Hi there lads I'm back and I want to start off by telling you the most important thing Antonio Conte did in his first months with us here at Chelsea - he's freed up the attacking players of their defensive duties. Not entirely though, they still have to defend, but not as much as before. Diego Costa and the likes of Willian or Pedro always liked to put a shift in defence, too, but Hazard mehhh... He never liked it. And Conte understood this and understood that in order to have Chelsea firing from all cylinders again he needs to have Eden Hazard back at his best again. I am not afraid to admit when a Chelsea player is poor, like a did with Willian, Oscar, Ivanovic. We are not like the Scousers or the Mancs that stupidly defend their average players just because they can't accept that others are better. Not for me, no. But believe me when I tell you that Eden Hazard in his day is as best as the likes of Gareth Bale or Robben or any other world class winger out there. Dribbling skills are out of this world and because of his height and his low centre of gravity, his balance is ridiculous, impossible to get the ball off him. He either gets past you or he draws the foul. Conte knew this and gave him a free role. For the first time in his Chelsea career Hazard is now free to do whatever he wants on the pitch and boy it pays off. Five goals scored already, two assists and he is a joy to watch week in week out. Now he is on the left, 1 minute later he is on the right, the next attack he is in the centre of the pitch. A nightmare for every defender.
The same goes for Diego Costa - wonderful centre forward and for those that do not watch Chelsea that much believe me when I tell you - he is up there with the likes of Suarez, Aguero, Higuain, Lewandowski. His biggest asset is his movement - out of this world. He picks the runs and gets in behind the defenders like no other. Creates so much space for the others it's unbelievable. But there was rumours back in April and May that he is unhappy (last season played a big part, too) and would like to go. Atletico even made a few bids, but Conte said no everytime. He stated in his every press conference during the pre-season that Diego Costa is his main centre forward for the season and he won't let him leave for anything in this world. And once again it payed off. Eight goals in ten matches, PL top scorer at the moment and lookes completely like a changed man. You probably remember the Diego Costa of last season or the season before - he would get fouled and go on a big rant everytime. He'd pick up a fight with everybody from opposing players to refs. Not anymore though. He is a completely changed man concentrating on football only. The fact that he did no receive a single yellow card since the match at the Emirates against Arsenal speaks volumes.
Here you have Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher's analysis on Conte's 3-4-3 from last night's Monday Night Football. fullmatchesandshows.com/2016/10/31/monday-night-football-premier-league-round-10-full-show/ (Click on Pre-Match and go a few minutes in, right after Swansea's manager Bob Bradley interview). You will see how much he changed this team in a few months and the new roles he's given to the attacking players.
As for his sideline antics - PL fans love the likes of Conte and Klopp. Passionate managers that don't just stood up like statues. It's for the first time at Chelsea I see such a manager yelling and breathing in his players' neck for the whole 90 minutes. He never stops and never lets his players get complacent.
I want to go back to Eden Hazard and show you this video - twitter.com/CheIseaUK/status/792798124179939328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw .It is from the week-end, half time at Southampton, players getting back on the pitch to start the 2nd half.
Eden Hazard of last season was always grumpy and looked disinterested. Now he is in a total different state of mind. And more than that, there is another big aspect about him - this season he took a lot more responsability on his shoulders and he is a lot more selfish. This is what every Chelsea fan and every pundit has been asking for seasons - for Hazard to be a lot more selfish and more decisive. Hazard of last season and maybe even the season before would always look for the pass instead of trying to score. But not anymore. This season because of the freedom he's got, he is shooting from every angle and always looks to score. Life with Mourinho was pretty miserable for Hazard although Mourinho always praised him and said he is one of world's best football players. But Mourinho never showed this on the pitch and never gave him the role he deserves. Hazard has always had to track back with Mourinho and play like a left back at times. Add to this the fact that he was never allowed to roam around the pitch, had to stay on the left wing only, all this while Azpilicueta (the left back) was always asked to defend only and never overlap. So Hazard had to defender, but at the same time when attacking he had no support from the full back on the left wing, so had to deal with the opposing full back and usually the opposing winger who was there to support his full back.
As for Cesc Fabregas - I think the Italian league would fit him like a glove. No the fastest player anymore, but as I said a great character and superb passing skills and vision. He's been a true gentleman about everything even though Conte has dropped him. Definitely the best passer of the ball in our squad, but unfortunately for him there is other things that keep him out of the team. And he accepted that. He is the definition of a deep lying playmaker, perfect in a possession based team. Currently Chelsea is all about intensity and pressing high up the pitch. And Cesc can't do that. But in Italy where the pace is a bit slower I think he would do very well. Rumour is that AC Milan are very interested in him in the winter transfer window.
Overall Conte's brought the joy back on the lad's faces once again after a trainwreck of a season. He looks like a lovely character and I am sure the squad appreciates and respects him. I've watched pictures and videos from the training sessions and he is always there in the middle of the pitch explaining all kinds of drills and getting involved with the ball himself. This did not happen in a long time at Chelsea and Eden Hazard even spoke about it and talked about the importance of Conte being a former football player. With Mourinho it was totally different, there was times when he did not even attend the training sessions and preffered to stay in his office, letting the assistants to his job.
For being the best manager in the league - I don't know. I personally think that Guardiola really is the best manager in the world. But Conte is the perfect manager for Chelsea. I don't know if Guardiola could have played his style of football with the current set of players at Chelsea. But Conte made it clear from the off that he is going to spend as much as time is need to learn everything about his players and bring the tactics that suit them the best.
The fact that Conte has given chances to some players that we thought their Chelsea careers are going south makes us the fans feel enthusiastic about the young players on loan. We currently have an army of loanies, but the standouts are Andreas Christensen (Gladbach), Tammy Abraham (Bristol City, Championship top scorer currently at only 19), Charly Musonda (Betis, superb player similar to Hazard, insane skills), Jeremy Boga (Granada) and I can include the likes of Lewis Baker, Jake Clarke-Salter, Nathan Ake, Kasey Palmer too. Chelsea have one of the best Academies in world football (won the last two UEFA Youth League trophies) producing quality youngsters every year. The biggest problem is that we have had no manager to give this lads some chances. But Conte looks ready to nurture the talent and we are very much looking forward to it.
I think the next four games are going to show us what we really fight for this season - is it the title, or a top four place? We play Everton (Home), Middlesbrough (Away), Tottenham (H) and City (A) next. You would probably think that Middlesbrough should be counted as a win already, but it's not that easy really because they are a decent side that have improved a lot and Aitor Karanka is the manager. He is Mourinho's soldier and no doubt he is going to do everything to beat Chelsea.
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exactly. And they sacked Mourinho after two first place and one second place finish. Let's pump the breaks a bit here.
