Petr Cech?
Once hailed as the greatest ‘keeper in Europe, twice in a three year period, the Czech ‘keeper has endured a tough start to life under AVB. The Portuguese is building a team based on the formation and philosophy of attacking minded wing backs, ball playing centre backs and a high back line. Cech has had to quickly adjust to a team that had been constructed with a mentality of defence, still existing from the Mourinho era, that set a record for the least goals conceded in the Premier League: 15. The stats would suggest he hasn’t stepped up: after 10 PL games, Cech’s saves to shots ratio was 46%, 33% worse than de Gea’s and he’d only kept 1 clean sheet, their first game of the campaign. Their desire to improve and adapt to the high line, resulted in Chelsea averaging more bookings per game under AVB than any other manager since Ranieri. He has gone on to keep three more clean sheets, including a current run of 180 minutes without conceding, but will AVB soon turn to his Belgian prodigy, Thiabaut Courtois?
Jose Bosingwa?
The touchline-bombing right back cost Chelsea just over £16m, when fellow countryman Scolari brought him to the club along with another Portuguese international, Deco. Deco’s spell at Chelsea proved to be much shorter than Bosingwa’s, having departed at the beginning of last season. Bosingwa stayed and has had his Chelsea career plagued by a knee injury that put him out of the majority of the 2009/10 campaign as well as the World Cup. With David Luiz seemingly preferred at centre-back alongside Terry, Ivanovic has been pushed out to right back, effectively dislodging Bosingwa. Despite regularly getting 90 minutes at the beginning of the season, they are drying up and at 29, AVB may well choose to cash in now.
Frank Lampard?
Surely not? However, Frank Lampard’s part to play at Chelsea may well be on the downward decline now. At the beginning of the season, the questions over his career rang out. I was never in doubt; for me he is essential to Chelsea, as was Scholes for 15 years of his time at Manchester United. However, the paper read the end and since then the speculation has mounted. Question marks fell over his England career and he replied in the best possible way: he captained his country and headed them to victory over the European and World Champions.
Question marks fell over his Chelsea career and he replied effectively: he scored a hat-trick against Bolton, firing Chelsea to a 5-1 success over Bolton. However, some have said AVB is not treating Lampard as the necessity predecessors have. He was dropped for Chelsea’s fixture against Swansea, having only played 45 minutes the week before and since then, Lampard has again become familiar with the bench. In Chelsea’s last two games, Lampard only played a total of 80 minutes from an available 180.
Departures are not necessary, look at Chelsea’s title rivals of recent years: Manchester United. Gary Neville eased out of the game, going from a 90 minute regular to a regular position sharer with the other club’s right backs, before eventually retiring. Ryan Giggs is still playing, but not as much as before. He has accepted that. Scholes ducked out knowing he wanted to quit before he was past his best. Ferguson has been the master of managing numerous transitions.
He is in the middle of one now; last year’s average age at United was 30.1 and the vital experience of older players such as Giggs and Scholes was pivotal to their title success. However, Ferguson has involved himself with another rebuilding of the first team, taking the average age down to 25.3: a cut of nearly five whole years. While departures are not necessary, a reshuffle is. If certain players don’t want to leave, they may well have to settle with less game time.
Should anyone go, and if so who?
Written by Jordan Florit for www.maycauseoffence.com/ For more articles visit my website or my Twitter @JordanFlorit
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