Our series of 2015-16 season progress reports continues with a look at a Chelsea side who are experiencing the most shocking downturn in the modern Premier League-era.
What has gone right?
Looking at the first three-months of 2015-16 as a whole, it is fair to say that nothing has gone right for the South Londoners. In a mere 12-games of football Chelsea have all but given away the Premier League crown, which took 38 to earn. While the other top outfits of England took measures to vastly improve their squads and tactics over the Summer, a lack of evolution in the simple style that relied heavily on individual moments of genius has seen Mourinho’s men broken down repeatedly, occupying territory in the bottom-quarter of the table for most of the season.
The latest Premier League showing did show a hint of promise though. Despite going down 1-0 to Stoke City, the Blues controlled the possession and had they been slightly more fortunate could have recorded a convincing scoreline. A defeat in the same manner last season would have been notched up as an unlucky day and the absence of a manager on the sidelines may have been the telling factor.
What has gone wrong?
Where to begin? Issues stemming from the first match of the season, where long-serving team doctor Eva Carniero ultimately left Stamford Bridge, are still affecting the players now and began the campaign on the wrong-foot internally.
What were once early worries about individual performances, particularly the calamitous showings of right-back Branislav Ivanovic, have turned into full-blown catastrophes as nearly every member of the largely-unchanged squad looks like a shadow of their 2014-15 selves. At the top of the list is Eden Hazard, last season’s PFA Player of the Year who had the highly-prized ability to snatch a victory for a side which had the lever firmly in park. So far this season the Belgian is yet to find the back of the net after nearly 1000 minutes of game time and has been too easy for defenders to keep away from the ball. Fan-favourite Cesc Fabregas is another prime culprit, ripping apart the Premier League upon his return last year but now looking sluggish and inept at his holding-midfielder role, while fans will also point fingers at poor efforts from the likes of John Terry and Nemanja Matic.
The terrible form that the players have displayed would inevitably also bring pressure down on the manager, however, in recent weeks the ‘Special One’ had looked on the verge of cracking. Each passing week brought increasingly bizarre statements to the media, while an halftime outburst at Upton Park where Mourinho tried to enter the referee’s room saw him banned from the stadium for the most recent match against Stoke.
Antics aside, what can be questioned is the manager’s recruitment during the summer, with overconfidence in the players that won the title last season and the ‘park the bus’ mentality. Opposition teams are able to easily nullify the dangerous playmakers in Hazard and Fabregas, then devastate a disorganised backline on the counter-attack with equal simplicity.
Mourinho has always taken any reason possible to shield his players from public criticism, but the point is nearing where these factors are going to need weighing-up and be it on the pitch or at the helm, something will be changed.
Best player so far – Willian
While the rest of his teammates have been losing confidence at a rapid rate, Brazilian winger Willian never fails to exhibit the qualities that were typical of Chelsea’s success last season. Never slowing down during the 90 minutes, the arrival of Pedro to Stamford Bridge late in August was speculated to be his death-knell, but Willian’s six goals and two assists across all competitions so far have saved the team from complete implosion. The 27-year-old’s free-kick’s have arguably been the most dangerous in the Premier League and he has the pace to generate opportunities when driving into the 18-yard area, yet too often the striking targets have been a few steps behind.
What is next?
Now 13 points adrift of fourth placed Manchester United and even 10 away from the top six, the Blues are going to not only need their performances to change, but also some fortunate results further up the table for anything meaningful to be taken from this domestic season. While nothing can be taken for granted at the moment, on paper this weekend’s meeting with Norwich at Stamford Bridge is a comfortable way to come back from the break, but the real test comes at the end of the month with a visit to White Hart Lane.
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Tottenham ran away to a 5-3 win in this fixture last year and could condemn their neighbours to a finish outside of the six this time around, although matches against the other two promoted sides and Sunderland before the New Year will provide some optimism for the reigning champions.
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