A Transitional Period: Just What Chelsea Need?

Is The Strain Of Trophyless Season Too Much To Bear?

One word Chelsea don’t seem to appreciate is “transitional”.

In the aftermath of last Sunday’s defeat to Manchester United, which effectively ended their wonderful resurgence in form and, thus, the title race, one word that many of their fans banded about was “failure”. In not pulling off the most unlikely of league comebacks, or enjoying any cup success, this was a season they deemed a waste.

In the midst of all the hype, expectation and ludicrous transfer fees, it’s worth remembering that Chelsea are still relatively new to all this. It was only seven years ago that they were plucked from mid-table obscurity by a certain Russian gangster and given the financial clout to assert themselves as one of Europe’s elite. It took them two seasons to claim a domestic title and they only managed to reach a European final three years ago.

They might have won 3 out of the last 6 Premier Leagues, but compare that to Manchester United’s 11 out of the last 18, and you get an idea of the scale I’m talking about here…

From Humble Beginnings...

In those 18 seasons, Manchester United have assembled, and dismantled, some of the greatest playing squads ever to grace the English game. Initially boasting talents like Ince, Hughes and Cantona, before the emergence of the golden generation of Beckham, Scholes and the Nevilles. The likes of Cole, Yorke and Sheringham, and the astonishing treble they won, have since been replaced by Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo – via Ruud van Nistelrooy and um… David Bellion. Then there was Schmeichel, Keane and, of course, Ryan Giggs, who all arrived at the club for modest fees (or through the youth system) and went on to become some of the defining footballers of this generation. I could go on, and I don’t even particularly like the club…

Chelsea, on the other hand, have enjoyed all their success with what is essentially the same squad of players. More to the point, Jose Mourinho’s squad of players.

Whilst he wasn’t the man to sign John Terry or Frank Lampard, he was the man who oversaw their progression from “highly-rated England squad members who could potentially replace Scholes and Campbell” to “ZOMG I’ll swap you all my pocket monies for da shiny Terry panini sticker” (don’t even get me started… again).

He was also the man who brought in Carvalho, Essien, Ballack and Drogba… which might have had a little bit more to do with it.

Of course, that was then. Carvalho, Ballack, Robben and Joe Cole have all departed and, of those that remain, Terry, Lampard, Drogba, Anelka, Ashley Cole and even Malouda have now all seen thirty candles on their giant, thirteeen-teir, platinum-coated birthday cakes. Those they have standing in a la Mikel, Alex and Kalou are just not of the same standard. There’s no need for them to hit the panic button, but it’s definitely time for a rebuild.

The main problem facing them though, is that of stability. Since Mourinho upped sticks and left, just three and a half years ago, they’ve seen no less than four men take the hot seat. Avram Grant, Luiz Scolari, Guus Hiddink and now Carlo Ancelotti all looking to fill the gap of designer stubble and smart jackets. They’ve met with mixed results, Scolari, who everyone thinks is quite good, looked like a baffled old man who’d been given the job by the Make A Wish Foundation, and Grant, everyone thinks is rubbish, took them to within a penalty of winning the Champions League. Baffling.

Ancelotti, on the other hand, has been pretty steady, he won an unlikely Premier League title in his first season and, despite an almost comically bad run of form earlier in the year, could have put his team top with a win at Old Trafford. At the very least he’s hauled Arsene Wenger’s perennial bottlers back to third. Staggering to think then that rather than having earned the right to mould the squad in his image, with the owner in complete confidence about signing the cheques, he’s probably on his way out of Stamford Bridge. As I said “transitional” doesn’t exist for Chelsea it seems, it’s just a black and white line between success and failure.

You can’t rebuild a squad without a steady presence in the dug-out. Harking back to my Old Trafford example, if the powers that be had dispensed with Old Whiskey Face after losing the league to Blackburn in ’95 or brought in some hip young thing to combat Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ side, they would have spent considerably longer waiting for success to return.

McEachran: Chelsea's Next Midfield Superstar?

The task facing Ancelotti isn’t even that drastic, as they’re only about three or four players away from being a real force in the league again. A smart and commanding centre-back is the first priority, which they might well have already found in David Luiz. Some youthful energy and a creative livewire in the middle of the park is also a must, with Josh McEachran showing bags and bags of promise (and Carlo’s old pal Andrea Pirlo available on a free) they wouldn’t have to spend big there either. There’s also the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Gael Kakuta and Patrick van Aanholt on the wage bill, who all look a bit handy.

Ancelotti’s real test though, lies in Fernando Torres. He clearly didn’t sign him, and he clearly doesn’t trust him to deliver in the big games, but somewhere underneath all the nerves and media scrutiny, there is a fantastic centre-forward. If Carlo can work out how to help him rekindle his form, and employ a system that could supply him, he’d not only be pushing for major honours, but he’d have won Roman Abramovich over as well.

In short, this season for Chelsea has definitely been a waste, but not in the way their fans, and probably their chairman will think. While they could have taken their foot off the pedal somewhat, accepted their shortcomings and used the time to rebuild the side, experiment with formations and give their bright young talents a real taste of prolonged first-team football, they’ve instead forced a depleted and ageing squad to chase after trophies. They haven’t won anything, but worst of all, they’ll have learned very little as well.

If Chelsea tell Ancelotti to pack up his eyebrows and leave then they’d only be postponing the problem. Any possible replacement would be looking at a ‘make-do and mend’ operation over the next twelve months before starting to build their own squad in their second or third season in charge. Ancelotti’s already started the job and sacking him now would only make Chelsea’s problems worse. If stability means a few barren seasons then so be it, winning a title next season with a quick fix would represent short-sightedness of a frankly terrifying scale (I’ve over dramatised that, in truth I’m not really fussed).

Patience is a virtue Roman. I mean, just look at Arsenal, they’ve been putting up with this shit for 5 years now…