Is it out with the old in with the new for Chelsea?
There are a few things to get through when the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba are called into question.
If people are to suggest there should be an overhaul, would it not be a better idea to use the lesser players as an example and not three of the best?
It’s baffling to the mind that in football age is becoming more important than talent. Chelsea’s younger players are performing, well, as the results suggest, not very well.
Who would their supporters rather see rampaging into the box? Lampard, a player who has scored 20 plus goals, five seasons on the bounce or Ramires, a defensive midfielder who Ancellotti has not so successfully forced into being attacking.
Whilst the answers seem obvious, if this overhaul were to happen, shouldn’t the likes of Paulo Ferreira, Yuri Zhirkov and Yossi Benayoun be looked at first? Not the oldest players, but the less talented.
Last summer’s overhaul has already had its backlash with the injury to Lampard. The team haunted by not being able to call on Michael Ballack’s vacant number 13 shirt. It also doesn’t help when Essien fails to keep his studs out of opponent’s legs and getting yellows and reds as if it were the norm.
But still, when these players were missing last season, the likes of Deco and Ballack stepped in and did more than a job for the blues helping them win the Premiership and the F.A. Cup last season.
And who can forget John Terry and Alex’s replacements when they were injured? Not another world class player in Ricardo Carvalho, his age saw him given to Real Madrid for a generous fee.
As many would have guessed by now, it was Paulo Ferreira, a player struggling for form in his own position at right back. Last years Premier league right-back of the season was also recruited to fill in.
Another problem would be replacing what is quite simply the backbone of the team. The fire once burning a hole in Roman Abramovich’s pocket seems to have gone out and it has left Ancellotti with the change he has left to spend. Bidding for Steven Pienaar and not Kaka is a clear example of the owner trying to tighten his bulging wallet.
It speaks volumes when a player like John Obi Mikel is an ever present. Not to be too harsh on the young Nigerian but it is a bit like Lucas Leiva playing every game for Liverpool, and look what’s happened to them.
The easiest way to think of it is as follows. An overhaul would see, Jeffrey Bruma in for Terry, Patrick van Aanholt in for Ashley Cole, Ramires in for Lampard and Daniel Sturridge in for Drogba.
Which players would you prefer?
