FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea with their trademark blue home kit.

You can download the full analyzed squad data here.

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Last Season: Champion of the Champions
Being gone through a disappointing Premier League season, Roman Abramovich somehow got the grand prize he has thirsted long - the Champions League trophy. Nonetheless, the Blues should really strengthen their domestic performance, as a sixth in Premier League will not land them the Champions League ticket, and it is absurd to expect themselves to win Champions League two times in a row.

This Summer: Hazard-ous Threat
Abramovich is forking a lot of money this summer, with Eden Hazard £32m purchase the biggest move in Premier League so far. Joining the boat is his brother Thorgan Hazard, Werder Bremen winger Marko Marin and Brazil's Olympic participant Oscar. Meanwhile, Jose Bosingwa, Salomon Kalou and the Blues legend Didier Drogba were all released for free.

Upcoming Season: Di Matteo's Showtime
While Roberto Di Matteo brought the Champions League trophy to London for the first time, we must not forget the fact that Chelsea's Premier League winning percentage was actually worsened under him than his predecessor, Andre Villas-Boas. With generous support from the Russian owner, Di Matteo simply have no excuses to fail this time around. He must do all he can to avoid the fate of Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish, who succeeded as a caretaker manager but failed considerably when he led Liverpool again for one full season.

The Aces: Mata (FI: 0.536) vs Hazard (FI: N/A)

Mata and Hazard: In comparison.

It is expected that Eden Hazard's (£9.5m) arrival will change the whole complexion in Chelsea's formation. The new Belgian winger will definitely challenge the ace position of Juan Mata (£9.5m), which the Spaniard took away from the club's vice captain, Frank Lampard, last season.
While both are attacking midfielder-winger hybrid type of players, they do have some distinct differences. Mata is more Silva-esque - calm, silky and is a natural playmaker; Hazard, meanwhile, is more C. Ronaldo-esque - explosive, speedy and is a great at finishing.

With both players being priced at £9.5m this season, it will be a great dilemma for fantasy managers to choose between a proven fantasy player or a next superstar in the making.

Torres' FPL historical data.

Resurrection: Torres (FI:0.273)
Has the old Fernando Torres (£10.0m) really returned? This season should provide the clear cut answer.

Being an old-time fantasy favourite at Liverpool, the Spaniard failed to impress fantasy managers ever since he joined Chelsea, scoring only 7 goals in total out of 46 appearances.

Nevertheless, El Nino has shown signs of resurrection in the end of last season, which include a killer goal against Barcelona in the Champions League and a hat-trick against QPR in the Premier League. His return of form was further supported with a goal and an assist in EURO 2012 final, where he only featured as a sub.

With Daniel Sturridge being his only contender in the forward line currently, Torres should be able to grab more opportunity to perform this season. Hopefully the clinical and explosive Torres will be back finally.

Ageing Legend: Lampard (FI: 0.479)
It seems like the fantasy committee are negative about the prospect of Frank Lampard (£9.0m) in this coming season - he is priced at £9.0m, a £3.0m discount from this very same time of last term.

Has Fat Frank really lost the competitive edge to fight for a fruitful fantasy season? Though he might not get his tenth consecutive double-digit goal season this time, I still believe that the vice captain have the potential to deliver a solid 150+ points fantasy season, provided that he don't get benched that often this season.

Tough Battle Ahead: Sturridge (FI: 0.521)
Unsurprisingly Daniel Sturridge (£8.0m) placed second at Chelsea in terms of FPLZ Index, thanks to his consistent goal poaching and his cheap price.

His price has inevitably risen to £8.0m thanks to Drogba's departure and also his continuous improvement in terms of performance and reputation. That does not spoil his value though, as I am pretty confident that he can perform consistently as usual (P90: 5.12, third at Chelsea), provided that he wins a forward spot and gain the required playing minutes to perform.

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Fernando Torres: What Do the Two Goals Against Ireland Indicate?

Can we expect a better season ahead?

Spain completed its redemption after much skepticism by demolishing Ireland with a score of 4-0. Much to our surprise, striker Fernando Torres, who has been so poor for his country over the past two years, is showing signs of revival in the national football arena as he slotted two of the four goals Spain has scored. This surely arouses fantasy managers' interest whether FT9 will rise to become a fantasy superstar again in 2012/13 season, and FPLZ will analyze on this.

£50m Move to Chelsea: The Beginning of Nightmare?
It's not a secret that Torres' successful spell in the Premier League for his first few years was partly credited to Liverpool's tactical reliance on him and the skipper, Steven Gerrard. Together, the duo had produced the best chemistry in the Premier League over the decade and recorded fantastic goal scoring figures over the years. However, when El Nino felt unhappy and decided for a change in winter of 2010/11 season, things became very different.

Chelsea, unlike Liverpool, wasn't a two-man team. They had plenty of reliable offensive points which included Malouda, Drogba, Lampard, Anelka, and to some extent, Kalou. Unfortunatley, Torres couldn't merge well with his new teammates. While it took some time for Carlo Ancelotti, manager at that moment, to decide, he had no choice but to bench the Spaniard as the season came close to the end. At that half of a season, Torres scored only one goal - a big humiliation for a striker of his calibre.

Such phenomena didn't change with the arrival of Andre Villas-Boas, whom actually deteriorated the Blue's attacking prowess and made Drogba and him took turns playing on the field. However, as AVB got sacked  on 4 March 2012 and Roberto Di Matteo took over his helm, things started to change.

Roberto Di Matteo: El Nino's Saviour?
For some reason, unlike his predecessors Di Matteo seems to know the better way to utilize Torres. Torres ended his goal drought of 24 games on 18 March 2012 by scoring two and setting up another two in Chelsea's 5-0 victory against Leicester City in an FA Cup encounter. In the same month, El Nino scored a Premier League goal against Aston Villa, as his resurgence has started to make its surface.

It took almost another month for the Spaniard to score, but this one, for me, was a pivotal moment for him. The last minute goal against Barcelona in Champions League semi-final had effectively wrapped up the game and sent the Blues to Munich. More importantly to Torres though was the fact that he scored against what majority called "the best club in the world".

It was indeed a great morale booster for Torres, as he scored a hat-trick on 29th April, five days after he scored against Barcelona. That was a long awaited moment for his fans, as confidence slowly regrew in the striker's mind. Despite not starting the Champions League final, El Nino featured as a sub in that game, and earned a corner which Drogba scored to bring the game into the extra time.

With Torres getting back his goalscoring confidence in the national team as well, we can be hopeful that the once lethal Fernando Torres will return soon.

2012/13 Season: The Prospect
The coming season certainly looks bright for Torres, with Di Matteo continues to be in charge at Chelsea. He is currently uncontested at the forward position (that may change if Chelsea managed to land Porto's ace player, Hulk). Not only that, the current Chelsea also has much more "pacey" players such as Mata, Hazard and the latest signing, Marko Marin to complement his explosive style of play. If he can continue to improve and pick up his lost form, FT9 will surely become a hot fantasy commodity again, just like what he did seasons ago with Liverpool.