The Chelsea midfielder has been forced to defend himself.
Any football club in a crisis situation is automatically subjected to the customary rumours of dressing room unrest and infighting. With Chelsea FC sat in 15th place after 11 Premier League games, the controversial stories continue to surface. Now, Cesc Fabregas has been accused of leading a player revolt against Jose Mourinho.
Not long after the club’s loss against Liverpool, the tabloids (in conjunction with their good friends the Internet) began running stories claiming that Blues players had fallen out with the boss.
BBC Radio 5Live claimed that an unnamed first team player would ‘rather lose than win’ for Mourinho. We didn’t run the story at The Pride Of London in belief that it was sensationalist journalism that had little grounding.
Nevertheless, it gained traction and was reported across main media outlets. Then, as everyone took the opportunity to jump on the bandwagon, The Secret Footballer claimed that Fabregas ‘is the leader of that mini-revolt’.
This has forced the Spanish midfielder to make a public defence, which (obviously) came via Twitter.
I would like to clarify that contrary to a few reports form some online websites, I am extremely happy at Chelsea (...)
— Cesc Fàbregas Soler (@cesc4official) November 3, 2015
..and have an excellent relationship with the manager.
— Cesc Fàbregas Soler (@cesc4official) November 3, 2015
There maybe certain individuals from the outside trying to destabilise this club ...
... but I strongly believe that we will bounce back and come good again.
— Cesc Fàbregas Soler (@cesc4official) November 3, 2015
Unfortunately, while the stories are likely the product of classic tabloid journalism, such a situation is not unfathomable.
Chelsea have been consistently poor and the management seem to have no answer to the issues. The players have looked lost and no-one has taken charge of matters on the field. Senior players such as John Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic and Nemanja Matic have failed to lead by example, leaving the team directionless during games.
Furthermore, Mourinho’s behaviour off-the-field points to a man on the brink of insanity. Seven-minute long rants and wild accusations have been rife. While his antics are bearable when the team is winning, Chelsea currently need people who can take responsibility, not pass the buck on.
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The recent benching of Fabregas also adds credence to the rumour. The Spaniard was not chosen in Saturday’s line-up for the Liverpool game while he was left out altogether for the fated Stoke City League Cup tie.
He was also subbed off after 45 minutes the weekend previous while Chelsea as an entity lost their shit against West Ham at Upton Park.
Amidst all the turmoil, the players have publicly supported their manager when given the chance. However, the more cynical among us would point out that this constant attempt to project squad harmony indicates anything but. It even throws back to bizarre displays of unity such as the team celebration against Wolves three years ago.
Andre Villas-Boas did not stay for long.
Next: Chelsea FC Must Back Jose Mourinho Says Frank Lampard
The rumour-mill is in overdrive and the only effective way that Chelsea can break free from the vicious coverage is by winning games. Dynamo Kiev tomorrow night would be a start.