The pressure game: The new Chelsea come into the season with too many question marks

When they are without enough brakes and without a senior striker, the Blues fantasize about the championship fight, but in light of the doubt regarding many players and the changes that are still expected in the squad, even Tuchel indicates that the team is not ready for the season

cliff ravine

06/08/2022

Saturday, August 6, 2022, 11:00

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share by email

• Share in general

• Comments

  Comments

Arsenal defeats Chelsea 0:4 in a friendly match in the United States (Sport1)

12 months ago Chelsea were on top of the world.

Thomas Tuchel's first half season felt like a honeymoon and ended with a surprising win in the Champions League, and to the intriguing squad was added the missing piece - Romelu Lukaku, one of the best strikers in the world.

Many felt that this time Chelsea could fight for the championship, but those hopes faded very quickly.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, that was just the beginning.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has affected Chelsea more than any top team in Western Europe.

The beginning of the fighting led to sanctions against the Russian owner Roman Abramovich, and later also left him no choice but to say goodbye to his life's project and sell the club to Todd Boley.

Much is hidden over the open regarding the managerial nature of the American, but the first impression is that the coach is fully supported - unlike the culture of sporadic dismissals in the days under the oligarch.

Worried.

Tuchel (Photo: Reuters)

Also on the professional side the Blues were hurt, especially at the back.

Two of the senior stoppers at the club, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, signed with Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively without the English seeing a penny.

Chelsea entered an arms race against Barcelona for Rafinha and Jules Conde - and lost twice.

And if that wasn't enough, then Barcelona's raid is expected to continue with the addition of Marcos Alonso.

The Blues finally managed to keep the captain Cesar Azpilicueta, after a surprising turn.

Kalidou Koulibaly did arrive, but Thomas Tuchel also casts great doubt on Chelsea's readiness for the season in this section.

The 31-year-old Senegalese arrives in the Premier League a few years late and may be a bit past his prime, and the only other stoppers expected to be part of the rotation are veterans Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva and youngster Trevo Chalobah.

Last season there was a lot of playing in the three-brake lineup, and with such depth this year it simply won't be enough.

Without a stopper in the squad between the ages of 24 and 30, the peak years of a player's career, the coach even tried to play with two stoppers in some of the preparatory games out of fear that a solution would not be found in the next window.

After being defeated 4:0 by Arsenal in the preparation, Tuchel presented a worrying picture and admitted that he is not at all sure that Chelsea will be ready for the start of the season: "We can't talk about Liverpool and Manchester City. We lost to the team that finished behind us last season and now they look better from us".

Yes, Tuchel is not ashamed to state that instead of Chelsea fighting for the championship this season, they first need to keep their place in the top 4 - and this is worrying.

More in Walla!

Only 3 ingredients: quick cookies filled with jam

In collaboration with Rami Levy

Tuchel backed up.

Bolly (Photo: Reuters)

The problems do not leave the offensive part either, but before we get to it we will return to the dynamic between the owner and the coach.

Chelsea have been mentioned as a top contender for Cristiano Ronaldo who is desperate to find a team that will play in the Champions League this year, and for Bolly it was a great opportunity to make his mark with a glittering signing.

In American sports, there are quite a few cases where new owners want to show their presence very quickly with a big trade or an impressive signing, and it was easy for Bully to get carried away by the trend he knows from home.

This is where the coach comes into the picture.

Tuchel's Chelsea are known for their pressing game, where the attacking players are just as important as the team's defensive game.

Ronaldo has many virtues even at his advanced age, applying pressure is not one of them.

It's hard to refuse a scorer like the Portuguese (although top European teams do it this summer one after the other), but after Tochel was burned by the experience with Lukaku, he refused another such experiment.

Boli went with him - Ronaldo did not come.

Will a winger be a solution for the striker position?

Sterling (photo: official website, ChelseaFC)

Chelsea's starting "striker" in the upcoming season is supposed to be Kai Habertz, originally an attacking midfielder, when in addition there are alternatives such as Timo Werner who is not at all certain to stay and Raheem Sterling who arrived from Manchester City.

While it rarely happened, there were occasions when Sterling was placed in Pep Guardiola's wing.

Sterling is a player who doesn't stop running and can easily switch places - so he may be a solution to this predicament.

As for natural pioneers?

The German manager has two options, two players who have to prove that they are even ready for this level.

The first is Michy Batshuayi who has been loaned countless times since arriving at the Blues, the second is young Armando Bruia who has returned from his loan season at Southampton.

There is a reasonable chance that one of the two will finish the transfer window somewhere else, but most likely each of them will still stay, carry the heavy responsibility and be the only natural striker in the squad.

The offensive players are unstable over time.

Zeish (Photo: Reuters)

Even if Chelsea somehow manages to solve the striker issue, there are too many question marks in the shell, in the attacking link.

The expected contribution of Haberz, Sterling and Mason Mount is not disputed, but the other players are not stable enough and that is why Chelsea were so determined to try and bring Rafinha from Leeds without success.

Players like Werner, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Zeiss and Callum Hudson-Odoi fail to live up to expectations for long.

There is talk that some of the names mentioned will leave the club and make way for new players, but the clock is ticking.

There is still a month left in the transfer window and there is still no clue as to the name of an attacking player who may come as a reinforcement.

And if that's not enough, then even the players who are supposed to leave are far from finding a solution.

Bottom line, Chelsea are about to open their first season under the new owner with a lot of question marks.

A squad that may yet turn around and change its face in the coming month, players who are having trouble acclimatizing, opponents who are running away from her at the top and those who are closing the gap from her.

Although Chelsea always strives to win all the titles, perhaps maintaining their position as the top Londoners will be enough for them this season.

• sport

• world football

• English League

Tags

• Chelsea