Chelsea
New Look Chelsea: How The Blues Could Line-up In 2012/13
Following an active summer in the transfer market, here is a prediction of what the Chelsea starting line up might look like during the new 2012/13 season.
Following their 2011/12 FA Cup and UEFA Champions League Double, it seems Chelsea football club are moving forward at pace again.
Not since the era of Jose Mourinho have we seen such a dramatic influx of talent through the doors at Stamford Bridge. Club owner Roman Abramovich obviously enjoyed last season immensely. The Chelsea squad Abramovich funded and built under Mourinho (with a little help form Avram Grant, Guus Hiddink, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti and Andre-Villas Boas) finally delivered the holy-grail that Abramovich had craved when Chelsea defeated Bayern Munich in the Champions League final back in May. And now Abramovich is funding a Chelsea revolution again.
With the exception of Juan Mata, the 2011 summer transfer window saw Chelsea recruit little to keep their fans excited. Arrivals under AVB included Romelu Lukaku, Thibaud Courtois, Oriol Romeu, Lucas Piazon, Ulises Davila, and Raul Meireles.
This summer however, under the management of Roberto Di Matteo, Chelsea and Abramovich seem to be at it again, stamping their intent with a chequebook few can compete with. Chelsea’s plan is simple. Bankroll their way to more silverware by buying the best.
Arrivals in the 2012 transfer window so far include Lille’s highly rated playmaker Eden Hazard, Werder Bremen’s Marko Marin, and potentially 20-year-old Brazilian superstar Oscar.
What we’re witnessing is a football club that are hungry again, revitalised by the success of last season’s finale. Chelsea are injecting youth into their squad, but unlike last summer, their new signings are likely to feature much more prominently than some of Andre Villas-Boas signings did, especially towards the end of last season.
The old-guard of Lampard, Terry, Essien, Drogba et al is set to be replaced by a new-age Chelsea. Not immediately, but soon. Think Torres, Mata, Hazard, Marin, Cahill, Oscar, Luiz. It could, and should be a frightening prospect for Chelsea’s Premier League opponents.
With Manchester City yet to spend this summer, and Manchester United signing largely unproven youth talent, in Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell, Chelsea are planning to raid the party come May 2013. Finishing sixth in the Barclays Premier League last term obviously hurt badly and without their success in the Champions League they may not have been able to attract the likes of Hazard.
Chelsea’s recruitment this summer brings us on to the subject of this article. What will Chelsea’s starting line-up this season look like? With other signings likely before transfer deadline day on 31st August, it’s difficult to predict exactly, but this is our prediction of what Chelsea’s starting eleven could look like this season.
With many teams now adopting a more dynamic 4-2-3-1 formation rather than the traditional 4-4-2, Chelsea have enough quality to field two teams of eleven. There likely first eleven is a line-up which on-paper at least looks as strong as anyone’s. And that’s with a couple of weeks still to go before the curtain comes down on the transfer window. A little bit scary isn’t it?
This article was written by Chris Holmes, author of Transfer Gossip and Fantasy Premier League blog PremierLeagueTransfers.net. Visit the site to read more on Premier League transfer rumours and news of confirmed Premier League signings.
t pee
August 15, 2012 at 10:05 pm
essien is better than mikel wen it comes to attacking football. the last time played attacking football in champions league, essien flourished(against napoli).mikel is only important wen we want to pack the bus open your eyes n see.mikel doesnt pose a threat for our opponents , essien does cos he can score easily n more often. drop mikel he likes back n square passes too much!!!!
Dirichardozx
August 15, 2012 at 10:25 pm
Nonsense formation luiz can not play in midfield let the formation be
cech
ivanovic luiz/cahill terry cole
Mikel lampard
ramirez mata hazard
torres
Subs:marin for ramires or hazard
oscar for lampard
sturridge/piazon for torres/mata
Ali
August 16, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Nonsense comment. Why cann’t Luiz play as a holding middfileder? I think it is a brilliant idea he is moved from CD to holding middfielder for 2 reasons:
1. Chelsea desperately need a reliable holding MF. You Mikel against MC loosing ball easily and struggling to protect his C Defenders.
2. Luiz’s defensive ability is erratic. He is ggod on ball but making rushy decision when tackling powerful strikers.
sulaiman adegboye
August 15, 2012 at 11:16 pm
i woth chelsea to buy the god pleyer
thet phyoe
August 15, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Where ramires. You mean his last year performance doesnt worth to be 1st line up of team?
Emmanuel
August 16, 2012 at 1:45 am
I prefer we use this f ivan.cahil/luis.john.cole. Ramires.lampard. Mata. Oscar. Hazard. Tores with this formation we wil pour enough goals to our oponents net
segun olakigbo
August 16, 2012 at 2:22 am
Whatz a chelsea!
chelsea
August 16, 2012 at 2:39 am
Thts a shitty formation tht u shldn’ waste Ur tym writing about……
iva-luiz-cahill-cole
lampard-ramirez
hazard-oscar-mata
torres/falcao/cavani(whoever we buy)
Suji Olusesi jswyan
August 16, 2012 at 2:59 am
thy will be done oh Lord! I see Chelsea signing Cavani, Moses and Azpilicueta 24 tuesday next week.
Cech
Azpili- iva- Jt- Cole
Rami- Lamp
Marin- Hazard- Mata
Torres
Edobor
August 16, 2012 at 4:45 am
What a squad…. chelsea is d best.
ramalho Abuchi
August 16, 2012 at 5:43 am
I want chelsea lineup to be as this.iva.jt.luiz.cole mikel.ramires marin,mata,harzad torres
Mahlon Nkotashi
August 16, 2012 at 6:44 am
And how do you play with a player like Ramires on the bench?,get to b serious..The best starting eleven wud b;(4:2:3:1)Cech Ivanovich Cahill Terry A.cole Luiz n Lampard Mata Oscar/marin Hazard Torres/Sturridge…with this line up we will win more games than we did last season..
gyawt ebenezer
August 16, 2012 at 6:44 am
I want my darling team chelsea to sign one best attacker like Falcao,Hulk,Cavani etc and the info (4-2-3-1),(cech)Iva,luiz,cahil ,cole(4),mikel,lamp(2),mata,oscar,hazard(3),Torres(1)(chelsea 3-1 wigan
Mahlon Nkotashi
August 16, 2012 at 6:47 am
And how do you play with a player like Ramires on the bench?,get to b serious..The best starting eleven wud b;(4:2:3:1)Cech Ivanovich Cahill Terry A.cole Oscar n Lampard Mata Ramires Marin/Hazard Torres/Sturridge…with this line up we will win more games than we did last season..
sam
August 16, 2012 at 6:49 am
cech azq ivan jt. Cole romeu , rami, mata ,hazard, oscar and torres
King Jay
August 16, 2012 at 6:56 am
Mikel is a lazy player and does nt worth to be a chelsea player. The formation should be: cech, iva. Luiz/cahil. Terry. Cole. Essien/romeu. Oscar. Ramires. Hasard. Mata. Torres/sturridge. Sub: marin for rami or mata
sunny
August 16, 2012 at 9:21 am
All of U̶̲̥̅̊ if given chelsea job will end up ℓi̶̲̥̅ke̶̲̥̅ avb, scolari n Grant. Startin with D̶̲̥̅̊ writer D̶̲̥̅̊a̶̲̥̅̊τ̲̅ has luiz in place of ramires n Ɲ̤̥̝̈̊̊Ơ̤̥̝̈̊̊ body Ȋ̝̊̅§ noticin D̶̲̥̅̊a̶̲̥̅̊τ̲̅ our JT Ȋ̝̊̅§ worn out, untest oscar. Lol . Combination of fle withot strenght n midfild. In English ledge. I dnt want to see U̶̲̥̅̊я̲̣̣̥ names on witeups again. U̶̲̥̅̊ dnt knw wot to write
ehibor idahosa osahon
August 16, 2012 at 7:55 am
i personali believe we dnt need cavani..lukaku has shown great prospect,and he is on loan..he would return..i would prefer d signin of hulk nd moses..and a skillful..creative deepline mieldfielder.maybe nuri sahin..fr d formatn….CECH..azp,iva,tery,cole,mikel,lampard,hulk/moses/ramires,oscar/mata,hazard/marin,torres/stu..we need hulk..moses
udoka
August 16, 2012 at 8:03 am
playn witout mikel in d double pivot will be as useles as not playing oscar behind torres, Wot a heavy it’s going 2 be
hayatu deen
August 16, 2012 at 8:31 am
Any player that in chelseafc dizaverb starting line up we fans should pray for the coach to select the gud one at the right game.watch hazard scar
Ameh
August 16, 2012 at 8:43 am
I dont know why u pipu keep putting ramires on d flank. He shud be given d yaya toure’s role in d midfield. My formation is: (cech), iva-terry-cahil-cole.
Lampard-ramires
mata-osca-hazard
torres.
Sub: sturige/piazon/tores
romeu/mikel/essein
meireles/marin/
betrand/cole
hutchisen/iva
luiz/cahil.
Wow what a squad
Abu-Hanif Abdul-Gafaru
August 16, 2012 at 9:12 am
Not untill Micheal Essien is brought back to chelsea starting line up, we will continue to concede unnecessary goals. Mikel cant do the job.
danlami
August 16, 2012 at 11:55 am
chelsea line up shud be like dis,ceh,ivan,cahil,liuz,cole,rami,oscar,marin mata, tores,harzad
Moe
August 16, 2012 at 12:08 pm
I totally agree with this formation except the fact that we always need an extra CB plus we have got to use a quality like Ramires.Therefore, our best bet is to have the formation this way…:
————–Cech—————
Ramires–Cahill/Ivan–Terry–Cole
———Luiz——Lampard——-
—Mata——Oscar——Hazard—
————-Torres————–
Firstly, Luiz has a potential of becoming a Defensive Midfielder and could turn to be one of the best in the world if guided in the right way just from the quality he has. He can defend like one, he can pass and point pass, he can obviously dribble and attack. His weaknesses, he likes to go forward too often and too aggressive on the tickle too often which makes u worry if he commits a foul while he is the last defender. More often of incidents like these could turn up to be either a penalty or a sent off. However, his weaknesses could totally be recovered if he is pushed to a more forward position where he doesn’t need to make awkward challenges plus use his simple defensive qualities accurately with less pressure. This way he can definitely, show us the quality he has and boast the teams defence and attack equally.
Secondly, Rami is fast, can attack and also can be a good defender, can certainly cross, and he has got great stamina. His weaknesses, he hasnt got great pass accuracy or vision and he isn’t good with areal challenges. what position does that take him too. Definitely a full back with great qualities. Beside all that, he hasn’t got enough room for other positions as a regular starter plus would save us from buying a right back.
Moe
August 16, 2012 at 12:09 pm
I totally agree with this formation except the fact that we always need an extra CB plus we have got to use a quality like Rami.Therefore, our best bet is to have the formation this way…:
————–Cech—————
Ramires–Cahill/Ivan–Terry–Cole
———Luiz——Lampard——-
—Mata——Oscar——Hazard—
————-Torres————–
Firstly, Luiz has a potential of becoming a Defensive Midfielder and could turn to be one of the best in the world if guided in the right way just from the quality he has. He can defend like one, he can pass and point pass, he can obviously dribble and attack. His weaknesses, he likes to go forward too often and too aggressive on the tickle too often which makes u worry if he commits a foul while he is the last defender. More often of incidents like these could turn up to be either a penalty or a sent off. However, his weaknesses could totally be recovered if he is pushed to a more forward position where he doesn’t need to make awkward challenges plus use his simple defensive qualities accurately with less pressure. This way he can definitely, show us the quality he has and boast the teams defence and attack equally.
Secondly, Rami is fast, can attack and also can be a good defender, can certainly cross, and he has got great stamina. His weaknesses, he hasnt got great pass accuracy or vision and he isn’t good with areal challenges. what position does that take him too. Definitely a full back with great qualities. Beside all that, he hasn’t got enough room for other positions as a regular starter plus would save us from buying a right back.
Abah jude
August 16, 2012 at 4:00 pm
I wonder why some of u re sayin rubbish! Hw can u say ramires play bck, and 4 information is nonsesnse, with all ramires and mikel obi play last season, is dis wat we re goin to do 4 de guyz?
Aduba Jude
August 16, 2012 at 4:32 pm
Cfc shud buy moses cavani n cezar, b4 emback on 4matn
Betrand
August 16, 2012 at 8:41 pm
the 4-2-3-1 formation is more defensive, i’d prefer a more attacking formation (4-1-2-3)
……………………cech……………………..
….Ivanovic……..luiz…cahill…….cole….
……………………mikel…………………….
……………oscar………..mata…………….
….ramires………..torres………..hazard…
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BODE
August 17, 2012 at 6:15 am
Let ♍ƺ start frm hear mikel shouldn’t be I̶̲̥̅̊n̶̲̥̅̊ chelsea squad anylonger becos d guy is so weak on a pitch and I think d right player to take is place is luiz, d guy is strong, can dribble and also run.my formatn is cech,ivanovic,cahill,terry,cole,luiz,lampard,oscar,mata,ramire and torres.let call a spade a spade mikel is writeup player
bang chik
August 17, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Cech
Ivanovic,luiz,terry,Cole
Ramires,Oscar,lampard,Mata
Hazard
Torres
4-4-1-1
Cech
Ivanovic,luiz,terry,Cole
Lampard,Mikel,Oscar
Hazard,mat a
Torres
4-3-2-1
lawboy
August 18, 2012 at 11:12 am
…………..cech…………
ivanovic…cahil\luiz..terry…..cole
……………………………………
mikel
…….ramires………..mata………….
……………………………………
oscar………torres………..hazard
TSB
August 28, 2012 at 4:42 am
Cech ivanovic terry cahill cole luiz mata lampard hazard oscar torres