It is no surprise that the transfer ban that Chelsea received has put a halt to their success, but has is it been the misery that everyone expected? Here are six reasons why Chelsea’s transfer ban was a blessing in disguise.
1. Youth Development
Chelsea’s youth academy is known worldwide as one of the best in the business, with multiple stars graduating from the academy into the first team such as Peter Osgood, Ray Wilkins, and of course, John Terry. However, in recent years, Chelsea’s fantastic academy has purely been a fantastic academy, and nothing else. Youngsters have failed to gain the attention of past managers, however, with the arrival of Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge, this has changed emphatically.
Lampard has given game time to a number of Chelsea academy players, such as Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Marc Guehi, and Billy Gilmour, just to name a few. Many have predicted that if Chelsea were not handed the transfer ban, the scenario would have been different. With Eden Hazard leaving in the summer, along with Alvaro Morata, the Blues gained around £130million to splash around the world. Without a transfer ban, many would have expected Chelsea to bring in new signings but as they have been unable to do so, the players who would usually be mistreated have been allowed to shine in this new era at Chelsea Football Club.
2. Players weren’t loaned out just to be loaned out
In recent years, Chelsea have been known to have a so-called ‘loan army’, as they have a track record of sending out the players they see no real opportunity for, and that number has risen year after year. Chelsea had around 45 players on loan last season, as opposed to 27 currently on loan now. Many of the players who are on loan this season are on loan for a reason, such as Conor Gallagher, Ethan Ampadu and Trevoh Chalobah, who are likely to be regular players for Chelsea next season. Other loanees such as Kenedy, Baba Rahman and Tiemoue Bakayoko are on loan in an attempt to find them a club in which they are happy to play for in the future as they are not apart of Lampard’s plans at Chelsea.
Every loan move has been completed with a purpose, as Frank Lampard knows who he would like to be apart of his squad for next season, and the loan moves for multiple Chelsea players have been made tactically, as these players need experience and are most likely to receive it with a period away from the club.
3. The team morale has skyrocketed
Chelsea have always been a club with great morale. Multiple Premier League trophies, a Champions League title in 2012 that cemented a legacy at the club for Didier Drogba, Lampard and Terry, alongside other brilliant seasons of football has seen Chelsea become a family rather than just a club.
That was, however, until Maurizio Sarri was appointed as manager in 2018. Sarri didn’t necessarily do anything wrong in charge of Chelsea, securing the Europa League against rivals Arsenal in May, and finishing 3rd in the league behind Manchester City and Liverpool, who were a step above the rest.
However, it was one of Chelsea’s poorest seasons for results, and players were beginning to get frustrated. This was outlined by the incident regarding Kepa Arrizabalaga and Sarri in the Carabao Cup Final in February. This proved to many fans that Sarri didn’t have control over the dressing room, and morale was at an all-time low. Sarri left in the summer after his first season in charge, thus leading to the appointment of Lampard.
Since then, you can clearly see in the way the players are performing that Lampard has had a huge impact on the club’s morale. Abraham celebrated Marcos Alonso’s thunderbolt against Newcastle as if he had scored himself, and he also sprinted over to Lampard when he opened his account against Norwich earlier on in the season.
Chelsea are more like a family than ever before, and with the continuous development into the youth squad by Frank Lampard, this is only likely to continue.
4. The club is interesting again
When Chelsea were handed a transfer ban, it immediately attracted the eyes of football fans from across the world. How on earth were they going to get around this devastating setback?
Chelsea have forced people to talk about them. People are interested in what will happen next, and whether Lampard is the long-term manager the club has been searching for. With standout performances from Abraham, Mount, Tomori and Hudson-Odoi, many eyes are on the West London club to see what is yet to come.
The atmosphere surrounding the club is infectious, and people are excited to see how far this promising Chelsea side can go. The club has not offered this much from each game for a long time, and now, the second one game ends, the anticipation for the next fixture is unbearable.
5. Underperforming players have stepped up
Last season at Stamford Bridge saw multiple players underperform. Alonso, Willian, and Jorginho struggled to find any sort of form last season and received a lot of criticism as a result. Despite this, the aforementioned players have improved their games to really help the team.
Willian has been in astonishing form over his last few games for Chelsea, securing their victory over Lille with a wonderful hit. Alonso has upped his game defensively which many fans were delighted with. This, however, may be due to the growing ability of Emerson and the competition that the Italian brings to Alonso. Jorginho struggled to create any real chances all season in last year’s campaign, however, this is due to the role in which he was playing last season, and the season-long debate on whether N’golo Kante should have replaced him in the centre of midfield won’t have made matters easier for the regista.
The way the players who didn’t shine last season have really come into their own under Frank Lampard is fantastic to see, as for such an inexperienced manager to be succeeding in the most difficult league in the world, he must be doing something right.
6. Rotation is making Chelsea a tough side to face
Last season, Maurizio Sarri refused to rotate his side, much to the frustration of Chelsea fans. The same players played week in week out, regardless of performances in prior games, and Sarri would not take form into account. Frank Lampard changed this instantly and continues to rotate every week. This tactic and ability to change the team frequently means that teams are finding it more difficult to predict how Chelsea will line up in their next fixtures. The Blues have played with a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2 and 4-5-1 so far this season, which gives opposing teams a real challenge before the game. The way that Chelsea are able to perform in multiple formations and styles gives them a real advantage and shows great versatility.
Chelsea also have players who can play in a number of positions which gives the side leverage and shows that their youngsters mean business. Chelsea are not to be overlooked and could prove to be real contenders for the top 4 this season.
