Richard Buxton: Stamford Bridge still under water

Farce is never far away in the kingdom of Roman Abramovich and this season is little different as Chelsea head into their latest new era with an all-too-familiar sense of organised chaos.

Italian coaches have rarely lasted long beneath the microscope at Stamford Bridge and Maurizio Sarri would be minded to pore over the Greek tragedies which befell his compatriots.

Carlo Ancelotti, who replaced him at Napoli this summer, suffered the ignominy of being sacked in a Goodison Park corridor while Roberto di Matteo learnt his fate following an early-morning debrief as his side's Champions League defence unravelled against Juventus.

Another layer of shenanigans was added this summer as Antonio Conte found himself allowed to return for pre-season training just five days before his two-year reign finally ended.

Yet Sarri symbolises a slight change of approach from Abramovich; he lacks the proven track record of silverware which became a prerequisite for Chelsea's recent managerial appointments.

The Russian oligarch's shift in appetite has also been reflected by the fact that Chelsea are unlikely to be among the English Premier League's highest spenders for a second consecutive season, with Jorginho remaining their solitary major signing at £57 million (S$101.25m).

Off the pitch, too, Abramovich appears to be reining in his financial muscle at the Bridge in response to a personal stand-off with the UK government over visa issues; ambitious plans for a new £1 billion stadium at the Bridge were shelved just 12 days after May's FA Cup final win.

Against the backdrop of such an unforgiving environment, Sarri's back-to-basics approach, which places an emphasis on thrill-seeking football , comes as something of a perfect antidote.

An energetic 4-3-3 philosophy with which his Napoli side consistently took the fight to Juventus in the Serie A title race is also expected to return in harnessing the strengths of the players at his disposal, even if their entire forward line continues to agitate for moves away.

The future of forward Eden Hazard and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remains uncertain, and the impact of having their minds elsewhere may continue to be felt beyond the close of the transfer window on Thursday.

STIFF COMPETITION

Other potential departures risk leaving a currently solid squad light in key areas, with Cesc Fabregas facing stiff competition from the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley, two players entrusted by Sarri during pre-season, on the left side of midfield.

Sarri's willingness to work within Chelsea's existing framework, instead of wielding the cheque book freely, has eased the post-World Cup hangover while drafting in cult hero Gianfranco Zola as his assistant helped endear him to the west London side's fan base.

Precious little can be gleaned from a pre-season in which Chelsea clocked up more miles than any of their EPL counterparts but nothing of note, beyond their manager critiquing Morata's lack of finesse.

The lateness of Sarri's appointment has also put Chelsea on the back foot in their preparations; a 2-0 defeat by Manchester City in Sunday's Community Shield seemed inevitable, given that Sarri had spent little over three weeks working with his new charges.

A relatively tame start to the new campaign at least affords Hazard and others time to adjust from a punishing summer with their respective countries in Russia during the World Cup.

Sarri's intention to stay the course for 10 years is ambitious; not least when only Jose Mourinho has managed to outlast the average spell of two seasons at the Bridge in recent times.

Bold intentions often begin admirably for Chelsea's incumbents, before a lack of trophies and failure to keep up appearances in the Champions League tend to send them crashing.

Absence from Europe's elite club competition makes Sarri's task all the more difficult.

---

CHELSEA

Manager: Maurizio Sarri

Last season's finish: 5th

Key player: Eden Hazard

Key transfers in: Jorginho (Napoli, £57m or S$101.25m), Robert Green (no club, free transfer)

Key transfers out: Jeremie Boga (Sassuolo, £3.5m), Kenedy (Newcastle United, loan), Baba Rahman (Schalke, loan), Eduardo Carvalho (Vitesse Arnhem, loan), Lewis Baker (Leeds United, loan), Todd Kane (Hull City, loan), Jamal Blackman (Leeds United, loan)

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Willy Caballero, Robert Green

Defenders: Antonio Ruediger, Marcos Alonso, Cesar Azpilicueta, Victor Moses, Davide Zappacosta, Gary Cahill, Andreas Christensen, David Luiz, Emerson Palmieri, Ola Aina

Midfielders: Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, Danny Drinkwater, Cesc Fabregas, Ross Barkley, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Charly Musonda Jr, Ethan Ampadu, Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Forwards: Eden Hazard, Olivier Giroud, Willian, Alvaro Morata, Pedro, Michy Batshuayi, Callum Hudson-Odoi