"The team is experienced with most of the players above and around 30. We cannot expect a drastic improvement from them."
These are the quotes made by Sir Alex Fergusan(may not be the exact words but almost means the same) at the start of the season about Chelsea's credentials this season. Not only have these old legs defied Sir's logic, but also in style. The team which was ridiculed for grinding out results after results is suddenly the team catching the eye worldwide. The same bunch of players who were written off as not capable of playing beautiful football together by a large section of the football fraternity have proved everyone wrong. Although, we've had one of the best summers in recent times with respect to transfers this season,getting what could be said as the two most important pieces of the zig saw namely Bosingwa (the most important transfer since Frank Lampard in my opinion) and Deco, one cannot discount the one most important capture of the summer, Luis Felipe Scolari. He's the man behind the face lift of the team, unarguably. What impact the gaffer can have on a team is not something too covert in todays footballing world. Its a true saying that a team clearly reflects the personality of its coach. Mourinho's Chelsea was resilient, strong, never-say-die, Scolari's Chelsea is very Brazil-like. I'm not saying we've suddenly become Barca or Arsenal for that matter, but we certainly are a joy to watch unlike the last couple of seasons.
The first couple of games of the season, I had a feeling that all the change is due to Deco. His touch and vision allow us to be more capable of unlocking defenses, which is true, but later on even without him we were as good. We gave two of the best performances against Villa and Boro without him. It was clear then that it was Deco but it is the belief in each player shown by the gaffer to express themselves is what has brought about all the change. It would be an understatement to say that Mourinho did not allow showboating, which would be the wrong word to use for this Chelsea, but certainly the confidence is there to show off some skills without having the boss at the back of your mind. When I compare Mourinho's Chelsea to Scolari's, one thing that is apparant is that the players are more comfortable on the ball than they used to. That could be attributed the movement of the players aound the guy who has the ball. He always knows where the players are moving which makes passing and controlling the ball easier.
The tactical nous of Mourinho cannot be questioned but the difference lies in the mentality of the team. The former boss gave much importance to being solid at the back. The full backs did not bomb as much forward and as frequently as they do now. The mentality was to go up and then shut shop, which is also a very good tactic given the personel he had at his disposal to do just the same. But the style was not eye catching to say the least. It was much result oriented than aesthetics oriented and that is why he was so successful. In his first year at Chelsea, we were a great force going forward too, with the width we had in the form of Duff, Robben and Joe Cole and fast paced counter attacks. That somehow went astray as we offloaded Robben and Duff. We became very one dimensional in our approach and that became easier for teams to defend against. With Makelele a constant presense in the heart of midfield, as good a defensive midfielder as he was, he lacked those move starting passes especially as he got older. With next no width on the flanks, the obvious way was to go direct. Drogba is undoubtably one of the best center forwards for that approach which helped us get results but not in so much style.
Scolari has changed that mentality. He gives much importance to retaining the ball and making it work. As in his own words 'you must have the ball at your feet to make it work'. Ball retention can only be possible if the players move intelligently around the pitch, find spaces. The cliche 'passing and movement' with which Manchester United and Arsenal were showered week in week out before, is now being linked to us too. And it has not come overnight. Any mentality needs time time to change, and the amount of work being done on the training grounds for exactly the same is mind blowing. Players perform sessions after sessions of just passing the ball and moving off the ball, which is clear on the playing field. Players like Lampard and Mikel are revelling in Scolari's system as they have the licence to create. The full backs spend most of the time in opposite half and dare I say, Ashley Cole finally looks like the player he was at Arsenal.
There are a few drawbacks too. Since we're a bit new to the system, and most importantly since we dont have a world class wide man of the likes of Robinho and Ronaldo, who can beat defenders, we struggle to create much when the opposition hunts down all the spaces and close the gaps quickly. For example the games against Liverpool, Roma and Spurs. They crowded the midfield and put their wide men to close down our full backs. Malouda is clearly appalling and looks out of sorts. Sorry to say, but he has to be the worst player since Asier del Horno to get a continuos run of games despite being poor. We certainly missed Joe Cole, who has such a great record against Liverpool. We suddenly looked like we're clueless in these games, especially without Drogba, as Anelka is hardly the man to go with route number one approach.
If most players could remain fit for the rest of the season, I think we're on course for big things this term....and in style!
