Did someone suddenly tell the players this was a Cup final and they were losing at 80 minutes?
Simon Phillips discussions that age old Chelsea problem once again
Looking around the pitch at the players on Saturday and once again I saw that age old Chelsea problem rear it’s ugly head.
Where are the leaders? Where are the motivators? Where are the guys roaring out that this an FA Cup final and we are 1-0 down?
Well, perhaps they were there on 80 minutes when suddenly the Chelsea players decided to turn up and play with some intensity and some urgency, but of course, it was far too little, and far too late.
But why did it take them that long to realise? Almost as if someone had just told them this was a Cup Final and they are 1-0 down.
There was no imagination in attack, and no players stepping up and taking the game by the horns and leading Chelsea to a goal, no moments of magic, no player having the guts to try something different or something wild that could lead to a goal.
This is an age-old problem, especially with this group of players. Some of them were still around during the days of Frank Lampard and John Terry being the leaders stepping up and fighting back when we needed it, but others were not. Even still, it is like this weak mentality when things are not going our way, is bred deep into this club right now.
Where was the captain? Where was the leaders? They were quietly going about their game, heads at half-mast, half-heartedly trying to make things happen. No vocal encouragement to the players ahead of them, no chat to Mason to tell him he is the guy that can make something happen here and to try something different. Where were they?
They have been there in previous weeks, absolutely, we have all witnessed it. Against Manchester City they were there, real leaders getting Chelsea back in to the game. So they CAN be warriors, but not consistently. Why not?
And we still don’t have enough of them, the players prefer to hide away and quietly go about their business rather than step up and take responsibility.
We were awful in attack, and didn’t even deserve to get anything out of the game on Saturday.
I know Thomas Tuchel made some mistakes, nobody is perfect. But we still had a group of players and a team out there capable of beating Leicester City, who didn’t even look that good. But as I said, and I conclude, Chelsea were far too asleep and weak minded until the last ten minutes, and there is NEVER an excuse for that in a Cup final.
Tuchel of course does not escape criticism, and I like to be balanced with my conclusions, I’ve written about that here.
And also, leaving Tammy Abraham out again altogether was a mistake, I’ve explained why here.