.
The hope is this new refreshed squad can produce a more attractive version of football that really has never been played at Chelsea F.C but do so while winning.
This morning, the Blues opened the 2012-13 campaign with a dare-I-say-it unimpressive 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic. And to be honest, the “Revitalization” that Abramovich craves is going to take a lot of time (time that unfortunately Roman Abramovich won’t give and the fans-myself included – are not accustomed to giving).
But for what it’s worth I liked what I saw today. For the first time really ever, the Blues played the ball through the middle of the pitch. Gone is their reliance upon the long ball into the box. In, is a new reliance upon building from the back.
With their new 4-2-3-1 formation, Chelsea allowed Eden Hazard to be the playmaker that he was at Lille OSC, and he is really as good as advertised. He was responsible for Chelsea’s two goals today (an assist and a penalty drawn) and looks to be the center attacking midfielder that Chelsea has so desperately lacked over the years.
Also impressive, was Chelsea’s second summer signing, Oscar. In limited second half play, Oscar put a significant stamp on the game in the final third and proved that he really shouldn’t be left on the bench going forward.
There are clearly still a lot of concerns in the back (John Terry, John Terry, John Terry) and up top with Fernando Torres (didn’t look like he wanted to be there today). But all in all, the summer signings look to have Chelsea F.C. heading in the right direction.
Contrary to last season, my expectations are tempered and for once I am seriously looking forward to simply enjoying the Blue’s this season. I fully expect them to be competitive this year and anything less than a top four, really three finish is unacceptable.
And who knows… maybe in this “rebuilding year,” they can pull of the improbable back to back European Cup double just like the 1979 and 1980 Nottingham Forest teams……..
But almost certainly not.
