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Chelsea: Three hopes, one fear

By Sean Maslin

BREMEN, GERMANY - AUGUST 07: Head coach Antonio Conte of Chelsea reacts during the pre-season friendly match between Werder Bremen and FC Chelsea at Weserstadion on August 7, 2016 in Bremen, Germany. (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images)
BREMEN, GERMANY - AUGUST 07: Head coach Antonio Conte of Chelsea reacts during the pre-season friendly match between Werder Bremen and FC Chelsea at Weserstadion on August 7, 2016 in Bremen, Germany. (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images) /
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VELDEN, AUSTRIA - JULY 20: John Terry of Chelsea in action during the friendly match between WAC RZ Pellets and Chelsea F.C. at Worthersee Stadion on July 20, 2016 in Velden, Austria. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
VELDEN, AUSTRIA – JULY 20: John Terry of Chelsea in action during the friendly match between WAC RZ Pellets and Chelsea F.C. at Worthersee Stadion on July 20, 2016 in Velden, Austria. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images) /

Hope #1: That John Terry can continue his solid run of form.

While Chelsea Football Club suffered through a bit of a rough campaign in 2015-2016 one player had a renaissance of sorts: John Terry. After having a couple of rough seasons for Chelsea, Terry had a terrific 2015-2016 campaign leading a beleaguered defense out of a terrible stretch.

Watching Chelsea during their winter return to form it was apparent that Terry played a prominent role in organizing the squad and at times putting them on his back. That it was even mentioned that England may bring Terry back to the fold should speak to how good of a campaign that he had and the current state of the national team.

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The big question with Terry is his age. When most of his contemporaries are either on the beach, in the booth, or in Major League Soccer Terry is still plying his craft in one of the most difficult leagues in the world. While that should be commended it should be a bit of a concern for Chelsea especially given that Branislav Ivanovic will turn 33 this season and Gary Cahill will turn 31. The Blues are getting older at center-back and have to start seriously looking at their options.

(Author’s Note: This is not a stamp of approval for playing Matt Miazga. At 21, he isn’t ready to take over those responsibilities. Although this might bring a collective groan from United States Men’s National Team supporters, a loan spell for Miazga would do him some good and give him a  chance to get some match time). 

That doesn’t necessarily mean sending all of their veteran players, Terry included, to the retirement home. But it does mean that Conte is going to have to do some roster juggling. Conte has to find a way to use Terry effectively and not run him ragged. If he can find a way to manage Terry’s minutes and make him happy it will go a long way towards to keeping this team at the top of the standings.

Next: Hope #2: That Diego Costa can keep a cool head.

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