Chelsea were a shadow of who they once were in loss to Crystal Palace
Chelsea FC lost to Crystal Palace in perhaps the most shocking performance by a “Big Six” club this season. Chelsea disappointed in every single facet of the match and should be back at the drawing board thoroughly on Monday.
This season, Chelsea players will be making a grand total of £218 million. It’s not the highest in the Premier League, but it is by no means a pittance. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, will earn £55 million.
Now it is obviously important to keep things in perspective and acknowledge that neither side will exactly be in the poor house soon. That said, Chelsea will earn almost four times as much as their opposition on Saturday and yet were half the men they were for 90 minutes.
Chelsea managers are such sympathetic characters because of the resounding sentiment that they are not in control of their own futures. They are often accomplished, proud and very highly thought of men who, for no reason other than “that’s the way things are,” end up wounded by the very people who hired them.
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All the rumors surrounding Antonio Conte’s desire to leave Chelsea are incredibly frustrating. The most frustrating aspect is that it is entirely understandable. This Chelsea team is the most frustrating group of entitled boys that I have ever seen. That, coupled with the fact that Antonio Conte is simply not allowed to chasten them – though he was seemingly hired for that very purpose – and the picture becomes all in equal measure: relatable, understandable and heart-breaking.
Antonio Conte is a good man and the right man for Chelsea. But this current group of players does not deserve him, the badge that adorns them or the fans that sing their names.
Thibaut Courtois is truly the world’s most overrated goalkeeper. In what has now been three years he has not improved on the mental side of the game at all. The smallest part of goalkeeping is what you do with your hands and feet. Until he understands that, he will never be as good a goalkeeper as his physicality and reflexes could have him be.
If a goalkeeper organizes his defense well enough, communicates positioning clearly and reads the match from his incredibly influential full-pitch view he should not even need to make a save let alone give up a goal. Courtois simply does not have the character that a goalkeeper must have and for the rest of the team to be built upon.
Courtois should be as good or better than David De Gea. He hilariously thinks he is. In reality he is not even a top-10 goalkeeper in Europe. He has such poor command of his box that one truly wonders if he is trying.
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The Chelsea defense is a mess at the moment. Cesar Azpilicueta finally appears to have tired. This is not a criticism so much as a fact. Mr. Reliable is now more Mr. Lead-Footed and Panting. A season’s worth of full matches and continuing on until now has clearly taken its toll on him.
As for David Luiz, he appears to have re-emerged from beneath that intelligent, responsible and match-reading genius-looking veil that he apparently cloaked himself in last season. He survives purely on charisma and athleticism. That is not good enough. Andreas Christensen should be starting, without question.
Gary Cahill simply appears weighed down by the weight of the armband. He is a good player and a selfless fighter, which is enough to build an excellent defender. But he tries to do too much. Cahill is a limited player, and when he steps outside he opens himself up to a far greater realm of Chelsea-punishing opportunities. He is not handling the responsibility of captain well at all.
Marcos Alonso has finally shown why Chelsea so desperately pursued Alex Sandro this summer. Alonso is a fine player but lacks spark. Nothing about Marcos Alonso’s open-field play forces defenders onto the back foot. He is too slow and uncreative, which denies Eden Hazard a single bit of relief.
Victor Moses just appears tired. With him suffering Chelsea’s third major hamstring issue in a matter of weeks, a message should be reading loud and clear through the boardroom. But it isn’t.
Cesc Fabregas is a good footballer and he needs to be told that. Years of being dropped and recalled appear to have taken a toll on his mentality. He tries too hard. But football can not be forced. It can be coerced, channeled and guided but it can not be forced.
Fabregas appears so desperate to make a good impression and be able to start the following week that he can no longer gauge what is necessary. He tries to hit a 20-yard ball when a three-yard one will do. A diagonal over-the-top Hollywood pass when a give-and-go would be fine.
He is too predictable because of this. Defenders simply sit on the shoulder of the striker and wait for the sure-to-come attempt.
Tiemouaye Bakayoko still does not appear to have settled. He should be a dominant player. He has every tool in the world. He is a fantastic passer and has a good touch. Yet he reads the game poorly and his internal clock is awful. He has not yet had a solid run of matches, but does not appear to have adapted to the Premier League at all.
Eden Hazard should not have said he was going to start playing poorly to the press. It was a weird move. He has been back for a little over three weeks already, anyway. He was excellent against Atletico Madrid and for Belgium. But then he created a self-fulfilling prophecy with his statement about how he would play for a couple weeks.
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Willian and Pedro have become one and the same. Energetic and full of industry but not even close to as effective as their pedigrees would suggest.
Michy Batshuayi is not good enough. For an athletic and strong man it is frightening how poor his hold-up play is. He does not appear to have progressed as a player at all. This is sad because he appears to be a real fella, but at some point it has to be acknowledged that he is simply not meeting expectations.
Chelsea are a sad group. They do not appear to have the sort of character that older Chelsea teams had. Frank Lampard was genuinely built of steel and fight. He broke a bone in his foot Saturday, had a screw put in Sunday, and played and scored on Wednesday in the Champions League against Shaktar Donetsk.
Petr Cech learned languages to better understand people on their own terms. Peter Bonetti confirmed his nickname as “The Cat” with 729 appearances including an out-of-body experience against Real Madrid.
Ron Harris appeared in 795 matches before medical science improved to the standards of today and was known as “The Chopper” because of how hard he tackled and fought. Ricardo Carvalho was simply a genius. He should be more highly thought of today. He taught a young John Terry and was the bedrock of each of Jose Mourinho’s Porto, Chelsea and Real Madrid teams.
Kerry Dixon fought through injury to score 147 goals in 335 games despite being riddled with injury and not playing a single match pain-free during his 9 years.
Then there’s Didier Drogba. Enough said.
Those players were made of character. They sweat it. This Chelsea team does not lack talent. They lack character. They are weak of spirit and mind, and it shows.
Roman Abramovich and each supporter deserves better than horrid and spineless performances like the one they put out on Saturday. Were they tired? Maybe. Sore and partially injured? Possibly. But pathetic and undeserving of the seemingly high realm of reputation with which they have each anointed themselves? Absolutely.
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Chelsea’s visit to Crystal Palace was a shameful and disgusting display. The lot should be benched or sold as a statement. Oddly, Charly Musonda, Jr.’s youthful endeavor was a welcome intermission from the disgusting drudgery everyone was forced to see this weekend. For shame.