Chelsea have gone backwards by not recruiting. That’s why Jose’s fuming
It did not take Saturday’s draw with Swansea for Jose Mourinho to know Chelsea have a difficult season ahead. He has been hinting at that for weeks now, dropping little messages of dissatisfaction into his briefings, chipping away at the idea that his team is unassailable and does not require improvement.
Chelsea have stood still this summer and, as Mourinho acknowledged, that means they have gone backwards, because others around them have upgraded.
Are Chelsea better in defence? No. Midfield? No? Attack? No. the team that started on Saturday could have been put out any weekend last season. Only Radamel Falcao’s arrival as a late substitute was new, and he is still in recovery from a lost year at Manchester United.
the deal for John Stones has stalled with Everton now holding out for £34million; the same for Baba Rahman at Augsburg, the clubs haggling over a difference of less than £5m.
And while none of Chelsea’s rivals can be said to have recruited a truly special player this summer — Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo remain at Real Madrid, Paul Pogba is still with Juventus — none has been as dormant as Chelsea.
Is Manchester City’s forward line stronger? Well, with a front three of Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Raheem Sterling where Jesus Navas was, one would have to say yes. Is Petr Cech a defensive upgrade on Wojciech Szczesny and David Ospina in goal for Arsenal? Most definitely, despite a horrid debut yesterday.
Are Manchester United improved by the latest round of spending — bringing in a better right back in Matteo Darmian, a strengthened midfield through Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger and a faster forward line with Memphis Depay and, soon, Pedro from Barcelona? Yes, yes and yes.
Even clubs much beneath Chelsea — such as the one that more than earned their draw at Stamford Bridge on the opening day — have done good business. So those games become harder, too — as Chelsea discovered, instantly.
the summer after Mourinho won his first title at Stamford Bridge, the club remained restless. In came Michael Essien, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Asier del Horno and Salomon Kalou, among others. Not all were successes, but the intent and ambition was obvious. Chelsea won the league the following year, too.
the present squad does not need an overhaul on that scale but even the greatest teams tick over. the summer after winning the treble, Sir Alex Ferguson bought Mikael Silvestre, Quinton Fortune and Mark Bosnich. A list of players bought in the summers after Manchester United won the title under Ferguson is stellar: Roy Keane, teddy Sheringham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos tevez, Dimitar Berbatov, Phil Jones, Ashley Young and David de Gea included.
Last summer, Chelsea entered the transfer market early and with purpose. they had the deals for Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas wrapped up while Ed Woodward was still programming Jorge Mendes’s number into speed dial on his mobile phone.
Now, it is almost as if the club is too taken with its new-found reputation for smart selling. We can make a £ 13.6m profit on Juan Mata to Manchester United, and win the league without him. Can you believe what Paris Saint- Germain paid for David Luiz? We bought Romelu Lukaku for £10m and sold him to Everton for £28m. Aren’t we clever? Well, yes, they are.
Chelsea’s reinvention as a club that knows how to play both aspects of the market is impressive. they are a factory for good, young players who might not make it at Stamford Bridge but provide a handy additional revenue stream. Ryan Bertrand to Southampton, £10m, Patrick van Aanholt to Sunderland, £1.5m, Josh McEachran to Brentford, £750,000. Every little helps. Chelsea have 22 players on loan and the majority will move on, and profitably.
Yet Mourinho isn’t about the balance sheet; he’s about the league table. And when he looks at Chelsea’s points total he will see the number 1, where there should be 3. Chelsea murdered Swansea last season: 4-2 at home, 5-0 away. the year before also brought two wins.
Yet Swansea were good for their point on Saturday. they had more chances, and the best ones, because they are not the same side as last season. Andre Ayew is an outstanding addition, taking the club up a level. With Jefferson Montero giving Branislav Ivanovic as near to a chasing as he has ever received, Swansea are now a different proposition in attack.
Jack Cork, who didn’t miss a game after arriving from Southampton, was suddenly on the bench. And Swansea achieved their highest Premier League position last season: 8th.
they could easily have stood still. they didn’t. Chelsea have, and the manager knows it. they offer nothing new, nothing special, nothing we haven’t seen before.
Mourinho has every right to be worried.
BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER may not be a regular at Manchester United but the way he orchestrated midfield when he came on after 60 minutes against Tottenham showed his worth to the new manager. Schweinsteiger was literally giving directions, pointing his finger at where he wanted players to pass, like a pool player nominating pockets. He is not really the club’s signing. He is Louis van Gaal’s man, there to make sure he gets his messages across. United then benefit as a consequence.
FOLLOWING the BBC’s dismal coverage of the final round of The Open — when low-rent tat such as Homes Under The Hammer was preferred, and the network were still not on air when Adam Scott, three shots off the lead, teed off — comes news of another debacle around the World Swimming Championships. Tuesday evening’s session was missed as a live event due to the broadcast of an episode of Are You
Being Served? from 1983. In that time, James Guy won a gold medal in the 200 metres freestyle and Adam Peaty broke the world record for the 50m breaststroke. Anyone following the event on other forms of electronic media would already have known Guy had won, when presenter Helen Skelton asked Rebecca Adlington how she thought he would perform. If the BBC cannot be bothered to cover sport properly, they should at least not insult our intelligence with artifice.