Mason Mount’s absence should show Chelsea fans his value, but will not

Mason Mount came off against Brighton and Chelsea lost all momentum and penetration. It is not a new story even if his value should be known by now.

There is a part of the Chelsea fan base that said fourth would be a reach for the Blues this season. This same part looks at Chelsea in fourth place, looks at the older players making simple mistakes or failing to turn up, and they say “No, it’s the children who are wrong.”

Chelsea’s squad is one part old veterans running out of time, one part players who should be leading the squad but just are not good enough, and one part youth who were mostly in the Championship last season. But somehow, without fail, this one part of the fan base continues to blame Chelsea’s struggles on the least culpable group. Some more than others.

Mason Mount has been a favorite punching bag of this group. While they can give you a 2000 word essay on the virtue of Jorginho making 1000 passes without a key pass, they cannot tell you what Mount does. Time and time again Mount has been absent from the pitch and issues have popped up yet still his value goes unnoticed. The Brighton game should have been the latest in a long line of evidence but apparently not.

Chelsea had a 1-0 lead when Mount came off the pitch. Another goal was very much needed but the Blues still had complete control of the situation. Momentum was on their side. Perhaps Mount was tiring but the Mateo Kovacic sub was a “shut up shop” one when another goal was needed.

Of course, Frank Lampard could not have expected Kovacic to come on and play as badly as he did. A manager can train players and make decisions but he cannot go out and do it for the player. This is not FIFA. Still, removing Mount caused Chelsea to lose all their penetration in the final third. The more passive midfield of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, and Kovacic is fine against certain opponents but it folded against Brighton.

Without Mount, Chelsea had no one willing to press from the midfield consistently. They also lost a player capable of moving into channels and occupying multiple players at once. Furthermore, it left Kante as the only midfielder truly comfortable with rotations with a winger.

Lampard’s tactical scheme is heavily reliant on the attackers controlling the space around them on and off the ball. It is why Tammy Abraham and his constant movement has become so key. It is why Willian and Christian Pulisic, more creative hardworking players than direct like Pedro or Callum Hudson-Odoi, have seen the starting spots more often than not. And it is why Mount, who is admittedly not a creative 10 but plays the role regardless, is so important to Chelsea.

But the people who do not want to acknowledge that will continue to ignore it. Mount coming off and Chelsea’s subsequent collapse will not register. Just like the matches Mount did not play in recent weeks had some of Chelsea’s flattest, least inspired attacking play of the season.

Abraham, despite actually looking like A: a capable striker and B: one that will not try to move to China in a title run before going AWOL and pretending it is someone else’s fault, faces the same criticism. Hudson-Odoi is coming off a long injury layoff but he is supposed to be Cristiano Ronaldo every game. Fikayo Tomori has to be prime John Terry. And Mount has to be something even more.

Regardless of what the boo boys say, these players will be the spine of Chelsea for the foreseeable future. They are young and imperfect but also talented and will only improve. Lampard sees that and the team’s position in fourth on the backs of these youth is no mistake. But the boo boys will not acknowledge it.

They will not be satisfied until they go the way of Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, or countless others. And believe that if that does happen and the youth go on to excel elsewhere, these same critics will be the ones blaming Lampard and Chelsea that they “got away”.