Chelsea: Mason Mount and Co. the flashpoint of fans’ latest needless unrest
By Varun Dani
Frank Lampard has done a lot to unify Chelsea FC’s fan base, but some people go out of their way to find something to complain about and nitpick.
Every fan base has its share of toxic fans. Chelsea’s global fan base perhaps has way more than others. Toxicity comes with being a top club, but is still quite ridiculous to see. Even more ridiculous, though, are non-toxic fans with their own agendas. Fans who can be sensible, but choose not to.
Mason Mount has arguably been Chelsea’s best player so far this season, but has surprisingly been the centre of many heated debates within the Chelsea community. Some fans criticize every little mistake Mount makes and call for him to be replaced in the squad by James Maddison. Then others see no faults in his game, attacking even the slightest criticisms thrown in Mount’s direction. While the ridiculous nature of these debates was entertaining to see at first, it is fast becoming an annoying routine.
Mount is fantastic in pressing and taking chances, but clearly needs to be creating more chances for his teammates. As the central attacking midfielder, his primary duty is to feed his teammates with chances and provide a creative edge to the team, something he is well capable of. Mount also lacks positional sense while playing in the midfield three of a 4-3-3, which leads to increasing the burden on the left back and left centre back.
These are things that Mount will improve over time. He is just that kind of a determined boy. Instead of spewing out strong, definitive, permanent judgments, Chelsea fans should encourage him to improve by providing support to go with the constructive criticism he receives from his trainers.
There are other clashes between youth lovers and youth haters as well. During the Southampton game, Chelsea conceded one goal when Fikayo Tomori failed to block a cross coming in from the left, and yet Kurt Zouma took the fans’ blame for it. It was Tomori’s job to stop Danny Ings from getting the ball while Zouma swept in behind or anticipated a cutback. Tomori rushed out naively and did not manage to block the cross, leaving his defensive partner stranded.
Yes, Zouma has had some poor games, but deserved praise for a calm and authoritative performance against Southampton while Tomori nearly gave the game away with multiple mistakes. Shielding Tomori and depriving Zouma of deserved praise are further of the bias towards academy players, the same idea Lampard and these academy players are fighting against.
Willian, Chelsea’s most inform player, is still not being rated as highly as Callum Hudson-Odoi. All signs left little doubt that Willian was the best player on the pitch by a mile against Southampton, while Hudson-Odoi was guilty of missing two gilt-edged chances. All youth lovers conveniently ignored those while still refusing to single out Willian as the man of the occasion.
The same could be said about the lack of recognition for Marcos Alonso and the blatant, continued criticism of club captain Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spanish duo put in very good shifts in the past month, raising their performance levels remarkably, but still could not appease a majority of the fan base.
Yes, it is immensely beautiful and rewarding to watch Chelsea’s academy players finally get the chance they deserve, but that does not make them immune from criticism. Neither should they be at the end of sky high expectations, nor should other Chelsea players be ignored. They are all Blues, and all segments of the fan base should remember that.
The board, staff, coaches, players and fans are all part of the Chelsea community, parts of a family that’s only complete when all its members come together and show unity.
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Chelsea supporters owe it to this community to praise and criticize every player who dons the Chelsea jersey equally, regardless of their age, provenance or any other factor.