Teams of the Decade #13: Chelsea 2004-06
Everyone knows that Arsenal went unbeaten in 2003/04, but it’s worth pointing out that Chelsea only lost one game the next season, a surprise 0-1 defeat away at Manchester City. OK so, Jose Mourinho had inherited a great squad, which had been added to over the summer with the likes of Cech, Drogba, Carvalho and Ferreira, but to take charge of a side and lead it so convincingly to the title (they won it by 12 points) should be commended. That season’s Chelsea side also hold the record for the fewest goals conceded in a Premiership season – just 15 in 38 games, whilst 25 clean sheets is also a Premiership record.
Chelsea retained the title the next season, losing four more games, but boasting a near-100% home record, a draw against Charlton the only occasion they didn’t win at home all season. They were less dominant in the league, but probably played more expansive, attacking football (although they scored the same number of goals as in the previous campaign).
Mourinho played a 4-3-3 system that worked so well because most English teams were still fixated on playing 4-4-2, which Chelsea’s system worked brilliantly against.
As Mourinho has said,
‘Look, if I have a triangle in midfield – Claude Makelele behind and two others just in front – I will always have an advantage against a pure 4-4-2 where the central midfielders are side by side. That’s because I will always have an extra man. It starts with Makelele, who is between the lines. If nobody comes to him he can see the whole pitch and has time. If he gets closed down it means one of the two other central midfielders is open. If they are closed down and the other team’s wingers come inside to help, it means there is space now for us on the flank, either for our own wingers or for our full-backs. There is nothing a pure 4-4-2 can do to stop things’.
It perhaps seems foolish to try and expand on that, but Mourinho also had the luxury of a striker who could worry two centre-backs at the same time, crucial in creating the ‘extra man’ he speaks about in midfield.
Chelsea were yet another side who focussed on getting their full-backs forward to support the attacking players, who generally looked to cross the ball rather than get into goalscoring positions themselves. The wide players became adept at drawing the full-backs infield in order to create space, which would then allow the full-backs room to pick out a cross for Drogba.
Another feature of Mourinho’s side was his willingness to play Eidur Gudjohnsen, a striker, as the additional midfield player alongside Frank Lampard at times. This created a formation closer to 4-1-4-1, and it’s interesting to note that Frank Lampard played well even when he had a more attacking player alongside him. Mourinho was also keen for his wingers to frequently switch wings, which Arjen Robben and Joe Cole did to better effect than Damien Duff or Shaun Wright-Phillips – the Dutchman in particular being almost unplayable at times.
This video sums up the football they played in 04/05…
…whilst this one shows Joe Cole scoring a superb individual goal on the day they sealed the title in 05/06, a 3-0 victory over their nearest challengers, Manchester United.
Teams of the Decade #13: Chelsea 2004-06
[...] dominance relatively easy to come by. His trademark 4-3-3 system ensured that his Chelsea team typically enjoyed a numerical advantage in the centre of the pitch and glory – on the domestic front at least – swiftly [...]
I think this article is a little ingenius as it combines 2 tactical eras of chelsea which for all intents and purposes played 2 systems into one revisionist image.
Chelsea under Mourinho stumbled into the 4-3-3/4-5-1 system after his early flirtations with a 4-4-2 diamond as per his porto team. For a very brief period (winter 2003-spring2004) this team in as close to a true 4-3-3 as chelsea have played played swashbuckling football with robben and duff changing wings, Arjen Robben was unplayable at this point. Drogba was crude, and settling, but the pace at which the team attacked, and the skill and versatility of the wingers compensated for the at that point wasteful drogba. Lampard was free’d by having a purely DM behind him and began to attack from deep a lot more regularly, and this along with wingers as comfortable cutting inside as going to the byline lead to teams being overwhelmed.
However, the second part of the mourinho chelsea story, is the part that contains a second league title, asier del horno, and ultimately Jose leaving the job. 4-3-3, while versitile, was not robust enough for Jose. Duff burned out, and was sold on. J Cole returns to form,and to favour with an increased work ethic, but he is not as energetic as Duff/Robben in their pomp. The full backs are for the most part reigned in. Chelsea defend with a solid bank of 4 at the back, full back excursions become increasingly rare.
Didier Drogba comes to the fore as a complete threat up front and this compensates for the decrease in quality wing play/ full back support. Wins continue to accumulate, but the style in which they are won is far from pleaseing. The 4-3-3 or Duff and Robben is a memory, and while Didier Drogba is a talisman, this is far from the team of season prior, the tactis have changed greatly too.
This was a 4-5-1 imho, and very different to the prior years 4-3-3
One team, but 2 very different tactical teams over the era in question imho
Whenever Gudjonssen came into the side, the shape became more 4-2-1-3: Lampard continued his box-to-box role but Gudjonssen was effectively stationed between the lines and so Chelsea had even more creative power to unlock teams
Good post. I always felt that Gudjohnsen was the most underrated player at Chelsea in that era, his ability in the midfield especially was/is often overlooked.
I remain baffled that no-one found a use for Gudjohnsen post-Chelsea.
I find Steveholt’s comment baffling as well, but I think that’s down to his grammar.