Why the going has got tough for Chelsea’s Carlo Ancelotti?
It’s a common saying that best ideas are always simple and most obvious ones and football is no exception; score more than the opposition, play your best players and dress nicely for the dugout. But there is an appalling lack of creativity emanating from
the office of the manager at Stamford Bridge as the London Blues have suffered the worst blip in their form since the arrival of Roman Abrahamovic in 2003 and there are new serious questions being asked about Carlo Ancelotti’s tenure and his decision making
abilities.
Didier Drogba, despite being fit, was left on the bench for the game against Spurs and the manager insisted it was for a tactical reason, however everyone else besides the manager failed to see that reason as it was the Ivorian who equalized for Chelsea
and had it not been for him Chelsea would have headed home empty handed. Benching your best player for a top of the table clash and that too when your team is in desperate need of three points is as absurd of an idea as wearing a swimsuit in a desert, yet
Ancelotti had no shame in doing so.
But, the Italian manager has been pulling off some crazy decisions recently and thinking of all those it is clear that the manager has perhaps lost the plot.
Playing Paulio Ferreira in an unfamiliar role of a centre back in the absence of first choice pairing of Alex and Terry was brutally exposed by Danny Wellbeck and Asamoah Gyan. Replacing a striker (Nicolas Anelka) with a midfielder (Ramires) when your team
is trying to hold on desperately to a 1-0 lead and of course sacking the darling of Stamford Bridge faithful, Ray Wilkins are just some of the decisions that Ancelotti has screwed up badly in recent weeks.
Chelsea have now gone on six games without a win in the league and from being top of the league have now dropped to fourth in the league standings and the worrying thing is that there are no signs of improvement.
After dropping all your most potent goal scoring threat against a team that is threatening the established order in the league and a team that has not managed to keep more than a single clean sheet all season, is an absolute clanger.
It is agreed without a doubt that Drogba went AWOL in their Champions League clash with Marseille in the midweek but it was a meaningless clash and Drogba is the man who can turn any game on its head just based on individual skill and talent and he proved
it yet again on Sunday when his side all of suden started to look much better after the introduction of number 11.
Although, it can be argued that it was this same Drogba that missed the penalty in injury time that would have secured all three points for Ancelotti’s men but should the sin not be forgivable for a man that single handedly brought his team back into a match
that looked dead and buried.
Something needs to change around Stamford Bridge and it can either be the tactics of the manager or the manager itself but there remains no doubt to the fact that change is imperative if Chelsea are to defend their title successfully or even come close to it.
The fixture list doesn’t make it any easier for Chelsea as it is Manchester United and Arsenal next for them before Christmas. Lose those games and they can literally say sayonara to their title dreams, and should that happen Ancelotti can say his farewell
to his friends and family in London.
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