LONDON — At a club with a revolving door as readily used as Chelsea, it can be easy to get lost in the blur of constant change. Saturday’s fixture offered a snapshot: When the Blues last took on Hull City in the FA Cup earlier this year, five of the starting XI selected by Liam Rosenior that day have since been sold or loaned out.
Xabi Alonso has been airlifted into this whirlpool of churn to try and find some stability. But despite the calm exterior, beneath the cashmere sweater and spotless white sneakers is an experimental tactician with a taste for the zany. These unorthodox ideas can flourish—a complete system change at Bayer Leverkusen led to Bundesliga glory—or flounder; Fran García never returned to Real Madrid’s left wing.
