Following the midweek defeat in the Champions League, Jose Mourinho has defended his sides recent performances saying that Chelsea had to change the way they played, and that he wanted the team to move on from the style that had defined it for the last few years.
He said, ‘The situation is pure. I don’t like the way Chelsea were playing the last couple of years. the club doesn’t like it. We want to change’. Whether the club can change, however, is a different matter entirely.
Since Mourinho left the first time in 2007, Chelsea have been prolific in picking up trophies, winning the much converted Champions League against Bayern Munich in 2012, and then following it up the following season with the Europa league. Whilst Chelsea’s style of play was not always pretty, it was very effective, with Didier Drogba playing a major role in the Champions League victory followed by interim manager Rafa Benitez coaxing the very best out of the squad, which seemed to be permanently in ‘transition’.
What has changed since Mourinho’s first time in charge is that he now lacks both the financial muscle, due the fair play rules being introduced to curb excessive spending, and the squad that he inherited from Claudio Ranieri in 2004, which boasted players such as Frank Lampard, John Terry, Petr Cech, Claude Makelele and Arjen Robben.
Whilst Lampard, Terry and Cech remain and have a major influence over the side, they are no longer the driving force behind the team which conquered Europe’s second competition, which poses a problem for Mourinho as to who will drive through the changes that he so desperately wants to make?
Having invested heavily in younger players with a greater degree of flair and skilll, Chelsea now lack the backbone which served them so well during Mourinho’s first spell and subsequent years before his return. This issue is made even more prominent by the amount of matches the 34 year old, Frank Lampard, has played this season already as Mourinho attempts to bring stability to the heart of the team.
Another problem that Mourinho will encounter whilst undertaking his revamp of the team, is that he will have to rely more heavily on his strike force to put away the attempts that his side are creating. With Fernando Torres seemingly to be in a permanent search for form, Samuel Eto’o still finding his fitness and sharpness to cope with the rigours of the Premier League and Demba Ba almost resigned to being third choice, goals are not coming easily for Chelsea.