5 Aging Chelsea Legends: What Does the Future Hold for the Old Guard?

Chelsea’s remarkable performance in the Premier League has revolved around a core backbone of players.

A few of these players are young (Cech, Essien), and hopefully, they still have many years ahead of them. For four aging Chelsea superstars, criticism is high after a set of lackluster performances last season.

Pundits claim that they are past their prime, and many argue that they are nearing the end of their storied careers.

But is all of the criticism justified? And when the players are in the lineup, is their performance deteriorated to the point that they are a detriment to the club?

I do not think so, and in the following pages, I will explain why the Old Guard is still vital to Chelsea’s title hopes this season.

Ashley Cole

Arguably the best left-back in the world, Ashley Cole has overcome adversity to become a world-class defender.

In a squad known for its excellent defense, Cole is regularly tasked with marking the best attackers on the other side, and he has been one of the only defensive players to tame both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo (as much as can be done).

He is quick-footed and accurate in the pass, and he wins defensive headers with great positioning and smart play, in spite of his small stature. Most importantly, Chelsea’s attack has largely revolved around Cole since he signed with the Blues in 2006. His incisive crosses and link-up play down the left wing have been vital to Chelsea’s attacking display for years.

Despite the fact that his performances are still superb on a day-to-day basis, Cole himself has explained in recent years that his body is showing more wear-and-tear than it would appear. Last season, Cole missed three months with a broken ankle sustained when he was kicked by Landon Donovan in a defensive challenge.

Cole’s ankle was again injured in an international match between England and Switzerland this summer. The string of injuries led Cole to lament in "The Sun" that despite being 29 years old, he felt “more like 35 or 40” because of his knees and ankles.

So while Cole is nearing 30, his injuries mean that his career will likely not be as long as supporters would like. I would be surprised to see Ashley Cole play for another four years, and I think Chelsea should begin grooming either Ryan Bertrand or Patrick Van Aanholt for the LB job in the next few seasons.

In the meantime, though, expect Cole to put forth the same effort and intensity as always.

John Terry

Chelsea’s captain fantastic has worn the armband with pride since the Mourinho days, and though he has had some rough patches (most notably his affair with Wayne Bridge’s wife last season), he has been the face of club and country since his debut with the senior team in 1998. He is the undisputed leader of an excellent defensive corps, and he is in his prime as a defender.

Terry is 30 years old, and he showed his loyalty to the club by rejecting a big-money move to Manchester City last season. The move would have almost doubled his £135,000-a-week wages, but his loyalty was immediately rewarded as Chelsea won the Premier League and F.A. Cup in his next season. If he planned to leave the club to cash in and earn more, that was his best opportunity to do so.

As it stands now, Terry is a living Chelsea legend, and he shows no sign of slowing down as he ages. In spite of Chelsea’s less-than-impressive 2010-2011 season, Terry led a defensive unit that gave up a Premier League leading 33 goals against. He also scored four goals, which is not a bad tally for a central defender who rarely ventures forward except for corners.

It will be interesting to see how Terry’s performances change in the coming three years. He will have to become more intelligent in his defending as his speed and quickness decline with age, but his strength and leadership are vital intangibles that will lead him to become Chelsea’s best ever one-team player.

I think he has at least another six to eight years in him, and he will likely maintain his position in the starting lineup for the next four to five years. It is, however, vital that Chelsea begin to groom a quality replacement in the center of defense (most likely either Jeffrey Bruma or a more-defensively focused David Luiz).

As good as Terry is now, he will not last forever.

Didier Drogba

One of the most prolific scorers of the past decade, Didier Drogba has redefined the center-forward position with his speed, power and goal-scoring ability.

Since joining Chelsea from Marseille in 2004, Drogba has taken the Premier League by storm, winning the Golden Boot two times and helping Chelsea to three Premier League titles.

Drogba’s game has changed noticeably in the past year. He scored 37 goals in 44 appearances in the 2009-2010 season, before slowing down dramatically last season with only 13 goals in 46 matches.

The public learned over the winter break that Drogba’s sluggish performances could be attributed to a bout of malaria, which makes it a wonder that he could play at all.

The real problem is that since his sickness, Drogba’s electrifying pace has never returned. He has had a difficult time making it into the lineup as a regular starter since Chelsea signed Torres in January 2011, and he now seems to rely more on his brute strength and skill with the ball than on pace.

His loss of pace, his inability to link up with Torres, and his lack of flexibility in positioning (he can only play center-forward) mean that his days with Chelsea may soon be coming to an end.

Drogba has refused to come to terms on a contract extension with the club, and it makes me wonder whether he will re-sign. He has made no secret in the past about his desire to return to Marseille before retiring, and Drogba does not strike me as the type of player to play far into his late 30s.

As much as I hope that Drogba re-signs for a few years to play out his Chelsea career, I expect him to join Marseille in the next two years and to retire after a year with Marseille.

Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard has been the definition of reliability since joining Chelsea in 2001. He has had more than 50 appearances for the club seven out of 10 years since 2001, and he has scored 10 or more goals in eight of those 10 years.

These numbers are astronomical for a midfield player, and such consistent results mean that fans and pundits have come to expect these performances out of him.

The truth is that Lampard is aging, and his goal totals are suffering. Last season, he only competed in 32 matches, a career low, and he only scored 13 goals—his lowest total since 2003.

I have admittedly been disappointed with Lampard’s recent performances, but bear in mind, 13 goals for a midfielder is still an outstanding number.

The real problem is that Lampard’s assists have been dwindling as well. After tallying nine or more assists in six straight seasons, including 20 assists in the 2009-2010 season, Lampard’s assists total dropped precipitously to six last season.

So if Lampard is not scoring goals, and he is not creating assists for other players, what exactly is he doing?

In Andre Villas-Boas’s tactics, Lampard has been left alone on an island. This season, the wingers and the wing-backs are playing further in field, rather than holding wide positions. This means much greater creative link up play in the box, which we are beginning to see glimmers of in recent weeks.

This also means that the area in front of goal is cluttered with even more bodies, and unfortunately, it means that Lampard’s favorite spot (the top of the box) is no longer a treasure trove for pot-shots and trailing shots that have been the hallmark of Lampard’s storied career.

So, what does this mean for Lampard and his future with Chelsea? Either Lampard will have to adapt to another role, most likely deeper in midfield as a playmaker, or Villas-Boas needs to adapt his tactics to accommodate what has for the past 10 years been Chelsea’s greatest source of consistent attacking performances.

If not, Lampard might soon lose a starting role for the first time in his Chelsea career. Regardless of his position as a starter or not, I cannot see Lampard leaving Chelsea at any point in the future. If he adjusts his role in the squad appropriately, I believe he still has four years of service to devote to the squad before moving on, possibly as a future Chelsea manager.

Conclusion: The Old Guard Is Still the Way Forward for Chelsea F.C.

The Old Guard at Chelsea is aging, but much of the hype about an aging and worsening Chelsea squad is overdramatized. That said, there are certainly players in the squad who are probably in their last year of service to the team.

I think that by next summer, Anelka, Benayoun, Ferreria, Malouda and (possibly) Drogba will part with the club.

Last season was a telling one for Chelsea F.C. Many argued that Chelsea’s Old Guard was bringing the club down as they aged, and it is true that the many injuries last season can be attributed to aging among the squad.

But the real issue last season was that Carlo Ancelotti entered the year shorthanded, and when the backbone of the team (Cole, Lampard, Terry, Drogba) suffered from injury, there were no quality substitutes to replace them. Thus, last season proved that Chelsea’s problem was not so much that they were aging as it was that they lacked depth.

The youth injection this summer has addressed that problem, and the future of the club looks bright. New players such as Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku will link up with older players to learn, improve and hopefully perform as a cohesive entity this season.

Torres looks new and improved, and the club looks ready to compete on all fronts this season. While many claim that Chelsea’s chance has passed them by, Terry and company will be fighting to prove that this year is as good a time as ever to win the silverware that Chelsea and its fans so desperately desire.