To say I was disappointed, last night, after the Boxing Day defeat to Arsenal, would be an under-statement.
Livid would probably be a more apt word!
In my decades following Chelsea, I have witnessed some poor performances, Rotherham (a) and Nottingham Forest (a) are two that immediately spring to mind.
But yesterday, when so much was anticipated, the dross served up left me stunned.
Against Arsenal, we looked second-rate, we looked as if we were just going through the motions, but more worryingly, we looked as if we did not care, which is a cardinal sin.
When you consider the immense amount of money the club spent, in the summer, have we improved as a team is the question you might want to ask yourselves.
On the evidence of yesterday, I would say NO!
Those hopes of improving on the fourth-place finish of last season look to be fading as the side slips down the table and with some tough games to come, against a resurgent Aston Villa and Manchester City, these really are worrying times.
Following the 3-1 defeat, and as reported by The BBC, it was an anguished looking Frank Lampard that remarked:
“In the second half we showed some urgency but it was too late. The first half we gave ourselves too much to do, we were very poor. You can’t lack energy and desire in the Premier League and we did.
“You can prepare as well as you want but if you turn up like that that’s another thing. It’s in the mind.”
which makes me question whether motivation is an issue.
I belong to the group that yearns for Frank to do well, to become the success in the managerial role he was as a player, but time is a commodity that the Chelsea hierarchy do not give in abundance.
Last season was, to put it bluntly, a honeymoon period and Frank exceeded all expectations.
This season, with the influx of new talent, Chelsea should have been kicking on, like it appeared we were at one time.
But something has gone wrong, have our tactics been rumbled or is there something more sinister lying below the surface?
What are your views on what has gone wrong in recent matches?
Are we not as good as we believe we are?
Could the axe fall on Lampard’s reign?
Please feel free to have your say in the comment facility beneath this article.
Chelsea v Aston Villa?
Chelsea to Win!
Aston Villa to Win!
A Draw!
Previous article by merlin
Chelsea Linked With The Signing Of The Forthcoming January Transfer Window
I am one of those wishing Lampard to do well as CFC head coach. But as for the disappointing loss of yesterday’s game against Arsenal, I am blaming him. Because during the first half it was there for everyone to see that Chelsea was second best in all departments, and the team was struggling. But he has done nothing to change either the tactics that were visibly not working nor the players that everyone identified as struggling. Even halfway through the first half or when we went 2 goals down, he still was there doing nothing about it. And even when he is saying the players played as if they didn’t have any energy nor motivation, who was supposed to make sure those players were ready for that derby? It’s nice to blame the players, but him as a head coach, what did he do to change that situation as soon as it was clear to everyone the team was struggling? Being 3-0 down by a very poor Arsenal team that I have known, after spending more than £200 millions on new players! What an ambarassement!!! Can one tell me which Arsenal player out of all those who played yesterday can really nail a starting place in our current Chelsea team?
Honestly, I don’t even see one. But there they were going 3-0 down to them. And if our head coach is unable to get the best out of all those talents that our team has to make them unstoppable, he is the one to blame. Because I believe you give all those talents to a head coach like Antonio Conté, those players would have not been showing those lazy performances in games like those.