Neon_Knight_
Well-Known Member
- Jul 20, 2011
- 4,016
- 6,677
Chelsea have been considerably more fortunate with injuries than any of their rivals. Each individual injury has generally appeared to have more impact on Chelsea than us (they dropped 6 points with only Alonso missing from their starting line-up, whilst we recently did very well without Kane, Rose, Walker, Wanyama or Lamela). I believe we have only fielded our strongest XI on 3 ocassions in all competitions this season (and that's assuming Lamela definitely wouldn't be starting XI if he was fit). Chelsea have been able to select their best XI for the majority of games.
We all know the difference that having both Walker and Rose on the pitch makes in big games. If we'd had Lamela available for more than a few games, that would have given Poch far more opportunity to rotate and adapt the team. We've also had two spells without Kane and have spent a considerable chunk of the season with either Alderweireld or Vertonghen out. Yet we are only 4 points behind Chelsea...this hardly evidences Chelsea's superior squad depth.
If Costa hadn't been available for almost every game, would Batshuayi have been adequate cover? The jury is out on that. Batshuayi has done little to prove he's better than Janssen (1 goal in 17 PL games, compared to Janssen's 2 in 24), but they haven't ever had to rely on him for a run of games. We've maintained our title challenge despite Kane being sidelined for two significant spells. Janssen may not have filled the goalscoring void, but Son did, showing that when our back-up striker failed to perform we had yet another decent option at our disposal.
If Costa or Moses is injured, as Rose and Walker both have been, do Chelsea have good sub wing-backs? Certainly not better than Trippier and Davies. They recently dropped 6 points while Alonso was out (but their other 10 best players were available).
Chelsea have Fabregas as cover for CM. He may be a big name and have a fair amount of technical ability, but he has repeatedly shown that he lacks the defensive ability and physical presence of Kante and Matic. There could even be a debate as to whether he has been more effective than Winks this season. Conjecture aside, we've overcome the absences of both Dembele and Wanyama and remain very much in the title race.
Willian is a very useful sub to have, but we should have both Son and Lamela on the bench when our full squad is fit. Who is Chelsea's second back-up option for attacking positions? Probably Fabregas, but he's also their 3rd choice CM, so what happens if they then got an injury/suspension to Kante or Matic?
Chelsea had Ake, Terry and Zouma waiting in the wings when Cahill was unavailable, compared to our Wimmer and CCV. However, we've got the best defensive record in the league, despite have more defensive injuries. We've played a considerable amount of this campaign with either Alderweireld or Vertonghen missing.
We all know the difference that having both Walker and Rose on the pitch makes in big games. If we'd had Lamela available for more than a few games, that would have given Poch far more opportunity to rotate and adapt the team. We've also had two spells without Kane and have spent a considerable chunk of the season with either Alderweireld or Vertonghen out. Yet we are only 4 points behind Chelsea...this hardly evidences Chelsea's superior squad depth.
If Costa hadn't been available for almost every game, would Batshuayi have been adequate cover? The jury is out on that. Batshuayi has done little to prove he's better than Janssen (1 goal in 17 PL games, compared to Janssen's 2 in 24), but they haven't ever had to rely on him for a run of games. We've maintained our title challenge despite Kane being sidelined for two significant spells. Janssen may not have filled the goalscoring void, but Son did, showing that when our back-up striker failed to perform we had yet another decent option at our disposal.
If Costa or Moses is injured, as Rose and Walker both have been, do Chelsea have good sub wing-backs? Certainly not better than Trippier and Davies. They recently dropped 6 points while Alonso was out (but their other 10 best players were available).
Chelsea have Fabregas as cover for CM. He may be a big name and have a fair amount of technical ability, but he has repeatedly shown that he lacks the defensive ability and physical presence of Kante and Matic. There could even be a debate as to whether he has been more effective than Winks this season. Conjecture aside, we've overcome the absences of both Dembele and Wanyama and remain very much in the title race.
Willian is a very useful sub to have, but we should have both Son and Lamela on the bench when our full squad is fit. Who is Chelsea's second back-up option for attacking positions? Probably Fabregas, but he's also their 3rd choice CM, so what happens if they then got an injury/suspension to Kante or Matic?
Chelsea had Ake, Terry and Zouma waiting in the wings when Cahill was unavailable, compared to our Wimmer and CCV. However, we've got the best defensive record in the league, despite have more defensive injuries. We've played a considerable amount of this campaign with either Alderweireld or Vertonghen missing.
