Pre-season so far - an appraisal

[BlueLion. 21,491]

The air of enthusiasm that surrounds a football club during the summer is overwhelming.

An infectious desire for club football to return has only been exacerbated by the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine. Seeing so many of Chelsea's Champions League winners featuring prominently for their nations was a painfully slow strip-tease that bore no promise of climax. You had to remind yourself at times - it was great fun, but it just wasn't Chelsea.

Perhaps the anticipation is even greater for the coming season that it has ever been before. The Blues enter the season as the defending Champions of Europe and FA Cup winners, and will look to add even more weight to the club's growing trophy collection by challenging on seven different fronts this campaign. Whilst domestic supremacy - as ever - will be the chief target of Roberto di Matteo, the prospect of becoming the first side to defend the big-eared trophy in the Champions League era is one that will appeal to the man that has bank-rolled the continuous successes of the past decade.

In order to achieve this, di Matteo has been given the full financial backing of the Russian oligarch, and the Italian has taken to bolstering his ranks with an influx of superb young talent. Kevin de Bruyne - actually signed last January by Andre Villas-Boas - has finally joined up with the club, along with Werder Bremen's Marko Marin. Most excitingly, one of world football's hottest prospects in Eden Hazard has joined the Stamford Bridge cause; attracted by the allure of playing for the European Champions. Brazilian wonderkid Oscar may well be joining the club after the Olympics also (the club have a 'verbal agreement' with Internacional over his transfer), whilst Victor Moses, Robert Lewandovski, Cesar Azpilicueta and Hulk are but a few of a prodigious talents linked with the club recently. Don't we have a lot to thank Didier Drogba for?

And so, with that aforesaid air of excitement and expectation beneath them, the club has jetted across to the United States for a four-stop tour of the country. First it was to Seattle for a second clash with the Sounders FC before heading to New York for an historic fixture with Paris St-Germain in the incredible Yankees Stadium. Matches against an MLS All-Stars eleven and then the might of Serie A giants AC Milan in Philadelphia and Miami will conclude what has already been a prolific tour for the West Londoners.

A win against the Sounders in the first game made for entertaining viewing - the Blues coming out as 4-2 victors in a six-goal thriller. Romelu Lukaku took just two minutes to register his side's first goal as he was found by Josh McEachran's incisive pass, before a debut strike for Hazard put the Blues in a commanding early lead. The home side turned the game around with a double from Columbian hotshot Fredy Montero, but the Blues were not to be denied a deserved win when first Marin stepped forward to follow Hazard's footsteps and net on his first appearance for the club and then Lukaku strode forward to round the keeper and complete a convincing victory for di Matteo's charges. It was a good work-out against a side well into their MLS campaign and the perfect beginning to proceedings.

Montero's brace had highlighted gaps in the Chelsea defence, and those holes were exploited by Carlo Ancelotti's PSG side in New York in the second match. The Ligue Un side - further into their pre-season preparations - looked fitter and sharper than their opponents, and it came as little surprise that they dominated the opening exchanges. Their supremacy paid off when one-time Blues target Javier Pastore brilliantly dribbled through tackle after tackle before prodding against Petr Cech's post, with the rebound falling kindly for Nene to sweep home. Chelsea rallied and dominated the second half as the likes of Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole and John Terry returned, and they got their just rewards when youngster Lucas Piazon finished off a flowing move with a net close-range finish. Both teams had chances to win it late on, but honours-even was a fair reflection of what was an engrossing match.

So often pre-season exhibition matches are tepid affairs, but both games were full of goals and excitement - perhaps even too much for the manager. Defensive indiscipline is a common occurrence as players improve their physical and mental state ahead of the new campaign, especially with the personnel changing with frustrating regularity, whilst the game against PSG highlighted the need for greater incisiveness up front; something that will be supplied with the return of Fernando Torres in the coming days.

Yet for the first time in quite a while, it can be said that the Chelsea manager has something of a selection crisis when it comes to midfield options; a side that last season was so lacking in the creativity department has been bolstered by not only the new arrivals but the return of McEachran and Yossi Benayoun for loans with Swansea and Arsenal respectively. The Italian certainly has plenty of failsafe options should Plans A and B go out of the window, and he has used the two games so far to experiment with the line-up, though the 4-2-3-1 system remains a concrete constant.

The new boys have settled well; de Bruyne featured against the Blues for KRC Genk in last season's European Cup and he arrives in America with big expectations on his shoulders. So far, di Matteo has used him both centrally and in a wide left capacity, yet the youngster has looked at his most impressive in the 'hole' behind the forward line. In his native Belgium, de Bruyne was known for his long-range shooting and his dribbling ability, and whilst di Matteo may look to the latter quality as an option out wide, the Belgian's preferred position is one currently occupied by Juan Mata and his compatriot, Eden Hazard. Though he has shown impressive glimpses - he should have netted against the Sounders but was denied a tap-in only by a cruel bounce - the raw talent that is de Bruyne requires consistent game-time at a high level. This is not a player that can be left to play reserve-team football next campaign; he needs a loan elsewhere, and preferably in one of England's top-two divisions. It is all well and good shipping him off to Holland or Germany after other Chelsea loanees, but this boy has the potential to succeed in England; and it is here where he needs to hone his game.

A player that has made an instant impact is Marko Marin. Dubbed the 'German Messi' due to his incredible dribbling speed, the young winger is another multi-dimensional player who will be able to operate in a wider berth, or through the middle. Pre-season so far has shown that di Matteo intends to use the ex-Bremen star on the left-hand-side of the midfield five, but a consistent theme of matches this summer have shown great interchanging between the foremost three of the midfield contingent, and it is likely that Juan Mata, Marin and Hazard will swap positions akin to the old front three of Robben-Gudjohnsen-Duff back under José Mourinho. Of the three new signings, Marin is the one that has arrived with the lesser expectations after a 2011/12 campaigned dogged by injury and inconsistency. However, two impressive outings in Chelsea blue have raised a few eyebrows as this exciting prospect looks to grasp this great opportunity with both hands.

Hazard was the centre of a bidding war between virtually all of Europe's notable clubs (take note, Arsenal), and in typically dramatic fashion it was he that announced he would join Chelsea on his Twitter account. Taking the number 17 shirt, Hazard is expected by many to be Chelsea's answer to Lionel Messi. With this young man, it is a sad case of a-goal-a-game or otherwise he won't be good enough. That, however, is the price to pay when it comes to a £32 million investment. So many times have Chelsea spent big and the player has failed to deliver to an expected capacity. There is little likelihood of this occurring with Hazard, however. This is a 21 year-old with all the natural ability in the world. His close control is second-to-none, and his ability to turn players thanks to a low centre of gravity offers di Matteo an edge of dynamism that the Italian knows he must harness to as great an extent as possible. Hazard is European football's next big thing, and whilst the weight of a hefty price tag and unrealistic targets set by Blues supporters who will look to this young talent as our new talisman may mean an indifferent first season, the glimpses of his quality will be enough to whet the appetite until he is truly settled into the swing of English football.

One thing these three stars have in their favour is their youth. For older players, it is difficult to adjust to the pace and ferocity of the Premier League, yet this attacking triumvirate has all the natural ability and the confidence to make the transition to the English style of play - if they are given the time.

Whilst Hazard and Marin are both obvious candidates for first-team material, de Bruyne - like fellow Belgian youngster Romelu Lakaku - needs game-time. There is no guarantee of that at Chelsea. Both are well down their respective pecking orders, and a loan elsewhere seems the most likely way of ensuring the development of the duo. Lukaku and de Bruyne are in a tender state of development and need the game-time to improve, and as I have already stated, these boys need to be given all the support of the club to find a side for the coming season. Lukaku's career is in particular threat of stagnation after a wasted season at Stamford Bridge in 11/12, and it would be criminal to waste all this talent. The same can be said of countless other youngsters - Josh McEachran and Gael Kakuta the best examples. The two are not quite ready to make the step up to squad-player status, and may need loans elsewhere to continue their development.

Academy youngsters have also featured this pre-season, as is common on Chelsea tours of the past. Jamal Blackman, Todd Kane, Nathaniel Chalobah, George Saville and Lucas Piazon have all featured, with Piazon in particular impressing; even netting in the 1-1 draw with PSG. The potential is quite exciting, though these players are some distance behind even the likes of de Bruyne and company, and it will be some time before we see these players regularly called up to the squad. Roberto has made a promise to play some youngsters in the cup competitions and with seven fronts to battle on, there may be some surprise call-ups to Premier League matches over the course of the campaign, but time and patience must be granted to this promising crop of youngsters.

Pre-season has so far offered the perfect intensity of play for the playing personnel to improve their physical and mental fitness. Encouraging signs aplenty have greeted the 180 minutes of football we have thus far been treated to, and plenty of promise to boot; the style of expansive play bodes well in terms of entertainment and goalscoring, and the new emphasis on youth not only highlights the potential of an exciting 2012/13 campaign, but also suggests a very, very bright future in blue.

[Hutcho 8,443]

Great post.