Since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 no elite club has veered so wildly between chaos and success; like Jose Mourinho, the man in whose image the club was built, crisis always seems to be lurking in the shadows at Stamford Bridge.
Perhaps this explains why it is so easy to view Chelsea’s summer with alarm despite the external signs of optimism. In appointing Maurizio Sarri this summer Abramovich has finally landed a manager that fits his own vision for the club, a chiming of owner and coach that has escaped Chelsea for 15 years. Sarri’s attractive attacking football gives the Russian oligarch the glamorous club he always wanted, and for that reason alone Chelsea fans can hope for a smoother ride over the next 12 months.
In theory, that is. In reality there is every chance that Chelsea FC are on the path to another of their mini-crises, with a storm brewing that might make Champions League qualification in 2018/19 impossible. If things do go wrong, Abramovich will only have himself to blame.
Antonio Conte’s contractual situation should have been sorted considerably sooner, but having dragged on for months Sarri arrived with just four weeks until the new Premier League season. That’s 28 days to sort out a difficult transfer situation and, more importantly, just 28 days to dramatically alter the club’s tactical DNA. It will take a minor miracle for Sarri to drag Chelsea away from the Mourinho/Conte template in such a short space of time.
His progressive, possession-centric 4-3-3 requires a squad with at least some recent experience of playing the sort of positionally fluid football seen at Manchester City last season, and yet Chelsea’s squad has been developed to fit the mould of a succession of reactive tacticians. The likes of Olivier Giroud, Alvaro Morata, Ross Barkley, and Victor Moses will struggle to adapt.
As a team, no system takes more time to coach than an open and attacking one, in which the slightest structural issue makes the entire system vulnerable to counter-attacks. The high risk of Sarri’s football raises the potential of an immediate collapse in August given how little time the Italian has to implement his methods.
The addition of Jorginho in central midfield is a big help, but this is the only positive piece of transfer news so far this summer. Willian, Eden Hazard, and Thibault Courtois could all leave while N’Golo Kante is reportedly being tracked by Paris Saint-Germain.
This is not the time for a small squad; Chelsea’s return to the Europa League for the 2018/19 campaign spells trouble. Sarri has traditionally performed poorly in this competition and, more importantly, rarely rotates his first 11. The gruelling Thursday-Sunday schedule can have a huge impact on league performance, especially without rotation, while the sheer number of games in the first few months of the season means even less time on the training field for Sarri.
Sarri at Chelsea is one of the most fascinating stories of the new Premier League season, and although most are excited by his appointment it could easily end in tears. Few Chelsea managers survive a spell of poor form under Abramovich; few previous managers have been handed such a poor set of circumstances. Little money to spend, little time to school his players, and a challenging start to the season - Huddersfield (a), Arsenal (h), and Newcastle (a). It is hard to believe Chelsea were crowned champions just over 12 months ago.
