Working Around Chelsea's Forward Issues

[Barbara 15,149]

It's almost half way July and while the transfer window has officially been opened in most countries for only 10 days, speculation and bids have been happening for over a month now and Chelsea still hasn't signed a new forward.

There's still plenty of time to find the player that will step into one of the team's most lacking positions, but what if Chelsea can't find the right guy again?

The team's main targets have either signed with other clubs or seem further and further from Stamford Bridge as days pass. Falcão, Lewandowski, Cavani and even Rooney aren't within reach as of now and they may never be in short-term. While supporters try to find alternatives to those who are considered the best available forwarders, many of those possibilities could end up being yet another gamble. And as such it means they could completely backfire. Which is how Chelsea found themselves in this position to start with.

When the club signed Fernando Torres for the astonishing amount of £50M back in 2011, it seemed like the Spaniard and Drogba would set up a deadly strike team. But reality couldn't diverge more from the prospect and after Drogba left the Blues at the end of the 2011/2012 season, the striking problem only escalated.

So what if Chelsea makes a bet that doesn't come to fruition? Or what if José Mourinho decides to stick with the options he has today? Is it possible for Chelsea to make their attack work with the players they already have? Is there any hope for last season's failure to be left in the past for good?

An efficient and deadly solution may not be possible with their current players - even under Mourinho's management, but the portuguese could make the best out of it and somehow be competitive.

Mourinho used for the most part a 4-2-3-1 formation while he stayed in Madrid, although more literally that could be interpreted as a 4-2-1-2-1 formation if we consider Ozil the CAM, Ronaldo and di María as wingers and Benzema/Higuaín as their CF. And it was those players along with Xabi Alonso that allowed the team to finally challenge Barcelona's dominance in Spain. Real Madrid went against the world's most recent trend - tiki taka's possession widely hyped by Barcelona's and the Spanish national team's successes - and opted for a counter-attack philosophy instead. Again Mourinho had just the perfect, fast players for that in the form of their #7 and #22, a great long passer in Alonso - that played as a deep-lying playmaker most of the time - and well-positioned and trustworthy forwards in Higuaín and Benzema. The team could rely on Ronaldo, di María and Xabi to start the counter-attack, increasing the pace quickly, and then counting on the effectiveness of the team's most advanced players that also included Ronaldo himself.

Mourinho doesn't have similar players in Chelsea. The three attacking midfielders play better in the central #10 position rather than in the wings, and none of them are incredibly fast. The best deep-lying playmaker the team may be Oscar, but he hasn't proved himself in the position yet while Ramires lacks pass quality and Lampard's age and form may factor the following season even more than it did in the recent past. Moses could be an option to play as a fast winger, but like Oscar he has to prove himself in the position - although his problem resides in a different area compared to the Brazilian's. Oscar needs to get used to being a deep-lying playmaker and learn how to make the best out of his consistent and world-class skills to deliver it. Moses lacks the opposite by being completely adapted to play in the flank, but not necessarily consistent and skilled to really ace the position as a 4-2-3-1 would demand from at least one of its wingers.

Mata and Hazard - as well as Oscar - had good days in the flanks, but more often than not, they couldn't match their performances in the center and this fact alone should prevent the team from playing in the - arguably - most used formation in European football.

But while the 2 in the 2 and the wingers in the 3 are key-players for the formation's success maybe no one else is more important than the 1 and that's where Chelsea's nightmare started and carried on ever since Drogba left. Torres and later on Ba proved to be much less effective than the job required from them. If a formation - whatever that is - has a number 1 in its setup it's because that's the key position, that's a player that will make a difference and turn things around for the team. In the 4-3-2-1 that's the striker and more than any other position, Chelsea have been deficient in that area. We're not going to provide stats - the supporters' memories are enough to backup that conclusion - but if the team doesn't find out someone to really make out the best out of the 1, things might be frustrating and complicated for Chelsea.

Which is why a 4-3-3 seems like a viable option given what the team has these days. Especially with the addition of André Schürrle - an answer to one of the 4-3-2-1 problems (in the wing), but probably not the solution.

Barcelona - still one of the best teams in the world - use the formation with Messi as a false-9, two wingers and two playmakers. Chelsea doesn't have a true 9, but maybe a false one could be in the team's realm.

Eden Hazard has been used in the position a couple of times last season by Benitez and while the results weren't the best - especially compared to when he played as a central attacking midfielder and even a left winger - the Belgian has all the requisites to excel in the position - maybe except the finishing (right now), that needs to be worked on. But that's where Mourinho comes in and normally makes a difference. The Portuguese is a great player developer and saved by rare occasions he brought the best out of his players, in some cases developing skills the players, supporters and analysts weren't even aware of, surprising them all. José has a clinical eye for the sport and he sees beyond most.

Hazard looks to be a key player under Mourinho. With his explosive pace and dribbling he is likely to improve on his goalscoring and assistance tallies from last season. Eden's own goal is to score with more frequency this coming season. Whilst the goalscoring exploits of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo might be a little too steep for this special player, he certainly has the potential to replace Frank Lampard as Chelsea's 20-goals-from-midfield man for years to come. It will certainly be interesting keeping tabs on the Chelsea results at www.scores.co.uk to see whether Hazard can indeed reach his own lofty targets.

So the suggestions below come from the assumption that Mourinho will be able to work with Hazard, Oscar, Mata and Schürrle to bring the best out of them in the positions suggested, although for the most part, those aren't the zones where most of them excelled in the past.

While Barcelona and Bayern - both using 4-3-3 with practical variations that we won't delved into - have their midfield triangle with only one player deeper - Javi Martinez and Busquets (the latter despite his diving) maybe the best solution for Chelsea would be an inverse triangle, with two players deeper and one closer to the forwarders. That's because Barcelona and Bayern men are much more consistent and lethal on their tackling and defensive skills than our alternatives in the forms of Mikel, Ramires or Lampard.

Given Lampard's not completely reliable shape and the higher risks of injuries, an initial formation would count with Ramires - as a right-sided defensive midfielder and Mikel as a left-sided defensive midfielder, with Mikel being more static and Ramires continuing to develop his box-to-box responsibilities for most time. If a name like de Rossi comes in, maybe it isn't far fetched for Chelsea to play with the same kind of diamond the Spanish and German national champions have in their formation. In this case Danielle could stay deeper with Ramires (or Lampard) and Oscar ahead of him. But as we're supposed to propose an improvement based on what we have as of now and Marco van Ginkel isn't ready to play the position - and may not ever be if Mourinho decides to play him a little bit more advanced - we'll keep the initial suggestion.

In the defence it's worth mentioning that whoever is most fit to be by David Luiz' side would take the place (supposing the Brazilian continues to be the least erratic and fittest of the four -, whether that's Terry, Ivanovic or, less likely, Cahill. Mourinho will without a doubt use the best he has. Terry (when fit), Ivanovic and Luiz are almost at the same level, while Cahill is normally a step or two behind them. The wing backs also have no mystery as Ryan Bertrand is far from a top player and Azpilicueta showed to be more versatile in the position than Ivanovic who is better as a centre-back anyway.

Then the first 3 comes, as explained above with Mikel on the left, Ramires on the right, both being the double-pivot, whereas Ramires will have more roam to run from one box to the other, with Mikel being more fixed and protecting the backs.

Oscar here would assume the role he did most recently in Brazil's national team and more prominently in the past Olympic Games - although back then he was more vertical than in the Confederations' Cup. In 2012 he showed great quality in the role, whereas last month he wasn't as much impressive, but maybe the main reason behind it is the inhuman amount of matches he played in the last 12 months, which went above the 80 mark.

It's important for the Brazilian to have freedom to move around the pitch as he pleases especially because among the 4 more advanced players he's the one with the best work rate - by far. While tired and under-performing offensively, Chelsea's #11 was a beast defending and ended the Confederations Cup as the Brazilian player with more successful tackles and interceptions, offering Neymar, Hulk and Fred more easiness to advance. They were covered by an unrelenting warrior behind them. After some deserved - but still short - vacation - Oscar may have a chance to show his prowess in passing, assisting and finishing more often than he did for his country's team in June.

Few Chelsea fans would disagree that Mata was the most important - and consistent - player last season - just like he had been the previous one as well - and even less fans would dare to say he isn't the best in the central attacking midfielder position. But if a new, efficient striker doesn't come around, Mourinho might need the midfielder to remember his winger days in Valencia. Hazard is faster than Mata - considerably - and that alone makes him the best deep lying striker - or false 9 - option. If the reference for the position is nowadays Messi, the Belgian definitely has more in common with the Argentine than the Spanish does. Mata is pure class, but he works much better articulating the play, distributing the ball, switching the play from one side of the pitch to the other than he does as a second striker. We suppose a more people may disagree about that, but that's the beauty of Chelsea's attacking midfielders: they can change positions during the match as many times as they - or Mourinho - see fit and Mata could exchange positions with Hazard throughout the whole match, adding difficulty for the opposite defenders to mark Blues' creative - and lethal - men.

Hazard had ups and downs during his first season with the Blues, but Chelsea's #17 finished the season even better than he started it and that should carry onto next season, especially under Mourinho. The Belgian seems to be the player with the higher ceiling among all players in the squad and his skills and qualities are too many to be listed. Whether it's about confidence or not - to successfully fulfil the deep-lying striker position Hazard would need to improve his finishing - not only quality wise, but also quantity wise. The false forwarder has to shoot as much as possible and with practice comes perfection and the more Hazard tries his luck, the best he will become. Mourinho may even convince the Belgian hero that training isn't that much useless and the 22-year old wonder may soon reach the level many predict he is fated to.

And then there's the only new signing that could already have a chance in the starting XI: André Schürrle. And one thing he already has working on his favour: he seems completely fascinated and happy to have joined Chelsea. There's nothing but excitement, happiness and anticipation coming from the German since he was announced last month. He seems to see for himself, as each day passes, the amazing things fellow countryman, Ballack, assured him he would find at Stamford Bridge. And if the youngster has the motivation and the quality, there's little that will prevent him from being Mourinho's most advanced option, dropping in the right wing. Some discuss he's better in the left, while others think he is better in the centre, just like Oscar, Mata and Eden, but whether it's in the right or in the left, Schürrle has a chance to play like Ronaldo played under Mourinho's management.

There's no comparison between both players - especially quality wise - as one is still very young while the other is for many the best player in the world, or at the very least, the second better. But André could take the same role. He's reportedly fast and not shy at all to shoot against the opponents' goal, those being two of the main skills that allow Cristiano to be such a force. The Portuguese can dribble (and he does), but Ronaldo doesn't rely on that characteristic as much as arch-rival Messi does, so André may not need to do as well. Despite the - still - abysmal quality between both players, Schürrle may already have what he needs to improve Chelsea's forwarders stats from last season. Which honestly isn't that much hard for a top player.

And in case the German struggles, there might still be Torres to come and play central, moving both Hazard and Mata behind him. But regardless of new signings, Schürrle's adaptation and results, and Torres - unlikely - improvement, Chelsea already has a player that could solve the frustrating finishing issues from last season.

Romelu Lukaku already has the support from the manager - who refused to let him go in yet another loan - and who will undoubtedly be given chances to prove that he can do more than he already did for West Brom last season. And then what seems like Chelsea's worst nightmare since Drogba has left the club might become a fine and bright prospect.

As long as until then 4-2-3-1 stays in the past.

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[Strike 7,250]

Robbie used the false 9 formation against Juventus. personally, i'm not a fan of it. only reason Robbie considered it was because the alternative was Torres I think.

[Barbara 15,149]

Robbie used the false 9 formation against Juventus. personally, i'm not a fan of it. only reason Robbie considered it was because the alternative was Torres I think.

I don't like or dislike it per say, but when I look to the transfer window I come to two conclusions: 1) we won't sign a striker at all 2) we will sign someone that isn't world-class and who knows how they will perform.

Eden is in my opinion the best player we have and he has the skills to be the DLS. You add his skills to Schürrle's skills and we have a Messi + Ronaldo combo - except of course, quality wise Eden and André can't compare. But my point isn't comparing quality between them, but what could be done. We could have players playing in similar positions as the best two players in the world in the same team. While our players aren't there with the ones playing in Spain, they're quality still. And that may be interesting to watch.

The whole post is about this being a workaround thing in case we can't find a guy that will really solve our attack issues. Under Mourinho a workaround could become much more and I'm hopeful in the worst case scenario (strikers' wise), we'll still have something positive to look forward to.

Thanks for reading and commentating

edit: enough adding: the only reason I'm considering it is also as an alternative to relying on Torres for another season. I think Mourinho will slowly play Lukaku in the team... until he's ready to be our real #9, this might work better than any 4-2-3-1 combination I can come up with

[OneMoSalah 8,785]

Has anyone ever considered the possibility of using Andre Schurrle up top as a false 9 or just an out and out striker?

[mediator 2,026]

Last year i really wanted to see hazard as false number 9 mainly because of Torres being... Torres.

I saw it once, vs juventus and he did it well despite the fact is that our midfield was over powered buy the juve's one so we couldn't create anything.

But now with BA and Lukaku, i don't want to see that kind of lineup anymore. We've got 2 real strikers and Eden is more effective @ LW.

But, Babi, i had the same idea than you last season.

Greetings ^^

[Barbara 15,149]

Has anyone ever considered the possibility of using Andre Schurrle up top as a false 9 or just an out and out striker?

I don't know him well enough to gamble it, but he's such a natural in the wing... I still believe until Lukaku is ready he's our best option in the most advanced position in the pitch, whether that's more centered or the wing.

Last year i really wanted to see hazard as false number 9 mainly because of Torres being... Torres.

I saw it once, vs juventus and he did it well despite the fact is that our midfield was over powered buy the juve's one so we couldn't create anything.

But now with BA and Lukaku, i don't want to see that kind of lineup anymore. We've got 2 real strikers and Eden is more effective @ LW.

But, Babi, i had the same idea than you last season.

Greetings ^^

I don't trust Ba at all - based on what he's showed so far with us. And I trust Mourinho to make Lukaku's transition in a healthy and calm way. Our biggest issue - or one of the biggest - is the striker position, and then you promptly throw a 20yo boy there to solve the problem? It's putting too much pressure on his shoulders when we really don't need it. It seems unfair and if he fails in the first few matches, there will be even more pressure on him.

Eden had a lot more experience when he came and Oscar although less experienced than Eden, wasn't in a pivotal position as Lukaku may be if he's set to fill Drogba's shoes off the bat... because truth is since Didier left we've been struggling with finding someone as effective - or effective at all.

If Ba grows and if Lukaku's make a successful transition by the middle of the season, then I agree we can move on to a 4-2-3-1 or even keep the 4-3-3 with him being centered and the most advanced player with whoever Mourinho sees better in the wings. But that was my whole point, until Lukaku is ready, I think that's the best alternative we have.

[Strike 7,250]

I don't like or dislike it per say, but when I look to the transfer window I come to two conclusions: 1) we won't sign a striker at all 2) we will sign someone that isn't world-class and who knows how they will perform.

If we don't sign a striker, I think it's a sign of Jose's faith in Lukaku.

Eden is in my opinion the best player we have and he has the skills to be the DLS. You add his skills to Schürrle's skills and we have a Messi + Ronaldo combo - except of course, quality wise Eden and André can't compare. But my point isn't comparing quality between them, but what could be done. We could have players playing in similar positions as the best two players in the world in the same team. While our players aren't there with the ones playing in Spain, they're quality still. And that may be interesting to watch.

Eden could work as the false 9. What he will do well is draw defenders out and open up space in behind to run at the defence but for me, it's the position of an unconventional striker dropping deep than an attacking midfielder going forward.

I recall Eden Hazard playing as the false 9 for Belgium vs England. The problem he faced was that the defenders coped with him because he was outnumbered in attack. Belgium had lot of the ball in the final third but had nowhere to go with it. Space is everything in a false 9 system and In fairness, England sat back in numbers and cut down the spaces, so they had plenty of cover in defence but that's the problem Chelsea will face. A team which defends deep and in numbers can easily cope with Eden at the tip of the attack

[Barbara 15,149]

If we don't sign a striker, I think it's a sign of Jose's faith in Lukaku.

Eden could work as the false 9. What he will do well is draw defenders out and open up space in behind to run at the defence but for me, it's the position of an unconventional striker dropping deep than an attacking midfielder going forward.

I recall Eden Hazard playing as the false 9 for Belgium vs England. The problem he faced was that the defenders coped with him because he was outnumbered in attack. Belgium had lot of the ball in the final third but had nowhere to go with it. Space is everything in a false 9 system and In fairness, England sat back in numbers and cut down the spaces, so they had plenty of cover in defence but that's the problem Chelsea will face. A team which defends deep and in numbers can easily cope with Eden at the tip of the attack

all fair points, mate.

But with Mata, Schurrle and Oscar coming from the midfield, I think opponents' defenses would have a lot more problem cutting down the spaces, don't you think? It's so much quality in those 4. And the main thing about our squad now - that was really poorly explored last season - is that those players are very versatile and can switch positions many times during the matches.

So as @ suggested maybe André could be the DLS, we could have Mata being centered, we could have Oscar coming more forward, we could have Eden in the LW, we could have so many things during one single match. I nearly come undone with the many possibilities.

We have a heck of a great team (if we overlook the striker issue) and the possibilities are endless and having now played a season together already and being under Jose's management I have to refrain myself from being more excited than I should

[Barbara 15,149]

Last year i really wanted to see hazard as false number 9 mainly because of Torres being... Torres.

I saw it once, vs juventus and he did it well despite the fact is that our midfield was over powered buy the juve's one so we couldn't create anything.

But now with BA and Lukaku, i don't want to see that kind of lineup anymore. We've got 2 real strikers and Eden is more effective @ LW.

But, Babi, i had the same idea than you last season.

Greetings ^^

Geoffrey - I need to get you a nickname - I guess Hazard played at least twice in such role under Rafa Benitez, but I can't for the life of me remember which matches... maybe someone else can help us. Or maybe I'm crazy (the latter is more likely than the former).

Cheers, sweetie, I miss you, btw!

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

Geoffrey - I need to get you a nickname - I guess Hazard played at least twice in such role under Rafa Benitez, but I can't for the life of me remember which matches... maybe someone else can help us. Or maybe I'm crazy (the latter is more likely than the former).

Cheers, sweetie, I miss you, btw!

I can't remember Eden playing as a false-9 under Rafa at all. I think he only played it once the entire season with Chelsea (vs Juve).

That said, he can be ok there but the problem is that if he's dropping deep you require the wingers to run past him (we're really bad at this, the biggest problem having 3 number 10s who rather run towards the ball than away) to exploit the space and in turn create space for Eden to turn as well. Yeah Schurrle will do that but Mata can't.

[Barbara 15,149]

I can't remember Eden playing as a false-9 under Rafa at all. I think he only played it once the entire season with Chelsea (vs Juve).

That said, he can be ok there but the problem is that if he's dropping deep you require the wingers to run past him (we're really bad at this, the biggest problem having 3 number 10s who rather run towards the ball than away) to exploit the space and in turn create space for Eden to turn as well. Yeah Schurrle will do that but Mata can't.

which is why I never trust my memory

I don't necessarily agree about the wingers running past him for it to work. I think it's one aspect of the position, but I don't think it's mandatory for the DLS's success. And we have Azpili who I hope will improve in the attack... so it adds up to the aspect you've mentioned.

I think the important thing is for him to shoot more, to take charge of actions, to be bolder and bring/call the game to his feet because he is the best player we have. He has the skills to make it work in the position and I think we have good players in Oscar and Mata to assist him. Whether the ball is coming from the wing or from the middle, doesn't matter. A lot Barça's plays for Messi come from the middle, but the most important is how Messi himself work the ball in the last third of the pitch.

If Eden receives the ball there, he can go through his 10m explosion pace, dribble and either score or assist. I've just read in his thread he himself said his goal is to score more (even mentioned Messi and Ronaldo). So if it's his goal, if he has a manager that will give him input on how to improve it and help him out, if he has teammates that can also contribute to that, I think we need to make it happen. He just needs to get used to the position and gain confidence. I think he's aiming that if he's saying he wants to score 50-60 goals a season.

I wrote it before I read that's what he'll aim, and now I feel even more backup'ed that it could be an interesting - and hopefully successful - alternative to our squad.