Chelsea can no longer support the current state of affairs

Losing historically twice in as many weeks is unsustainable. Chelsea can no longer support the current states of affairs with Maurizio Sarri.

Chelsea lost 4-0 to Bournemouth, their worst in the Premier League since 1996. Less than two weeks later Chelsea lost 6-0 to Manchester City. That loss ranks as a joint third worst loss of all time for Chelsea. It was the heaviest defeat of Maurizio Sarri’s managerial career. To come away from that match and the run of form leading up to it and absolve Sarri of blame is a joke.

Sarri has stubbornly stuck to his way of football. It was found out long ago but he hammers away with the same 4-3-3 with the same players and he expects things to magically change. His supporters, surprisingly as vocal as ever, preach more time for him and blame the players “individual mistakes and lack of motivation”. Conceding four to Bournemouth and six to Manchester City is far outside the realm of individual mistakes.

To accept Sarri’s current system, unchanged since he arrived, is to sacrifice the season. To pretend as though things will improve by staying as they are is ridiculous. The current state of affairs is no longer acceptable for a club like Chelsea. Something must change if Chelsea is going to save the season.

There are three main tent poles (i.e., groups to blame) for the current, unsustainable and unacceptable state of affairs: the board, the players, and the management.

The board is blamed for “not backing Sarri” which is a half truth at best. The board got Sarri the center piece of his midfield in Jorginho. The board held on to Eden Hazard and Callum Hudson-Odoi (not that Sarri actually considers the kid worth using). The board got an aging, out of form striker in Gonzalo Higuain because Sarri wanted him.

But do not forget, one of the appeals of Sarri in the first place was that he was uninterested in the market. Unlike Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte, Sarri would not make demands but would instead look to improve the players he has in stock.

But it is very hard to see which players have actually improved. Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek perhaps? Regardless, Sarri also got his wish in two former players. The board supported him.

Where the board has failed is in replacing the technical director spot. Marina Granovskaia is an excellent negotiator. But she (and no one on the board) has a footballing mind or vision. Sarri’s appointment is proof of that.

It is very hard to believe that a technical director would look at the current Chelsea squad and think they were capable of doing as Sarri asked. In turn, the Blues would have likely looked at a much different type of manager before considering Sarri. And even if they still landed on Sarri, the targets would be with a longer term vision in mind beyond “they played for Sarri before”.

Which now turns the spotlight on to the players. Are the players good enough? Yes. These players are World Cup winners, Champion League winners, and perhaps most relevantly, Premier League winners. The real question is whether they are good enough for this style of play and the answer to that is probably no.

It is a common trap that teams fighting relegation fall into. Rarely do top six clubs but Chelsea is nothing if not unique. Relegation clubs will fail under one style, hire a manager from the other end of the spectrum (depending on what fault was deemed most costliest), and then they will see a new manager bump almost every time. But when that bump runs out of time, it becomes evident that the squad is not suited to the new way and they slump back down. It is looking increasingly more obvious that August through October was a new manager bump for Chelsea and November to now has been the slump.

That all is not to mention the players’ “motivation” and “downing tools”. Players at this level of the game do not get to this level by struggling for motivation. But the difference between a champion and an also ran is down to the manager pulling even more motivation out. Just look at Manchester United for an example of how a new manager can motivate the players in a way that works for them.

Chelsea has routes to motivation but they are simply unused. What motivation is there for an XI when they know their spot is secure? What about for the players outside of the XI who know no matter how well they train they will never be considered vital? Lack of rotation is as damaging to motivation as is having nothing to play for.

Usually then the narrative turns to the players giving up on their manager. But even in recent losses that has not been as evident as it was under Conte. The players are still doing what is asked of them. The six goals City scored were all “individual errors” but the tactics put them in that position. For instance, Marcos Alonso being so narrow on the first goal is because the back line has been instructed to stay that narrow all season. It is not something new.

But what is likely to be more concerning is why the Chelsea players would continue to listen to the manager. They listened and lost 4-0 to Bournemouth. They listened and lost 6-0 to Manchester City. How can Sarri possibly come into the locker room now and say “if you continue to follow my instructions, this will eventually work!” when the returns are getting less and less? At some point, the players will quite rightfully tune him out.

There lies the predicament for Chelsea. The web of who is wrong and who is right is very much muddled. But continuing on the current course is no longer acceptable. And the only man in a spot to change things is Sarri.

Sarri cannot stick to the same shape and system and XI and expect things to change. That is ridiculous. He does not need to forsake his style but he simply cannot continue with the current implementation of it while he and his followers say time will make it better. Whatever time Sarri had banked up is gone.

If Sarri can change to adapt to the league (as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have while keeping their ideals in place), he can remain. But if he sticks to “his way” or “his football” he must be replaced. Whatever can be said about Chelsea and how the club got here, the current state of affairs is no longer acceptable. If Sarri will not change to save the club and himself, then the board needs to make the change for him.