Thursday 4 September 2014

This time we mean it


Many seasons have gone by and many players have arrived, and every single time I hear the Chelsea fans mutter 'this'll be the start of a new era' - only to be proven categorically wrong six months down the line.

But this time (and I'm aware I could be placed in the same bracket) we mean it.

This season marks Jose's second in his return to Stamford Bridge. A second season means the special one has had a whole year to make his mark at the club; last season there were valid excuses - 'this is not my team', or, 'this is a transition season'. Well this time, there is no hiding.

Jose has had the whole summer to sort out his beloved Chelsea, and, from front to back, changes were made. July saw the signings of Diego Costa and Filipe Luis from Atletico Madrid, while former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas was brought in to offer something a bit different - something that, evidently, we've lacked in previous years.

When I say a 'era', I mean a period of time in which the club remains stable (the previous era being the Cech-Terry-Lampard-Drogba spine); now only one remains a permanent fixture in the Chelsea side. A summer which has seen Cole and Lampard leave West London, and Petr Cech shifted to the bench, obviously required a substantial amount of work to repair. But arguably Jose has done that - and more.

When I look at the Blues now, I see a stable team for the next five years (there are clearly a few exceptions - with the attacking midfielders regularly rotating and John Terry nearing the end of his career). Thibaut Courtois, and mark my words, will be a Chelsea legend. Rumours suggest we are to offer him a new contract in the coming weeks, and with our hands on the hottest goalkeeping prospect in world Football, why wouldn't we? Thibaut was always likely to stay once he began to start over Cech, and now that the time has come, it's only a matter of time before the records are broken in the Chelsea goal - although with Petr Cech's accolades, the boy has a lot to live up to.


Courtois is just one example of what I'm talking about. My point is that, the last time a transition like this happened, was in Jose's first spell at the club. That provided us with two of the most glorious years in the club's history, and you'd be naive to think that it wouldn't have continued without the Jose-Roman spat.

I, for one, am actually excited to watch Chelsea play Football again. I felt that last season we were one of the most boring sides in the League, and I'm sure others would agree. Granted, we made it to the Semi-Finals of Europe's biggest competition, and gave City a run for their money (literally) in the title race, but we were never good enough to deserve such a stature. We were mediocre at best when it mattered; Sunderland at home; Palace away; Villa away.

I look at the team that went away to Burnley and played out of their skins, a team that went to Goodison Park and scored SIX goals. We showed a fight that we never seemed to be able to conjure up last year, or the year before that.


Our squad depth is enough to challenge anyone and for anything. At Everton we utilised our array of attacking midfielders to a devastating affect. I like the idea of being able to use Willian in games like that; one of the most reliable attacking midfielders in terms of getting back to defend - also an incredible asset up the other end of the pitch!

All around the pitch we have a group that can play together, not just a team of individuals.

There's something different about the team this season. Something that suggests we mean it this time around.

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