4-2-3-1 manager is now ready to say yes to the Chelsea job

Liam Rosenior’s departure has forced Chelsea to reminisce as of late.

The Blues have had no choice but to ponder what might have been under Enzo Maresca. To look back on the Jose Mourinho days and wonder when their next ‘Special One’ will arrive. It’s even flipped the script on Maurizio Sarri’s tenure.

The Italian famously won the Europa League with the West London club and did so in his own style at its best. Now, almost seven years after his departure, would it be such a bad thing if Chelsea found a new version of ‘Sarri-ball’?

Why Chelsea should look for ‘Sarri-ball’ repeat

Sarri’s tactic was exciting; it was risky; it prioritised attacking football. It was everything that the modern-day Premier League is not and that’s why Chelsea need a repeat now more than ever.

At a time when English football is threatening to re-enter its shell of pragmatism, the Blues must be bold and go against the grain. During Sarri’s last spell, there were clear attempts to evolve the way Chelsea set up.

N’Golo Kante became somewhat of a box-crasher. That’s a role no one could have envisioned, but Sarri did. Meanwhile, out of possession, work rate became key. What this resulted in was an attacking side who were attempting to balance the risk of opening up in purusit of victory. And more times than not, it worked.

Whilst Sarri did eventually run into problems at Stamford Bridge, with defensive numbers a particular concern, Chelsea should look towards someone of a similar ilk to simply get them running again.

The Blues have been outworked by every team in the Premier League this season. It desperately needs to change and Andoni Iraola would do exactly that.

Chelsea’s new Sarri

The first positive for those in West London is that Iraola is ready to accept the Chelsea jobaccording to Football Insider. Indeed, they have reported in recent days that the Spaniard would find it incredibly hard to turn it down if he remains in England.

The second positive is that his Bournemouth side are one of the best teams out of possession in the Premier League.

Only three sides have pressed more effectively than Bournemouth this season. The Cherries have earned 258 turnovers and had a shooting opportunity 47 times from those turnovers. Again, only three sides have had more.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are ranked tenth for total turnovers, but have still taken 56 shots from the turnovers that they have managed. What that suggests is that when the Blues are handed a liscense to press, they can do so effectively.

They cannot fall back on the excuse that Iraola’s side simply have more time to press in their 4-2-3-1 when they’re not controlling possesion, either. Arsenal and Manchester City – two high-possession sides – rank in the top five for turnovers this season.

The foundations are there for Iraola to enhance. The Spaniard would finally bring an end to Chelsea’s disastrous work out of possession, just like Sarri did during his tenure.

The natural concern would be that Iraola’s pressing could lead to some damaging consequences if the Blues don’t get things right. He would be the quickest to point out that it’s all about discipline, however.

His Bournemouth side sit as high as seventh in the Premier League and only Leeds United have made fewer errors leading to shots so far this season. By contrast, Chelsea rank 9th.

There would be a lot of work for Iraola to get done at Stamford Bridge and he wouldn’t be the first to be cut short by BlueCo. On paper, though, he is everything that Rosenior wasn’t and would solve the Blues’ biggest problem out of possession at long last.