It has been a tough week for us fans of Chelsea FC. The Paris racism incident, the home match against Burnley where we were unjustly robbed of all 3 points and to escalate things to another level, no retrospective action on Ashley Barnes for the horror challenge. And now we find out that Nemanja Matic will still miss two games through suspension. Although I believe that many decisions have gone against us, I can’t ignore the fact Chelsea FC is not showing that lethal edge to their game which they produced so often in the first half of the season.
From the start of the second half of the season, it seems that the Blues are content or are forced to be content with just crossing over the line with marginal victories. It was not the type of results which were expected of them, especially after the high in which we finished the first half of the season. Chelsea were and are not cruising anymore. But also, the entire blame can’t be put on the team or the manager. The Premier League is one of the toughest or perhaps the toughest league in the world.
The top teams in the Premier league who are challenging on multiple fronts such as Chelsea have to sometimes play 3 games per week in different competitions. And where the Premier League differs from other leagues is that, anyone is capable of beating anyone no matter in what position they are. One of the best examples came last season where Jose’s extraordinary home record with Chelsea FC came to an end at the hands of relegation battling Sunderland. This is unlikely to happen in other leagues, where there is a huge gulf in class between the few top teams and the others.
Such a situation often leads to a dip in the performance of top teams and Chelsea in this case is no different. But what great teams have is the ability to cope with such circumstances no matter what. All great teams have a very good depth of squad which helps them to get through a period of time when fixtures come in heavy. Chelsea have been taking the heat in a good way, scrapping through games with one or two nil victories.
But the problem lies in the fact that although having a good squad depth Jose Mourinho seems to trust only a set of players who he selects most often in his first 11. His first eleven can be called the ‘UNTOUCHABLES’, as they have been playing more than 80% of the games. In a way, having a group of players that you trust completely to win a match or matches seems to be a good idea. The more the changes in a team, the more confusion arises in the minds of the players and thus there is an imbalance in the team (take Man United for example).
If you play the same team in most of the matches, the players are used to playing with each other, they know where their team mate will be to receive a pass and so on. Such a system leads to a balance in the team which is very important to sustain a period of success. But on the flipside, if you don’t integrate the players who are not in the regular first team, within the system, and you suddenly throw them into the side and expect them to instantly gel with the strategy, it will lead to mixed results like we saw against Bradford City. After a good start to the game the whole team fell apart conceding 4 goals to a lower league team. This can only happen when the fringe players of the team have no idea of what they are supposed to do.
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Another consequence of not rotating your squad is what Chelsea is likely facing now. There is too much pressure on the first eleven. They have to play each and every game, week in and week out and also play at the same level as they are expected to, in each game. With the tough fixture list and especially in the Premier League, such an expectation from players is abnormal. There is a limit till which the human body can take. No player no matter how invincible we may think they may be can sustain his top form for a long time if not given any rest.
Liverpool in this aspect did a great job on Raheem Sterling. The youngster has played in almost every match for Liverpool and performed brilliantly. But with time, Sterling was feeling the pressure and his performance dipped. So to rejuvenate him, Liverpool sent the chap on a small vacation, and when he came back, he is lively again. Although I think sending a player for a mini vacation in the middle of the season is a tad bit too much, but at least all players must be given some rest so that they can recharge their batteries.
A vacation is something too far fetched for the Chelsea contingent this season. Mourinho is a very strict manager and he expects his players, or as he calls them, his ‘warriors’ to give their blood and guts in every match. But if the warriors are to give their blood and guts they need sufficient rest to give their best performance. At this very moment, all the Chelsea FC warriors aren’t being able to perform at their pinnacle, as they are suffering from fatigue.
This Chelsea team reminds me of the La Liga winning Athletico Madrid team which used the same set of players all through the season. They won the league, and also reached the finals of the Champions League. But due to their system of minimal rotation, the team ran out of steam in the final and conceded 4 goals to a fresh and constantly rotating Real Madrid.
Chelsea FC aren’t totally the same as Atletico Madrid, as we have a much better squad depth than what Madrid had, but unfortunately, Jose isn’t rotating the squad as much as it is required. I always believe what Jose does is for the best, but I am also skeptical about the fact that, at the end of the season, the crucial players may run out of steam and that will be disaster considering the fact that we have Manchester City on our backs.
I always believe what Jose does is for the best, but I am also skeptical about the fact that, at the end of the season, the crucial players may run out of steam
As of this moment, due to the sheer brilliance of the Chelsea FC first team, we are able to pull through matches. But you have to consider whether they can do it till the end of the season, if not rotated enough. I hope we employ more rotation and put a little more faith in the fringe players.
But hey, look on the bright side. We are still 5 points clear at the top!
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