I really don’t understand Chelsea. That’s not a new thing though is it? I mean, the one phrase that seems to be part and parcel of supporting Chelsea is ‘what the f***?’ The latest wtf? For me though is around the squad – or more specifically it’s apparent misuse.
Take the transfer market for example, considering we went in to this season having let go of players like Carvalho, Ballack, Cole, Deco and Belletti – and clearly felt the impact of that as soon as injuries started to bite – you’d have thought someone at the club might hold their hands up and accept the squad wasn’t big enough to start with – evidently not.
As if letting those players go and missing their cover when we did have players out wasn’t enough though, you’d have thought some of the performances from our ‘big’ players and the results that have gone with them, might have forced a bit of a rethink about the squad as well – again, not the case.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been one for throwing money about needlessly in transfer markets and January is never the best time to buy anyway – I just can’t really see where we’re going right now, never mind when the going gets tougher this season.
I guess the question I have is, if we’re not going to do a lot in the transfer market (which seems to be the case again), then why aren’t we using the squad we do have effectively?
Take the weekend’s game for example, Ancelotti had given it all the chat beforehand about Essien and Drogba, so I assumed he meant what he was saying – except he didn’t. So whilst Didier Drogba continues with his below par performances and Michael Essien repeatedly fails to turn up, the message they’re being given is ‘you don’t need to put in more effort to get a game’.
So what’s that about? Is Carlo happy with the performances? Well I’m sure he can’t be. Or did he get his wrist slapped for daring to drop Drogba once already? And if that’s the case, why should he? Ok so Didier probably had a tantrum but it didn’t do him any harm to sit on the bench. Quite apart from that, you have to wonder exactly what it is players like Sturridge and McEachran have to do to get taken seriously.
I know Sturridge doesn’t always look to have taken his limited opportunities when they’ve come but he’d scored 7 goals in a week and must’ve thought he was in with a shot, so to get a couple of minutes after all that effort can only be demoralizing.
As for McEachran, his performances are undoubtedly one of the most exciting things to happen at Chelsea for some time. I appreciate he’s still only 17 and we can’t rush him but seriously, if we introduce him any slower he’ll be another one thinking the club don’t have anywhere near as much faith in him as they should have. Quite apart from anything else, when he does come on (albeit for far too short a time), the difference he makes is far too impressive to ignore. Look at the weekend – the fact that we were pressing forward a lot more in the last 15 minutes was no coincidence – it was down to the energy and creativity he brought with him as far as I could see.
So, like I said, I’ll never understand Chelsea.
Blue is the colour
