LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 21: Gary Cahill of Chelsea during the Emirates FA Cup match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on February 21, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
For Chelsea Football Club there is only one place to go: up.
Let’s just call Chelsea’s 2015-2016 campaign for what it is: a mess. A club that was projected in the very least to finish in the top four or five and contend for a Premier League title, Chelsea instead spent a large portion of the season at the bottom. The club did end up finishing in the top ten but only after having to literally run the tables during the third quarter of the season. That they finished in tenth place after having won just three matches in their fourteen matches is an accomplishment.
So where does Chelsea go from here? It is a very tricky situation. With new manager Antonio Conte at the helm one might expect the team to slowly build, to take their time adjusting to their new manager, and to build towards next season. But with Manchester City and Manchester United in similar situations and the uncertainty around Arsenal, Tottenham, and Leicester City the Premier League field is wide open.
It may sound odd to say but Chelsea are the dark horses of this year’s Premier League. With so many unknowns and so many things that could either way this team could either win it all or finish exactly where they ended the 2015-2016 season.
So much of it depends upon things clicking immediately, new players coming in and producing, and ownership allowing the team to suffer through their growing pains. The hope is that all of these things happen and that the team returns to prominence. But the fear is that Chelsea’s deep-rooted problems will take more than one year to resolve.
With that in mind let’s take a look at the three hopes and one fear for Chelsea Football Club!
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<p>The big question with Terry is his age. When most of his contemporaries are either on the beach, in the booth, or in Major League Soccer Terry is still plying his craft in one of the most difficult leagues in the world. While that should be commended it should be a bit of a concern for Chelsea especially given that Branislav Ivanovic will turn 33 this season and Gary Cahill will turn 31. <em>The Blues </em>are getting older at center-back and have to start seriously looking at their options.</p>
<p><em>(Author’s Note: This is not a stamp of approval for playing Matt Miazga. At 21, he isn’t ready to take over those responsibilities. Although this might bring a collective groan from United States Men’s National Team supporters, a loan spell for Miazga would do him some good and give him a chance to get some match time). </em></p>
<p>That doesn’t necessarily mean sending all of their veteran players, Terry included, to the retirement home. But it does mean that Conte is going to have to do some roster juggling. Conte has to find a way to use Terry effectively and not run him ragged. If he can find a way to manage Terry’s minutes and make him happy it will go a long way towards to keeping this team at the top of the standings.</p>
<div class="next-post amp-get-next-post lg slider"><a class="location" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-post-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/08/13/chelsea-three-hopes-one-fear/"#"><span class="next amp-next-post-teaser">Next: </span><span class="amp-get-next-post">Hope #2: That Diego Costa can keep a cool head.</span></a></div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_417116" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-417116" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/08/13/chelsea-three-hopes-one-fear/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F08%2F587913556-werder-bremen-v-fc-chelsea-friendly-match-850x560.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">BREMEN, GERMANY – AUGUST 07: Diego Costa of Chelsea runs with the ball during the pre-season friendly match between Werder Bremen and FC Chelsea at Weserstadion on August 7, 2016 in Bremen, Germany. (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Hope #2: That Diego Costa can keep a cool head.</h3>
<p>There is no player that is more emblematic of Chelsea’s issues during the 2015-2016 season than Diego Costa. At times the Spanish international was brilliant; during others he was a headcase. Costa could make the difficult look easy yet at the same time turn every small decision that went against him into an international incident. His ten goals led the team but so did his ten yellow cards.</p>
<p>The thing about Costa is that the shtick is getting old. Small out bursts that were once cute at the age of 22-23 are looked at very differently at the age of 27. At this point in a player’s career they are supposed to act like professionals or leaders not like petulant children. Although Costa is very talented his act is wearing thin at Stamford Bridge and likely will not be tolerated by Conte, who has a history of dropping headcases. See: Balotelli, Mario.</p>
<p>It is not a bad thing to have fire and passion and Costa does seem to care about playing for Chelsea. But he needs to figure out how to properly channel that energy into something positive. Chelsea supporters will hope that he can figure it out or at least can avoid any meltdowns while newcomer Michy Batshuayi grows accustom to his new team. Loic Remy will also factor prominently into Conte’s plans.</p>
<p>But for now Costa is Chelsea’s best hope at striker. Chelsea supporters will be hoping that his head is on straight and can stay away from earning the ire of match officials.</p>
<div class="next-post amp-get-next-post lg slider"><a class="location" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-post-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/08/13/chelsea-three-hopes-one-fear/"#"><span class="next amp-next-post-teaser">Next: </span><span class="amp-get-next-post">Hope #3: That Euro 2016's Eden Hazard will come to Stamford Bridge</span></a></div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_417117" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-417117" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/08/13/chelsea-three-hopes-one-fear/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F08%2F587912324-werder-bremen-v-fc-chelsea-friendly-match-850x560.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">BREMEN, GERMANY – AUGUST 07: Eden Hazard of Chelsea runs with the ball during the pre-season friendly match between Werder Bremen and FC Chelsea at Weserstadion on August 7, 2016 in Bremen, Germany. (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Hope #3: That Euro 2016’s Eden Hazard will show up at Stamford Bridge.</h3>
<p>Chelsea supporters saw something this summer that they thought was long gone: an interested, confident Eden Hazard. Sadly he was not wearing a blue shirt. Although Belgium did crash out of the 2016 European Championships rather suddenly against Wales, one of their bright spots was Eden Hazard a man who seemed to have one foot out of the door at Stamford Bridge.</p>
<p>Chalk it up to Jose Mourinho’s meddling or to just a general disinterest from the Belgian but whatever the case is Hazard has not been Hazard as of late. 2015-2016 saw a precipitous decline for Hazard where he scored just four goals in 31 matches. But with Belgium Hazard looked like his old self, delivering crisp passes into the box for teammates and finding space at the top of the eighteen to release thunderbolts. His goal against Hungary was a work of art and showed why he is so highly regarded.</p>
<div class="embed embed-video"><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/08/13/chelsea-three-hopes-one-fear/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/2QSZDgeAzVU?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>What will be interesting to see is where Conte places him in the starting eleven. Hazard seems to be at his best while playing on the left side and not as a center mid. At least with his time as Italian national team manager Conte seemed more interested in developing from the outside, using speed and pace to change the field of play. If he chooses to continue with that same strategy at Chelsea it should be to the benefit of Hazard.</p>
<div class="next-post amp-get-next-post lg slider"><a class="location" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-post-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/08/13/chelsea-three-hopes-one-fear/"#"><span class="next amp-next-post-teaser">Next: </span><span class="amp-get-next-post">The big fear: That Conte will not be given time to build his roster.</span></a></div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_417119" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-417119" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/08/13/chelsea-three-hopes-one-fear/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F08%2F588662138-chelsea-training-session-and-press-conference-850x560.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">COBHAM, ENGLAND – AUGUST 12: Antonio Conte of Chelsea during a Press Conference at Chelsea Training Ground on August 12, 2016 in Cobham, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>The big fear: That Conte will not be given time to build his roster.</h3>
<p>This almost seems to be a running theme among the power teams in the Premier League: new managers coming into situations with giant lemon contracts, high-strung owners, and big expectations. This is the situation that Mourinho is facing with Manchester United, it is same the situation that Pep Guardiola has at Manchester City, and it is certainly the scenario Conte has found himself in with Chelsea.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>The difference for Conte is that as opposed to the other two managers he has been through a similar situation before with Juventus. Despite having to deal with the Angelli family and some pretty ridiculous contracts, Conte was able to work with under difficult circumstances and produce immediate results. While serving as manager of Juventus, Conte would win three Serie A titles setting up the club for their current run of dominant form in Italian soccer. His ability to balance the needs of younger and veteran players should be a nice fit for Chelsea.</p>
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<p>The fear is though that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will not give him the time necessary to create a roster that fits Conte’s plans. Abramovich has shown himself in the past to give managers a short leash, even if perhaps more time was needed.</p>
<p>This is not going to be an easy rebuild for Chelsea. While it is certainly plausible that they could win the Premier League this season, it is more likely that a top four or five finish is likely. Conte needs time to sift through the large roster at his disposal and figure out who fits his style. The question is: will Abramovich give him the time necessary to find those players?</p>
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