Credit where its due. The Sporting Directors have got a lot right

If you criticise them when they mess up, you have to give credit when they get it right

Chelsea are on a hot streak. 4 straight wins, 3 clean sheets, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku all in the goals. 4th in the Premier League.

It’s arguably the best things have been under the Clearlake / Boehly ownership.

As regular readers will know, and despite appearances, I’ve actually been pretty harsh on the sporting directors, Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, on this site at times in the last 18 months. A few of the signings we made haven’t worked out, there’s been a lack of more proven players, letting go of two excellent Cobham players in Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher, and not signing a proven striker to compliment Jackson were some of my complaints. All of them I think are still valid, and I wouldn’t take them back.

However, just as I’ve been critical of the sporting directors when they’ve got it wrong or things have been difficult, I’ve got to give credit when things are going well. Anything else would be unfair and double standards.

Frankly, the data is very clear, its been going well for a while. Not just this season or our recent 4 game run.

As you can see in the graphic below from twtd.co.uk, in the last 20 PL games, since Feb 11th 2024, Chelsea are the third best team in the PL, with a total of 42 points from these 20 games. We’re also the highest scorers in the league in that time, with 52 goals, one more than Manchester City (51) and 4 more than Arsenal (48). If our defence had been better, we might have even more points.

(Data source: TWTD.co.uk)

In the last 20 PL games we have a points per game (PPG) average of 2.1, which over 38 games equates to approximately 80 points. That would have seen us comfortably 4th last season and only 2 points off 3rd placed Liverpool.

Oh and before people jump on this and say its only Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea who did this, nope.

In 6 PL games under Enzo Maresca we have 13 points, which is 2.16 points per game, which is actually above the mean PPG in the last 20 games and would give us 82 points over 38 matches. We have actually got better this season.

We’ve also only lost 2 PL matches in those 20 games, to Manchester City and Arsenal, the top two teams in the country.

In fact, in the last 12 months, from October 1st 2023, we’ve played 37 PL games and have 67 points, the fourth best in the PL. More than Aston Villa, Spurs or Newcastle. We’re also the third highest scorers in the PL in that time with 85 goals, behind Man City and Arsenal, and above Liverpool.

(Data source: TWTD.co.uk)

The evidence is in, both in terms of data, and the eye test, this young Chelsea squad has clearly been developing in the last 12 months. Yes, it began slowly and inconsistently, as it always does with young squads. But its been a consistently positive trajectory for at least 8 months.

The young talent in our squad has developed and improved, a team spirit has grown, and they’ve been coached well by both Pochettino and Maresca. Our performances and consistency have gradually improved over the last 12 months, and its reflected in the data.

I hate to say I told you so, but I kinda did.

I always said the plan was to buy the best young talent and see them develop together into a team who could have sustainable success. We’re now beginning to see some of these investments pay off.

Moises Caicedo is performing as one of the best in his position in the league. Malo Gusto has given us total confidence when Reece James is injured. Noni Madueke has improved and is contributing a lot more. Romeo Lavia has shown in his minutes the clear potential he has. Nicolas Jackson’s goal scoring rate and his overall game have very clearly improved in the last 12 months. The investment in Levi Colwill’s long term deal is showing clear dividends.

The new attacking signings, Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto, and Joao Felix, have all shown glimpses of their potential. Marc Cucurella is beginning to prove his worth and be a regular starter. Renato Veiga looks like an absolute steal at £13m. Christopher Nkunku has 6 goals in 9 games this season.

And last but by no means least, there is the incredible Cole Palmer, without question the signing of the Boehly/Clearlake era. The £42m we paid Manchester City looks a steal, for a truly world class talent who will just get better.

Andrey Santos and Lesley Ugochukwu are showing on loan they have the ability to play for Chelsea. Djorde Petrovic had a positive season last year and is doing well for Strasbourg. And of course, we’re all seeing the potential of Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez on a regular basis.

Even the players rated by our scouts, who didn’t join us - John Duran, Samuel Omorodion, Michael Olise, are all doing well for their current clubs.

Of course there’s signings which haven’t worked out. Mykhailo Mudryk, if I’m honest, looks like his future is elsewhere. I suspect one or both of Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile could end up leaving. The jury is still out on Robert Sanchez, although he’s started the season well in general

Overall however, the squad looks as strong as it has for years. We have incredible depth in attack, potentially great depth in midfield, and at an age which can be together for years. I suspect we’ll see Paez, Estevao, Santos and Ugochukwu join the squad next summer which, alongside the potential signings of a CB and ST, will only make us stronger. The team spirit is good, the players are fully behind their manager and buying into his philosophy and tactics. Enzo Maresca himself looks a very good appointment, with the tactical nous, intelligence and personality to manage Chelsea Football Club.

So although there’s been mistakes along the way - I still think selling Conor Gallagher and letting Trevoh Chalobah go were bad decisions, and we clearly overpaid for a few players - and work still has to be done, the sporting directors, and Joe Shields, co-director of recruitment and talent all deserve a lot of credit.

We absolutely did need a complete rebuild two years ago, from top to bottom. Not only that, we had to get rid of a lot of dead wood or players who wanted to move on, and rid the club of toxic player power.

The sporting directors have largely done that, and our net spend since the takeover - three summer windows/seasons and five windows overall, is around the £700m mark, and with more sales to come next summer and beyond, with less and less incomings, that net spend could go down.

Chelsea have been in the top 4 teams in the PL for the last 12 months, and in the last 8 months have been averaging 2 points a game or more. Given their age and talent, they will surely keep improving and not only that, we will likely continue tweaking the squad in key positions. One thing is not in question now, the people in charge of football matters clearly know talent when they see it, and we should be able to trust them.

There’s no doubt Chelsea are on the way up, and hopefully that trajectory will continue.

If the sporting directors make mistakes in future, be sure I’ll be there to call them out on it and criticise them. However, it would be churlish of me not to give them some credit where its due, this Chelsea squad looks like it has huge potential, and the best is yet to come.

The Score