Chelsea : A tactical overview for 2012-13

With Chelsea back home after a slightly disappointing tour of America in terms of results, RDM has lots of decisions to make.

1. Rotation among attacking midfielders

Upon signing Oscar, Chelsea now have revamped their entire attack force. This is a radical change from last season, being spoilt for choice with a host of impact players now. However, he does face a selection headache with no player ready to warm the bench. Hazard has been promised an important role in the center of attack which means Mata will be displaced from the position he thrived in last season. Marin proved to be a top performer in America with stand out performances in the first two games. Also, Chelsea should nourish youth stars like Piazon with more game time to help them succeed at the senior stage. How fast these players will adapt to the EPL and how long it takes to get the right combination going will have a major impact come the end of the season.

2.Right back

Chelsea’s lingering problem in the right of defense continues with Ivanovic being the only recognized right back. The back ups look meek in the form of Hutchinson and Ferraira. Neither can cater to the weekly rigours of EPL in case of an injury to Ivanovic. One possible choice for right back would be Essien, given that Mikel has made the central midfield role his own ever since RDM took over. Since the onus is on Roman to sign players, it would be wise for him to change his priority from attack to defense for the reminder of transfer season.

3. Torres’ form (or the lack of it)

This will be the make or break season for Torres. And his contribution will be the dominating factor which decides if Chelsea can bring EPL back to Stamford Bridge. He did show glimpses towards the end of last season. And he repaid the faith shown by Del Bosque at Euro. These are good signs but whether he’ll be able to do this week in week out remains to be seen.

4. RDM factor

RDM’s period as interim manager was like a beautifully scripted movie. However, this a new chapter burdened with expectations on his shoulder. Also, with Drogba moving on and money being invested on youth with pace, he needs to create a new philosophy and mould the seniors and juniors to adopt to it. This will prove to be the litmus test of his carreer at Chelsea.

All said and done, the signs look promising for the new season and pre-season indicates that the club wants to move forward now that they have achieved the first goal. As a fan of Chelsea, I look forward to an exciting and possibly successful 2012-13 campaign.