Can Chelsea Be Fixed? | OneFootball

Another match, another defeat, another goal-less effort. Chelsea Football Club is sinking deeper every game. The Blues have gone five Premier League games winless, and without scoring a goal for the first time since 1912. It’s almost impossible to believe. Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat away to Brighton was the fourth time they lost by three or more goals in their last six games in all competitions.

The question is, can Chelsea come back from this?

It’s important to remember that just last summer, Chelsea won the Club World Cup by beating PSG 3-0 in the final, and finished 4th in the Premier League under Enzo Maresca. That core group of players are still at the club. So, it’s not an irreversible situation. 

But how did Chelsea become so bad that many fans, journalists and pundits believe they are the underdogs against Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-final match at Wembley on Sunday?

It’s a Coaching Thing

Enzo Maresca left Chelsea on mutual consent in January after a reported disagreement with the medical team at the club. The truth is that only the people involved know exactly what happened, but Chelsea made a big error replacing him with Liam Rosenior, who was plucked from BlueCo’s sister club Racing Strasbourg in Ligue 1. 

Rosenior started well in his first few games but recently the results have gone downhill.

Since March 1, Chelsea have lost eight and won three (two of those games coming against lower league opponents in the FA Cup). In their last five league matches, they have scored 0 goals and conceded 11. 

Swift Action

Frankly, it wasn’t a surprise to see Chelsea react by sacking the coach less than 24 hours after the embarrassing defeat against Brighton. That team we saw Tuesday was completely down and buried at the moment, showing little to no fight in them. They looked like they weren’t playing for the club, or Liam Rosenior for that matter. The manager didn’t hold back in his post match interview with Sky Sports.

“It was unacceptable in every aspect of the game, unacceptable in our attitude. I keep coming out and defending the players. That’s indefensible, that performance tonight. The manner of the goals we conceded, the amount of duels that we lost, the lack of intensity in the team. Something needs to change drastically right now.” Rosenior said. 

Prophetic words from a manager feeling the heat; who senses that his players aren’t giving everything for him and the club. But Liam Rosenior is not entirely blameless. His 3-5-2 formation in the first half against Brighton was a poor choice, and Chelsea were lucky to enter the locker room only one goal down. They performed somewhat better in the second half but still conceded another two goals. 

It’s clear to me that Chelsea’s current predicament arises from the change of manager mid-season. Marc Cucurella publicly criticized Chelsea’s decisions, particularly regarding the change of manager. He expressed disagreement with the club’s decision to part ways with Enzo Maresca, saying he “would not have made this decision” and that it had “a big impact” on the squad. 

Cucurella also mentioned that the team lacked experience, which contributed to their struggles, implying that the managerial change and related decisions affected the team’s performance. His comments reflect frustration with the club’s approach to management and player recruitment during this period.

Three Areas to Address

I will make suggestions based on my knowledge as a football fan and follower, not as an expert.

Head Coach

How do you sign a coach to a six-and-a-half-year contract and give up on him after just four months? That was the dilemma Chelsea owners and sporting directors must have faced during the meeting that reportedly lasted through the night and into the next day, resulting in Rosenior’s dismissal. It’s an acceptance that they have made the wrong decision, which will cost them a lot of money. Missing the Champions League and paying a huge amount to a head coach to sack him must have been a bitter pill for them to swallow.

But they had to own their mistakes and make amends and hire the right manager this time. Too many mistakes have brought instability to the club. Chelsea still have something to play for. They still have the FA Cup semi-final and four Premier League games to play. With luck (and a Liverpool collapse) they could even squeeze into the final Champions League spot.

If the players and the interim head coach Calum McFarlane change the current dynamics before the end of the season and produce a good performance in the FA Cup final (if they get there), then the decision to sack Liam Rosenior will be justified.

My verdict: Irrespective of how Chelsea finish the season, Chelsea made the right decision because the Rosenior train was only going backwards. They have nothing to lose.

Sporting Directors

Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are the guys that run the club. Chelsea fans are usually more vocal about their feelings towards the owners, but owners are not necessarily well-grounded in football. They hire Sporting Directors to run the club and make decisions.

Choice of players to sign and head coach to hire are the decisions of the Sporting Directors. Of course, they work within a particular framework provided by the owners but they can still do a lot better than they have done. Anyone who watched Liam Rosenior at Strasbourg must have known that he wasn’t ready for Chelsea. He’s a good coach but it was too early to hand him a big club, with big players like Chelsea. 

Transfer decisions have also not helped. Too many new players are brought into the squad every summer, making it difficult for the head coach to stabilize the squad, especially when these players are mostly U23 with little experience, and in some cases lack the quality to play for Chelsea.

My verdict: They have to go, unless Chelsea decide to bring in an experienced technical director who will be above them and help streamline their erratic decisions.

The Owners

They divide opinion, but for me, they are not much of a problem as they are willing to spend money. They haven’t hired the right people. They could easily change the ideas behind the project and the people that run it. I think it’s the right thing to do. 

My verdict: They should stay but tweak the ideas behind the project and hire the right people to run it.

Final Thoughts

Chelsea FC can’t go from winning the Club World Cup to being dead and buried in less than one year, with almost the same set of key players. It must be down to the fundamental mistakes made this season. From not being able to find a replacement for injured Levi Colwill to allowing Enzo Maresca to leave the club mid-season. I think if they can fix these mistakes, they can get the club and the project back on track.

If they can find the right manager, sign stable, experienced, Premier League-ready players, Chelsea can become more balanced and consistent. That usually brings good results.