FFTVERDICT
FourFourTwo Season Preview 2019-20 15CHRISTIANPULISIC
The31-capAmericanis yettoplayforChelsea,
buta lotis restingonhis20-year-oldshoulders.
InEdenHazard’sshadow,he’llbeexpectedto
providea sparkaswellasanimprovementonhis
fairlymiddlingBundesliganumbers.Goodluck...KEY PLAYER
7
TH
VIEW FROM THE STAn DS
BEN CLARK @DINOBEN_The big talking point among the
fans is the homecoming of a true
Blues legend. I don’t think anyone
expected Frank Lampard to be
back at the Bridge quite so soon.
This season will be different
because the transfer ban means
we’ll finally get to see some of our
youth players given a proper go in
the first team. Our fans have been
calling for the integration of the
youth players for a very long time.
I won’t be happy unless those
players are given a chance. There
is no excuse for them not to be.Our most underrated player is
Emerson Palmieri. He only started
to feature in the second half of last
season, but he’s a solid performer
and very exciting going forward.
The player I’d happily drive to
another club is Marcos Alonso.
Scoring free-kicks isn’t enough for
a left-back who can’t defend.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is
that he’s massively popular but
doesn’t have enough managerial
experience. He’ll be doing a lot of
learning on the job, and there’s
potential for it to all end in tears.If he left, he should be replaced
by Quique Setien, who had Real
Betis playing some very attractive
football last season. However, I’m
still convinced Andre Villas-Boas
will one day return and dominate
world football with us.
We’ll finish 4th. We’re nowhere
near good enough to challenge for
the top three, but we have a better
manager than Manchester United
and a better squad than Arsenal,
who will struggle to upgrade in key
positions with a budget only big
enough to buy two Tyrone Mingses.FIVE-POIn T PLAn
1
PICK A CENTRE-FORWARD
The curse of the Chelsea No.9 has
become lore, and even Gonzalo
Higuain – one of those strikers who
seems to just naturally deflect balls
into the goal – couldn’t muster much
luck. Lampard and Morris have a big
decision to make: whether to go with
the raw dynamism of Tammy Abraham
or the poised, low-velocity experience
of Oliver Giroud (or, theoretically, Michy
Batshuayi). Over-rotation will not help.
2
BRING N’GOLO KANTE BACK
Specifically: back into defensive
midfield. Kante did very well last
season, ignoring all his previous
training in order to become a Ramires
tribute act, but now his box-to-box
Michael-Jordan-plays-baseball period
must end. By restoring Kante to the
position where he’s best – perhaps the
best – Chelsea will be signing a £150m
player from within their own ranks.
3
ACCOMMODATE JORGINHO
There once was a great Jorginho
at Napoli and there could still be
a great Jorginho at Chelsea. But
rebuilding the midfielder Pep Guardiola
wanted so badly will require work from
both sides. Lampard should try to push
the Italian into more adventurous roles,
and the Italian should try to be more
adventurous in his passing and running,
or another 3,000 five-yard passes await.
4
WORK OUT A STRUCTURE
Chelsea’s biggest problem in the
past few years has been structural.
With no designated director of
football, managers acting as first-team
coaches and no one really knowing the
limits of their power, recruitment has
been a source of much confusion and
resentment – s o much so, the brilliant
Antonio Conte spent a season itching to
leave the club. Petr Cech being technical
director will help to bridge the chasm
between board and boot room, but
Chelsea need someone to implement
a philosophy beyond the next season.
5
LET THE TEAM BREATHE
This is for the supporters – and it’s
vital. Chelsea fans have begun to
sound like Arsenal fans: statistical
hyperbole, reactionary sentiment, false
idols and YouT ube scouting. They’ll need
to lighten up as the club tries to rebuild.
SEASOn PREVIEW
StamfordBridge
pubs can be quite
partizan, so get off
at West Brompton
or West Kensington,
walk the mile down
North End Road and
take your pick.@ChelseaPodcast,
with Ceri Levy, Andy
Saunders and Phil
Daniels of EastEnders
and Quadraphenia, is
an entertaining listen,
with the occasional
celebrity fan on air.Ex-BluesbossGianluca
Vialli dined so often
at San Lorenzo in
Knightsbridge that
the restaurant named
a dish Penne alla Vialli.YoucanpickupaChelseabun- a glazed, sticky currant bun
flavoured with lemon peel and
cinnamon – at any local bakery.
WalkthroughBromptonCemetery,
one of Britain’s oldest and most
impressive garden cemeteries, home
to suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.MATCHDAY PACK
AWAY PUB
SIGn ATURE DISH WHILE YOU’RE HERE...
DID YOU MUST FOLLOW
K nOW...?AUGUST
11 Man United (a)
18 Leicester (h)
24 Norwich (a)
31 Sheffield United (h)
SEPTEMBER
14 Wolves (a)
22 Liverpool (h)
28 Brighton (h)
OCTOBER
5 Southampton (a)
19 Newcastle (h)
26 Burnley (a)
NOVEMBER
2 Watford (a)
9 Crystal Palace (h)
23 Man City (a)
30 West Ham (h)
DECEMBER
4 Aston Villa (h)
7 Everton (a)
14 Bournemouth (h)
21 Tottenham (a)
26 Southampton (h)
28 Arsenal (a)
JANUARY
1 Brighton (a)
11 Burnley (h)
18 Newcastle (a)
22 Arsenal (h)
FEBRUARY
1 Leicester (a)
8 Man United (h)
22 Tottenham (h)
29 Bournemouth (a)
MARCH
7 Everton (h)
14 Aston Villa (a)
21 Man City (h)
APRIL
4 West Ham (a)
11 Watford (h)
18 Crystal Palace (a)
25 Sheffield United (a)
MAY
2 Norwich (h)
9 Liverpool (a)
17 Wolves (h)FIXTURES
Lampard will get the fans
onside, and he’ll need to.
It could be a long season.