Carlo Ancelotti admits Chelsea not in a position to play for EPL and Community Shield matches
The Champions of the English Premier League, Chelsea, have proven one thing after their 2-1 (pre-season friendly) defeat against Hamburg: they are not prepared for the next season, a concern that their 51 year old Italian manager has relayed.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has admitted that he is worried about his team not being prepared for the coming season. He stated this after his team’s recent defeats.
The reason for the concern is simple: their top notch players, like Didier Drogba, Yossi Benayoun and Petr Cech, are injured and unprepared. The list also includes a couple of defenders and midfielders.
The second reason for their lack of proper preparation is that they don’t have their young talent trained well enough to stand up to the quality of big teams.
One reason for that is their lack of exposure to big games; a factor that can seriously trouble the Blues. Chelsea has a rugged and sturdy line-up which has been an impressive factor, but that has had some tarnishing effects for them too; for example, they don’t have a good replacement for Cech. Ross Turnbull gave a disastrous performance in the chance he given to impress, so much so that Ancelotti has decided to use Hilario between the goal posts in the Community Shield match against Manchester United.
“Some players are in good condition but others need more time. The 10 players that only came back to us on July 26 need to have another two weeks of work. After just eight days of training it is impossible to be fit. We are all disappointed because we have lost three games consecutively so it's not a good start for us,” said Ancelotti.
He added, “Now we have to hope we can come back with a win against Manchester United in the Community Shield on Sunday”.
In the previous fixtures, goals by Mladen Petric and Heung-Min Son destroyed the team from Stamford Bridge. They have been humiliated by Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt; good for Ancelotti that he has an excuse for the defeats.
There is another problem that Chelsea are facing: the home-grown players rule.
New Premier League rules state that all teams must have atleast 8 home-grown players in their squad. If the Chelsea squad is observed, one will notice that they are 3 home-grown players short. They really should have thought about that when they fired 3 of their best players, Michael Ballack, Juliano Belletti and Joe Cole.
On the other hand, the Champions League board has warned Chelsea of their over-expenditures which could result in a disqualification in the Champions League. The Chelsea team has already pumped their squad full of talented players over time. It has been noticed that their expenditures are much more than their income, which is not acceptable. This has forced the Champions League to warn them that they might be kicked out of the tournament if they cross the line.
Being owned by the rich Russian Roman Abramovich, they have no money issues, as the Russian has been spending an insane amount in order to make the club excel. Ancelotti, who initially claimed that he could win the league with his current squad, will be regretting making that statement now; however, he still claims that they have the capability of proving to be stiff competition.
Ancelotti stated, “In the past the defence has given out a lot of confidence, but now we are losing concentration. We have made mistakes and now we have to show more character. But even if some of our players are not fit, they still have a good presence on the pitch”.
He added, “Maybe it’s not so important that Lampard and Terry are 100% fit at the start of the season because they have that presence and they will do better. They just need more time playing”.
Tags: