{"id":139461,"date":"2015-07-31T07:43:56","date_gmt":"2015-07-31T07:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=139461"},"modified":"2015-07-31T07:43:56","modified_gmt":"2015-07-31T07:43:56","slug":"quao-why-chelsea-will-win-the-20152016-barclays-premier-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/07\/quao-why-chelsea-will-win-the-20152016-barclays-premier-league\/","title":{"rendered":"QUAO: Why Chelsea will win the 2015\/2016 Barclays Premier League"},"content":{"rendered":"

Citi Sports<\/strong> editor Nathan Quao explains why he thinks Jose Mourinho\u2019s Chelsea will win the Premier League title again but it will be closer this time. <\/em><\/p>\n

On the final day of the 2014\/2015 Barclays Premier League season, Chelsea lifted a lifted a league trophy they had effectively won early in the campaign.<\/p>\n

That coronation was just an exercise because the Blues had shown their winning nature from the very start of the season and they got the just rewards.<\/p>\n

I even found it poetically just as Jose Mourinho won a championship in England after being thrown out of Spain for not winning one in his final season with Real Madrid. Frankly, I think the Blues will win the English league in the coming season but it will far from the breeze it was in 2015 and here are my reasons:<\/p>\n

1. They already have a functioning squad<\/strong>
\nIn this time when teams are adding and freshening up for the coming season, it is very strange to observe that the Blues have not done their usual exercise of writing huge cheques and waltzing into the player market and loading the cart with expensive but quality goods. This time, it seems Messrs Mourinho and Abramovich have kept a low profile and kept their team relatively untouched and I think it is largely a good call.<\/p>\n

The prospect of bringing in new players is very good but there is also a high chance that the old and new personnel will struggle to first say hello to each other, co-exist, and finally become a gel that flows smoothly. Chelsea will not have such challenges especially as they have not made radical changes to their outfield positions.<\/p>\n

Of course, they want to bring in a left-back (possibly Baba Rahman) but the indications are that whoever they get to replace Felipe Luis will not do a whole lot more than he. Essentially, that player will stay on the bench a lot more. The key part of last season\u2019s team: Courtois, Cahill, Ivanovic, Fabregas, Matic and Hazard are still there and they have the same value as new signings.<\/p>\n

2. The Blues can show different sides when need be<\/strong>
\nChampionship-winning teams have one great attribute. They can adapt quickly to trends and find ways to beat the opposition.<\/p>\n

Chelsea displayed this and it got them the title last season. When they started the campaign, they were brash, brave, gung-ho and downright amazing. Hazard left defenders sprawling while Costa scored at will. Fabregas determined the beat the team danced to while the back four Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill and Azpilicueta were great in their rear guard duties.<\/p>\n

Then, the Blues began to stay off and started winning matches by slim margins and largely stayed compact to dull the opponents and take the points away. Take their home match against Manchester United for instance. They scored with perhaps their brightest spot of possession so while the Red Devils went home with the possession stats in their hands, Chelsea went home with the points in their possession.<\/p>\n

The Blues have what it takes to do this again and again and again and win another league. They do not have to play pretty to please anyone.<\/p>\n

3. They have Jose Mourinho<\/strong>
\nWhen you have arguably football\u2019s biggest mouth, hype man, master of mischief, mind games expert and top tactician, why should you not be a contender for a second straight league title? The vicissitudes of the Barclays Premier League season are such that the man steering the ship should fully understand the course and know when to accelerate, stall, ride rough and coast. Jose Mourinho knows how to do all these things very well. He has already started to determine the tune for the coming season by saying teams are \u201cbuying\u201d their way to the title.<\/p>\n

Brilliant strokes, Jose. He has laid the cushion for himself to fall on assuming he does not win the title because he can tell Mr. Abramovich of Chelsea\u2019s inability to also buy but the Portuguese has also thrown a seed of doubt into the minds of his competitors.<\/p>\n

They may win the league but even before the league starts, he has left teams feeling mixed about their potential victories. But it will not be an easy ride to the title for the Blues. While their call not to bring in new outfield players may preach stability and continuity, it leaves them with the same weapons to fight a new war while other teams have moved to add to their ranks.<\/p>\n

Manchester United have signed Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Arsenal took Petr Cech from Chelsea, Manchester City have brought in Fabian Delph and Raheem Sterling and Liverpool have signed James Milner , Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino.<\/p>\n

These signings may end up not changing the destination of the Premier League title but they will complicate matters for Chelsea and they might end up being the difference from say a 1-0 loss to Chelsea and a 1-1 draw or even a 2-1 win. Chelsea will also have to find goals from other sources especially looking at Diego Costa\u2019s apparent lack of durable limbs.<\/p>\n

The Spaniard led the line with 20 goals; 6 more ahead of Eden Hazard and the double figures ended there. The next in line was Loic Remy and he scored 7. The other likely sources of goals like Oscar, Willian and Fabregas only contributed 11 to the kitty.<\/p>\n

Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool have brought in players who are made for midfield duty but can score as well meaning if they can give good contributions in that aspect, their teams will be pushed further than they were last season and that is bad news for Chelsea.<\/p>\n

The Blues must get more goals from all across the team. Manchester City\u2019s capture of the league title in 2012 should teach them of the value of scoring lots of goals.<\/p>\n

But it does not mean what I set out to say in the beginning. Chelsea will win the coming Barclays Premier League trophy. Just about.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

By: Nathan Quao\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Citi Sports editor Nathan Quao explains why he thinks Jose Mourinho\u2019s Chelsea will win the Premier League title again but it will be closer this time. On the final day of the 2014\/2015 Barclays Premier League season, Chelsea lifted a lifted a league trophy they had effectively won early in the campaign. That coronation was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":139464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[29,3],"yoast_head":"\nQUAO: Why Chelsea will win the 2015\/2016 Barclays Premier League - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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