Chelsea what ifs: Maurizio Sarri was always doomed for disaster

Former Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri and his legions have been rewriting history again. If he had stayed, it was only going to end badly.

In many ways, Maurizio Sarri is the perfect manager for the modern world. The truth is whatever proves strongest rather than, well, the actual truth. Things that were said and were true months ago are swept under the rug and never happened. In many cases, they are flopped around entirely.

Sarri was not a disaster at Chelsea. The club helped him achieve his first trophy (which he thanked Napoli for, not Chelsea) and allowed him to quit for a club that prints their own. No one can take third place or the Europa League from him, but that does not mean both do not have asterisks about how they happened.

What if Sarri had opted to stick it out with Chelsea through the transfer ban rather than quitting as soon as a better job came along? Well, things would not have improved which is probably what the Italian realized when he ran out of town.

First of all the youth revolution goes the way of the dinosaur. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham are sold. Fikayo Tomori and Mason Mount are loaned out again. Only Reece James finds a spot in the team, but more on that momentarily.

Gonzalo Higuain signs permanently and David Luiz never leaves. Chelsea’s starting XI remains similar to the one the previous season, albeit with Luiz a constant in the back line, Pedro starting instead of Eden Hazard, and Higuain up top.

Without the transfer ban and without the youth, Sarri’s small squad rules stolen from Pep Guardiola wear upon the team. Champions League proves a much greater burden on the Blues than the Europa League did as every group stage opponent is arguably as strong or stronger than anyone the Blues faced in the Europa League run. The Blues struggle in the group, but get by in second.

The real issue is in the league. With everyone around Chelsea dropping points left and right once again, the Blues fail to capitalize. They start the season strong, but the growing weariness of the players physically (from lack of rotation) and mentally (from the same circuit training over and over) begins to drag the club down.

Winter is a disaster once again. Without Hazard to bail him out, Sarri stubornly sticks to his ways again as the losses pile up against top six rivals. The dual losses to Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham are particularly galling as the Portuguese manager created one perfect counter plan that stopped Chelsea in their tracks both times.

By the time COVID-19 halts the league, Chelsea is virtually out of the Champions League, out of the FA and EFL Cups, and sits in eighth between Sheffield United and Arsenal.

Sarri’s stubbornness in rotation and tactics saw the club slip further down and even saw Andreas Christensen depart permanently and James go out on loan due to lack of playing time. Luiz in defense has been the mess it always was but he “gets the system”. Higuain has a measly five goals for the year. And Christian Pulisic has about as many appearances as that.

When the league halts, Sarri is sacked with the fans rejoicing. For all his talk of playing the right way, he really meant his way. His way could have worked elsewhere, but others in England simply adjusted around it as Sarri kept hammering away. His lack of connection to the fans and youth left him with few to no allies when he leaves. An Antonio Conte Juventus, meanwhile, is declared Serie A champion due to being so far ahead of the competition.

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