What's Going Wrong and How Is This Fixed?

Things aren't great, and people need to take responsibility.. but not sack the manager.

It’s not been a great period for Chelsea fans these last couple of weeks especially, topped off by the abysmal 2-1 defeat to Man Utd.

For the first time I was really at a loss for words. There was nothing I could see which could explain why this had happened. But beyond my frustration with the manager and the players, it just feels like something deeper is wrong. Like the big decision makers are getting some things wrong which are impacting results in some way.

Firstly, lets just clear something up. We have a very talented squad. Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku, Reece James, Levi Colwill, Conor Gallagher, Benoit Badiashile, Raheem Sterling, Carney Chukwuemeka , Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, Malo Gusto, for example, are quality players, who are well capable of achieving European football, and with potential to be even better. The scouting at Chelsea is excellent, the signings we’ve made are talented players.

Secondly, its’ important to note we’ve had 26 injuries this season, and currently have 10 injured players, which is a hindrance, whether we like it or not. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino has never been able to pick his first choice XI. The last time we had a fully fit squad, was November 2021. That’s how bad our injury crisis has been.

Third, the answer is not sacking the manager. At some point we need to back a manager through times like this. The players are fully behind him according to reliable reports on this site, they like him and respect him. He’s a manager who’s built and developed teams, and he deserves time with this young squad. Sacking him would solve nothing.

Fourth, the squad isn’t complete, and above all, it lacks leaders. Captains. The great Chelsea side of the 2000’s had about 5-6 national captains in it. We have some players with leadership qualities, but not enough captains.

Mauricio Pochettino asked for experienced players, PL proven players, in the summer, and was completely ignored. We didn’t sign a player over 25. We didn’t sign a proven top class goalscorer. Now we’re looking to address the goalscoring issue, so lets’ leave that aside.

But its’ so clear we’re lacking vocal leaders on the pitch. Thiago Silva is a leader and organiser but this is his last season, and he can’t speak English which hinders his ability to communicate. We should have signed a couple of experienced, quality players, who are leaders and above all captains. They can get teams through difficult periods and see tough games through, calm younger players down. John Terry and Frank Lampard, when they first played for Chelsea, were playing with the likes of Marcel Desailly, Gianfranco Zola, Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink - experienced players with big reputations and strong characters, which allowed them to develop with less pressure.

My fifth point is the deeper, wider issues. Chelsea don’t “feel” like Chelsea. Chelsea are a big club, with big ambitions and expectations, and the mentality of winning. But it feels like the people at the top of the football operation, whilst talented in their own way and good at spotting talent, simply don’t have the experience of building a world class squad, which competes for trophies, or running an elite football club.

These people set the tone, help set the culture. And the energy simply doesn’t feel the same, and despite the good things they’ve done, they are making rookie errors.

There’s clearly too many cooks making this Chelsea dish. We’ve read on this site how there’s disagreements over striking targets and its still not decided. Things like that, shouldn’t be happening at elite football clubs.

I’ve written several times, I feel we need a football number one, who oversees all aspects of the men’s team, who people like Joe Shields and Laurence Stewart others can report to. Laurence Stewart should really be focussing on the multi-club anyway, that’s his biggest strength, he could co-ordinate Blue-Co’s football operations, including the multi-clubs. This person needs to be someone who has experience of building winning teams, working at big clubs, who’s got a record of delivering consistently, whose track record is beyond reproach.

The owners then need to to back the football people to make football decisions. That means trusting this new sporting director and Mauricio Pochettino, and their vision.

As a sixth point, I think it would be good if the owners could communicate with us. I think after what the fans have been through, they are owed an explanation. They are owned an outline of what the plan is, both short-term and long-term, why certain decisions were made, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.

Let me be clear I still support the owners and understand what they want to achieve. Its’ very clear they are ambitious and have the right intentions. I’ve been told that behind the scenes, they communicate and are more open than the previous ownership, which is welcome and positive. But I think the fans have concerns and they need to be addressed.

Respectfully, this should not be in PR language, or just some statement on the site or a briefing. As far as I can gauge, the fans have had enough of that. I mean honest communication via official club channels. That would show respect to the fans and treat them as adults, as people who love the club and pour a lot of time, energy and money into the club. It wouldn’t take much and could start to rebuild trust.

Things aren’t great right now, there’s lots wrong, and this needs to be acknowledged, and action taken.

Things simply cannot go on as they are, and everyone involved with the mens team from top to bottom, owners included, needs to take responsibility and do what’s necessary (without sacking the manager) to sort things out and get Chelsea Football Club back where we belong.

The Score