Chelsea
Champions' Merseyside Misery
Naismith scores
By Gary Watton
September 14 2015
Just when Chelsea couldn't get any worse, they successfully manage to do precisely that. However, before I launch into a post mortem on the west London corpse, it would be discourteous not to pay passing tribute to Steven Naismith, whose heroics were akin to a page from Roy Of The Rovers. To emerge from the bench and score the 'complete' hat trick against the reigning champions, involving strikes with left foot, right foot, and header, is definitely something to write home about. The annoying Naismith, like Hernandez, Papiss Cisse, Tevez, and Torres before him, seems to reserve the bulk of his goalscoring for fixtures against Chelsea, so a plague on all their mansions.
Perhaps some good will emerge from the latest pitiful display by a team posing as relegation strugglers, although one doubts whether Mourinho, as intransigent and misguided as Wenger, will be humble enough to reach for fresh solutions and alternative personnel. If he does take proper stock of the situation, he might learn that Mikel playing in front of the back four in a desperate attempt to shore up our rearguard is no longer an effective tactic. Evercrap attacked at will in the first half, and the myth that Mikel patrolling in front of the defence can stem the tide of opposition attacks was well and truly exploded.
Apparently, Mourinho did in fact go to the Chelsea board many months ago and urge them to recruit new blood, but they reportedly refused. If he had the good sense to cast Mikel off to pastures new (and there were interested parties in Turkey at least) then the funds from such a sale could have been diverted to a new centre half. Similarly a reluctance to part with Ramires (like Mikel, he's yesterday's man) is also evidence of a manager who flees from reality once too often. Now that his team are clearly on the ropes, he will have to pull a few rabbits out of the hat and conjure up a new starting eleven that can start to ascend the charts and perch itself in the coveted top four.
The team that swept all before them twelve months ago is seemingly a spent force, exhausted by playing so often last year, without any Ranieri reshuffle each week to rest weary legs. Furthermore, the team seems bereft of ideas and even leadership. Problems exist all over the park, crucially both in front of our goal and in front of our opponents' goal too. Not that the midfield are pulling their weight either. Matic's long-range effort was most welcome, but he and Fabregas are a fading force, with the latter looking increasingly like a one-season wonder. To scapegoat Ivanovic would be wholly inadequate. There is scarcely a Chelsea player worthy of a starting place at present. It's their reputations and past glories that appears to warrant their inclusion on match day and certainly not recent form, which has been conspicuous by its absence. Perhaps only the solid Azpilicueta and stand-in Begovic are immune from criticism. Certainly any chance of a successful defence of the Premiership has flown out of the window, not to return. Manchester Mercenaries are on a different level from us, and if we are not careful, it may become too much of a stretch to even keep pace with Arsenic and ManUre. Even old Ranieri is lording it over Jose at present, as his Leicester City have emerged quickly from the early season blocks, unlike the overpaid muppets of west London.
To rub salt in the wounds, dear old Mourinho is deluding himself, like never before, by foolishly suggesting that Chelsea deserved much more from each match so far than has been accrued. In fact, Jose would almost have us believe that his team ought to be sitting with maximum points so far, such has been their cosmic performances. It would make for very good stand-up comedy, were it not for the fact that the Portuguese seems to actually believe his own blarney. Frankly, when you concede as many goals as we have done since the first Saturday, then you just don't have a leg to stand on. Of course, our cause has not been assisted by the absent Courtois, an accident-prone sicknote. Even the missing Oscar seems more valuable to the cause now, because someone is going to have to energise the current statues. Pedro is still finding his feet, while Hazard has evidently lost his two feet. Costa is also looking like a one-season wonder too. Remy is being criminally overlooked. His scoring rate last year, from limited opportunities, was quite good. Rahman also deserves a run at left back, with 'Dave' being shuffled across to the right flank. Does Jose have to wait until Arsenic humiliate us, before drastic measures are enacted? Surgery is definitely required, as this team is going nowhere slowly. Even a likely win over mediocre Maccabi Tel Aviv must not be greeted with any "We've turned our season around now" post-match hysteria. The proof of the pudding will come in back-to-back challenges against Arsenil and away to our bogey team, Newcastle. Mind you, such is the parlous state of the champions at the moment, that everyone is fast becoming our bogey team.
Mourinho is a slow learner, like Wenger, but he will eventually replace Ivanovic. He needs to realise that if he doesn't replace his right back, then he himself will be replaced. Presumably, he will have a look at Azpilicueta and Rahman as the full backs on Wednesday night. I would even consider playing Ivanovic and Cahill in the centre of defence. There is no point in playing Terry and Zouma, when Arsenil are looming fast on the horizon.
The team will eventually get their arses into gear, but a revival needs to happen sooner, rather than later, or we may find ourselves having to make do with Thursday night Europa League fixtures next year - a fate worse than death, in the eyes of some. Of course, speculation is now mounting about the future of the 'special one'. He did after all walk the plank in mid-September 2007 in circumstances that weren't actually as dire as the current fiasco. Will Abramovich lose patience? Surely, for the sake of continuity and stability, Mourinho must be allowed to persevere. However, if he continues to hallucinate about the quality of his team's football and fail to find a Plan B and introduce fresh reinforcements, then he may indeed be sent packing again.
Everton 3 CHELSEA 1; half time: 2-1.
Chelsea scorer: Matic.
CHELSEA team: Begovic; Ivanovic; Azpilicueta; Zouma; Terry; Matic; Fabregas; Pedro; Costa; Hazard; Mikel. Used substitutes: Kenedy; Falcao; Willian.
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14/09/2015 14:14
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