da fezbet： The bulkiest squad in the Premier League are the Champions. Chelsea are carrying more weight than any of the other Premier League teams (I think a vast majority of this is actually accounted for by Michael Essien’s thighs and Alex’s head, but I may have to double check that fact), and only Stoke can boast an average height greater than Carlo Ancelotti’s men. Does it correlate? Do teams need to muscle their way to trophies?
da premier bet： Well without trying to sit on the fence too much, yes and no. A team cannot achieve anything purely on the basis of physical attributes. Blackburn for example, are one of the harder teams in the league and use it to their advantage, but that can only take them so far. By the same token, Chelsea are a great team because they have players with pace and technique, as well as bulk i.e. Ashley Cole and Florent Malouda do not scream out as no-nonsense battlers.
That said, Chelsea can adapt to different types of games, and maybe that is why they are in a purple patch. For Chelsea to go away to Everton or Bolton, it doesn’t present the same problem as it does to Arsenal, because they aren’t likely to be bullied in the same way, and yet once the battling is done and they are in possession, they can then let the verve of their passing and movement produce the goods.
Beauty however, can beat the beast. Spain and Barcelona are testament to that. Both have small, relatively lightweight players (most are indeed the same players anyway), and yet they regularly destroy teams. Spain are the best team in national competition, and will almost certainly win Euro 2012. They keep the ball so well, that any notion of beefing up is an irrelevance. They dictate games and so rarely have to worry about how the opposition is going to try to compete.
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The problem arises for physically smaller teams when the game they are involved in is not being played in their desired way. Should the opposition manage to wrangle the ball from their greedy grip, can they then adapt to compete in a way that is alien to them? When Arsenal were winning Premier League titles, they were still playing slick football, but they could also call upon Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell to add some weight in a way they are unable to do today.
It is too simplistic to say that Chelsea are successful simply because they are big. It would be an insult to the players they have to apply that success simply down to physical attributes. Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel, John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic are all big men, all over 6” 2”, but they possess skills far beyond simply being able to barge other players off the ball, or win headers against big opponents. Didier Drogba has pace, great control and clinical finishing, and that is what puts him amongst the best strikers in the world, rather than simply a lump to punt the ball up to.
Size and strength are attributes that can help a side to success, but are not enough to push a team over the finishing line. If a team can’t compete technically, then they can try to bully their way into a game, but it is no guarantee that it will work. For Chelsea, it is one of many attributes they have that help make them a successful side.
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