FanPost

Chelsea needs a reconstruction!

no, im not talking about the stadium but the squad. after today's loss you cant help but to feel it again that there are some glaring deficiencies in the squad... and its not just these relate to the last 2 - 3 years ... they have been there for more than that but have been papered over by sometimes tactics (such as jose converting azpi to left back or conte turning to back 3) or by the performance of other players (hazard, kante, costa and ...cesc in jose's second coming). lets go by each area in the squad:

Leftback: the last world class proper left back we had was cole.... what did we do once he left? did we get another world class left back? No. Jose used Azpi there as it suited his conservative style of play... Filipe Luis and Bertrand were moved on... who both would have been pretty good options. Imagine how much a speedy, direct and overlapping LB like Sandro and Alba would contribute to our attack... even LBs like Chilwell or Digne who are below the level of Sandro or Alba would provide us with a better attacking thrust and more speed in defence. Emerson is a similar kind of LB but needs playing time to get to that level.

CB: no matter how good / promising AC, Rudiger and Luiz are... we need an absolute defensive monster like.. Van Djik or KK. AC and Rudiger can be rotated and Luiz can be a back up... but a defender like that will take us to the next level.

RB: stick with Azpi for now and next season. he has been our most consistent players over the last few year and will come good in this position too, the more he plays there... but he needs serious competition to push him further.

MF: we need a back up for Kante... someone who can run and carry the ball. i dont think Kova offers much in terms of attack so better not to sign him next year and rather get a good back up for jorgi who can push him and is good enough to even start over him. keep RLC fit and barkley as his back up. in the next 2 year replace barkley with Mount.

Attack: look at all the other teams in top six... one thing that stands out is that all of them a explosive attacks! not just one good player like hazard for us. Their attacks have pace, power and finish... while all we have is hazard. pedro and willian are just good backups ... nothing more and Pedro is better than Willian when it comes to goals. when was the last time we had an attack like liverpool or man city? plus our play of style over the years has never let our attach flourish like lpool or city. this is the first time we are trying to play progressive football so need players for this type of football. we have to sell willian next year and if hazard and CHO stay then good... if not then its not like we will cease to exist... we just need good replacements. if they leave then we should keep pedro and pulisic will join... we need to add 2 more wingers then. If we sign Higuain then thats okay as a short term option but we need a world class first choice striker.

right now people will criticize Sarri.... but a coach can only do that much. any coach will struggle with so many holes in the squad. This time changing the coach is not the answer.. if we want to compete for the top prizes we need a reconstruction of the squad . Also we should be sensible about the youth integration ... as romantic as it sounds we should give them time to develop to a level where they can contribute to the team... but what is needed is succession planning. we should keep an eye on which of our youth players can join the group in the next year or two and then manage the squad in a way so as to keep the path open.. e.g. we should not buy another attacking mid fielder now... as mount should be joining in a year or two.... RLC will be a big player for us once he is fit and starting games... and barkley is more than a decent back up for him... he is more attacking than Kova... as his early season form showed. Same goes for CHO... if hazard leaves and willian is sold then just buy 1 winger to rotate with CHO on the left wing.. Tammy can replace Higuain (if we sign him) in 2 years too... just need to send him to a good team in top tier football where he can develop. Aina and R James are in the same boat too.

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