The Premier League Party - Battle To Be The Best

Whilst Chelsea lack depth in the goalkeeping department, they make up for it in quality and experience. There are only 2 goalkeepers in the first team squad but first choice goalkeeper Petr Čech, who has kept his first team spot in the squad for a number of years now, has always been a consistent choice for Chelsea. Second choice goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who was signed on a free at the end of last season from local rivals Fulham, will also have something to offer when called upon. The 40 year old was bought in to challenge Čech and will definitely give the first choice goalkeeper a run for his money. The most promising goalkeeper is Belgian Thibaut Courtois, who has spent the past 2 seasons at Spanish club Atlético Madrid on loan. At the start of this season, it was announced that he would be returning to Atlético for a third season on loan.

Defensively, Chelsea are very strong, with captain John Terry holding a place as a center back, a spot he has really made his own during his Chelsea career. He is normally partnered by Brazilian center back David Luiz but is sometimes partnered with fellow Englishman Gary Cahill with young center backs Nathaniel Chalobah and Nathan Aké being the most promising prospects for the position. The left back role is normally filled by Ashley Cole but the spot is currently being challenged by Ryan Bertrand. The right back position is normally taken by Serbian Branislav Ivanović, but younger Spanish right back César Azpilicueta has been challenging for a place since joining last season.

Chelsea currently have a lot of options in midfield, but also have a lot of space in the midfield area, as they currently use the 4-5-1 formation. Experienced vice-captain Frank Lampard normally holds the only central midfield role but is often rotated around with Brazilian Ramires. The defensive midfielder in the squad is Nigerian John Obi Mikel but he could soon be challenged by the younger option of Spanish midfielder Oriel Romeu who is currently on loan at Valencia. The most talented wingers in the squad are currently young Belgian Eden Hazard and Brazilian Oscar who are both very talented for their age. The attacking midfielder is normally Spaniard Juan Mata who has played fantastically since joining Chelsea. The most promising midfielders are Josh Mceachran and Bertrand Traoré, who may need to go out on loan in order to develop further, with a host of League 1 sides interested in securing a loan move for he youngsters.

The weakest area of the squad is the strikers. With out of form Fernando Torres still being preferred over Demba Ba and powerful Belgian Romelu Lukaku, it seems that the management at Chelsea need to strengthen this area of the squad the most. Lukaku, André Schürrle and Islam Feruz all look to have bright futures at Chelsea and many fans feel it is imperative to give them first team football if they are going to develop to their maximum potential.



Michael Duberry, born 14th October 1975, made 87 appearances for Chelsea between 1993 and 1999, scoring once. After being released by Oxford United at the end of last season, he ventured into a playing career at non-league side Hendon F.C. but decided to retire, wanting to keep his standards high for any future roles in football. He takes over the post of Chelsea manager from the outgoing Rafael Benítez, who has left for Italian club Napoli. Duberry will hope for a long career with the club with which he started his career and he will now hope for success as a manager.