Six months into his new job as Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri project might be running its course before his ideas and philosophy come into fruition at a club where the owner and directors rarely waste time in pulling the trigger. Sarri suffered his first defeat as Chelsea manager in his 19th game in charge of the Blues but has suffered a fourth loss in 11 league matches to leave Chelsea hanging on to the final Champions League spot. The Blues risk missing out on UEFA lucrative and prestigious competition for a second consecutive season in the Abramovich era.
The mood in Chelsea dressing room cannot be determined but based on their manager’s post match comment where he heavily criticized his players’ performance in their defeat to Arsenal. “I’m really angry about the approach that we adopted today,” Sarri said. “It’s an approach we can’t really accept. This defeat was due to our mentality, more than anything else. This is something I can’t accept. This group of players are extremely difficult to motivate.” “This is not a team that is going to be well known for its battling qualities but we need to become a team that is capable of adapting, possibly suffering for 10 or 15 minutes then playing our own football. You can find yourself in difficulties from time to time, but we need to react to those difficulties a lot better than we did today.” You know things are not right when a manager speaks out this way.
More than anything else, the former Napoli man was brutally honest with his comments. These are massive remarks from a brave coach who didn’t miss words to a packed press conference. His message must have been directed to key groups associated with his football club – the board, the players and the fans.
The board were given a clear assessment of the team by a man who works day and night with them on the training ground and he is disappointed with the mental attitude of some. His message to the board was to either back him – provide funds to enable him restructure the team in his image with the players he feels can work for him or back the players and ultimately put an end to his proposed project. For the players, some of them will be aware now if they weren’t before that they do not fit into the Italian’s philosophy in terms of the mental aspect – their lack of personality and character. Finally to the fans, it was a message for them to temper expectations. Success under the former banker turned coach might not be immediate like the fans witnessed under his predecessor Antonio Conte and compatriot Carlo Ancelotti in 2010.
For some, Sarri has taken a calculated gamble that may backfire in this new football world. Player power can take the front row with some players going in to speak with the club management complaining about the manager calling them out and probably deciding to stop playing for him. This isn’t new at Chelsea with special mention to these group of players – particularly those who won Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho in 2015 and Antonio Conte in 2017. These two title winning managers spoke about this same issue, maybe not as direct as Sarri but they put their messages out there.
There is a feeling that the current crop of players at Chelsea are driven by momentum not because they have the forthright mental attitude. In a season where they are in the driving seat for the title, they give more to keep the momentum going and ultimately win the title but when they are among the chasing pack, they are less motivated. That said, isn’t it the duty of the manager to motivate his team to success? Oh yes, it is but then, three top managers cannot be wrong with the same assessment which shows where the problem lies at Chelsea. They do not have the Cechs, Terry, Lampards and Drogbas who are naturally battlers and born leaders anymore. Those willing to take responsibility and leadership in and out of the dressing room. The club isn’t short of talent, it is short of strong personalities which is required at top clubs to win the big games.
Sarri’s project seem to be hanging in the balance right now, he doesn’t seem like he has lost the confidence of the board but he surely has doubters inside the locker room. World class managers are paid top money to make those tough calls in this business and now is the time for Maurizio to earn his stripes. He can either change his tactics – not sure he would so or drop some big names who have disappointed. He needs to exact his authority more if he aims to achieve success in West London.
The former Empoli manager needs to find answers quickly to arrest Chelsea’s slump with the finance and prestige of Champions League football paramount to his and Chelsea’s future. Failure to miss out on Europe’s elite competition could be disastrous. He needs not to look too far to see the financial effect – Arsenal are without Champions League football for two seasons in a row and Emery has revealed the financial restrictions handed to him by his club management.
It isn’t London Bridge that is falling, it’s another bridge in London – Stamford Bridge. In the meantime, the club needs to channel its focus to immediate targets with the future still in the picture. They have an opportunity to book their place in the League Cup final on Thursday evening when Spurs visit the Bridge for the second leg of Carabao Cup semi-final.
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