Abramovich could be forced to axe senior Chelsea man following rapid decline - opinion

Under the ownership of Roman Abramovich, Chelsea have enjoyed sustained success, despite their hire-and-fire approach to managers. Collectively, including interim and caretaker managers, the managerial position has interchanged 15 times at Stamford Bridge since 2003. Superficially, reasoning and logic suggest such instability would create infertile conditions to breed a successful environment at a club. However, Chelsea, as they so often do, have defied logic and they’ve tremendous success over the past two decades, winning 15 major trophies since Abramovich’s arrival.

Alas, Maurizio Sarri is seemingly failing to sustain the winning culture at the club. The World Cup coupled with the late appointment of Sarri shortened his pre-season, thereby limiting the time to establish his desired system and translate his ideas to the squad. Irrespective of these potential hindrances, Sarri’s start as Chelsea manager was markedly optimistic.

Surprisingly, the Blues rivalled Manchester City and Liverpool during the season’s infant stages, recording a run of 12 unbeaten league game, concluded by a 3-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.  Despite the early season promise, and favourable results in the Europa League, Chelsea’s performances, and in turn, their results, have deteriorated alarmingly since the turn of the year.

The Blues are currently languishing in sixth place in the Premier League, having failed to win 13 of 30 league games, failing to score in eight matches in England’s top-flight. In their previous six league fixtures, Sarri’s side have been unable to win half of them, losing twice, and conceding ten goals – almost a third of their entire total of league goals conceded.

To worsen the situation for Chelsea, they’ve endured comprehensive defeats, most notably the 6-0 thrashing to Manchester City and the embarrassing 4-0 surrender away at Bournemouth. Moreover, Chelsea have often failed to match the intensity or the determination of their opponents, as was exemplified in their 2-0 defeat to Everton, who were on an abysmal run of form themselves. This spinelessness and inability to match the physical output of opponents has been palpable throughout the season, only once have the Blues come from behind to win a game (4-1 against Cardiff City in September).

Crucially, the club’s problems are multi-faceted. Deep-rooted structural issues, such as the lack of footballing expertise at board level, have severely affected the club’s recent fortunes. That said, Sarri is not exempt from blame, and his inability to address his squad’s issues indicates his lack of top-tier experience and reinforces murmurs that the Italian is out of his depth at SW6.

Firstly, the players’ understanding of Sarri’s system or the system’s ability to maximise the players’ talents has regressed severely since the start of the season. Initially commended for their swift adoption and adjustment to the possession-based football, it seems that the players are now incapable of playing the desired system effectively. After 12 games, the Blues had totalled 27 goals – the then second highest total in the division. The Blues have managed only 23 goals in the resulting 18 games, scraping an average of over a goal every game – hardly aligned with the creative and high-scoring football for which the club appointed Sarri.

Visually, the quality of the performances has deteriorated significantly. The football has become utterly predictable, tedious and monotonous. It seems that the players are wedded to a system that stifles their creativity, where possession is retained, but not utilised with any purpose or penetration. As the stagnation has grown more apparent, Chelsea’s reliance on Eden Hazard – already excessive – has soared. The Belgian has been involved directly in 24 goals (13 scored, 11 assists) out of the Blues’ 50 league goals this term. Their dependence on Hazard, who often embodies the sole creative actor, is unsustainable.

Unsurprisingly, the games in which the Blues have been fiercely competitive, such as the EFL Cup final and the 2-0 triumph against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, the Blues had fewer of the ball (39% against City and 46.5% against Spurs), attesting discipline and application’s precedent over possession. The display against Tottenham was more attuned to Chelsea of yesteryear, as opposed to evolving from Sarri’s stringent philosophy, the Blues were defensively resolute and clinical in attack.

Furthermore, upon the conclusion of most league defeats, Sarri resorts to questioning the players’ mentality, a theme that also arose during the tenures of Conte and Mourinho. While the manager’s criticism of his players is wholly viable, he continues to pick the same players he continually questions, effectively undermining his authority; rendering his words meaningless and leaving his team devoid of accountability. His insistence on employing his favoured players has left his side bereft of competition, which has patently impacted the performances of individual players – Marcos Alonso is a paradigmatic case.

Sarri has alienated a string of first-team players at the club, the likes of Gary Cahill, Danny Drinkwater and Victor Moses conceivably could have had played more significant roles in the Blues’ Europa League campaign to no detrimental cost. Emerson Palmieri was forced to wait until Boxing Day for his first league involvement of the season – a measly five minutes against Watford. Similarly, the Italian’s perceptible mistrust in Ethan Ampadu and his decision not to start Callum Hudson-Odoi in a single league game has been the source of mounting frustration among Chelsea supporters.

While the Blues have performed admirably in the Europa League – the 2013 winners have yet to lose a game – winning the competition might not prevent Sarri from leaving the club. The Blues are affixed to a system that fails to deliver an attractive and expansive style that Sarri was brought to establish. It suffocates creative freedom and leaves the players resigned to repetitive passing sequences, leaving the players unable to contribute meaningfully in the final third.

I sympathise with Sarri to a degree. The opportunity to make necessary stylistic and ideological changes was lessened partly by the chaotic summer and Chelsea’s belated managerial appointment. Also, one could argue that most of the players’ skill sets are incompatible with his highly-technical brand of football. Nonetheless, as manager, he must ensure he utilises the available resources, a trait he has consistently failed to demonstrate during his time with the club. Further, if Sarri’s system is dependent on a certain profile of player, and the manager is unable to set-up beyond those rigid remits; doesn’t that expose his inadequacy leading a club of Chelsea’s pedigree?

Uncoincidentally, Sarri only began to adapt, trialling a 4-2-3-1 formation when chasing games, once he was subject of intensified scrutiny. He even opted to favour an ill Gonzalo Higuain over Olivier Giroud, who registered four-goal contributions, donning a perfect hat-trick, in the previous game against Dynamo Kiev.

Despite managing since 1996, at every level imaginable of Italian football, the 60-year-old has failed to attain a single trophy, and he has been unable to exhibit enough tactical nous or shrewd management during his fifty games in charge at Chelsea. Most concerningly, if the successful implementation of ‘Sarriball’ is reliant on the acquisition of technical players, then the Blues’ recent financial pragmatism and the impending transfer ban will serve as an enormous, almost insurmountable impediment to any prospective success.

Sarri’s achievements in disrupting one of football’s most unbending monopolies in the Serie A is commendable and is symptomatic of his credentials as a good manager. However, perhaps a club of Chelsea’s enormous stature, the inherent expectations, and the undying winning mentality has proven to be a Bridge too far.

Sarri’s career as a top-tier manager is still in its infancy and, had he been more versed to the intricacies of managing a big club, he could have been more successful at Chelsea. Fundamentally, Sarri has been far too stubborn in his approach, and such has been the deficient nature of Chelsea’s recent results and performances; the manager’s fate could already be sealed.

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/2I7sjdo