Chelsea Season Preview Part One: Goalkeepers
Chelsea wouldn’t have had such a shaky pre season if first choice goalkeeper, Petr Cech had been fit. Unfortunately, the Czech international has been ruled out for a month and his replacements, Hilario and Turnbull, the second and third choice goalkeepers respectively, have not been up to the challenge.
Chelsea’s loss to Manchester United in the Community Shield last Sunday meant the Blues had lost their four consecutive pre season friendly match, and even though the goals conceded were not the keepers fault entirely, it was argued that a better effort could have been made to keep a clean sheet. The recent Chelsea performances makes one wonder what would have been different, had Cech been available.
So far, Cech has been the best and the most expensive goalkeeper the Blues have ever had. He has a Premiership record for the fewest appearances needed to reach 100 clean sheets, only requiring 180 league appearances. He was crucial for Chelsea’s first Premier League win in 2004-2005, where he secured a record for most clean sheets in a single league season – 25. Cech won the golden glove in the same season, and then again last season, 2009-2010.
Premier League and FA Cup defenders Chelsea cannot afford a weak start, and the pre season signified exactly that. Manager Carlo Ancelotti is desperate to take advantage of the transfer window, which ends at the of August, despite claims that he was not worried and was confident Chelsea would find their form once the Premier League kicked off. But things without Cech do not look too bright for the Blues. That is why there have been rumors that Ancelotti is looking for a replacement goalkeeper, the man he has his eyes on is Asmir Begovic – the current Stoke City keeper.
The Bosnian international currently plays for Stoke, but previously played for Portsmouth and has been on loan to quite a few different clubs, giving him valuable experience. The 23 year old is young, but every manager’s dream since he can be molded and developed and Ancelotti plans to do just that. Not only would he solve the Blues problem of the missing first choice goalkeeper, but also the Premier League’s new requirement of having at least eight homegrown players in the squad, he will certify as a homegrown player since he joined Portsmouth on a youth contract seven years ago.
If the Begovic deal does not go through, which it doesn’t seem like it will, with Stoke City warning Chelsea the Bosnian youngster is not on sale, Ancelotti will have to rely either on Hilario or Turnbull. Henrique Hilario, the second choice for Mourinho when Cech suffered the horrific skull injury, managed better than was expected of him, but he still did not compare to Cech and Chelsea suffered that season, losing the title to Manchester United.
He is a somewhat solid substitute for Cech, but the Portuguese is usually reserved for emergencies. After their 2-1 defeats against both German sides Frankfurt and Hamburg, Ancelotti revealed his choice for the Community Shield against Manchester United, Hilario. It was too much asking Hilario to keep a clean sheet against Manchester United, as expected, he failed to do so – conceding three goals.
Turnbull is not much of an efficient backup either, having joined Chelsea on a free transfer from Middleborough; he has failed to make an impact on the team so far. Despite his claims that he would not be a second choice keeper his entire career, he has not performed well enough to earn a position as a first choice keeper. He has had experienced in Europe, as well as the Premier League – but can’t seem to handle the pressure of top football. Chelsea have to find a replacement for the injured Cech soon, or otherwise the Blues have no hope of retaining the title.
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