Frowns have adorned the faces of our resident Chelsea fans here inside the Football Transfer Tavern since the weekend following their 3-0 trouncing by Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Having been outfought and outplayed despite Jose Mourinho’s claims that the outcome was a ‘fake result’, our Blues contingent aren’t happy at all and it’s rare you say that given the recent successes the West London club have become used to.
Having only brought in Radamel Falcao on loan, Asmir Begovic and most recently Baba Rahman, Chelsea have been accused of standing still following last season’s title triumph by some of their fans and the media alike.
Premier League history suggests defending the Premier League title is an uphill struggle and given the marker Manchester City have laid down in their first two fixtures, it is no surprise that the bookies have them down as favourites to reclaim the trophy this season.
The one difference concerning Chelsea this summer is that no marquee signing has been brought in and while it looked as if the Blues didn’t need to do any major tinkering in the summer, it appears their lack of activity has ensured others have caught up.
Linked with the likes of Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, neither will be joining Chelsea this summer but one man who still might is Everton’s John Stones who appears the only real answer to succeed John Terry right now.
Having seen two bids rejected for the Toffees defender, Mourinho appears to be wanting to pull out all the stops to sign him, no matter the fee.
With this in mind, we’ve devised a dream Chelsea starting eleven with Stones already metaphorically instilled.
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Click on the image below to reveal the dream Chelsea XI including John Stones.
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Thibaut Courtois
Having seen red in the opening game of the season against Swansea City, Thibaut Courtois wouldn’t have wanted to give new number two Asmir Begovic any encouragement so early on.
Despite the Blues’ crushing 3-0 defeat on Sunday, Begovic was lauded by Chelsea fans as one of their top performers, thwarting Sergio Aguero several times early on in the game at the Etihad Stadium.
Still rightly considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, we fully expect Courtois to take his place back in Jose Mourinho’s starting eleven following the end of his suspension.
Branislav Ivanovic
Unfortunately and rather uncharacteristically for Branislav Ivanovic, he has been one of the weak points in the eyes of Chelsea fans so far in this early part of the season.
Blamed for his inferior crossing abilities when bombing forward down the right hand side, the Serbian international has looked strangely vulnerable went sent the other way by opposition wingers.
Not covering himself in glory in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal to boot, it can only get better for Ivanovic who has been a model of consistency for Chelsea in the years he’s spent at Stamford Bridge so far.
John Stones
It seems John Stones or bust for Chelsea right now doesn’t it?
With many publications claiming Jose Mourinho substituted John Terry at the weekend as a message to Roman Abramovich to put even more money behind their pursuit of Stones, we can see the Blues boss’ thinking.
While Terry won’t be happy with being withdrawn for the first time in an incredible 178 starts, it appears even the Chelsea boss now knows that he can’t rest on his laurels in regards to signing a new centre back with Terry now 34-years-old.
With Stones being a standout player in his age group, Everton are unsurprisingly looking to get as much money as possible for him but make no mistake, nobody at the Merseyside club wants the England international to depart.
That said, money talks in the Premier League and with every player having their price, perhaps a silly take-it-or-leave-it bid from Chelsea will finally get this one over the line.
John Terry
Now being accused that his legs have gone by more fickle football supporters, there’s no getting away from the fact that John Terry has endured a poor start to the new season.
Seemingly off the pace, not so mobile and strangely looking vulnerable, we mustn’t forget that it wasn’t so long since everybody was lauding him following what both fans and professionals claimed was his best season performance-wise in a Chelsea shirt last term.
The fact he was substituted by Mourinho seems to confirm that the signing of John Stones is an absolute necessity this summer but make no mistake, Terry is a winner and nobody will want to put his form right more than the man himself.
With doubters having often made him stronger in the past, we expect him to bounce back and if Stones does end up arriving with Terry’s form taking a lift, many Chelsea fans would drop Gary Cahill out of the starting eleven.
Cesar Azpilicueta
Like Ivanovic on the right hand side, Cesar Azpilicueta has look strangely subdued in his first two Premier League appearances of the season so far.
Usually a dependable member of the Blues’ squad, Jesus Navas enjoyed his runs down the right flank up against his fellow Spanish international on Sunday and the former Marseille full back must improve.
Probably having faired a little better than Ivanovic so far, there have been some calls from Chelsea fans for Azpilicueta to be reinstated at right back and with Baba Rahman now having arrived from FC Augsburg, perhaps Mourinho will experiment with that at some point if the Serb’s poor form continues.
Nemanja Matic
Perhaps Chelsea’s most important midfield player, Nemanja Matic rarely lets down the Blues’ cause but on Sunday, he was overrun by both Yaya Toure and Fernandinho.
A bad day at the office all round for everybody connected with Chelsea, it can only get better and lets not forget, this Blues team are winners so we’re fully expecting the likes of Matic to hit top form again away at West Bromwich Albion next time round in the Premier League.
Strong, rugged and not afraid of putting his boot in, Matic’s performances have been so good in the last couple of seasons that people now refer to the defensive midfield role as the ‘Matic role’.
Cesc Fabregas
Arsenal fans may be retweeting the missing in action for the last six months-type of content on Twitter and in truth, Cesc Fabregas has struggled to find his best form since the first half of last season.
The Spanish international was criticised by the likes of Match of the Day’s Alan Shearer for failing to provide an attacking or defensive presence in midfield away at Manchester City on Sunday and it’s hard to disagree.
Strangely giving the ball away and looking subdued, this is at odds with Fabregas’ usual self when he is threading through eye-of-the-needle passes while not being afraid to put a few tackles in to boot.
With Chelsea fans being as competitive as they come, Fabregas will have to step up his form or risk becoming a boo boy at Stamford Bridge given his former Arsenal connections.
It’s a shame but that’s how modern football is, it appears.
Antoine Griezmann
They won’t get their hands on him this summer but in the near future, Chelsea fans would love Jose Mourinho to pull out all of the stops to land Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann.
With the likes of fellow attackers Eden Hazard and Diego Costa failing to make an impact on Sunday and even Juan Cuadrado probably being their biggest threat despite his clown status at Stamford Bridge, the feeling is that the Blues need to instil some more spark in terms of a late signing this transfer window.
Having let the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne go while replacing them with Loic Remy and Juan Cuadrado, many Chelsea fans feel Jose Mourinho may be regretting that decision and for the club to rest on their laurels while not bringing a marquee name to West London this summer strikes as the club standing still.
Chelsea never tabled an official bid for Griezmann with Atletico’s no sell stance being strong from the start but given the players that have passed between the two clubs of late, perhaps Diego Simeone’s phone will be ringing off the hook this time next summer.
Willian
One of the few players coming out with some credit from Sunday’s dismal performance at Manchester City, Willian always stretches opposition defences with his pace and trickery but even he wasn’t at his fluid best against the Citizens.
While many claim he is best suited on the wing where he can track back with his pace, he’s also played in the number 10 role on some occasions and if Chelsea did have designs on landing the likes of Griezmann next summer, we’d put Willian more centrally.
With Oscar having lost that X-factor over the past season or so, Willian is taking his place in this dream starting eleven but along with his team-mates, they’ll have to become far more productive and consistent if they are to stand a chance of defending the title.
Eden Hazard
Chelsea’s go-to man for creativity, there is a problem at the moment in regards to the fact that if Eden Hazard isn’t at it, the Blues often struggle.
Thwarted by a determined Manchester City outfit at the weekend, Hazard had few openings to really make an impact and it’s rare that you say this.
Of course at the centre of the Eva Carneiro debate at the moment given he was the player that went down against Swansea City last weekend, Hazard is of course adored by Chelsea supporters but they would like not only him but the rest of their squad to simply buckle down and cut out the nonsense right now.
Diego Costa
On Sunday against Manchester City, Diego Costa seemed more intent on starting a riot rather than scoring a goal past Joe Hart.
Having earned cult hero status amongst Blues fans since arriving in English football, Costa’s antics are all well and good when Chelsea are cruising but when Jose Mourinho’s side are struggling, his behaviour can prove a real negative bane on the team.
Walking a tightrope with referees when he’s in that mindset, this selfish behaviour needs to be cut from Costa’s game for the good of the team when Chelsea are struggling.
If he was putting the ball in the net, Blues fans wouldn’t mind so much but the Spanish international was strangely unconvincing when leading the line on Sunday. It can only get better.
