Chelsea Vs Seattle Sounders, lesson learnt:
1. Young talent
Chelsea has amazing young talent and the future looks bright. De Bryun, Marin and Hazard were excellent. Saville, Todd Kane, Lukaku, Hutchison, McEachran and Jamal are really talented and I have no doubt any of them can be given a run out in some the matches.
2. Hilario
Hilario will never improve. He cannot get better than where he already is. In the spirit of promoting young talents, and reducing the average age of our players, Hilario should be released. There is no single match Hilario has played without conceding. I can tell you for a fact that Jamal Blackman, could be better than Hilario and if not, atleast he has the potential to become better than how he is now. I cant say the same for Hillario.
3. Formation
It appears Di Matteo, just like I had predicted before will employ the the 4-2-3-1 formation. Having versatile players means the system could be changed, depending on the opponents, score and players at the manager's disposal. For instance, Marin, De Bryun and Hazard can switch and at some point, 4-2-2 formation with one of them behind the strikers.
4. The Ramires Factor
This was the most consistent player last season, both in the local league and the Champions League. Whereas the fans voted for Mata as their favorite, I thought Ramires was more consistent than the little Spaniard. In some Champions League matches, Mata was very ineffective unlike Ramires, who assisted or scored a goal in all the matches Chelsea played, starting with Genk, Valencia, Napoli, Benfica,Barca home and away.
If I were Di Matteo, the first name on my team sheet would be Ramires. One reason would be due to his work rate, his speed and his versatility. I am however afraid that he may not be as effective as he was last season, being that he is likely to play a much more withdrawn midfield role, being one of the holding midfield players.
5. Josh McEachran, Lucas Piazon and Gael Kakuta
Quite frankly, like most Chelsea fans, I was disappointed that i couldn't see Lucas Piazon playing. I had hoped he would be given an opportunity. I got a feeling this boy just needs half a chance and he will take it. ( Remember the Guinness advert)
McEachran was excellent. I am certain this will be a make or break season for him. I think whether he stays or goes out on loan will depend on whether the Oscar deal goes through, the future of Raul Meirelles and whether indeed Oriol Romeu will be going back to Barcelona.
Gael Kakuta is a failed project. He has not developed as we expected, taking into account the trouble Chelsea went through to get his signature.
6. Lukaku and De Bryun
De Bryun is my future Frank Lampard. This boy can shoot. I have watched the second half of the Seattle match and realised this guy has potential. More importantly though, something tells me he can only get better given the right enviroment. He could be better than Christian Ronaldo once he adjusts properly to the EPL. De Bryun missed a couple of chances himself late on. I think he was under pressure. I would have been under the same. If two out of the three debutant scored, you couldn't possibly blame De Bryn for trying....
Lukaku was impressive. What stood out for me were not the goals but his work rate. This "young big guy" ran and ran and ran and chased every ball that came his way. I think he is trying to prove a point. If you ask me, the point is directed to AVB, not Di Matteo, that he should have been given a little more chances than he got. We cant blame Di Matteo since he took over at a very crucial stage of our campaign and there was no room for experiment.
7. Conclusion
The overall work rate needs to improve. The defense needs to be tighter and the goal keeper position needs a serious back up. (I wanted Curtois to remain at the Bridge)
All in all, Chelsea fans yet again have a lot to look forward to this season. I can tell you, it will be a lot more fun this season. Beautiful soccer, played by little football geniuses, coached by a former blue boy and cheered on by you and me. Lets KTBFFH!!!
