Top 5: Chelsea Failures in 2015

Week after week, defeat after defeat, but Chelsea are expected to bounce back and get their season back on track. Infact after a win in Champions league against Porto FC, it seemed like a return to form for the champions and a win against Leicester City would have been a great confidence booster for the Blues to turn things around. Unfortunately, even after showing signs of improvement they languish on 16th position in BPL with 9 defeats. This season has been an absolute contrast to the last. From the champions in last season, Chelsea has turned into mid – table team this season.

We at ES have analyzed 5 major negatives for Chelsea this season.

1. Low confidence

From the start of the season, the Blues lacked the spark which was seen last year. Players seemed hesitant to make risky passes, to take on players and to win one on one battles, which shows they don’t believe in their ability to overpower the opposition like last year. Players like Hazard, Oscar and Matic looked low on confidence from the start which affected their game drastically. Hazard, player of the season last year looked nothing like it throughout 2015. The team lacks clear intensity, a spirit to fight and is  out of ideas to break the opposition down and lacks the confidence to play a high tempo game. Mou’s immature behavior, which got him banned, doesn’t do any good to the morale of his players.

2.  Shaky defense

One major problem this year is the number of goals Chelsea have conceded and the manner in which they have done so. The Blues have conceded 24 goals as against 17 scored which has led them to 9 defeats in 16 matches in BPL. Lots of changes at the back with Mr. Captain, Terry benched now and then, the champions looked out of sorts on most occasions. Ivanovic and Cahill were both out of form, another setback this year. Poor defense made the fullbacks stay back which resulted in less contribution from fullbacks in attack. After the failure to sign Stones, the lack of pace in Chelsea’s back four was always there to be exploited.

3. No presence in the box

This season Chelsea has been leaking goals and perhaps this is the reason why Mou is wary of committing men forward. Still you expect your striker to have presence in the box but Costa, unlike last season, was always seen outside the box and on the wings. Instead of attacking crosses played in by his teammates, he chose to go wide and put crosses in. Other than Costa, we expect the likes of Oscar and Willian to flood the box but they too were stagnant at the edge of the box. Absence of bodies in the box leads to a shortage of crosses and supplies, one of the reasons why Chelsea failed to show results of their possessions. Best chance to score is to get in the box and attack crosses like last year.

4. Players failing to perform their defensive duties

Mou likes to build his team from the defense and makes his winger work harder for his team. The likes of Hazard, Oscar and Willian are asked to put in extra shift for the team and track their runners back. But Hazard (like a season ago) and Oscar and Fabregas failed to work hard and fall back to support their teammates in defending. Naturally, this left spaces in Chelsea’s defense to be exploited which opposition made full use of, on every occasion. And Fabregas’ inability to sense the threat only makes it difficult for the Blues to hold the opposition from scoring.

5. Special One’s Outdated Magic

The tactics of the Special one aren’t quite working. He tried to play modern day football and started leaking goals, then he tried his tested formula and strengthened his defense, which gave him clean sheets  but no goals upfront. Now his team, Chelsea, is stuck in a grey area, perpetually confised whether to attack or defend, which is why oppositions so easily punish them. Also he said it himself in an interview that some of his player didn’t take his advice, which would have helped players in one v one battles. Seems like his magic is disappearing not only from field but also from dressing room which is not a good sign for a team like Chelsea who are languishing at 16 position.

Editors note: This article was written before Mou was sacked by Chelsea and as such reflects the writer’s views before the event.