Antonio Conte has laid down the law to the Chelsea squad in recent weeks and Blues great, Frank Lampard, is a big fan of the Italian’s methods.
Antonio Conte has proven himself to be a man of passion, but he has also shown that he is a man of little fear. In an era of player power, Conte has laid down the law to his Chelsea squad. The dropping of David Luiz, for example, was a major statement. Frank Lampard has come out in support of the Italian and his management style.
"By dropping David Luiz for the past two games, Antonio Conte has sent out a major statement to the Chelsea squad. Conte is a strong manager and is certainly showing everyone who’s in charge. This is football. The manager has stamped his authority and it’s his right to do so. – via Evening Standard"
Chelsea have run into troubles with player power in recent times. Jose Mourinho’s dismissal was in part due to the players appearing to give up. The ‘palpable discord’ that Michael Emenalo cited only suggested that Mourinho had been pushed out by his squad.
After a tricky start to the season, Conte is refusing to allow that to be a possibility. A fiery team meeting reportedly saw David Luiz criticise the boss. In return, the Brazilian was dropped from the matchday squad for the Manchester United game.
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He was in the fold for the West Brom clash, but was on the bench. Conte, in a very public manner, punished Luiz was questioning his authority. The squad now truly know who is in charge.
However, the key part of this story is Chelsea’s form. The Blues won both games without Luiz and won them impressively. If Chelsea had fallen to Mourinho and slipped up against West Brom, the pressure on Conte would have been immense.
Evidently, the players do back the manager, his methods and his tactics. Conte was risking an internal backlash against his treatment of Luiz. Instead, he got the perfect reaction.
Now that Conte has imposed his authority, Chelsea are in a better position. Any manager needs to have undisputed control over his charges. That requires the players to buy into his ideas. Last season’s convincing Premier League success has allowed the squad to do so.
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Hopefully, Conte and Chelsea can progress further up the table and deep into the Champions League now that everyone knows who’s calling the shots.