EXCLUSIVE
BY YANN TEAR
yann@slpmedia.co.uk
You can forget all about Enzo Maresca’s protestations that Chelsea are not quite ready to fight for the Premier League title. Former player and title winner Chris Sutton believes there’s no reason why they can’t win it this season.
Sutton lifted the title with Blackburn Rovers in 1995 and that was achieved ‘ahead of schedule’ with their former owner Jack Walker having publicly made it clear he thought the club would be in with a chance the following year.
The ex-Blues striker says the elements are all in place, including the collapse of Manchester City, the strength of an improving squad under Maresca and the absence of Champions League distractions.
Speaking to the South London Press, Sutton said: “Maresca did a good job at Leicester in terms of getting them up, but he had to come into a squad that was bloated and needing to make strong decisions and he’s certainly done that. He has his way of playing and the question now is: Are Chelsea in the title race? I think they absolutely are.
“Maresca even yesterday talked about the way they conceded a goal against Brentford late on suggesting why they are not in the title race, but I think differently. I remember from my own personal experience at Blackburn the season we won the Premier League in 94-95. Jack Walker the owner was saying we planned to win it the next season.
“The fact Chelsea are in such a rich vein of form, there will always be the argument about do they have enough experience and I understand that, in a way, but they have a team that are thriving. A lot of young players that are super-confident. Everything is clicking.
Chelsea v Crystal Palace – Premier League, Stamford Bridge, 01 September 2024
Picture : Keith Gillard
“You look at Manchester City – a team that have dominated for years and years – falling away as they have done and Chelsea are in with a real shout.
Liverpool have exceeded expectations, changed manager there and have been pretty phenomenal, but the run Chelsea are on at the moment, and the confidence, seem to be growing every week.
“They are using a completely different squad in Europe and that’s a massive bonus for Chelsea and Maresca that they’re not in the Champions League. In the [weaker] Conference League they are able to rotate and rest players.
“Chelsea are up there on merit. The performances are there and Man City have fallen away. Confidence is high. Why not Chelsea this season? Is the squad strong enough? I think it is. It’s just a question now of grinding results out.
“The attacking players they have too is key. Nicolas Jackson has come on and he’s been really important. There were question marks over his finishing last season. Did he miss too many chances? He probably did, but he’s a young player who seems to have really developed well. His confidence is high. Noni Madueke is absolutely flying. There’s competition for places.
“The one area I see people questioning is the goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and could Chelsea get an upgrade on that, but I don’t think he’s been quite as bad as some are making out.
Chelsea v Crystal Palace – Premier League, Stamford Bridge, 01 September 2024
Picture: Keith Gillard
“Then there’s Cole Palmer. There was the debate about whether Pep Guardiola was right to let him go and knew what he was doing. Recent evidence suggests not. Pep hasn’t got many things wrong in his time at Manchester City but letting him go to Chelsea and seeing how important he is to them….
“There’s a debate about whether Cole Palmer or Mo Salah has been the most influential player in the Premier League this season.
“He’s so easy on the eye. He’s just playing a different game to most Premier League players. He’s miles ahead of most. He’s such a great watch. People talk about the confidence he has from the penalty spot, but it’s just the confidence – full stop. He has wonderful pictures in his head of how he sees the game and carries out the skills. He’s absolutely majestic.
“If Chelsea had a few injuries, could they cope? I think they’ve got strength in depth but a player like Palmer is pretty irreplaceable.”
Chelsea v Crystal Palace – Premier League, Stamford Bridge, 01 September 2024
Picture: Keith Gillard
Sutton has been highly impressed by Maresca’s work but believes Mauricio Pochettino laid some important foundations last term.
He said: “The last 15 games under Pochettino, Chelsea accumulated something like 32 points which is comparable to Maresca’s fabulous start for Chelsea this season – so there were signs at the end of last season that this Chelsea team was improving.
“I was a little bit surprised about Pochettino going because of the strong end to the season. They seemed to be finding some form that had evaded them earlier on in the season but getting a team to function and click takes time, and Pochettino is an excellent manager.
“Maresca has come in and he took a fair bit of flak at the start. He had to make a couple of strong decisions – letting Raheem Sterling go for instance, and looking at what’s happened to him since that looks to have been a really good decision – but he’s had a phenomenal start to his time at Chelsea and for all the criticism that Chelsea have taken because of their lavish spending in previous seasons, there’s certainly been method in the madness and it’s coming to fruition.”
Chelsea fans were singing “We’ve got our Chelsea back” after Sunday evening’s 2-1 win against Brentford that hauled them to within two points of leaders Liverpool. It may be too early to draw comparisons to the Roman Abromovich era, but fans are hopeful
“Under Abramovich it was a slightly different model with Chelsea able to attract more of the players who were the finished article,” Sutton said. “This is more of a question of buying young and developing. But I think if you are a Chelsea fan, you are quietly excited at the moment, the fact that they are challenging at the top of the Premier League.
“In the Abramovich era it was always about winning the big trophies and now they are back up there, I see absolutely no reason why Chelsea can’t, with the start Maresca has had and the confidence and quality the team have.”
Sutton was speaking on behalf ofNewBettingSites.uk
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