4. Lack of Central Midfield Cover
The sale of Raul Meireles to Fenerbache and the loaning of Michael Essien to Real Madrid were strange deals for Chelsea to complete on transfer deadline day. It leaves the side short of central midfield cover, placing a lot of faith and strain on the ageing legs of Frank Lampard and the underwhelming mind of John Obi Mikel. Lampard no longer makes the bombing runs forward from deep that have been the hallmark of his outstanding career. He is more selective of when he gets forward, knowing he no longer has the engine to get up and down the pitch all day. He is still a good servant to the club, but he is not a natural playmaker and his game is somewhat limited in such a deep position. He is not defensively the best, and the way Claudio Marchisio was allowed to run past him with such abandon is a cause for concern. Mikel has never really impressed despite playing so many games for Chelsea. Technically fine, he lacks the presence of a Makelele, the passing ability of a Pirlo, or the aggressiveness of a Gattuso (or Essien). Juventus found it fair to easy to get at the Chelsea defence; players had time to pick a through ball, runs were not tracked, and the game bypassed Lampard and Mikel. Problem is, Di Matteo seems to lack faith in any potential replacements. Oriel Romeu has hardly seen any game time under the Italian, Florent Malouda is an outcast (although quite rightly in my opinion) while the likes of Ramires or Mata would be wasted in such a deep position. With the attacking unit improved, the central midfielders will be expected to do a lot more covering both individually and as a pair. This is not the strong point of Lampard or Mikel, but they are likely to play even when lacking full fitness or form. Di Matteo needs to find other options just for the sake of freshness, never mind to address the first choice players weaknesses.