Antonio Conte's Reshuffle Gives Confidence for His Chelsea Future

Antonio Conte answered his critics on Saturday.

The naysayers will point to a 2-0 victory over Hull City being par for the course for a Chelsea manager, but it was the circumstances surrounding the result that would have left Blues supporters feeling more positive for where the club is headed.

If August delivered Chelsea a false dawn in some respects—Conte's side won all four of their games in all competitions—then September was a more sobering experience.

Chelsea picked up just one point in the Premier League, losing to rivals Liverpool and Arsenal on successive weekends. Those defeats were confirmation that Conte's attempts to transform Chelsea are going to take much longer than the few months he has been in charge.

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The same issues that haunted Chelsea last season have come back strongly, and the Italian has cut a frustrated figure as he searches for the formula to turn the tide.

Part of Chelsea's demise in 2015/16 was a refusal to adjust the team's system. Bosses Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink stuck to a rigid 4-2-3-1 that had become pedestrian; worse still, it was predictable, and every week opponents knew what they would get from Chelsea.

Normally, soap operas are tasked with throwing up narratives that keep us guessing, but it was never the case with Chelsea. Every seven days or so, the headlines could have been written before the results that eventually spelled the end for Mourinho's second coming.

Just two months into this campaign, Conte is showing a desire to avoid those issues, which was especially evident at the KCOM Stadium. Gone was the 4-1-4-1 that had been picked off by Arsenal and Liverpool, replaced with a 3-4-3 system in an attempt to give Chelsea more strength in midfield and balance at the back.

It meant Victor Moses—making his first Premier League start for the club since May 2013—and Marcos Alonso played wing-back roles; Nemanja Matic and N'Golo Kante were the midfield enforcers who allowed Willian and Eden Hazard to support Diego Costa more effectively.

If we look at the stats, they can be manipulated to suggest it was perfection. Willian and Costa scored the goals to outline Chelsea's attacking prowess, while a clean sheet hints at a stronger rearguard.

It was only Chelsea's second shutout under Conte, so the positives are there. No goals conceded means no defensive nightmares and gifts for the opposition.

Of course, this was Hull City, a side relegated by the masses before a ball was kicked in anger this season. Whether it was 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1 or 3-4-3, Chelsea should have been hitting those sorts of statistics. And Hull still caused them problems that a more clinical side would have punished.

"It's normal that every game is difficult in England, and I'm pleased that we finished the game with the second clean sheet in the league," Conte told BBC Sport after the final whistle.

He continued:

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We must improve. We must improve a lot. We must continue to work because after these two defeats [against Liverpool and Arsenal]. It's not easy restart and work during the week. Two defeats for Chelsea is very heavy, but it was good today; it was a good answer, a good reply from the players.

"

The key to the result was Conte's acknowledgement that Chelsea have problems. He sat in the press room at the Emirates Stadium and bemoaned the fact his side was only great on paper; since then, he has worked on the training ground to change that regardless of how difficult it has been with the negativity of another defeat.

Switching his system, Conte is giving Chelsea more options with the players they have. Ideally, he would have brought in his first-choice transfer targets to make that happen rapidly, but it's a luxury he hasn't been afforded. Instead, he is not only attempting to revitalise an ailing club but is doing so while massaging the shattered egos of his players.

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It's been in those recent defeats that we've learned the most about Conte's Chelsea. We thought the corner had been turned after their bright start, although September told us different; it told us that while Conte may be manager, this is someone else's team altogether.

Is it Mourinho's? Hiddink's maybe? Do the problems stretch further back to when Roberto Di Matteo, Andre Villas-Boas and Rafa Benitez were all in charge at some point since 2011?

The answer is it's a combination of them all. Conte has inherited problems from successive managers that haven't been dealt with properly, and he has suffered for it. Bizarrely, that has led to criticism for what we've seen from Chelsea in these early stages of his reign.

A large part of that has been the selection of players, namely Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill. First, with John Terry and Kurt Zouma injured, whom did we expect the manager to select in their place? Chelsea simply haven't had the players to rotate and give those out of form a rest.

However, it hasn't stopped Conte reshuffling the formula to make a difference. That's why victory over Hull has the hint of being a watershed moment in his Chelsea reign. Rather than Plan A, we witnessed Plans B and C in action. The manager is giving his team options in order to develop collectively.

It's been a long while since we've seen that at Stamford Bridge. Indeed, we have to go as far back as when Mourinho was first in charge between 2004 and 2007 if we're to see a manager so willing to change his setup in the name of progress.

Mourinho often tweaked things in that first spell, revolving around the Peter Cech-Terry-Claude Makelele-Frank Lampard-Didier Drogba spine; while those players held it together, everything else adapted around them.

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So early into his time at Chelsea, Conte's still building the spine that is lacking. It's clear Costa and Hazard are essential to it, but for the most part, it remains more fragile than anything Mourinho had to work with.

It was when the latter returned in 2013 that Chelsea seemed to plateau before the sudden decline. They won the title convincingly in 2014/15, although when they collapsed a few months later, Mourinho was too rigid in his attempts to stop his side falling further.

Chelsea were rocking at this stage last season. Heading into the international break, the club's board had to put out a statement of support for the manager. The feeling this time is much different. Conte's dealing with the problems that sit before him; Mourinho didn't.

It's that sort of desire and adaptability that is going to win Chelsea silverware again. It's too early for him this season, but Conte's the sort of manager who is going to deliver on the mandate.

Chelsea should feel confident for the future.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.