Last night’s performance against Southend came off the back of Luiz Felipe Scolari telling his players – publicly – exactly how he feels about their recent performances. It’s something we’ve all being saying for a while now and personally, I’ve been a bit pissed off with Scolari’s apparent nonchalance as our season looked like imploding.
However, the Chelsea boss appeared a lot less laid back when he said before last night’s game “When I have given four or five chances to players then there is no room for questions, it is my decision to play this or that player, and finish. That is it. All the players have had their chance. I have given every player at least five or six games to impress. Now we will start with one team against Southend United and maybe I will start with the same team against Stoke City. Bit I need answers from the players. I will give them their chance and I need answers. In the last five games we have played at 50 per cent of our potential. No more than this. Some players have been at 75 to 80 per cent while others have been at 35 to 40 per cent. But the balance for our team in the last five games has been 50 per cent.”
And I have to say, I couldn’t have put that better myself. But that’s not the only thing I’m in agreement with Scolari over though, because I’ve just about accepted we won’t be challenging for any honours this season the way we’re playing and the Chelsea boss doesn’t appear to be blind to that fact either, saying “If you ask me if this team are ready to win things then no. They are not ready to win a trophy and they know this. They might not say things publicly but they know we are not ready.”
Not exactly inspiring but at least it’s honest.
At least he’s not on a complete downer with the players though, because in their defence he says “The players have been trying hard and I know that and I understand. It is difficult for the fans and people outside the club. Do you think that any player goes on the pitch in front of 75,000 people and does not want to play? Never” (I’ll assume he forgot Drogba at that point) “Sometimes they make mistakes because they are not in a good condition but not because they do not want to play. If this happened then they would be finished. I am a good man but I am not a fool.”
I guess that particular point remains to be seen but for last night at least, his comments, and the suggestion that “we must show that hunger on the pitch” seems to have done the trick.
The jury’s still out though.
Blue is the colour
