A failing restaurant, unaware of its own shortcomings, telephones a successful restaurateur and world class chef for help. The world class chef then troubleshoots the restaurant for a week, often pinpointing the owners’ lack of skill, the menu and ultimately the décor itself for the demise. So spins the familiar concept that is Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. This shambolic season has ultimately been the culmination of a slow burning fuse and its final explosion. Sadly there are no world class consultants we can turn to for an immediate turnaround. What a palaver.
The state that we find ourselves in has a plethora of branches but ultimately the central tenet is that age old cliché of too many cooks spoiling the broth. A failed youth policy, haphazard recruitment strategy, complete lack of managerial direction, intense pressure to win and short termism has ultimately culminated in this rather glorious mess. If we beat Barcelona I will be truly amazed: anything is possible but given our luck against them, I would not hold my breath. We are a team drastically in decline and it will take an effort superseding that against Napoli at home to better Barcelona over two legs. I am always glass half full. Always. We may still finish fourth, but the leggy Fulham performance and a failure to capitalise on a Tottenham slip up is a further shot of realism as to our current standing. We do not deserve to be in the top four.
Can we finish fourth? Yes.
Will we? I am less sure than I have been for weeks. Something about the failure to make the most of Norwich’s superb result at White Hart Line and a tougher run-in suggest it will be difficult.
Where did things go wrong?
Honestly? I trace this back to Mourinho. The decision to remove the world’s greatest manager was one of complete lunacy and to this day seems an even worse decision considering our current plight. A man who preached the collective, who turned good players into great players, was totally usurped by the foisting of players upon him and his lack of control regarding his own playing squad.
Personally, this is the catalyst for the current situation for two main reasons.
- We have never found a manager who has been able to touch Mourinho, neither in terms of skill nor with the fans. Ancelotti came very close to sitting at the same table but was ultimately sacked due to a perceived tactical naivety as we were dissected at the hands of Mourinho’s Inter. We have continued to chase that mythical beast so much so that we even tried to replicate his impact by signing Europe’s then hottest property, Andre Villas-Boas. Look how well that turned out.
- From the point of Shevchenko’s signature (and the subsequent odd purchases/free signings of Sidwell, Ben Haim and co.) there was a very public declaration that the manager was no longer in control of the composition of his squad. I have no qualms with a manager using his own scouts or a Director of Football he works well with to identify targets. I have no problem with a manger saying “I need x, go and get me a list of targets and I will choose”. However, the acquisition of Shevchenko went completely against the methodology of the current manager. He never would have fit into Mourinho’s 433 system and it could be argued that Jose lost his job because he could not accommodate him. The philosophy of the current manager ever since has been overlooked by the Football Board to meet their own ends.
Jose’s eggs and omelettes rant was absolutely spot on. How could we go from signing the likes of Essien to signing Sidwell? Carvalho to Ben Haim? Drogba to Pizarro? To continually compete at the top level there needs to be a level of experience that is supplemented with class coming through in that early 20s age bracket. Have we ever signed a replacement for Lampard? Drogba? Terry? Or have we ever replaced the world class partners to Terry in Gallas and Carvalho? We seemed to find a core that worked and never looked beyond their cycle as footballers. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Be honest. Terry with Gallas or Carvalho was about as good as a central pairing got in world football, let alone the Premier League. For all of the positives surrounding David Luiz, and I am a huge admirer, who would take him over a younger Gallas or Carvalho? I doubt many would. That is not to say that Luiz will not develop into a talented and reliable centre-back, but given the trio then included Terry, Gallas and Carvalho, it is no surprise that we look more vulnerable defensively than we have done in years.
Since Mourinho we have had arguably two managers who could have competed with his tenure at the club. One we had because Scolari was abysmal and the other we sacked after two seasons with very little given to him in the means of transfer funds. The amount of time and money wasted on Grant, Scolari and sadly AVB is catastrophic. Who identifies the managerial targets? Why are they still at the club? The amount of compensation handed out to managers and coaching staff could probably buy you Cristiano Ronaldo.
The worst decision made at the club has been to allow Mourinho to leave. I do not believe in certainties in football, but I am positive we would have won a Champions League title under Mourinho had he been left to his own devices. Instead we now seem to have passed up our best chances of a European Cup and are set to play a Barcelona side that have improved since our last meeting. Worrying.
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.
Transfer strategy is not something you would associate with the club as a whole under Roman’s tenure. Strategy being the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term. Three of our better players are still pre-Roman (Cech, Terry & Lampard) and since 2003 we have wasted an absolute fortune on some horrific purchases. It is not the sheer volume of money we have spent that is bamboozling, but the actual thought process that has gone into who to sign. An absolute hodgepodge of players who do not fit any system Chelsea have played or could play; players of inferior quality to those leaving and players who are far too similar to what we have at the club.
The word balance is crucial when looking at the structure of any football squad. Under Mourinho we played a counterattacking 433. We had so many players who could seamlessly play this system it was embarrassing. Juxtapose forward options consisting of Drogba, Crespo, Robben, Duff, J. Cole, Gudjohnsen et al. with a 34 year old Drogba, a goal shy Torres, Kalou, Malouda, Sturridge and Mata. In fact, the only player who would have added anything to the 2004-06 squad would have been Mata. We had natural width, now we have strikers masquerading as wingers; we had goal threats all over the park, now our defence look better in the final third than our attackers. It defies logic that we are trying to play a single striker system with no natural width or a striker in form or past his prime.
It is not the fault of Cech, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Essien and Drogba that they have gotten older and not been replaced by players of sufficient quality. We all realise that these players in their pomp were some of, if not, the best players in their positions. However, as Frank has grown older have we ever looked to replace him with something similar or as effective? No midfielder will ever be as big a goal threat as Lampard, but we do not have a player who can control the tempo of a game, dictate play with passes or effectively assume the “Lampard” function in the side. There is no person in our squad to become the fulcrum of our side the way Lampard has been the past few years.
We let players like Duff and Robben go, players who played with pace, flair and had an end product only to replace them in one form or another with the likes of Kalou and Malouda. Granted, Malouda had a purple patch under Hiddink and Ancelotti’s first season where he was exceptional, but he has never looked like an absolute winger in the 433 sense. The less said about Kalou’s inclusion in first team affairs the better. Afforded regular chances, he continually flatters to deceive. Our attackers currently look like they have never played football before assuming positions on the pitch that no one would assume even at pub level. There seems to be a flat out refusal for any of them to pass to someone in a better position, provide any natural width, intelligent movement or bring people into play. Look at the devastating combination of Gudjohnsen and Hasselbaink — they wanted to play together. Both scored goals, both had assists and both bought into the concept of a partnership. Try telling that to any of our front three this season.
We do not currently have a single midfielder in the squad that is comfortable in possession, can pass accurately, crisply and with purpose nor provide any movement ahead of our centre backs. In fact if we simplify their functions Ramires, Essien, Romeu, Mikel and Meireles are all essentially the same player: ball winners who do not dictate play particularly well in the opponents half. Yes, Ramires has his moments but they seem to be the exception rather than the norm. He is not a technical midfield general. He is a superb athlete who would complement some technical players superbly. Our attacking options are Lampard and Mata. Juan is overused and looks tired; when playing out wide he drifts infield to good effect but narrows the pitch as he offers little natural width. This can be quite counter-productive and imbalances the side. Frank worked when a side was built around his and Drogba’s talents. Neither of them warrants that sort of treatment now, but given the alternatives they are still deemed key figures.
We should now be looking at a team that has players in the 23-26 age bracket to take over the mantle and push the team into a different direction. Where are they? Instead we have a side packed with defensive minded midfielders, forwards who do not seem to fit in any logical team structure and centre-backs operating at right back. In fact the only decent signing that we have made for years seems to be in finding Courtois who is excelling out on loan at the moment.
What youth policy?
To be honest this seems to go hand in hand with the short termism at the club. No manager is secure enough in their role that they can experiment with blooding youngsters in meaningful games. Where every game is expected to be won and every competition taken seriously, where do we develop players? Playing a bunch of kids in the Carling Cup is meaningless because they are often not paired with an illustrious and experienced colleague. John Terry will have learnt more playing alongside Marcel Desailly than he would have in his entire career previously.
The endless loaning of players around the globe had produced absolutely nothing. The only player who looks remotely like he is ready to play first team football is Ryan Bertrand, who thankfully has played well in his two recent Premier League starts. If Ashley Cole is not on crutches does he play? Does he play ahead of Jose Bosingwa if Cole is not fit for Barcelona?
We have one of the best youth academy facilities in world football and have cherry picked talent since 2004 to start producing the calibre of players that will make an impact in the first team. Where are they? Are we not picking the right players? Are we coaching them the wrong way? Are we handling them wrong? Do not misquote me, producing a Rooney or a Messi every year (if at all) is preposterous, but should we not be able to produce squad players who love the club and play for the badge? Does Meireles do anything worth £16m more than what Jack Cork might have been able to do here under the right guidance? Tiago remains one of our most underrated midfielders, but his class and poise were a key part of the Mourinho way. How do we know that we cannot produce that level of talent if no one is afforded a chance? True, not every player deserves a chance but those on the cusp are rarely afforded any time at all. Remember all the trouble over signing Gael Kakuta? He played a handful of games out of position on the wing and then was shipped out on loans.
Yes, it has not helped that we have often had two international footballers in every position. Similarly, if your job is on the line you are more likely to pick a safe option regardless of form than an untried kid? Nevertheless, there must be some sort of compromise. Josh McEachran (who?!) is currently meandering around on loan somewhere in Wales; who knows what club he is at such has been his impact there. Fabio Borini (remember him?) has scored ten goals in eighteen games for Roma in that small league called Serie A. Clearly would never cut it in the Premier League.
We currently have an extremely talented crop who can be seen strutting their stuff in the FA Youth Cup. Nathaniel Chalobah is the obvious leading light, capable of playing anywhere in the back four and midfield, how shall we ruin his career? Why have an academy at all if we aim to never blood any of the players? It does not make fiscal sense.
The short termism is killing the careers of any Chelsea academy player before they even set foot on a first team pitch. Ryan Bertrand had played over 150 football league games before we even gave him a sniff of a Premier League start. That is an insane amount of football. Is this going to be our benchmark for any potential academy player making their way into the first team squad? Only after spending most of your tender years away from the club will we actually consider playing you. Ashley Cole looks knackered and has been playing on an ankle injury for years now. Why is he playing every week when we have had the England U21 left-back and occasional captain sitting twiddling his thumbs?
We have not utilised the experience of the likes of Lampard, Terry and Drogba in developing younger players during proper matches. The intensity of training does not replicate what happens within a meaningful game. Bertrand will have learned more in 180 minutes of football than he has all season. What would have been the issue with playing Bruma next to Terry for a few games, instead of playing regularly in Germany? How do we ever know how good a player is if we never actually give them a chance? Borini played in four games for us and has now scored more goals for Roma than Torres has for Chelsea.
I do not believe that every youth product merits game time at the club. Clearly there are those who are destined to ply their trade at a lower level and hopefully succeed. However, we must ask ourselves are we doing enough for those with glimpses of potential to truly determine if they are going to near the mark ability wise?
You’re fired
I am not someone who watches Lord Sugar’s programme, in fact I may have seen two episodes ever. However, I think it does not take a business guru to astutely judge who is a complete buffoon and who is decent at their job. Generally the world is a results business — massive profit, good, massive loss, sacked. How has anyone on the football board kept their job given the current situation? What does Emenalo do, anyone? How about the other inner circle members? If we are run by committee, should that committee not be directed by what happens on the pitch and therefore the person running that side of the club?
At Chelsea, the opinion of the manager comes secondary. His needs and desires, his wants and requests all brushed under the carpet. A “we know best” mentality pervades the board from the Director of Football up to the Director’s themselves. For all AVB’s faults, you could see his point when nearly £30m was spent on Lukaku and De Bruyne when he wanted Modric. In fact, add that to the near £17m paid for Meireles and Modric would be a Chelsea player. You cannot expect silverware with second rate footballers.
Why is it that the most important area of a football club, its playing personnel, has been allowed to decline to such a ludicrous state? Are the football board more worried about keeping their jobs than telling the facts to the owner straight? I mean, if they cannot see the issue with the playing squad than why are they being employed? In a year where the Director’s pay increased at the club, exactly what have they achieved?
We have a board insistent on ignoring the immediate concerns of a manager in redressing the imbalance of the playing squad. A board purchasing young players for vast sums of money who are not making any impact in the first team. Looking directly at Michael Emenalo, what is it exactly that he brings to the table? The average fan will take things on face value. It is far easier to stomach someone like Guus Hiddink in the Director of Football role because of what he has achieved at the highest level than say Emenalo who coached a girls team a while ago…
Emenalo may or may not be doing a fantastic job behind the scenes, but the point remains that it is not visible enough for him to escape a lot of criticism. He (the football board must listen to him… right…?) must have okayed the purchases of De Bruyne and Lukaku. Where are they now? £30m buys you Cabaye, Tiote, Ben Arfa etc. or it buys you a classy attacking midfield superstar. We seem intent on splashing large sums of money on U20s who eventually never amount to anything at the club. Meanwhile Newcastle purchase a midfielder in Cabaye who would start for Chelsea on a weekly basis and a striker who, GOD FORBID, scores goals for a combined fee less than that of what we paid for Lukaku. If they were running a FTSE 100 company they would all be sacked.
The absolute despicable con artistry of Messrs Buck and Gourlay in trying to purchase the CPO shares has also highlighted the complete imbecilic heads of brand Chelsea. I am not against the club moving stadiums, not in the slightest. However, the clandestine and underhand nature of the initial purchase left a bitter taste in the mouths of many. We are one of a very select group of clubs who have remained at their original home since the inception of the club, something the “no history” brigade often overlooks. We are meant to just hand that over without any sort of guarantee that the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge has not truly been exhausted or that we will be moving to some hellhole in the middle of Acton.
Who here trusts the people that run the club? Anyone? No…?
Chelsea mathematics
If you add together all the various factors that have taken place since the Mourinho debacle it is easy to see how this season has come to transpire. Without managerial input into who comprises his squad, any subsequent manager is left to attempt to develop a system that fits a squad of players with no linear philosophy behind their assembly. This remains the biggest issue at the football club. The dregs left in the squad are a mishmash of the counter-attacking football that Mourinho promulgated and the power football that Ancelotti used to sweep everyone aside. The key protagonists in each side are now at a state where they can no longer or should no longer be key features, yet they remain that way.
We are built to play in a robust manner which involves the power of Drogba and Lampard’s influence around the penalty area. We have been playing this way in variation since Mourinho came and it was effective until Ancelotti’s second season. We have never looked to deviate from this path nor imbue the squad with the types of players to either directly replace the key ingredients or change the style of play. When these players decline the whole squad and the club decline with it, oddly enough.
So what next…?
We have a smaller stadium than our rivals; a squad that requires more work; a board that seem incapable of making the correct decisions and an inability to invest long term in the correct manager.
Regardless of which European competition we find ourselves in next season the level of change required is equally as necessary. There are quality players to be had regardless of where you are playing, but given our previous magnetism to established names, are we going to hunt for the likes of Robben and Gallas, all relative snips who became superstars at the club. We need younger players with hunger to supplement the quality we have already. I would rather invest in 5-6 players than pay £40m for a Cavani type acquisition. We severely lack attacking quality and the need for an actual right back is bordering the absurd. Is it so hard to find players who can string passes together? Players who actually move when their team mate has the ball? We have had them before, it is not Einstein’s theory.
The biggest question that needs answering comes with two prongs. Exactly who the manager will be and will he be given the funds and the decision making ability to buy/sell who he sees fit? I will not be indulging in who should be our manager at present, but the decision needs to be made earlier than the Boas appointment. He needs to be given complete control over the targets we are signing and no penny should be spent that he does not believe in nor has endorsed.
There needs to finally be a clear commitment to a redevelopment of the playing squad. Any perceived negative influences need to be shipped on, any player deemed not good enough or fitting with the new managers philosophy needs to go and he needs to be able to reshape the squad with his own choices. You do not need to spend £40m for an attacking midfielder or a winger and you do not need to spend £50m on a striker. What is required is a better scouting department, a push towards less established names with quality and players who are hungry to march Chelsea into a new cycle of success.
Please Chelsea, have a little think this time? This is a pivotal summer in the future of the club. We can either rebuild and come back stronger or turn into the next Liverpool.
The choice is yours. This or that.
You can follow the author on twitter @JoeTweeds and the blog @PlainsOfAlmeria
Great article mate. Some very good points made. Sadly might just be pissing in the wind. I think even Roman would admit the mistake of losing Mourinho. Bring him back? It was silly sending Josh to Wales where he has played about 4 minutes.
Hi Benn,
Thanks for the reply — appreciated as always.
There is a sense that perhaps only Mourinho could come in and command the sort of respect that is needed to make instant changes. Then again, does anything other than sentiment mean he’d seriously consider the post? He knows more than most the conditions he would be working under.
I am surprised Josh isn’t at a lower league club, playing regularly. He genuinely is learning nothing warming the Swansea bench.
Critisism of the board is over the top.Miereles cud only have been signed by AVB. the club signings are Courtois, Lukaku n Debruyne, my view is that iz the ryt approach. ad rather have good playaz than a good manager! coz with great playaz, any coach can tweak them, Avram, RDM remember? the AVB disaster iz a direct result of him being assured hez here 4 the long term. main problem iz terry(not what he used to b) lampard(his continued presence prefixes 433) n lack of goal threat(leathal striker)
Your comments are a testament to the thinking of the board and a complete vindication of everything in this article. It is not about just going out and buying the odd player here and there it’s the complete lack of strategy in their purchase to complement tactical formations and give a manager options. our squad is hopelessly imbalanced with not even grade b eggs as Jose would say
This is pretty much spot on — to the names let go we could add sinclair, playing better than any winger we have and others like stoc who looked fantastic only time he got on, under scolari against stoke — the board does seem preety stupid and devoid of long term planning — roman should erect a statue to lamps jt and drog — they’ve carried the club for a long time — the present lot seem to lack leaders luiz might develop — but its short of really great -players as you say
This interesting thing this summer will be if barca really want Luiz.
well actually this isn’t my post — mine is the one above — which makes it a simple muddle and ok
One of the best articles on Chelsea I have ever - and I mean EVER - read. It pinpoints the crux of various issues which Chelsea have never got to grips with - starting with sacking the best manager in footballs recent history and moving on from there in a logical, coherent and lucid way.
I may not agree with all your points, but I cant argue with your presentation or your logic.
As an occasional writer on Chelsea myself (and a few short stories dotted here and there) I know how fabulous and difficult it is to put something like this together, so great credit to you.
Brilliant article mate, a real pleasure to read it. Glad I found this site!
Great article mate.we’ve got class in our youth and players like de bruyne and kakuta.we need a major overhaul n josh shud b brot bak
Yeah, nice article. Whilst watching Chelsea struggling to acheive I cannot help but notice the difference with say manure. Even Fulham last night. Mourinho once said goals are made at the transition, the point where you get the ball off the opposition. Chelsea, win the ball, pass it across the back fifteen times then start to edge up field. When Fulham got the ball, within seconds they were bearing down on goal making JT & Co look ordinary. we don’t have width, but we have speed, Ramires, Torres and Mata. Win the ball, get it to Lamps or Luis who can make 50, 60 or 70 yard passes and cause some havoc in the top third of the pitch. For the youth, they should be integrated into the team, you pointed out the academy, but arneson leaves and takes so much talent with him. What was that about??
The point you make about Borini, Cork etc makes me feel a bit sick.
Thinking of shooting a copy of this to Gourlay’s shag pad?
Excellent article and pretty much agree 100%.
This should be nailed on the front door of Stamford Bridge
Great article
Here’s the rub - not qualifying for next season’s Champions League could finally offer a coach the chance to properly rebuild the team with the likes of some of the up and coming youth. Looking at Frei making us look mugs at times last night (for the second time this season) and then thinking if he’d been a Chelsea player he’d be out on loan and “not ready”, how AVB preferred the continually hapless Bosingwa to Bertrand, we are not going to ever give youngsters a proper chance whilst every game is a must win. Sadly it is more likely that obscene amounts of transfer money will be squandered on more expensive square pegs to round holes because nobody has a strategy, maybe AVB could have done this if his man management skills weren’t so abysmal. God knows who’ll get the gig this summer. But overall hard to argue with the article, SWP, Kalou and Malouda for the lethal duo of Duff and Robben - hard to see where it all went wrong eh?
Great article.i agree with most of ur point.even connor or billy cliford will do alot better than meireles,bosigwa.i am really really pissed with the lack of passion from the players,they will just sit back and let opponent passed around their back line even when they are trying shoot.what type of football do we play?it is called boring football.
On the playing side I think we desperately need width and invention. Your point about our current midfield is spot on. Oh how I would love to have Robben back. I think Mata has been great but, for me, he needs to play inside… he just doesn’t have the legs. I know nothing of De Bruyne. Let’s get him back and see what he’s like and give him some game time. Has Kakuta improved? He showed signs of promise before and perhaps needed encouragement and direction.
We need to move on Malouda, Bosingwa and Kalou too. They just don’t have enough bite/passion and in Kalou’s case anticipation too. Clever strikers know where to be at the right time and he seldom does. Think Inzaghi at his best and Hernandez at Man U now. But we have to sell them for the right price depending on their contracts. When AVB banished Alex and Anelka to the reserves it only served to slash Alex’s value to would-be suitors. Stupid mistake. PSG got him far too cheap. He scored this week as well. I rated him highly. Anelka should have been kept for the remainder of the season too. His experience would have been invaluable right now when we’re fighting on three fronts. If we have an injury to Drogba again what have we got? I also think Anelka could have worked well with Torres and Mata. Clever minds.
I am confident Essien will find his form again. He’s world class and will a force next season.
Your point about Borini is spot on too. He looked sharp at Swansea. How did we ever let him go? He offered something different too… nearer to a poacher than anyone we’ve had for a long while. In some fixtures you need strikers like him.
Daniel Sturridge is clearly not good enough. Maybe he will be better one day but he’s got to learn to work hard consistently (that includes tracking back… note Santos’s goal for Arsenal at the Bridge), be a team player (he’s incredibly greedy… Torres was unmarked at the far post versus Wigan) and improve his decision making ten-fold. His shooting is terrible for a striker so arrogant. He’s not young either, he’s 23 now. If Sturridge had taken the many chances he’s had this season we would be in the top 3!
One fault with this reply. Essien. What planet you living on thinking he will find form again… He was BRILLIANT for us, granted. But after 2 serious knee injuries I’m afraid its not form that he is struggling with. Running across the pitch he looks as though he is treading water, he loses the ball, his distribution is poor. He has lost that ‘drive’. Everything that made his world class. Sad, but true.
Well said brother! Would be nice to have a footballer on the board and not just a bunch of bean counters. I don’t mind Emenalo too much I think he’s identified some good young prospects that will be paramount for Financial FairPlay; But generally not overwhelmed with the general lack of style and identity of the team. Can anyone say what our best formation is? we have 5 strikers with the first team and not one real winger(Malouda was good in his day) that is developmental suicide and we’re seeing it now
1. We can’t blame the board … I suspect it is the owner pulling all the strings.
2. Many of the great players listed in the article were let go by Mourinho. Some of the underperforming ones were signed by him.
We need our owner to start acting like a grown-up, not like a supporter. Let’s start with a decent scouting network rather than just dealing with the money men and concentrating only on youth.
Mourinho is the great manager he is today because of lessons learnt at SB. He still does not have track record in rebuilding a team - does not hang around long enough. Our nostalgia for him is mis-placed. Could do worse than stick with RDM and Eddie and a decent director of football as long as owner and board stick to just setting the budget.
Fantastic stuff. Parts of it remind me a lot of a post I wrote for We Aint Got No History a while back. Cheers.
http://www.weaintgotnohistory.com/2011/11/30/2595162/understanding-chelseas-woes-its-about-the-players
Amazing article man. I’ve only started supporting soccer/Chelsea after the world cup, but I’ve felt this way about Chelsea ever since their winter slump with Ancelotti. They looked amazing in the beginning of the season (remember they won the first two game 14-0) but age began to catch up with them halfway through. Firing Ancelotti last year was a HUGE mistake… even at the time it was blatantly a bad idea. He gave us our first double in his first season, then had a “bad” year and still finished second! It seems as if Torres was forced on him, so he had to deal with that dilemma as well. Chelsea’s problem is that they switch managers so often that every guy comes in and says “ok i want x, y, and z player, and this guy and that guy will be sold” after a while, the team has absolutely no identity. Look at our current situation. I think RDM is doing a great job, but our team IS NOT built for the 4-2-3-1. We have no one to provide real width, Cole looks tired, bosingwa can be iffy. Miereles is a good player but just does not fit in with us. There are so many things wrong, but i will not even list them becuase you have said all of it. From the youth team, to transfer policiy, Chelsea need a revamp very badly
still think we will win the championz league. luck seemz to be on our side. the new approach of club signingz seemz to me to be a better idea. so that we dont get lumped with the likez of romeu n miereles in future- who other coachez wunt/cant use. switch to 442 wud b ideal but coz lampz cant play in it, it wunt b explored. therz no need to compare thiz chelsea with the one of 2004-2005. even up against the 2010 double winnerz, only David Luiz wud get into that team. firing Jose waz the single most important mistake. with him wanting back, ad rather he be given the job, seeing that we still uz his playaz, it meanz hez tha only 1 to have recruited well n he guarantees succes. Othawyz RDM + Eddie b given the job n hope for the best. insync with you about our youth policy
For the love of anything you deem important, please write normally. I think you have something to say but I can’t read through your ridiculous need to spell like a pathetic reject from the Ali G soundalike school.
You don’t come across as cool or clever, just really, really annoying. I sense that you must have to put more effort into spelling everything “street” than you would if you wrote in English.
Ali G alias Sacha Baron Cohen - Cambridge graduate. Wotz wrong wid his english den mate.
This a a football blog if you want academia then you are in the wrong place init.
Wow…if you consider spelling correctly as academia then I won’t argue with you.
And of course, football fans can have absolutely nothing to do with academia, can they?
Excellent article even though I am not a Jose groupie you have convinced me. Our present situation is the board’s doing. Who the hell is Emeraldo or whatever his name is. Had anyone ever heard of him before he came to us. Joke.
RA has had his ear bent by unscupulous people like Pini Zahavi who are interested in one thing and that is money.
Our poor team brought to its knees by capitalism and greed politics and power struggles.
Awesome piece, absolutely no creatitivity in the middle and up front, no imagination, no strategy, nothing!…If we can’t get Jose, we need to move on, the decision makers are the root of our woes; what we see on the pitch and in the news is a manifestation of their inadequacy.We are not playing CL footie next season, and I hope we do not slip into oblivion.
Jose had a long term plan 4dat chelsea team, d borini, kakuta and sinclair even bertrand were supposed to be his future. He bought Mikel 2phase out makelele. All those youths were sold wen Jose left and mikel refused 2improve more afta Jose left. All chelsea’s problem went back 2Jose’s sack. And as 4those sayin Jose doesn’t rebuild even @inter and madrid he has some young guys. @inter it was balotelli, santon, mariga and inter sold dem wen jose left now @madrid its sahin, calleron etc.
On the button but perhaps just missing one name, Makelele, the defence has never had the same reliable protection since sadly.
My fears - no Champions League next year and are we in the end to become a sarf London team, nooooooo please Dear God nooooooooo, let’s stay at the Bridge if at all possible PLEASE !
First of all, great piece mate - all in a nutshell. As it’s been said, “watching Chelsea is torture now” or “boring football” is all down to the things mentioned in the article above i.e. lack of philosophy, quality players and most importantly playing as a cohesive unit.
I think the whole problem stems from the board and the clueless lunatics that we have put on top there; starting with Buck and Gourlay.
One of our biggest turns from Double winners into the misery and shambles of what we are now, which I would’ve liked to be mentioned specifically, although it has been in a general case (letting world class players go and replacing them, if at all, with second rate players), was letting key figures such as Deco and Ballack (notably) leave without the slightest in terms of replacement. Ballack, who was one of our most underrated players at that time, used to boss the midfield and provided a captain-esque leading figure in the heart of the midfield and had the desire and commitment that you could rarely find in the squad and he was a playmaker in himself. Deco, of course, the playmaker and the creative spark, let go along with Ballack, left a big gap in midfield - one we are facing and suffering from up till now. You ask yourself, who have they really been replaced with? Ramires who is as much the same player as Essien, Romeu, Mikel and Meireles. All this has left Lampard, in terms of playmaking and creativity, in the spotlight in which he has been suffering silently. The intelligent purchase of Mata has slightly eased the pressure off Lampard, but it has put him in that same spotlight in the centre of the park and it has exhausted him and worn him off as he has found himself forced to attend width and centre-playmaking duties.
Look at it simply, we’ve got neither playmaking nor width which is why we pose no real threat in the final third of the pitch.
A good effective example you could have used and which had caught my eye is Juventus’ situation. From a Champions League club football to a Europe League club football to nothing, but they’ve taken time to rebuild with a trusted manager (Conte) and look at where they are now, first in the Serie A and they’ll be a force to be reckoned with next season in the Champions League (for others and for us, if we’re there at all).
We find ourselves in a situation where we do not know who our next manager will be and whether he will be given the required level of trust to lead the team back into glory and to the top of the table where it really belongs.
Kalou, Malouda, Bosingwa and co. should be the first to be shown the door in the summer as they’ve got no real hunger due to their incompetence to lead the club on to anything; if this happens with the new appointment of a manager, it’ll be a genuine sign of whether the board have really learned or not. Let’s not go into the details of what and who should be bought as they’re too much and they’re mentioned above.
We remain to observe how things will unfold in the summer. It’s more or less a situation of make or break for the club.
This, Mr Tweeds, is the best Chelsea-article I have read since Mourinho left. All the other articles talk about how we can best utilise the players we have, and how we should be content with that we have. This article is saying that what we DO have - is utter rubbish. I agree, thank you so much.
There is simply nothing I disagree with here; and I’m especially glad you brought up Emenalo and what the hell he is doing. Note: this man was the ASSISTANT FIRST TEAM COACH for a little under a year. What he had done to merit that job is something we shall wonder to the grave - and therefore; what he had done in THAT post to warrant him the Director of football-position is well…i just don’t know anymore.
Mourinho was our shining light, I’m a bit more of the type that doesn’t like pining for him back. That is why the inexplicable sacking of Mr. WIlkins pained me so much. In Carlo + Ray, Chelsea were going somewhere. Sure, the power football of the Drogbas, Lampards and Maloudas were still leading us on, but the gradual introductions of McEachran, Kakuta and even Borini were signs of what Carlo wanted. People may not know this; but Ancelotti was doing what AVB was brought in so expensively to do; just the right way.
In sacking Wilkins, that management power duo was left with a disillusioned manager and an absolute baffoon of a new assistant first team coach. Anyone heard Emenalo giving a conference? Interview? His thoughts on..anything? I suspect it’s because he has shockingly little to offer. How can a youngster (or even an established player a la Ramires or Luiz) feel comfortable committing himself to a manager and team-mates who might or might not be there in 8 months time? I cook it down to our beloved board. Tasteless decisions - and now we are here. A royal, Roman mess.
Great article. Enjoyed it.
Sadly, the next is going to be the third season in a row and we are starting from square one. New manager, players and other headaches.
Hope we can start a fresh by releasing all the deadwood by the next window.
Only problem I find is would players come into a Europa league side? Else time to give our loanees one gooood run for their money.
Good read. A sentiment I neither agree or disagree with, pretty much a statement of expression, not of fact, but based on some facts. Unfortunately the truth will never be known, that is the culture at CFC and at every other organisation. It is their right to keep it that way.
We, spectators speculate and can pretty much say as we please. We are not on the payrole at CFC, we do not get sacked by CFC.
It does amaze me how we talk of people who we have no direct relationship with and talk about them as if we know them intimately, yet if we were faced with these very same people in a room on our own… to answer to our criticism’s of them.. how we may defer to be more respectful when eyes meet and words are given in fair exchange.
It is as it is. As a family of employees and supporters, unless we act out of respect we are lost. We have no soul, we are just the baying crowd.
We do not get a forum to say as we please with respect to the people who represent our dreams and wishes. Until the doors of true communication without recrimination are open then Chelsea Football Club will remain a poison chalice.
Really need a positive outlook for a change. The way these fans complain you would think we’re some clubs who have won 0 in 8yrs. Chelsea is not a perfect club I agree, but I think we fans should be proud of what has been accomplished in the past decade. And I’m thinking this inability to move on from the Mourhino days is becoming ridiculous… remember during Carlo’s season slump how the fans behaved? and when he got fired, look what happened… rest is history. we’ve probably got some of the most ungrateful fans ever watching how players are shred into pieces. So back to the Mourhino adoration.. I am sick of hearing fans chant his name during matches.. what good does that do for the team or the manager in charge. We can’t keep living in the past and I think we have done extremely well since his era, except fot that CL trophy which we’ve come oh so very close to. I agree there’s a lot of work to do and room for improvement, but I don’t think its the end of the world. There are far too many positives than negatives. We’ve been crying for that transition season, and this might just be it. I can only see good things coming in the future whether we are in Europa league next year or Champions league. The criticism is way too extreme man.
Ecellent article but us Chelsea fans shouldn’t lose sight of the tremendous success we have enjoyed in the Roman era. Only some ‘bizarre’ refereeing has stood between us and the Champions League. It’s not all bad. We’ll get there again.
So is there no hope??
There is no hope, of course blimey charlotte there is.
Having another think i might say that the fair play regulations ( brought in to stop chelsea or any other team buying the CL - i mean no one ever did that before right? ) have also played a part — Roman is clearly out of his depth managing a football club — as mourinho said once ” if i ran roman’s businesses they’d go bankrupt if he runs the football club we’ll finish last) — getting back mourinho isn’t the answer though, We need a decent manager and an end to the politics around Roman: people currying favour and so on. Also Roman has been badly ripped off with some of the players he’s brought and its made him gunshy — he should get out of it & let pro’s do their job.
Great, great, depressing read. It baffles me how someone of Roman’s business acumen can be so utterly stupid when it comes to the complete incompetency that riddles our management team.
Unless the light suddenly goes on for Roman, I fear we have some lean years ahead.
Great article, nicely constructed. I agree with the vast majority and as with anything like this it’s never one clear-cut reason as to why it all starts to fall apart - but I think you’ve covered most, if not all of the key reasons here.
In my years as a Chelsea fan I’ve experienced the mediocrity of the early 90′s, but mostly the growing success of the late 90′s and 2000′s. For me, I’m actually not bothered if we end up winning trophies or not over the next 5 years. But the club MUST have a plan, for the medium to long-term, and they must stick to it. This obviously starts with the board, who have shown constantly over the past 4-5 seasons that there is no plan…..or more likely, a new vision is dreamt up and put in front of Roman, blaming the manager for the failure of the previous plan (even though the manager probably never had full control).
As long as we can see that there is a clear plan to take the club forward, it becomes easy to work out who is doing their jobs correctly (and maybe that is the problem - some of these ‘inner circle’ staff as they’ve been referred to have become very adept at hiding their own deficiencies and using a succession of managers as scapegoats).
well that was briliant j.tweed…the most painful part of all this is when i watch the likes of tore,stoch,borini,kakuta and bruma all playing and doing well while on we have malouda,kalou,mereiles,lukaku and luiz who have cost milions…thanks god we still own the former two
Awesome article. Spot on in every department. If only RA will pause and listen…..if only he will put the club first….if only he will concede he has failed….if only he will learn from the likes of Man U et al. We have relied on the JTs, FLs, MEs etc and they are now showing us they are human, tired. Too many average players. Our style of play shd change. We need to put fear in our opponents. The boss should be the coach, not RA
great one mate!
I for one thinks that we need a manager that has chelsea on his mind or has played for chelsea.
bacerlona are where they are today because they have pep who played for the team.
most of the managers we have like AVB CARLO SOLARI ETC think about the compesation rather than the job.
Three words, nail on head. The shocking imbalance in the squad, the mess of a midfield, lack of true wingers and a right back has been staring at us for two years and yet we purchase ramieres and Mereiles….. And still no right back either through our academy or purchased.
Well Documented.. I do not agree with many points that you have mentioned there. Dint we make a 40M pound offer for Modric, Per my knowledge Lukaku (13M) debruyne (7M) and Meireles (10M) cost us 30M in total.. You said “No Youth Policy”, haven’t we signed Lukaku, Debruyne, Courtious with futuristic approach. AVB wanted Moutinho after we failed signing Modric but he got Meireles instead. There is certainly the least patient approach about Managers at the Bridge. Mourinho had a winning mentality but dint we play Stokelike football under him ( I mean slow and ruggid) the persistance has ever since been given to attractive and attacking football since JM’s depature. Weren’t Molouda, Mikel, Kalou signed under mourinho. So JM has to take a bit of blame here too. I felt that even under mourinho we were undone by teams who played amazing attacking football. Robben left simply because he wanted to leave (an offer from RM). To me its the owner whose overenthusiasm is beyond required limit shoud be at blame !!
NIce article but we are now champions of europe and the board will insist their policies have worked so far ……..unfortunately!
Let hope for a proper redirection now and bringing through players from with in the club from now on