{"id":1658,"date":"2026-08-20T07:45:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T07:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=1658"},"modified":"2026-08-20T07:45:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T07:45:47","slug":"the-troubled-history-of-the-number-nine-shirt-at-chelsea-as-joao-pedro-takes-on-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=1658","title":{"rendered":"The troubled history of the number nine shirt at Chelsea as Joao Pedro takes on challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Joao Pedro is one of the numerous Chelsea players to be handed a new squad number for the upcoming season, giving up the number 20 shirt.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pedro<\/a> has shifted to wear the iconic number nine shirt, taking the responsibility off Liam Delap<\/a> after he had it for just one season.<\/p>\n

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Delap scored just one Premier League goal last season, and a total of two for the campaign is simply not enough to warrant that responsibility.<\/p>\n

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Where will Chelsea finish in the Premier League in 2026\/27?<\/h3>\n

Let’s hear how you think Xabi Alonso will get on this season\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The curse of the number nine shirt at Chelsea<\/h2>\n

The Englishman is by no means the first player to struggle at Chelsea<\/a> after being handed the number nine shirt.<\/p>\n

It had actually been two years since someone had taken on the so-called \u2018curse of the number nine shirt\u2019. No one had worn it since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2023.<\/p>\n

Before his unsuccessful stint, it had been the shirt number of Romelu Lukaku<\/a>, Tammy Abraham, Gonzalo Higuain and Alvaro Morata consecutively.<\/p>\n

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While Abraham somewhat impressed after coming through the academy, he was not seen as the long-term answer to their striker woes, and the other three all performed better when playing at other clubs.<\/p>\n

This was the same story for Radamel Falcao and Fernando Torres before them, despite the Blues spending a club-record \u00a350m at the time to sign the Spaniard.<\/p>\n

Steve Sidwell and Khalid Boulahrouz were non-factors in an elite time for Chelsea, with them following Hernan Crespo\u2019s era as the number nine.<\/p>\n

The Argentine\u2019s 2005\/06 season has cult hero status amongst some Chelsea fans, but he never hit the heights he did in Milan when he moved to Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n

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Chelsea\u2019s academy will now be known as Cobham Next Gen, is this a worrying sign?<\/h3>\n

Just where is this ownership taking the club?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Mateja Kezman preceded Crespo and struggled, meaning you would have to go back to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink<\/a> to find a player who succeeded while wearing the number nine.<\/p>\n

The Dutchman was at Chelsea between 2000 and 2004, scoring 87 goals in 177 games for the Blues.<\/p>\n

Even though players wearing the number nine have largely not worked out in recent memory, there are enough role models for how to play up front in West London.<\/p>\n

Didier Drogba<\/a> and Diego Costa<\/a> are the top two of the modern era, however neither had to deal with this \u2018curse\u2019 which has troubled some of the best strikers in world football before.<\/p>\n

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