God, I’m actually already getting bored with this. The pundits and media are pushing us into a title race, others are whispering, but everyone at Chelsea (bar Enzo Fernandez) is refusing to get caught up in it.
But the fact is that as long as we stay second, third, fourth or even (dare I say it) first in the Premier League, we are in title contention, even if the reality is otherwise.
But what is that reality? Well, to me it’s our defense as a whole. Not a goalkeeper, not a centre-back, not a full-back, not a midfielder, not a striker, not a coach. Defense is done as a team. And right now, defense is our Achilles heel.
But everyone, especially the manager and coaching team, must take responsibility for the defense.
Chelsea are now adopting the ‘we will score more goals than you’ setup, which is fine. I mean, goals are what wins games and if you score more than your opponent you win the game and that’s all we have to do. Right?
In essence, yes. But it’s dangerous. I believe Maresca sees that and this is one of the biggest reasons why he continues to say we are not there yet.
I believe we have the best goalkeeper, a dominant centre-back and a different attacking profile than Nicholas Jackson.
No one can doubt how vulnerable we are right now. We see it every game. We always make mistakes and we don’t have much confidence when teams attack us. I have confidence in my attack and I truly feel that I can score every time I attack. But I also think we can make concessions whenever the opposition attacks. This is where we need to improve, and it’s done collectively, not just with new people. This is the main thing Maresca needs to coach now.
A few former Chelsea players commented on our defense this week and they were spot on.
Glen Johnson: “Chelsea’s defense could be their downfall in title contention”
Mario Melchiot: “What Enzo Maresca is really saying to the players is, ‘Guys, if we defend better we can win the league.’ That’s what he’s doing, but he’s doing it so subtly. Do you really think he doesn’t say in the dressing room that he wants to win?”
Interestingly, both are former defenders, so they knew the importance of a more solid defense.
We are not stupid. No one would expect us to be an impenetrable unit that never concedes a goal. Of course we will concede goals and we will not win every game. However, this is an area where we need to do our best to strengthen to really see the rewards down the road. For example, Liverpool have conceded six fewer goals than us so far this season.
Once this is resolved, I think even Maresca will put us in the title race!
