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Chelsea: Antonio Conte deserves more credit for masterminding turnaround

By Craig Pearson

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 23: Manager Antonio Conte of Chelsea watches from the touchline during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on October 23, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 23: Manager Antonio Conte of Chelsea watches from the touchline during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on October 23, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images) /
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Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has turned Chelsea’s season around and deserves more credit than he’s currently getting.

Chelsea were a shambles just a month ago. A shadow of their former self. They looked old, slow, insecure and a nervous wreck defensively. The ship was sinking and fast. The only question was could Antonio Conte save the day or was he going down with it?

A 3-0 massacre at the hands of London rivals Arsenal proved the final straw for Conte. An embarrassing and humiliating display by his players. But now, just a month later, Chelsea are on the march and back on track.

Conte made the changes he deemed necessary and the results are talking for themselves right now. Three consecutive wins in the Premier League – nine goals scored and none conceded. These weren’t three walks in the park, either.

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An away win over Hull City, a home win over the champions Leicester City and a 4-0 demolition of Manchester United and former boss Jose Mourinho. Talk about a turnaround. It’s more like a Harry Houdini main event.

Conte basically scrapped his entire team and started from scratch. The list of issues was lengthy, too. The defense was a horror show, the midfield was dysfunctional and unbalanced, and the attack was toothless. Does it get much worse?

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And, on top of that, there really wasn’t many solutions to the problems. Conte had to get creative. Not just changing personnel, but changing systems. In came a three-man defense as the team switched to a 3-4-3 formation.

It’s a system that suits these individual players right now. Is it a system for the next five years? Probably not. Is it a system that will become Chelsea’s trademark under Conte? Probably not. It’s needs must, really.

It was a solution to the current problems that Conte had to deal with. Suddenly, Eden Hazard looks more involved and eager now. Pedro is getting game time and having an impact. Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante are co-existing in the same midfield.

Victor Moses is like a new signing. Diego Costa is back to being Diego Costa again. Even the defense is, well, defending the goal. Conte is making lemonade out of lemons here. Despite it only being three games so far, the evidence suggests that this is no fortunate run.

The Chelsea boss deserves high praise for his decision-making, bravery and tactical intelligence in masterminding this turnaround so swiftly. How often does a manager stumble on, without drastic changes, whilst his world crashes around him? Too often. Not Conte, though.

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Conte has proved he is a world class manager in the past and now he is proving it at present with a flawed squad. Don’t let the recent performances and results fool you. Conte’s setup and system is the reason why the Chelsea players are performing as they are right now.

Without his guidance and tactical nous, the titanic would still be on it’s way towards the sea bed. Conte has worked wonders in a short space of time and he deserves his due. There are lot of great managers in the Premier League right now, and Conte is among the absolute best.

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