Chelsea 2017/2018

It is incredible to me how many managers they've had who just run into a ton of problems a year after winning a big trophy. Di Matteo (albeit he was interim to begin with), Mourinho, and now Conte looking like he'll be sacked before the end of the season as well. Just seems so odd.
Ancelotti.
 
Was thinking about Chelsea's dynamic currently and it is close to history repeating it's self. If the players are "losing faith" aka downing tools then you need to look at the groups leaders who were there when Mourinho went. I understand both are prickly in nature but there is a professional responsibility to "do your damn job". This is twice now in very recent history it is seemingly happening.

So who are the leaders? Hazard you have to say will have a voice in the group if not being "the" voice. I can't say i know enough about their player heirachy like that but it is not unreasonable to look at this and act. Even if he is the best player, if it is found Hazard puts everyone on a downer as soon as he goes on one i'd flog him to Madrid.
You can't enable such a weak group mentality to flourish and need to get rid of the main culprits. Even if there are no player revolts, those not pulling their weight now, sell them in summer.

I accept though with these managers that if any could turn a team against you it would be these two chaps.

The narrative back in early 2012 was also that the players (Terry, Drogba, Ashley Cole, Essien and Cech) had revolted against AVB to get him sacked. It seems like a fairly new story-line. We actually ended up finishing lower in the table (6th) than we were when AVB left (4th), but we parked the bus to secure an incredibly unlikely CL final win. When Mourinho was fired, Chelsea were in 16th place, which was shocking for a team that won the title the year before, so everyone said the players downed tools to get him out, but after the slight up in form, the team still only ended up finishing 10th, despite Mourinho being fired before Christmas, so we didn't exactly go back to being world beaters after he was gone.

When players are accused of downing tools, it essentially absolves the manager of any blame. The first game after Mourinho was fired, we played Sunderland at home. I said before the game at the time that the players were in a lose-lose situation. If we had lost that game, or played poorly and drawn, everyone would say, "look, it wasn't Mourinho's fault, the players are just crap, he worked wonders to win the title with this bunch". If we won the game, which we did 3-1 (we were 2-0 up inside 10 minutes), everyone said, "look, they were doing it on purpose to get Mourinho sacked. Disgraceful".

At Chelsea, our fans have this terrible habit elevating managers to cult figures. Conte, like Mourinho before him, has this weird cult following that will defend him at every turn, and would rather turn on the players before questioning the manager, hence the nonsense where that fan help up that A4 sheet calling Hazard, Costa and Fabregas snakes. In the midst of that, if you are seen questioning the manager, or dare I say, have the opinion that he isn't the right man for the job, it immediately sparks a debate about who is a real fan, and who was around when Chelsea suffered back to back relegation to division 19 back in 1409. This silly narrative that players downed tools just fuels all of that.
 
Ancelotti.

Ancelotti actually finished the second season, and didn't even do that badly. We finished second, 4-5 points behind United. We were poor in Europe and the cups, but it's hardly disastrous and that was one decision I disagreed with. I also did not like AVB being fired. I was happy to give him more time. We were playing great football that season, until we started parking the bus under RDM the rest of the season. Most other sackings I have either understood or fully agreed with.
 
At Chelsea, our fans have this terrible habit elevating managers to cult figures. Conte, like Mourinho before him, has this weird cult following that will defend him at every turn, and would rather turn on the players before questioning the manager, hence the nonsense where that fan help up that A4 sheet calling Hazard, Costa and Fabregas snakes. In the midst of that, if you are seen questioning the manager, or dare I say, have the opinion that he isn't the right man for the job, it immediately sparks a debate about who is a real fan, and who was around when Chelsea suffered back to back relegation to division 19 back in 1409. This silly narrative that players downed tools just fuels all of that.

Don't think for one second that this trait is unique to Chelsea. There are still arguments on here about Mancini's dismissal and the Wigan cup final.

Liverpool apart, I don't think it's a cult thing more a loyalty conflict where some are loyal to the club, others the manager and others a player or players, all of which creates a melting pot of emotions and fertile ground for debate and argument fuelled by the media. Especially as there is rarely a single cause for events.
 
Don't think for one second that this trait is unique to Chelsea. There are still arguments on here about Mancini's dismissal and the Wigan cup final.

Liverpool apart, I don't think it's a cult thing more a loyalty conflict where some are loyal to the club, others the manager and others a player or players, all of which creates a melting pot of emotions and fertile ground for debate and argument fuelled by the media. Especially as there is rarely a single cause for events.

That is probably true.

I'd like to believe most people would be more loyal to the club than any individual player or manager, but that loyalty manifests itself in different ways. One thing I have no time for is throwing players under the bus every single time things go wrong in the name of "stability" and "giving managers time" especially when those managers either do not want to be here (Conte) or openly flirting with rival clubs (Mourinho).
 
Don't think for one second that this trait is unique to Chelsea. There are still arguments on here about Mancini's dismissal and the Wigan cup final.

Liverpool apart, I don't think it's a cult thing more a loyalty conflict where some are loyal to the club, others the manager and others a player or players, all of which creates a melting pot of emotions and fertile ground for debate and argument fuelled by the media. Especially as there is rarely a single cause for events.

Speaking of which.

 
Not sure what players want ! A tough manager or a Pelligrini ? No idea what the answer is but It's unhealthy when the employees are running the business.

The thing is, I don't think they are. Conte just has this cult following that people are willing to engage in this sort of mental gymnastics to absolve him of any blame. The main reason for this, beyond treating the manager as some kind of infallible god, is Chelsea fans being desperate for a manager who stays beyond just 2 years.
 
Just in case anybody is interested: Sergio Aguero has scored more goals in 2018 than Chelsea.

That's hardly an achievement at this point :)

I do love Aguero though. He was my captain this week and got me 42 points. He catapulted me up 5 places. What a guy.
 

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