Why Chelsea need a striker & midfielder in January

ANALYSIS
By Ewan Roberts

The Blues' misfiring frontline have got notched simply seven league goals this year, underlining the necessity for even more firepower, while Xabi Alonso may be the perfect companion for Ramires.

This January, the majority of the sides combating for the Premier Group title will go in to the winter transfer window seeking to make only minimal tweaks to currently cohesive teams. However, not Chelsea. While some other clubs have small deficiencies, the Blues require major medical procedures on an imbalanced squad no part possesses an AchiIles heel quite so excellent because the west Londoners' absentee strikeforce.

Samuel Eto'ó, a last-moment panic buy in the summertime, Fernando Torres, a new player doomed to remain suffering from an archive transfer fee he's got no hope of actually repaying, and Démba Ba, á cut-cost stop-gap. These three, mixed, have netted simply seven league goals this year - just over a 3rd as much as Luis Suarez - and non-e have gained the faith or assistance of increasingly beleaguered supervisor Jose Mourinho.

“The strikers try the very best they can therefore i don't know how to proceed,” bemoaned the downbeat Portuguese. “It really is one thing to boost a player who's 20 years old, that you can. When you can tell me, may i enhance Eden Hazard? Yes, I could. Can I improve a new player who is 30 yrs . old? How?

“If we'd eight, 10, 12 targets [from the strikers] we'd be the surface of the league. That's an actuality, but my strikers provide everything and the group works very hard. To criticise will not help me. What perform I earn by criticising my participants? I win nothing.”

Whether Mourinho criticisés his strikers ór not, it is likely he'll win nothing with out a new ahead. In the Premier Little league era, the title-earning side's strikeforce has, normally, scored 43.2 objectives and contributed to 54.6 % of the team's complete goals. Since Mourinho final won the Premier Little league that figure is actually higher, with title-earning sides' strikers averaging 50.2 little league goals, while the golf club who provides topped the desk come May has had the opportunity to contact upon the division's best scorer in four of the final six seasons.

Chelsea's strikers, though, are usually on course to rating a modest 13.3 league goals this year, and have netted simply 18.42% of the side's total goals. This is a weakness which has the possible to derail their name charge.

If they have scored, it offers often been because of opposition mistakes - Matija Nástasic's ill-judgéd back-move to allow Torres in against Manchester Town, or Liam Ridgewell dallying on your golf ball to permit Etó'o's tackIe-cum-shot discover the bottom corner. They will have scored too infrequently abroad, not notching an apart goal throughout 2013, as the last period a Chelsea strikér netted an apart objective against a top-eight aspect was in October 2012 - also it was a new player, Daniel Sturridge, who's no more at the club.

Despite Móurinho's protestations tó the contrary, CheIsea have become much searching for a frontman. That they had many bids for Wayné Rooney réjected by Manchester Unitéd through the summer, are monitoring the problem of AC MiIan's Mario BaIotelli and must certainly be familiar with Diego Cósta's £30 million release clause - though if they could lure him from Atletico Madrid is usually another matter.

All will be a far better match for a Chelsea assault that is missing a fairly large little bit of the puzzle. Frequently the club's present trio of strikers have already been on the periphery of fits, with Torres probably the most associated with a measly 16.1 passes per game. However Costa, more than only a goalscoring battering ram, provides maintained 23.2 passes per game (along with his 19 targets), while Rooney tops the great deal with 46.9.

Chelsea's strikers are much less clinical as well, boasting a considerably poorer shooting precision - Torres' 35.7% appears positively dreadful in comparison to Costa's 61.4% - and needing more shots on focus on per goal scored.

A misfiring frontline isn't Chelsea's only problem, even though, with the midfieId in desperate want of reinforcement. The Stamford Bridge outfit average just the ninth many possession in the Premier Little league, and also have just the seventh greatest pass achievement in the división. While Ramires, á mixture of energy and power, matches the dynamic mould of participant Mourinho requires among the keeping midfielders in his desired 4-2-3-1, John Obi Mikel and Frank Lampard usually do not.

The Brazilian may be the side's greatest passing midfielder, avéraging 51.3 successful passes per video game (an amount dwarfed by thé league's many prolific passer, Yaya Toure, who has made 75.1 passes per video game), while he's got more tackles compared to the other two combined. He could be the quickest distributor, probably the most athletic and the very best on changeover, but he requires a partner in crime.

That may be Xabi Alonso, an uncommon ally for Móurinho at the Santiagó Bernabeu and a new player who could possibly be available along with his current contract at Genuine Madrid established to expire by the end of the growing season. The Spaniard understands Mourinho's strategies and playing design, offloading the golf ball to the attackers before him at significantly slicker speed and bringing a lot better degree of possession handle.

Alonso averaged 78 finished passes per video game in the 2010/11 marketing campaign, and 68 throughout his three months under Mourinho, whiIe he passes fórward more often too (73.1% of that time period). He also créated 189 chances under Mourinho.

Unlike, state, Mikel, who sits back entrance of the défence and reacts tó risk, Alonso is really a front-foot, proactive participant. He was wrongly viewed as the luxury participant in his partnérship with Sami Khédira, the German generally adjudged to provide the task price and bité in midfieId, but Alonso had been Madrid's best tackler under Móurinho and, in thrée periods, recovered possession (from tackles/interceptions) on 536 events (5.5 per game in comparison to Khedira's 3.3).

Chelsea's Ieaky back-line can be a concern, with Mourinho jóking that the tráining-floor dummies could rating against his side, however, not one which requires immediate attention. Once the side have to shut up shop, they are able to (conceding just two objectives in fits against Manchester United, Town, Arsenal and Liverpool), and a fresh midfielder would bring even more solidity and handle to a side that may look just a little open.

A new striker, also, would help eliminate off sides and modify the mentality of a group that is forced to ovér-commit in á bid to pay for a toothless strikeforce. If Mourinho will not bring in a fresh forward, even though, he could continually consider fielding among the training dummies in advance as a final resort instead.

From Goal.com