Chelsea’s edge is embedded in the mind

Wrapping up the countdown to the start of the new English Premier League season, and saving the best for last, TODAY’S EPL analyst Adrian Clarke (sports [at] mediacorp.com.sg) reasons why it will be hard to prise the championship crown from Jose Mourinho and his mean and hard-nosed Chelsea men …

If I had to characterise in just one word what made Chelsea so much better than everybody else last season, I’d choose the adjective “mean”. They were by some distance the least charitable side in English football.

I’m not being derogatory. It’s a huge compliment. Had Manchester City and Arsenal been less free-handed to others, gifting dropped points at various intervals, the title race would have been far more interesting than the procession it developed into.

The champions’ ability to spot a banana skin and then skilfully dodge it put distance between themselves and the chasing pack.

Statistics only tell part of the story, but when it comes to Chelsea’s record at Stamford Bridge, the numbers cover almost all you need to know …

• They didn’t lose a single game.

• In a home campaign that lasted 1,710 minutes, they trailed for a grand total of 34.

• Relentlessly stubborn, they conceded only three second-half goals in front of their fans all season.

• Not once did they fail to score themselves.

You don’t wake up one morning, look in the mirror and suddenly see a force of nature like that looking back at you in the glass. It takes thousands of man-hours, thoughtful coaching, obsessive discipline and remarkable teamwork to become that stingy, especially in a division so famous for producing upsets.

Chelsea’s class of 2015 should be remembered as outstanding champions.

Jose Mourinho’s mantra is to build from the back, and it was astonishing how little he messed around with the personnel. The Chelsea boss used just six defenders in 38 matches (seven if you count a keeper) and you have to go all the way back to Manchester United’s 1993/4 triumph, when Ryan Giggs was half as young as he is today, to find a top dog that was so settled in that department.

Rejecting rotation was an old-school policy, but it couldn’t have worked any better. His preferred unit of Thibaut Courtois, Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, John Terry and Cesar Azpilicueta were so in tune with one another’s game, so compact and resilient, that their shape was rarely stretched. When these five made the starting XI together, the team averaged 2.36 points per game.

Terry’s lack of pace should have been a problem, but it wasn’t.

Why? The Blues legend is one of the best I’ve ever seen at defending deep inside a penalty area. Catching Terry out of position, or seeing him outmuscled is a rare phenomenon.

Secondly, that precious hole in front of the back four (an area that can be left invitingly open when defending so deep) was covered immaculately by Nemanja Matic, the best holding midfielder in the country.

The elegant and athletic Serbian protected the zone as if his life depended on it, winning the ball back effortlessly, before turning defence into attack. On the rare occasions that Matic was absent, Chelsea’s rock-solid foundation did show a crack or two. To maintain their record this season, he HAS to stay fit.

Mental toughness is another fundamental difference between the Blues and the rest. Or at least it was last term. City’s stars had various no-shows. United laboured unconvincingly for weeks on end. Arsenal squandered points early on in the campaign through naivety.

Yet, Chelsea rolled on and on and on, limiting the damage whenever they weren’t at their best. Inside their minds, they found a consistent level of concentration. Dropping points seemed to hurt them more. At White Hart Lane on New Year’s Day, they fell apart losing 5-3, but that was the only serious blip. In contrast, Liverpool shipped two or more goals on 13 occasions, City 12, and Arsenal 10. Only a gritty United side could match the six times it happened to Chelsea.

Bad days don’t develop into disastrous ones too often when you have a collective winning mentality. To stand any hope of closing the gap, their main rivals must develop this aspect of their game too — and the signs suggest Arsenal and United are the most likely to achieve it. Both managers have worked overtime on fostering their teams’ spirit and discipline. Progress has been made. Cutting out silly mistakes is imperative. Handing regular gifts to Chelsea gives them a leg up they don’t even need.

So far this summer, Mourinho has resisted tinkering too much with his squad. It is a sign of confidence, but he does need to be careful. Take Diego Costa, Eden Hazard or Cesc Fabregas out of the team for long periods, and the bulk of their goal output disappears. Last season, the trio were responsible for 37 goals and 30 assists among them.

Injuries, however, might play a decisive factor in Chelsea’s defence of their crown. If they go a second season running without suffering long-haul absences to stellar names, Chelsea’s prospects of a repeat success are high. Should it go the other way, Mourinho’s smallish squad could be stretched beyond its limits.

Whatever happens, I doubt they’ll lead the Premier League for as long as they did last season, 274 days to be precise. But unless they are seriously unlucky, I see no reason Chelsea will not be just as uncompromising in the defence of their title. The hunger looks like it is there.

It is down to the others to look and learn. If they want to finish above the Blues this season, they must teach themselves to be just as mean.

Prediction: Champions

PLAYERS TO WATCH

John Terry

For Chelsea’s 34-year-old captain, the clock is ticking down too fast for his liking. Yet instead of winding down gently, the Blues legend has used thoughts of retirement as a spur to make the most of the time he has left. Playing every minute of Premier League football last season, Terry produced his finest campaign for at least five years.

The veteran is still Mourinho’s main man. Without him, I wouldn’t say the back four would crumble, but his positioning and never-ending desire to defend stoutly, still has an incredibly influential effect. Should JT stay fit and healthy, Chelsea won’t lose many games. If his body begins to crack, so might his team’s challenge for major honours.

Eden Hazard

Don’t tell Mourinho I said this, but the champions are in essence quite a functional side. It’s Eden Hazard that injects much-needed pizazz into their play.

The Belgian was sensational last season. Springing up all over the place, he made more passes, drew more fouls, and made more successful dribbles than any other player in the division. Whenever the Blues needed someone to lift them out of a stupor, or break down the resistance of opponents, the 24-year-old came up with the goods. He was their go-to guy.

Mourinho reckons he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo. I don’t agree but he is a very special talent. If his game improves again this year, it won’t be long before the whole world puts him in the same bracket as Real Madrid’s mega star.

Radamel Falcao

It’s make-or-break time for the Colombian. Based on what we saw from him at Old Trafford, the one-time goalscoring machine is washed up as a top-line striker. The knee injury that cruelly ruled him out of the World Cup looks like it’s destroyed his mojo too.

While I’m waiting to see the evidence, I do still have a hunch that a renaissance is possible. Chelsea will be rampant at times this season, and if the injury-plagued Costa and Remy aren’t around, Falcao will be relied upon to make hay. His runs still look clever, his mind is as sharp as it always has been. The Chelsea new boy just needs to rebuild his confidence.

Keep your eyes on him, to see if he’s up to the task.

TODAY EPL analyst Adrian Clarke is a former Arsenal midfielder who has played at every level of English football. Now an experienced sports journalist, he writes for many publications around the world.