Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has been on the edge of a sack a few times now. Each time, he does something that pulls himself away from the brink.
Part of the allure (or myth?) of Maurizio Sarri was how he rose his way through the leagues in Italy through a mix of luck and personal brilliance. This is a man who cut his teeth and created his style over the decades with virtually no resources, eventually rising to the very top.
Whether he rose through his own effort or stumbled upwards is up for debate. But regardless, through his time he would have learned exactly how far he could push a club before they pushed back. Sarri has seen the sack so many times that he knows how to approach that cliff’s edge and pull away.
That appears to be what he keeps doing at Chelsea. For every time he has been close to the sack, he has made a decision against his own norm to reverse his fortunes. How often he can do that remains to be seen but each reset renews the hope just enough for him to continue. The question is whether or not it may eventually pay off.
Sarri is a stubborn proponent of “his way”. When things started to go south in the winter, he rigidly stuck to his way no matter what, often putting the blame on other circumstances or the players. But as Chelsea approached the League Cup final, there was a sense that without a win he would be sacked.
Chelsea lost the League Cup final on penalties and there was controversy with Kepa Arrizabalaga, but Sarri changed his side enough to save himself. Instead of pressing high in a 4-4-2, Chelsea dropped off and absorbed pressure in a 4-1-4-1/4-5-1 defensive shape. It made Chelsea more defensively sound while also allowing for more aggressive fast vertical passing.
The Blues looked much improved and Sarri was spared for the match against Tottenham that followed. Again, Sarri had Chelsea pack it in more and absorb pressure. This time, the Blues won and Sarri was seemingly safe once again.
But Sarri reverted back to “his way” in due time. The only notable deviation he began to make was a switch to a 4-2-3-1 late in matches to try to fight for a result. But a draw against a “disorganized” Wolverhampton and a loss to Everton sent Sarri into the break on the hot seat.
If Chelsea was going to sack, they likely would have done so early in that break. They did not, and Chelsea responded to that faith by putting in an absolutely woeful performance against Cardiff upon their return. The travelling away fans quickly turned on the manager, making their opinions known. The Blues held out for the win by an offside goal and a goal that came when the Blues should have been down to 10 men.
Much of the disdain by the Chelsea fans in the stadium seems to be about the lack of use of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Every substitute not involving one or the other was met by “you don’t know what you’re doing” by the Chelsea fans in the stadium. A win papered over the cracks, but Sarri headed into a home match against a tricky Brighton side feeling the pressure.
Yet again, he pulled himself away from the cliff it seems. Sarri started what was basically a fan’s dream XI that included Andreas Christensen, Olivier Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, and Loftus-Cheek. The side performed excellently in a somewhat empty Stamford Bridge. Even those that had been full stop SarriOut appear to have congratulated the manager on his correct selection.
The real question now is how long can Sarri keep pulling himself away from the cliff’s edge in time? Because if the response now is to revert to his old XI in his old way with the same results, the fans will turn once again. How many times can Sarri win support back before the board decides enough is enough?
That will be an important question as the season closes. Top four is still in reach and the Europa League is winnable. Hudson-Odoi, Christensen, and Loftus-Cheek should be seeing plenty of minutes in an ideal world. And the Blues could look like they are playing something similar to Sarri’s Napoli.
But if there are any missteps, can Sarri keep saving himself? How many lives does this cat have to spare? With the transfer ban lurking and Roma interested in Sarri, the Italian manager may need to be careful about playing on the edge of the cliff much more going forward.
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