Cesc Fabregas joined Chelsea in the summer after spending three years in what was ultimately a disappointing return for the prodigal son of Barcelona football.
If Chelsea’s various title challenges come to a halt late in the season their fans will no doubt hear some snickering from Barcelona and other parts of London. Or, more likely, they’ll be subject to some sort of ridicule across various social media platforms.
One major gripe Barcelona fans in particular had with Fabregas was his seeming inability to perform in the second half of the season, when it mattered. It’s for that reason the Blaugrana faithful will be keeping a close eye on things in London in the hope of validating their beliefs that the club made the correct decision to part ways with Cesc.
As for Arsenal, their fans may join in on the merriment merely because they’re hoping to see their former golden boy falter. Not least because it decreases the chances for success of one of their biggest rivals. His last few seasons at the London club aren’t worth adding to this discussion as they were somewhat injury-laden and, let’s face it, Arsenal were never really considered serious title contenders like Chelsea are currently.
Unless you count fourth place, of course.
But can it really be said that a two-time Euro winner and World Cup winner who, it might be added, made a significant contribution in that victory, be considered a big-game flop or, rather, someone who can’t be counted on when the going gets tough?
It’s an interesting thought, and Barcelona fans have a point to some extent.
Barcelona picked up only two trophies, a Copa del Rey and a Liga title, in the second half of the season during Fabregas’ three years at the club. Fabregas was brought in to add to what was already considered the best midfield in the world but didn’t have the desired impact. Indeed, a pattern does seem to emerge as one takes a look on Fabregas’ overall contribution in the first versus second half of each season at Barcelona. A look at his ESPNFC profile and WhoScored match ratings for some of Barcelona’s bigger games also provide further evidence to strengthen the claims of his critics.
During the 2011/12 season he was an unused substitute or subbed off for a number of La Liga games after the winter break and wasn’t particularly important, or effective, in Champions League games knockout games against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. His best contribution came in the semifinal of the Copa Del Rey with a goal against Valencia in the second leg. He only played the last nine minutes of Barcelona’s eventual win in that competition. Overall, he had 11 goals and five assists in the first half of the 2011/12 season but four goals and six assists in the second.
The 2012/13 season wasn’t that much better under Tito Vilanova as he, and the entire team it must be said, underperformed against Bayern Munich in those unforgettable Champions League games. Barcelona were also knocked out of the Copa Del Rey earlier in the season by Real Madrid with Fabregas being subbed off after 60 minutes in the all-important second leg before failing to appear at all in the very next league game which was also against Madrid. Barcelona still won the league that year, while Fabregas had seven goals and two assists in the second half of the season after producing seven goals and nine assists in the first half. Not a huge drop-off but enough for some, surely.
His performances continued to vary in the big games against the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid during the 2013/14 season. Substitutions or non-appearances were common and his production varied greatly fro the first half of the season to the second. He had nine goals and 10 assists before the winter break and four goals and four assists until the season ended.
It must be noted that it’s certainly not all the fault of the former Arsenal man. Fabregas’ arrival occurred during a period of transition for Barcelona, with Pep Guardiola’s departure after his first season leading to Barcelona going through three coaches. One coach for each of his three seasons at the club.
That lack of continuity didn’t bode well for the entire team despite their talent, and Fabregas also had the added bonus, if you can call it that, of being somewhat of a star utility man. Especially where Pep Guardiola was concerned.
It’s also worth noting that Fabregas is now playing a consistent role in this Chelsea side and that has coincided with some of his best football. The man himself declared as much in November with his comments being documented here by the Guardian’s Dominic Fifield.
Chelsea will be hoping that they have no such issues with their chief creator in their bid for Premier League, Champions League and, possibly, FA Cup glory. While Nemanja Matic is, quite understandably, being touted as arguably the most important member of Chelsea’s 2014, Fabregas has had just a big an impact. That’s before you get to the likes of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard.
One thing that might hamper Fabregas this season is his return to a league without a winter break, coupled with his managers’ preference for continuity over rotation. The effects of that were on display during Fabregas,’ and Chelsea’s, worst performance of the season when they lost to an energetic Tottenham. The Spaniard looked tired in that game, and failed to have an impact.
A good period of rest saw him return to action against Newcastle and put in another solid performance in the middle third. His burgeoning partnership with Matic, likened to the duo of Paul Scholes and Roy Keane by Goal.com’s Liam Twomey, will definitely be key to Chelsea’s hopes this season.
Fabregas leads the league in assists, with 14, right now and has already re-established himself as one of the best midfielders in the world. It’s time for him to silence any remaining critics by finishing off the 2014/15 season with some match-winning displays for his new side.
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