Chelsea’s pre-season tour of Asia has so far been relatively straightforward. Three games, three wins, no goals conceded and with every passing game, Andre Villas-Boas’ side are looking more threatening.
From a Fantasy perspective, however, matters are not quite so positive. Speaking at a press conference in Hong Kong, Andres Villas-Boas suggested that even his favoured formation, the 4-3-3, may possibly be open to change:
We have this idea of a 4-3-3 and we are focusing on it at the moment. It doesn’t mean we won’t go to other formations because you have to have this flexibility to challenge for the Premiership.
I think with the players’ experiences they are more able to do it. The 4-3-3 is a system for us in the end where it is not just a striker, it is three forwards in the end, and we have this flexibility in the squad.
It’s early days for Villas-Boas and with the club yet to make a significant move in the transfer market, it’s clear the new boss is weighing up every player currently in the Blues squad before turning his focus on replenishment.
What has been significant so far is the use of Yossi Benayoun- the Israeli made just 1 start and 6 sub appearances in an injury-blighted first season at Stamford Bridge but Villas-Boas has been utilising his talents as part of the Chelsea front three. Indeed, the player was singled out by the new boss, who suggested his inclusion offers the side more variety:
Yossi is a creative player coming from the channels to between the lines, so we have the flexibility to try different structures. We tried 4-4-2 in a diamond against Malaysia, 4-2-3-1 against Thailand in the second half, so we are getting bits and pieces with other formations, and we are pretty happy at the moment and not focusing a lot on the striking positions.
Starting at 7.0 in Fantasy Premier League -and classified as a midfielder- Benyoun could come into our thinking as an out-of-position player in the upcoming campaign if Villas-Boas decides to lean towards a definite starting XI next season. At present, though, this only increases the number of options available to Fantasy managers eyeing up Chelsea targets. Benayoun now seems likely to fight it out with Florent Malouda, Daniel Sturridge, Salomon Kalou and Nicolas Anelka for the two wide forward positions, as Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba continue to do battle for the lone central striker role.
The one real positive aspect here was the candid nature of the new manager- Villas-Boas seems quite happy to talk in length with regards to his thinking and Fantasy managers will be hoping his Friday press conferences mirror those of Carlo Ancelotti. The former Blues boss was the most “Fantasy friendly” manager of recent times, with his tendency to announce the Chelsea starting line-up a day or two in advance.
Given that last season’s runners-up have (WBA, NOR, SWA) in their first six games of the season, Fantasy managers will be hoping for more of the same clarity; with Chelsea likely to score big in those three games, second-guessing their players is a headache none of us need.
