Chelsea have been on the brink of meltdown ever since their 4-0 loss to Bournemouth. The Blues have suffered four losses in February, with their only wins coming from Huddersfield and Malmo. Over time, Chelsea have done little to help themselves. Several in the soccer world have criticized Chelsea’s loaning of youth players. The evidence doesn’t look good for Maurizio Sarri’s team.
FIFA has recently punished Chelsea over rules regarding the transfer of young players. Being banned over two transfer windows would seem harmful, but Chelsea have almost two full squads out on loan.
However, the past tells us this is false hope. Chelsea notoriously send young players out for development. When the loan spell ends, it’s on to the next one. Transitioning young players into the first team has become the key to success in recent years. Manchester United embracing the young front of Lingard and Rashford has paid dividends. Arsenal are investing in Alex Iwobi, Matteo Guendouzi and Eddie Nketiah to be the future of the club.
Borussia Dortmund hold a firm grasp on top of the Bundesliga thanks to youngsters like Jadon Sancho and Raphael Guerrero. Chelsea are swiftly falling behind in terms of long term development. The Blues have relied on headline signings to succeed season after season, yielding inconsistent results.
This season has encapsulated almost all of Chelsea’s problems. Signing a well-known striker in Morata proved to be almost fatal in some games. Callum Hudson-Odoi is tearing it up after ascending from the academy, but appearances are few and far between. The youngster also had a transfer request blocked, followed by a long spell on the bench.
One of Chelsea’s more subtle problems is the collective attitude of the players. Sarri has been in the public hotseat since the end of January, but there are two sides to every story. Frustrations with Sarri grew after he stubbornly decided against adapting. The Italian manager has preferred former Napoli-compatriot Jorginho in the defensive midfield position over N’Golo Kante. Sarri has continued to stick with David Luiz after numerous mistakes while restricting Hudson-Odoi’s playing time. Both are on the list of unpopular managerial moves. The players are noticing these tendencies and are acting on it. Chelsea have a past of playing poorly in order to get a manager sacked. Ask Jose Mourinho after his second stint there. For context, Chelsea lost five of Mourniho’s last seven league games with the club. After he was sacked, the team went unbeaten in 15 league games. Antonio Conte can share the same pain. The squad dropped points in six of Conte’s last 11 games last season. The string of results caused Chelsea to finish outside the top four after peaking at second place on the table. The power balance at Chelsea is gravely uncalibrated. The players have too much say, and the prime example came on Sunday afternoon. Twitter went into a frenzy when goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to be subbed off during extra time of the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City. In case you missed it, take a look.
Both sides released statements labeling the issue as a “misunderstanding”. But that fact that Sarri actually didn’t go through with the substitution told us a different story. If Arrizabalaga knew what he was doing, then knew he could get away with it. If he didn’t, it reflects even worse on Sarri’s standing with the squad. You know what they say, bad things come in threes. This marks the third straight manager that has been nearly alienated by the players at the club. Both sides share blame for the dysfunction. Stubbornness to adapt from Sarri and an unwillingness to persevere from the squad will plague Chelsea until drastic change occurs. The firings of Conte and Mourinho imply that the club generally sides with the players. Considering the recent transfer window punishment, I expect Sarri to lose his job and the vicious cycle to continue.
