FanPost

After 1 Pre-Season game, lets make some hugely speculative assumtions about the team...

I thought it would be fun to speculate on how each player's seasons will look, after just one pre-season game!

Hilario: Still capable of occasional flashes of class but the other 95% of the time, he lives up to the nickname of 'Hilarious'. Hopefully not in the 25, I would prefer Cech, Turnbull, Blackman

Blackman: I don't think that he had to make a single save in his 45 minutes so it is a bit difficult to make too much of an analysis of him.

Chalobah: Solid if unspectacular display. Probably needs a full season in the reserves with the occasional cup performance but I don't think I would be too scared to see him fill in at right back if needed this season. Lots of potential but this season is probably just a bit too soon for the youngster to think of getting 10-20 matches.

Ivanovic: Struggled a little bit playing in a partnership with Luiz but still put in a solid performance. Currently the starting right back and will be tested there in the next game against AC Milan, a lot more than he was tonight.

Luiz: Sideshow Bob doesn't seem to have lost much of a step from last season. He made some very impressive challenges and rarely put a foot wrong. He will definitely be fighting for first choice for the coming season.

Ferriera: I think that it is getting close to time for the full back to hang up his boots. He was carried through most of last season and I think that it would definitely be a mistake to register him as one of the 25 in our team, especially for champions league.

Hutchinson: Another solid performance in the 2nd best feel good story of last season (the first being CL of course). Will probably be able to put in 10-15 premier league appearances at RB/CB, provided we don't sign another RB. Likely successor to the title of Mr. Chelsea as I can see him being the next Terry and staying at the club for his life, captaining it and just being awesome.

Cahill: Doesn't seem to have missed a beat from last year with one impressive block being very reminiscent of champion's league last season. A full pre-season with us will help him gel into the squad even more and considering how well he did in the second half of last season, that could be incredible. Looking more and more like the natural successor to Terry every game and he will push the 'likely' starting partnership of Terry-Luiz to the max.

Kane: Offered a good outlet when pushing up the right hand side. Sometimes his final ball was a bit lacking and had a few mistakes defensively but not too poor a performance. Another season in the reserves and then we reassess next season. Not afraid to unleash a powerful shot from right back.

Saville: Was not too tested during his short time but did make one good block in the penalty box. Good to get some pre-season minutes but at least another 1-2 seasons in the reserves before he can start to think about being backup for Cole/Bertrand.

McEachran: Great performance for me. It is easy to point out that his poor pass lead to Seattle's first goal, but it is much easier to do things poorly, than to do things well. Strong in his small stature, composed over the ball, this is hopefully his season to break through. He wont often be partnered with Mikel and I think there was a bit of confusion as what role each of them were playing. I think that maybe the 4-3-3 would be a better formation for him as it would give him a little bit more freedom offensively, while still enabling him to put in a good defensive shift.

Mikel: Clearly enjoyed the freedom of being able to advance further forward, with McEachran covering defensively, but put in a solid, unspectacular performance in a game where there were quite a few bright sparks. Will definitely need to up his game if Essien can get a good pre-season under his belt.

Benayoun: Before this first game, I thought that Benayoun would be able to play an important role this season as he could have been an important connection between defense and attack, but if the rest of the pre-season continues like this, then he will probably be surplus to requirements. I think that he needs a few more games to be able to prove his worth, otherwise maybe its time for him to move on.

Hazard: Incredible first touch, great pace, great decision making... and this is pre-season. Looks likely to be worth every penny of that £32 million we paid for him. Enough said.

Marin: The most impressive performance in my opinion. If there was any worry about our defensive strength when playing with a diminutive band of 3, Marin made a point to tell Di Matteo that he will offer more defensively than the others. Very impressive with his tracking back and defensive work. His goal was a bit fortuitous but he was very dangerous on the ball and will definitely be a key piece in the transition from defense to attack. If he continues like this, he will be one of our most important players. He will be key when playing against stronger sides as we will be able to field something like Marin-Hazard/Mata-Ramires and be extremely strong defensively, whilst sill offering that creativity that was sometimes lacking.

Ramires: The Brazilian seemed a little bit rusty but showed his usual energy and passion, just lacking the final touch to get things gelling for him. Had a couple good runs into the box and he will offer a lot more defensively than most of our other attacking band of 3 will. He will probably have to work a bit harder to maintain a starting 11 position, but given his versatility and ability, he will relish the challenge.

Lampard: The captain for the day didn't seem to have too many issues playing in a deeper role beside Essien. Passing was neat and crisp and kept the play flowing and connected between defense and attack. It will be interesting to see if he can still score 15 goals a season if he is playing in a deeper role.

Essien: It will be good to see how the Ghanaian fares if he can get get to December without any injuries. He was a fraction sloppy in possession at times, but still solid in his defensive role. I think that we are all living in hope that he can return to the incredible heights that we know he can play at. This season is likely to be his last chance to prove himself once again, in a Chelsea shirt.

De Bruyne: Looked dangerous when he had the ball and was keen to cut in and shoot on his right, much the same as Hazard and Marin were doing from the left wing too, but he wasn't able to grab a goal, despite 3 or 4 good shooting chances. Some could say that he was maybe a bit eager to shoot, from a little too far out, but that is probably down to him feeling that he needs to make an instant impression considering Marin and Hazard both scored.

Kakuta: Still looks like he has buckets of talent but it seemed like he was trying to force it a bit too much. I think it would probably be best for all parties involved if he moved on this summer (with a sell on % clause). Some people may think that we should keep him considering all of the trouble that his transfer caused us, but he doesn't seem to be in the same class as our other young attackers now and he is the same age as Hazard and older than De Bruyne.

Piazon: Another impressive youngster that probably needs another season before he is ready to push for the first team. Offered a different style to Lukaku and created a lot of issues for the Seattle defense. Looking forward to a few more pre-season games of Piazon and the odd cup performance.

Lukaku: 2 good finishes but clearly needs more work. He wants to fill the void left by Drogba but will struggle if he cannot improve his pace. If he can lose a couple kgs of muscle and improve his acceleration, then he is ready to play 20-25 games for us. On a side note, always looks like a stone cold killer! He would be the worst player to be keeping against for penalties...

This FanPost was contributed by a member of the community and was not subject to any sort of approval process. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions held by the editors of this site.

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