After an amazing season last year, will Chelsea be able to repeat their success and win it all again? Or will a longer schedule and tougher opponents be their demise?
After winning the Premier League title last season, Chelsea are expected to face tough competition from its rivals when trying to retain the title.
Fans will be hoping for a repeat of last season’s success as the new season kicks off. Title predictions have begun, and it’s obvious that much of the title talk will be centered on Chelsea’s chances as the reigning champion.
Having put down a marker last season, Chelsea will push to confirm its domestic dominance and also aim to make it back-to-back Premier League titles. However, early transfer deals from both Manchester clubs may have made the title challenge for the new campaign difficult for the London side to defend.
Courtesy pulse.ng
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has emphasized the need for a quick start, as the new season gets underway and the manager has admitted he expects the new season to be the most difficult of his coaching career.
In another development, Conte has reportedly grown increasingly frustrated over the club’s summer transfer activity. The former Italian coach is not only worried about thelack of depth in his squad, but is wary of the challenge Chelsea’s rivals will pose in his quest to retain the title.
In my opinion, I doubt Chelsea will retain the title. Last season, Chelsea benefited due to lack of European football. They had to play fewer games compared to its rivals, and that gave the team enough time to recover from regular season games.
Conte has publicly admitted his desire to bring more signings in to improve the squad, after the arrival of Morata, Rudiger, Bakayoko and Caballero. Chelsea missed out on the signing of Lukaku to United earlier in the summer, but they have brought in Morata instead. Although Morata looks like the perfect fit to fill in the position left by Costa–whom is expected to leave the club after falling out with the manager.
To be honest, I don’t think the former Juventus forward is physically ready to fill in the void yet. Morata looked rusty, and a bit over-weight during the Community shield game against Arsenal. I think it will take the Spaniard a couple of weeks to build on his fitness and get to the level that is required to compete in the Premier League.
skysports.com
It is understood Conte is not happy with having the major transfer decisions taken away from him by the club hierarchy.The selling of Matic to United did not sit well with the former Juventus Coach, and when asked by reporters why Chelsea sold Matic to United, Conte simply replied: “You must ask the club about this.”
I just have this feeling that Conte may not be at Chelsea come the end of the season, due to an already strained relationship with his employer due to transfers. There is a lot of criticism from the media and fans about Conte’s feud with Costa and the circumstance that led to Matic’s departure. I believe Conte was too quick to decide on the future of the duo.
His decision was a big gamble, and could prove to be a costly one. In all fairness, I think Conte deserves a lot of credit for winning the Premier League title on his debut season. But why is the Italian too keen on adding more players on his already strong squad? I think it is an indication that the manager is under intense pressure to build on the success of last season.
While Conte will be hoping to resolve some of the issues facing his squad, it will be interesting to see how quickly he gets things sorted out. There is no doubt Conte will be under the spotlight to deliver against all odds.
The next ten months will be crucial as the club faces a tough challenge to defend the Premier League title.
