Eaglesbeak - The Chelsea View 2015
It does not seem too long ago that we were looking forward to a trip to Chelsea but regardless, we had a chat with Chelsea Stats to find out their hopes for the season.
Q. What were your hopes and dreams for the season before a ball was kicked?
To be in the top two, I think this is the standard we have set ourselves over the last decade or so. Basically, I would expect us to challenge for the league. I would want to win the FA Cup and go deep in the Champions League too and also hope to see a bit more youth building on the odd performance last season, maybe get more of a run against some of the lesser sides in the league.
Q. How did Chelsea do in the transfer market this summer and is there more to come to think?
We have confirmed Asmir Begovic to replace Cech and Radamel Falcao to replace Drogba. In addition we have signed Baba Rahman, a young back up left back to replace Luis, Kenedy, a young Brazilian winger/forward who looked very good pre-season against Barcelona and of course Pedro who made an immediate impact against West Bromwich Albion. I think we need another defender and probably a midfielder. I am happy with the current team and think they can achieve our aims. Getting Bamford a Premier League loan move was important too.
Q. Did you expect a better start to the season that you have had?
Usually we start strongly, so to only have one point from two and then four from three games, whilst conceding seven times is a bit of a concern. Based just on the number of games it is our worst start since 2000-2001, but we are actually no worse off when comparing points to the same fixtures last season. The only issue, really, is that City have gained two against us that they did not have last season.
Q. Why do you think the likes of Cuadrado, Filipe Luis and Sala have failed to live up their big money moves?
Not sure that is fair on Luis. He was fine, played well when needed but just was not better than the best left back in the league in Azpilicueta. So a chance for him to go home is hard to turn down for him. Not sure how many other players come to a league, win it (and a cup) and then leave!
Salah is a problem, because of his attitude and his falling out with Fiorentina. Mourinho suggested Salah failed to follow any tactical instructions in training too. That is unacceptable at the standard we have set. He seems to be a good player though if you are a defensive side and looking for fast counter-attacks which is why he has done well in Italy.
Cuadrado has struggled a bit and probably just needs more time to adapt to a different league, culture, and club. He has made some bad errors but also looked good in moments. A loan move and regular minutes will aid him, he is always going to be behind Willian, Hazard, Oscar and now Pedro in the pecking order and with Traore and Kenedy hanging around the first team too he is unlikely to play much at all for us. I think his purchase was a bit of a panic move with Moses not coming back from Stoke, Salah going out on loan and lacking a bit of depth. At the time of writing it looks like he is going on loan to Juventus.
Q. Is there a feeling that you are better placed to challenge in the Champions League this season?
I think so, we just seemed to run out of steam against Paris Saint Germain last season and could not snap out of it and see off the ten men. It happens sometimes against ten when you get ahead and drop your levels and struggle to recover. We had a couple of poor results last season too and they can be explained but it is just the natural variation in football. I would expect us to get to the semi-finals, but it also depends on the draw, if we get a bit of luck we could make the final. Anything can happen then.
Q. How do you think Palace have done so far this season and how do you rate our moves in the transfer market?
Excellently actually. It is amazing the backing Pardew has got compared to his previous club. He looks much happier and I think the whole place is riding a good wave at the moment. This gives the board confidence and makes a bit more available to spend, I think.
Bamford is exceptional, obviously! I think you beat off quite a few Premier League clubs and almost everyone in the Championship would/should have enquired about his availability.
Cabaye is a top signing, he is actually a player I had hoped we would sign to play alongside Matic as I think he is better defensively than Fabregas, but also contributes going forward too.
McCarthy is a solid keeper. Sako looks like he will cause a few problems for defences and can step up from Wolves. Not sure about Wickham yet. He has got a good build for a centre forward when you need to play with a target man but not sure he is prolific enough to warrant a place. I am a little biased though as I want Bamford to play every week and prove to everyone (especially Chelsea) that he is good enough at this level.
I cannot see Palace being anything other than a eighth to twelfth placed team this season, and I mean that as a compliment. An established, solid, difficult to beat Premier League team. That is Pardew’s level too. Maybe with a deeper squad now too, a decent cup run is on the cards.
Q. Who do you think will win the domestic trophies this season – Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup?
It is a coin toss between Chelsea and Manchester City for the title. Chelsea for the FA Cup. Manchester United will somehow win the League Cup.
Q. Name one player from each side that the other team should be wary of for this fixture.
Hazard causes everyone problems, so it has to be him. He looked back to his best against West Brom.
I mentioned Sako earlier. I think he will cause our defenders a few problems. Maybe Zaha or Puncheon though. We have struggled against wide attackers so far this season, especially those facing up Ivanovic so it is fair to assume whoever starts wide left for Palace will cause us the most problems. If they do not then I think we will win a little more comfortably than we might otherwise.
Q. Your prediction?
Chelsea 2-1. Hazard and Costa scoring for the Blues while Sako will score the consolation.
Q. Please tell us a little about what you do and share any projects that you are currently working on.
I basically tweet about Chelsea a lot, on @ChelseaStats and I have been blogging on my site since 2010.
I tend to focus more on publishing data and league tables, than news and gossip. As I mentioned earlier, Chelsea are level on points to comparable results from last season. You will be pleased to know Palace are actually up five points and I publish this as a table each week which might be of interest to Palace fans.
Last week I made a Twitter bot which randomly generates horoscopes with a football twist, just for fun.
All the best for the season.