Addressing the elephant/s in the room
When things are good, they are great, but when things are bad, they are very bad
Training ground bust-ups in football are nothing new, and nothing uncommon. After all, we all want to see that fight and passion from our players right, to show that they care?
However, Chelsea’s latest reports of training ground bust-ups involved Antonio Rudiger and Kepa Arrizabalaga are unfortunately just another sign of toxicity and bad attitudes from a number of the players.
We all want to see a reaction from the players, and I even tweeted that as long as they take that energy and use it to beat Porto on Wednesday then I have no problem with the handbags.
But this strikes me as more than just handbags upon further reflection and questions asked, and it seems to be a collective issue between a few groups of players within the whole squad, not just one or two individuals.
This can only bring negative reactions, despite the reports stating that apologies were made and players have moved on. Any human knows that if you keep falling out with someone, it will have strained effect on your relationship with that person, how can that be good for squad morale? It simply can’t.
If this was just one isolated incident, I could brush it off. But we’ve been hearing reports of unrest and managers losing the dressing room on a number of occasions over the last few years at the club. Coincidence? I think not.
Frank Lampard wanted some players sold, ones he considered to be pulling against him and a little toxic within the group.
David Luiz was the first to see this when Lampard arrived. The Brazilian was not in sync with Lampard’s plans and ideas, and instead of adapting and supporting the new boss, his bad attitude seeped through and Lampard sold him.
All of us fans have voiced our opinions that a number of our ‘deadwood’ players must be sold over the last few seasons, if you haven’t said that then I don’t believe you!
Not only do some of Chelsea’s players have bad attitudes and weak mentalities, some of them are only ever going to be just decent players, and if we want to push on to the next level we just need to be having a squad full of players who are better than just decent.
We also need them to be leaders, and to not be falling out with each other at every bad situation when things do not go our way. Check my piece here on Chelsea’s need for real leaders in the squad and a motivating spine of the team.
Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta also exchanged heated words after the West Brom defeat on Saturday. These emotions are totally natural in football, and we do expect to see a reaction, this I have nothing against.
But these are not isolated reports as I said. There have been strained relationships between a number of players for some time now. I’m not hear to speak harshly about players or single anyone out - but I just think it is time for some of these players to move on, for the good of our club, and for the good of their own careers.
The players all pulled together for the greater good after Thomas Tuchel arrived, but there seems to be tensions building that look like they will easily snap at anytime, and they surface even more when things are not going our way like on Saturday.
We have seen fighting spirit recently which is good, and players like Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have been playing fantastically. There is no denying that. Arguably Rudiger has actually bought a lot of that leadership that we have been asking for, and it’s great to see that.
None of us know what’s truly happened in training, but the negative energy comes to the forefront whenever things are not going our way, and nobody can deny that it has not been that way for sometime, regardless of who the manager is.
This isn’t a piece to defend Lampard and prove him right, he had his flaws and even the way he managed some players can certainly be questioned. As you know, I’ve often spoke on his weaknesses.
I just believe that managers come and go, but now is the time that the board need to look at some of the players as being problematic, rather than to always blame the manager, otherwise we could end up with the same situation for Tuchel, who is a top class coach that we should not be looking to let leave anytime soon.
Written by Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport)
We can't afford to lose another good manager /coach because of some toxic among us. I beg the board to look at the matter asap . This can't happen next season.
Wow, you hit the nail right on the head. But, ownership must clear out the malcontents ASAP. Everyone knows some of these players so let the blood letting begin when summer arrives.